The lack of screening for glaucoma, the leading cause of blindness, greatly worries ophthalmologists.
Thanks to a screening carried out in 2014, Francis narrowly avoided the progressive loss of his sight. Suffering from glaucoma without knowing it, he was able to be tested early enough for his treatment to be effective, even before the first symptoms appeared. It was thanks to an awareness day organized by the Saint-Luc clinics that this former employee of the toxicology laboratory realized this.
“However, I had very good eyesight and I had no symptoms. I was advised to go for the test and I did it when I hardly saw the point”, remembers the one who is now pre-retired. This disorder usually characterized by ocular hypertension, deterioration of the optic nerve caused by this hypertension and a narrowing of the visual field in both eyes, Francis De Smet knows it well. Her three-year-old sister also suffers from it, but she didn’t have a chance.
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