According to a survey, more than 2.7 million people in America suffer from glaucoma. It is the second leading cause of blindness. Earlier, people ages 40-60 were getting affected by glaucoma, but now you can find this problem in babies and children. To avoid the risk of this blindness, you must consult the eye doctor for eye tests. Your doctor has some special lenses to check your corneas from their depth and they can prescribe few eyes drops at the early stage of glaucoma. These drops can dilate or widen your pupil.
Glaucoma is a condition that damages the optic nerve of your eye. This condition gets worse day by day. It is linked with the pressure built-up in the eye. Glaucoma also runs hereditarily, and you generally do not get it until later in life.
The pressure that is increased inside your eye is known as intraocular pressure. It can also damage the optic nerve. The optic nerve is responsible for sending the images to our brain. Glaucoma might cause blindness for a few years or permanent vision loss if the damage gets worse.
Most people with Glaucoma don’t possess any early pain or symptoms. You can also visit the eye doctor periodically so that doctors can treat and diagnose Glaucoma.
If anybody loses their vision, then it cannot be brought back. But if the eye’s pressure is lowered, it might help protect from vision loss. Most people tend to follow a treatment plan and take regular exams to protect their vision.
You should not want any symptoms and you should consult your eye doctor to detect the early stage of glaucoma. It can develop in your eyes slowly and your vision can get affected over time. It can damage the optic nerves of your eye. These optic nerves are the data cable of your eyes, which transfer the visual information to your brain and this disease can damage the cells of these nerves. Once your optic nerves are damaged, you cannot restore them with medication. So, it is better to consult a doctor in this regard and get proper medication at the early stage itself.
Apart from the above things, eye pressure is a major cause of this disease. You need to work in front of a computer for hours and it will create some stress on your eyes. You need to use a tonometer to measure your eye pressure and you can consult a doctor to measure this pressure. Doctors can suggest some medication to reduce your eye pressure and they can prescribe few eyes drops in this regard.
What Causes Glaucoma?
Fluid in your eye is known as aqueous humor, and it usually flows out of the eye through a mesh channel. When the channel gets blocked, the eye produces fluid, which builds up in the eye. However, there are some cases where experts might not know the reason for the blockage.
The common causes of Glaucoma include chemical or blunt injury, eye infection, blockage of blood vessels, and inflammatory conditions. It is scarce, but eye plastic surgery can help to rectify the conditions. It generally affects both eyes, and it might get worse in specific eyes.
Aqueous humor is a fluid that flows out of your eyes through a channel and if this channel gets blocked that your eyes will start producing more fluids. There will be no specific causes of this blockage and it can be inherited that pass from your parents to your children. Apart from that, you can also suffer from these diseases due to chemical injury or severe eye infections, and such infections can block the blood nerves of your eyes. If you suffer from eye inflation, then you must consult a doctor to get rid of such issues.
Glaucoma Risk Factors
Glaucoma affects mainly the adults above 40, but infants and children, and adults below 40 might have it. There are higher chances of getting Glaucoma if you: –
- Over 40
- Have any glaucoma history in your family
- Are farsighted or near-sighted
- Have poor vision
- Have diabetes
- Take some medications like prednisone
- Have injury in the eyes
- Have diabetes, sickle cell, heart disease, blood pressure
- Thinner cornea than usual
- High pressure
Types
There are two types of glaucoma, open-angle, and angle-closed glaucoma. Open-angle or wide-angle is the most common type of glaucoma. In this case, fluids cannot flow out from your eyes, and it will damage the structure of your eyes.
Angle-closure or narrow-angle glaucoma is mostly seen in Asia as acute or chronic glaucoma. In this case, the space between your iris and cornea becomes narrow and you can suffer from acute eye pressure. You can get affected by farsightedness and cataracts.
Angle-Closure Glaucoma:
The doctor might even call it chronic or acute angle or narrow-angle. The eye does not drain like it must because there might be space in between the cornea and the iris becomes narrow. It might cause a sudden build-up of the pressure in the eye. It is also linked to cataracts and farsightedness, and the clouding of the lens in the eye.
Open-Angle Glaucoma:
This type of Glaucoma is the most common one. The doctors might call it wide-angle. In this type, the drain structure of the eye might look fine, but the fluid might not flow as it should be.
Types That Are Less Common:
Secondary Glaucoma:
This is another condition such as diabetes or cataracts that might cause extra pressure on the eye.
Pigmentary Glaucoma:
With the form, the tiny pigment bits from the iris, which is a colored part of the eye, get into the eye’s fluid and get clog into drainage canals.
Normal-Tension:
It happens when the optic nerve or the blind spot of the vision gets damaged, but the pressure of your eye is in the average range. Few experts say that it is the form of open-angle glaucoma.
Conclusion
The glaucoma diagnosis might get scary. Older people deal with various problems which come with their age. Older people mostly think that they become a burden for their family, and if they tend to lose vision, they might become useless as well. That’s why you should reassure your parents that most people can protect their vision with the proper care and medication.
Apart from that, you can also suffer from different types of glaucoma such as secondary, normal-tension, or pigmentary glaucoma. In the case of pigmentary glaucoma, your eye color is changed, and if you have diabetics then you can suffer from secondary glaucoma. In the case of normal-tension glaucoma, you will have some blind spots and your optic nerves will be damaged.
Treatment
At the early stage of this disease, the doctor will prescribe a few eye drops to reduce eye pressure. There are some side effects of such eye drops such as allergies, redness, and irritation in the eyes and such drops can also affect your heart and lungs. A doctor can also prescribe some oral medication. But if you suffer from open-angle glaucoma then you have to go for laser surgery.
So, consult your doctor to save your eyes and you can search for the best eye clinic online.