What is glaucoma?
Glaucoma is a group of eye conditions resulting to optic nerve damage. More often, the high pressure in your eye causes this damage leading to progressive and irreversible loss of vision.
Glaucoma, also referred to as the “silent thief of sight,” is considered as the 2nd leading cause of blindness. It can damage your vision gradually over for a long period of time and only recognized until the disease is at an advanced stage. There are 2 types of glaucoma: open angle glaucoma and closed angle glaucoma.
Common signs and symptoms
Glaucoma causes a rapid build-up of intraocular pressure which may lead to t
he following:
- Pain in or around the eyeball
- Headache
- Nausea/vomiting
- Visual disturbances (halos around lights, etc)
- Blurred vision
- Reddening of the eye
- Tunnel vision in the advanced stages
In some cases, especially in open-angle glaucoma, it has no noticeable signs and symptoms. Patients may not notice loss of vision until the disease progresses.
Risk factors
Risk factors may include:
- Elevated intraocular pressure
- People over 60 years of age
- Ethnicity
- Family history of glaucoma
- Other medical conditions such as diabetes, history of high blood and other heart diseases
- Prolonged use of steroids
- High myopia (nearsightedness)
When to seek medical advice?
It is best to have your regular eye check-ups at least every 2 years if you are between 18-60 years old and once a year if you are 60 years old and above. Regular eye exams and ongoing eye care is the key to early detection and prevention especially if you are already experiencing different symptoms.
What are my options?
Eye drops
Glaucoma treatments starts with medications, usually doctors will recommend eye drops. Sometime they prescribe different eye drops; each of these may have local and systematic side effects. Patients should make sure that they follow the instructions given to them to sustain successful treatment plans.
Surgery
If eye medications are ineffective, your doctor might require you to undergo surgery. Conventional and laser surgeries are performed to treat glaucoma. But these surgeries are temporary and will not cure glaucoma. These will just help slow down and prevent further vision loss.
