Glaucoma Management
Glaucoma has been nicknamed the ‘sneak thief of sight’ because vision loss normally occurs over a long period of time and is detected only when the disease is quite advanced.
Glaucoma is actually a group of eye diseases which cause damage to the optic nerve that carries images from the eye to the brain. Once lost, this damaged visual field can never be recovered.
Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness after cataracts worldwide. It is the first leading cause of blindness among African Americans. Glaucoma affects 1 in 200 people aged 50 and younger and 1 in 10 over the age of 80.
If the condition is detected early enough, it is possible to arrest the development or slow its progression with medical and surgical means.
View Video: Glaucoma Introduction
There are two main types of Glaucoma:
- Primary Open Angle Glaucoma
This is the most common form of glaucoma, affecting about three million Americans, and occurs when the eye’s drainage canals become gradually clogged or blocked.
The content of the eye is mainly fluid, or aqueous humor, created and refreshed by the eye’s tissues, and normally drains out into the bloodstream through small blood vessels around the iris. If this drainage function is blocked the inner eye pressure (intraocular pressure or IOP) rises and begins to effect the optic nerve.
If open angle glaucoma is not diagnosed and treated, it can cause a gradual loss of vision.
This type of glaucoma develops slowly and sometimes without noticeable sight loss for many years.
Primary Open Angle Glaucoma usually responds well to medication, especially if caught early and treated. - Angle Closure Glaucoma
In this more rare type of glaucoma, internal eye pressure usually rises very quickly. This happens when the drainage canals get blocked or pinched, due to a change in the eye’s physical structure.
Surgery is performed to unblock the drainage canals so that the eye’s fluid can drain properly.
Symptoms of angle closure glaucoma may include headaches, eye pain, nausea, rainbows around lights at night, and very blurred vision.
Glaucoma Treatment
While there is no cure as yet for glaucoma, early diagnosis and continuing treatment can preserve eyesight.
Depending upon the type of glaucoma, treatment may include prescription eye-drops, or surgery to lower the pressure in the eye and prevent further damage to the optic nerve.
Medications
A number of medications are currently in use to treat glaucoma by reducing elevated intraocular pressure and prevent damage to the optic nerve.
Surgery
Surgery involves either laser treatment or making a cut in the eye to reduce the intraocular pressure (IOP). The type of surgery your doctor recommends will depend on the type and severity of your glaucoma and the general health of your eye. Surgery can help lower pressure when medication is not sufficient, however it cannot reverse vision loss, so early detection is essential.
If laser surgery does not successfully lower eye pressure, or the pressure begins to rise again, your doctor may recommend filtering microsurgery.
