Glaucoma
Glaucoma is a condition that damages the optic nerve. The optic nerve sends visual information from your eye to your brain. Damage to the optic nerve is often related to high pressure in your eye. But glaucoma can happen even with normal eye pressure.
Glaucoma can occur at any age but is more common in older adults. It is one of the leading causes of blindness for people over the age of 60.
Many forms of glaucoma have no warning signs. The effect is so gradual that you may not notice a change in vision until the condition is in its later stages.
It’s important to have regular eye exams that include measurements of your eye pressure. If glaucoma is recognized early, vision loss can be slowed or prevented. If you have glaucoma, you’ll need treatment or monitoring for the rest of your life.
Glaucoma Q & A
Glaucoma is a category of eye disorder that is associated with a buildup of pressure in the eye which can damage the optic nerve. Glaucoma can damage the eye and disrupt the regulation of pressure in the eye. It can cause eye pressure can rise to dangerously high levels causing vision loss. Typically, your peripheral vision will be affected first. Because of this, you can lose quite a bit of your vision before becoming aware of any problem. If left untreated, glaucoma can eventually lead to blindness. There are some forms of the disease that can cause symptoms such as blurry vision, halos around lights, intense eye pain, nausea, and vomiting that suddenly occurs.
Glaucoma is caused by the failure of the eye to maintain the proper balance between the amount of fluid produced inside the eye and the amount that drains away. Underlying reasons for this imbalance usually relate to the type of glaucoma you have. Glaucoma can damage the eye and disrupt the regulation of pressure in the eye. It can cause eye pressure can rise to dangerously high levels causing vision loss.
Treatment for glaucoma will depend on the severity of the disease. Medicated eye drops are usually the first form of treatment used to control glaucoma. However, some patients find the eyedrops uncomfortable, inconvenient, or they don’t use them as stringently as they should. If this occurs, alternative treatments should be sought out. Other treatments might involve the use of medications, conventional surgery, laser surgery or any combination of these. Surgery for glaucoma, either laser or non-laser, are designed to accomplish either a decrease in the production of intraocular fluid or an increase in the drainage of intraocular fluid. The goal of glaucoma surgery, or other therapies, is focused on the reduction or stabilization of intraocular pressure (IOP). When this goal is accomplished, damage to ocular structures – especially the optic nerve – may be prevented.
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