A dart from a toy gun has given Rotorua's Jenny Carroll decades of eye problems and turned her into a firm advocate for testing for glaucoma.
She is now backing calls from eye specialists for people to have their eyes regularly tested from the age of 45 to avoid going blind.
The Hamurana woman, who is now retired, was 10 when damage to her eye first occurred.
She was cycling to a friend's place when a group of boys started causing trouble. One of them fired a rubber-sucker dart at her, which hit her right eye.
The injury caused fluid pressure to build up unknowingly, causing damage to her eye's optic nerve.
But it wasn't until her 30s that she began to notice problems. She developed blurry vision, a symptom associated with cataracts. Later, she was diagnosed with glaucoma as a result of the trauma caused by the dart all those years earlier.
After 10 years of using eye drops, Mrs Carroll's eye pressure stopped responding to the glaucoma treatment and she underwent surgery on her right eye in April.
However, she also learned that she was developing glaucoma in her left eye, apparently inherited from her father, who was diagnosed with the eye disease about 10 years ago.
"It's important to know you have glaucoma at an early point, so that you can get the right treatment and prevent or slow the further deterioration of your eyesight," Mrs Carroll said.
This month Glaucoma New Zealand has launched a campaign to encourage early testing and to promote the message "45 and every 5".
This message reflects the association's recommendation that everyone have their eyes tested by 45, with regular five yearly tests thereafter. Earlier and more frequent testing than this is recommended for those with a family history of glaucoma.
Glaucoma is the leading preventable cause of blindness in New Zealand.
Opthamologist and glaucoma expert Dr James Stewart said the problem could be prevented by early testing.
"The awful thing about glaucoma is that people don't recognise that they're losing vision," he said. "If patients are not detected by regular eye examinations, they will only turn up when they are knocking things over, unable to drive and having difficulty leading their daily lives."
Checking for glaucoma is a simple procedure that can be carried out by an optometrist. There are three tests required for a full glaucoma examination. These include checking the optic nerve, eye pressure and visual fields.
Early treatments usually involve prescription eye drops and surgery.
Mrs Carroll said people shouldn't be afraid to see an eye specialist. "You may end up taking eye drops for the rest of your life but it's better than losing your sight forever."
Eye tests reveal unseen problems
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