One of the leading causes of blindness is glaucoma, a condition defined as damage to the optic nerve cells. Because glaucoma has no noticeable symptoms, early diagnosis and successful treatment of glaucoma require regular exams and glaucoma test results. Glaucoma progresses gradually. It can cause irreversible damage to the optic nerve that could lead to vision loss or trouble doing
How Do I Know if I’m at Risk for Glaucoma? Whether you’re aware of it or not, you use your full range of senses to interact with the world and each contributes to the richness of your life experience. However, sight is the sense that most people rely on the most. According to a 2014 report by the Association for
Glaucoma effects anywhere between 2 to 3 million Americans and is the second leading cause of blindness, just behind cataracts. It’s suspected that more than 3 million Americans have glaucoma with a great number of those people going undiagnosed. Glaucoma is a group of complex diseases, which in most cases are caused when there is an increase in liquid production.
From John Milton to Whoopi Goldberg to Claude Monet, eye diseases affect people of all professions, backgrounds, and social statuses. The older you get, the more likely it is that you will have vision problems. That reality is why people must watch out for eye diseases and respond immediately. One of the most common conditions to affect the eyes is
Neil Atodaria, MD What is glaucoma? Glaucoma is a term used to describe a group of eye conditions in which the optic nerve is damaged due to an increase in pressure within the eye. While glaucoma is treatable, there is no cure. Why is it important to be aware of glaucoma? The permanent vision loss associated with glaucoma can develop
Glaucoma is a disease defined as optic nerve damage. The primary cause of this nerve damage is elevated pressure inside the eye (intraocular pressure). Damage to the optic nerve can lead to progressive sight loss over the course of a patient’s life. Over the past several decades in the United States, the use of surgery as a stand-alone procedure for
What is Glaucoma? Glaucoma represents a number of disease states all of which are defined by death of optic nerve cells. The most common cause of optic nerve cell death is elevated eye pressure. However, nearly 25% of patients diagnosed with glaucoma do not show evidence of elevated eye pressure. How do you test for Glaucoma? Accurately diagnosing glaucoma involves
Simply measuring eye pressure does not guarantee a correct diagnosis of glaucoma. As we have stated, glaucoma is defined as damage to the optic nerve. Damage to the optic nerve initially leads to loss of peripheral vision. If the disease is allowed to progress, patients ultimately suffer loss of central vision. In general, damage to the optic does not cause
What are the most common risk factors for glaucoma? RACE: African Americans are at least 4 times more likely to develop glaucoma than caucasians. DIABETES: Diabetics are more likely than non-diabetics to develop glaucoma. MYOPIA: Nearsighted people are more likely to develop glaucoma. AGE: People older than 65 are more likely than those under 65 to develop glaucoma. FAMILY HISTORY:
To understand glaucoma, we must think of the eye as a sink. The eye has a faucet and a drain. This faucet produces a clear, water-like fluid called aqueous humor. Aqueous humor is necessary to keep the eye formed and nourished. The aqueous fluid is similar in appearance and consistency to cerebrospinal (spinal) fluid. In healthy eyes, the drain removes