Did you know that only around
half of individuals with glaucoma know that they are afflicted? While seniors over 60 years of age are most at risk, anyone can be diagnosed with this serious condition, which is attributed with being the second leading cause of blindness in this country. The symptoms of glaucoma are subtle and often overlooked, so it pays to know the signs and risks of this serious condition, as early detection is key to a favorable prognosis.
Glaucoma is far more common than you might think, affecting around
3 million people in this country, alone. This condition is marked by an increase in eye pressure, which will damage your optic nerve over time. Glaucoma is a progressive disease, meaning it is irreversible and gets worse the longer it goes untreated.
Glaucoma doesn't always manifest symptoms until later stages of the disease. The symptoms emerge as a loss of peripheral vision followed by changes in central vision. You may also experience fluctuating eye pressure, visual haziness, and halos around light sources, particularly upon waking. Other severe symptoms can include pain in your eyes, blurring of vision, nausea, and vomiting.
In addition to elevated eye pressure, blunt trauma to the head or eye can also cause traumatic glaucoma; these injuries don't necessarily have to penetrate or poke the eye, as blunt force to the head could be a culprit. These traumas can increase eye pressure which, subsequently, damages the optic nerve and impacts your overall vision. Don't ignore pain, inflammation, or injury to your eyes, regardless of how mild or benign it may seem.
At this point, there are no cut-and-dry preventatives against glaucoma; however, early diagnosis can prevent severe optic nerve damage and blindness. Protect your eyes against trauma during sports, activities, and work that pose risks of an injury. If you notice that your eyes are swollen, use anti-inflammatory medications to reduce swelling and lower eye pressure when possible.
Once you have been diagnosed with glaucoma, your doctor will likely want to see you on a regular basis to observe and measure the eye's response to treatment. The main goal of glaucoma treatment is to lower the intraocular pressure that can damage the eye.
Treatment typically entails eye drops, which are not expensive, utilized before bed daily, though advanced cases may warrant surgery, medications, or laser procedures to improve. Talk to your ophthalmologist about these later-stage treatment options.
The best outcomes occur when glaucoma is detected early. If your ophthalmologist catches it before significant damage to the optic nerve has occurred, it should be controllable with eye drops. However, compliance with treatment is also key in preventing further damage and maintaining a healthy eye pressure.
Know that vision loss and nerve damage caused by glaucoma is usually irreversible, though with treatment, it is possible to manage and control the disease.
Glaucoma is not a condition reserved for the elderly; anyone's vision is at risk from this debilitating and progressive disease. Note changes in your own vision and report to your eye care provider for a screening, which is painless and quite brief.
Do you have concerns about your risk for Glaucoma? Talk to your eye care professional at Calvert Ophthalmology Center to determine if you are a candidate for this progressive disease that could compromise your vision and eye health, as well as to schedule a glaucoma assessment with the provider. While you can't prevent or reverse glaucoma, there are practical steps that you can take to reduce your risks and manage symptoms of this progressive medical condition.
