What to Do About Glaucoma

Because glaucoma can appear for many reasons, the question of what to do about it is frequently looked into. Glaucoma is treated with a number of methods. It is among the common eye conditions linked to a rise in the pressure within the eye. Because that pressure remains high, the optic nerves are damaged. A person's vision is affected over time and the damage becomes irreversible. Because glaucoma does not show itself promptly as other eye conditions do, early diagnosis is difficult. Attending regular eye examinations therefore matters a great deal.

How Does Glaucoma Develop?

In answer to how glaucoma develops, the condition is caused by a rise in the pressure within the eye. When the balance of pressure inside the eye rises, the optic nerves begin to be damaged. Not everyone with high eye pressure has glaucoma, however. The condition appears through many causes. A fluid is produced within the eye and drained away from it. At times that fluid cannot be drained and begins to gather, which raises the pressure inside the eye. Produced in the vascular layer of the eye, this fluid matters in preserving eye health. If it stays in the eye and cannot be drained, over time it begins to damage the vessels and nerves within it.

Who Gets Glaucoma?

Another subject widely asked about is who gets glaucoma. Because it can appear for genetic reasons, giving a clear age range is not really possible. When risk is assessed, however, the predisposition to the condition rises in people aged forty and over. The likelihood also rises in people with a family history of glaucoma.

Causes of Glaucoma

Many physiological and biological factors are among the causes of glaucoma. Among them is diabetes, which affects the nerves of the body considerably. A great many nerve conditions appear depending on the level of sugar in the blood, and eye and vision problems are very common in people with diabetes. The risk of glaucoma is also higher in people with thyroid conditions. Injuries to the eye are another factor. In serious injuries that raise the pressure within the eye, in conditions relating to the retina and in situations such as tumours of the eye, that risk rises further. Glaucoma can also be seen after certain eye operations. Genetic predisposition is a major risk factor too, and high myopia also leads to glaucoma. Glaucoma is seen with long courses of corticosteroid treatment and through other external factors. The situations that increase the risk of glaucoma are:

• Migraine
• Corticosteroid treatment
• Genetic factors
• Diabetes
• High or low blood pressure
• High myopia and high hyperopia
• Injuries to the eye
• Predisposition

To remove the risks that cause glaucoma, or to identify the condition early, attending an ophthalmologist regularly is necessary. Check-ups are recommended every 2 years up to the age of forty and once a year after forty, and more often if glaucoma runs in the family. Whether there are people with glaucoma in the family should also be established. Alongside this, exercising regularly and staying away from harmful habits matter. After a serious injury to the eye, a doctor should always be seen.

Symptoms of Glaucoma

The symptoms of glaucoma resemble those of other eye conditions, so it is not possible for people to diagnose themselves without seeing a doctor. Open angle glaucoma, the most common type, usually causes no symptoms until it is advanced. Sudden eye pain, redness, blurred vision, haloes and nausea are seen in acute angle closure, which needs urgent treatment. The symptoms that can be met are:

• Sudden and severe eye pain
• Redness of the eye
• Blurred vision at times
• Seeing haloes around lights at night
• Nausea
• Pain in the forehead and head

Extreme sensitivity to light in childhood can also be a symptom. An ophthalmologist should always be seen in that case. Glaucoma does not typically show itself through headache. A sudden, severe headache with eye pain and redness can point to acute angle closure, but headache can arise from other conditions too, and the only way to identify glaucoma is to see a doctor.

Treatment of Glaucoma

Treatment for glaucoma is determined according to the person's situation. Glaucoma is examined in two forms, open angle and closed angle. It is diagnosed as follows:

• Eye pressure measurement
• Computerised visual field test
• OCT
• Optic nerve examination
• HRT

The methods used in treatment are:

• Medication
• Surgery
• Laser treatment

If the eye pressure does not fall despite these treatments, the methods that follow will involve surgery. These treatments may not clear glaucoma completely, but they keep it under control, which prevents the nerves within the eye from taking greater damage. Where medication does not work, surgical methods are generally turned to as a last resort. Another treatment applied for glaucoma is SLT, that is selective laser trabeculoplasty. This procedure is extremely quick and straightforward. Although many people take it for glaucoma surgery, no surgical intervention is in fact made. The eye is numbed with anaesthetic drops, and laser light is then applied so that the fluid gathered within the eye can drain away. The fall in pressure begins in the first weeks, and the full effect is usually seen within one to three months. Through this method the pressure within the eye falls by an average of 20-30 per cent. Glaucoma is a condition that cannot be cleared completely. Not every case of high eye pressure means glaucoma, either: the pressure within the eye can rise from time to time for other reasons. Through the treatments applied, the condition is prevented from progressing and from damaging the nerves further. At What Age Does Cataract Occur?