Primary Eyecare Associates and Visually Impaired People are co-sponsoring a free glaucoma eye screening Tuesday at Primary Eyecare Associates, located at 801 Dallas Avenue, from 9 a.m. to noon.  

While the new year is already more than two weeks in, VIP president and CEO William Bowman said it’s never too late to add a New Year’s resolutions. January is Glaucoma Awareness Month, so Bowman said there’s no excuse not to visit the eye doctor.

“Not only do you make your resolution about losing weight and making money, we want you to have your eyes checked out too because losing your eyesight is something that can really slow you down,” Bowman said.

Glaucoma, which is defined as group of diseases that can damage the eye’s optic nerve and lead to vision loss and blindness, is a leading cause of blindness and is more common among people over 60 and in African Americans. It is also hereditary.

Bowman said he hopes people who are more than 50 years old will take time to get their eyesight checked.

“We’re encouraging everybody that’s 50 and older, if you haven’t had your eyes checked and you feel like there’s something wrong with your vision, then you need to go have your eyes checked,” Bowman said.

Bowman, who was affected by glaucoma at a young age, said there are signs for people to be aware of.

“Your peripheral vision is the first thing that’s attacked with glaucoma,” Bowman said. “Your side vision starts decreasing, then you start noticing that you’re having blurred vision and then when you notice all of that, then you know that there’s something going on.”

In order to receive a free eye screening, the only requirement is to show up to Primary Eyecare Associates on Tuesday morning.

For more information, call Bowman at 413-0268 or the office of Primary Eyecare Associates at 874-7024. To read more about glaucoma, visit the National Eye Institute’s website at nei.nih.gov.

Dr. Kristina Lovinggood will be administering the eye screenings Tuesday.