What is glaucoma?
Far too often, sight is taken as a given, rather than as a privilege. What if your vision started to gradually fade away and you didn’t even notice until the damage was already done? This is what a case of glaucoma looks like. This eye condition is known as the “silent thief of sight” because it slowly damages your eyesight without any signs or symptoms. So, by the time you’re diagnosed, the damage is irreparable and your vision loss is irreversible. Take a moment to open your eyes to glaucoma, understand its prevalence, recognize your risk, and know that symptoms rarely appear right before your eyes. Then, you can focus on the most effective treatment options to protect your gift of sight.
Take a closer look at glaucoma
There’s more to glaucoma than meets the eye. Glaucoma is an eye disease that damages the eye’s optic nerve, which sends visual images from the eye to the brain. The condition occurs when pressure builds up in the eye, damaging the delicate optic nerve. See, the eye is filled with a clear liquid known as aqueous humor. Your eye is constantly making more of this liquid, with the old fluid draining out as the new fluid comes in. This steady flow of fluid keeps the pressure in your eye stable. However, with glaucoma, the old fluid doesn’t drain out as quickly as it’s produced, which increases the fluid and the pressure in the eye and leads to permanent damage of the optic nerve. As this nerve deteriorates, the disease can eventually cause vision loss and blindness if left untreated. The two main types of the disease are open-angle glaucoma and angle-closure glaucoma. Open angle cases, where the pressure builds up slowly, are more common and slowly weaken your vision. Angle-closure glaucoma, where the pressure builds up quickly, is considered a medical emergency that demands immediate treatment to avoid sudden blindness.
How often glaucoma appears
Look around and you’re likely to see someone with glaucoma. This is because recent research shows that more than 60 million people around the world have glaucoma, including more than four million people in the United States alone. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness throughout the world.
Are you at risk for glaucoma?
Anyone can develop glaucoma, but certain factors can raise your personal risk. You have a higher risk of glaucoma if you:
- Are over age 60
- Of Latino or Hispanic heritage
- Of African American descent and over age 40
- Are nearsighted or farsighted
- Are female
- Are related to someone with glaucoma
- Have a history of high eye pressure
- Have experienced an eye injury in the past
Watch for glaucoma symptoms
Glaucoma is a disease that you rarely see coming. It typically has few uncomfortable warning signs other than very gradual vision loss, which most people attribute to age, stress, or strain. No wonder nearly half of all people with glaucoma don’t even know that they have it. As a result, by the time that most people notice any loss of vision, the disease has already progressed to an advanced stage. With open-angle glaucoma, there typically aren’t any symptoms or signs of vision loss for several years. But with angle-closure glaucoma, painful symptoms come on suddenly and require immediate medical attention. Contact your SignatureMD-affiliated doctor immediately if you notice any vision loss in general, but especially if you experience any of the following symptoms of angle-closure glaucoma:
- Sudden vision loss
- Blurry or fuzzy vision
- Severe pain around the eyes and head
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Appearance of bright lights or circles
Get a glimpse of glaucoma treatments
Fortunately, glaucoma relief is in sight. As with many diseases, early treatment can slow or completely stop the progression of the disease. Since glaucoma rarely displays any symptoms until the disease has reached an advanced stage, regular eye exams are a must. If you’re diagnosed with glaucoma, there are several treatment options, including:
- Medications – prescription eye drops can lower the pressure in your eye and protect the optic nerve from damage.
- Laser treatments – lasers can be used to lower your eye pressure, which can help drain the fluid from your eye.
- Surgery – if medicines and lasers aren’t effective, surgery may be recommended to improve the drainage of fluid from your eye.
Now that you have a clearer view of glaucoma, you’ll be able to protect your sight, so glaucoma doesn’t blindside you.