Posted By CC Hi I have just been informed an employee has glaucoma where I work, they work as an administrator so most of their day is spent on the PC. I'm not sure what I should be doing, having never come across this before, I will obviously be doing a risk assessment and looking at improvements in the workplace to aid her but ultimately (I am told) it is irreversable so if the person goes blind, do I need to find her alternative work? Does anyone know of any work related cases I could read up on. I don't want to go into this "blind" - as it were. I have tried google and HSE website to no avail. Is it something I need Occ health to deal with (will have to out source this). Help please thanks

Posted By Chris Packham Glaucoma can range from mild to severe. In many cases it can be treated using eye drops. My father had it for years in one eye and never lost his sight in that eye, but he was very careful to maintain the treatment. So my first task would be to establish the severity of the Glaucoma, whether it is being treated and what is the prognosis from the optician or consultant opthalmologist. This may indicate that you don't need to worry. If the prognosis is poor, then I would suggest that you consult someone such as the consultant to establish what is likely to happen. You will then be in a position to plan based on real data.

Posted By Lilian McCartney As previous response NHS Direct website has info on illnesses and glaucoma is mentioned there. This is good for background info. I would get a medical opinion before I did anything. Even if the persons eye specialist gave a report while you were waitng to find an Occ Health person - this would help in the short term if something urgent was required (though it might take a while to get even this report). Hope this helps Lilian

Posted By Merv Newman Strong message : the progress of glaucoma can be arrested or delayed by treatment. Sometimes cured by surgical intervention. My mother-in-law would not keep up the treatment. She went blind in both eyes.