Religious fasts can affect eye treatment

LIVERPOOL, England, Nov. 10 (UPI) -- Glaucoma patients, who must apply eye drops, risk damaging their eyes if they stop treatment during religious fasting, a British researcher said.

Nishant Kumar of the University Hospital in Liverpool, England, said glaucoma patients often notice no symptoms in the early stages of the disease, which poses challenges for physicians in motivating patients to stick to treatment regimens. If patients neglect treatment until their vision noticeably declines, the damage is often irreversible.

Kumar studied patient compliance in relation to fasting by analyzing 350 surveys completed by members of the worlds' major faiths: Islam, Hinduism, Jainism, Christianity, Judaism, Bahai and Buddhism -- 50 surveys per religion.

For example, during the daylight hours of the month of Ramadan for Muslims fasting is mandatory.

In the survey, the majority of patients self-identified as Hindus, Muslims and Jains stated that the use of eye drops during their fasting hours would break their fast and, therefore, they would not use drops while fasting.

The majority of Christian, Buddhist, Bahai and Jewish survey respondents said they did not believe using drops would break their fasts.

The findings are being presented at the joint meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and European Society of Ophthalmology in Atlanta.