Can Glaucoma Be Prevented?
Glaucoma is a group of diseases that affect the eye. Glaucoma can lead to blindness and vision loss if damage occurs to the optic nerve, the nerve in the back of the eye. Although glaucoma cannot be entirely cured or prevented, there are ways to detect the condition early, preventing more severe effects from occurring. Symptoms of glaucoma may begin slowly without you realizing it. To keep track of your eye health, take part in yearly eye exams.
Forms of glaucoma prevention include receiving eye exams yearly to determine the status of the eye. Exams may consist of dilating the eyes to get a more well-rounded, comprehensive view of the eye. Despite the lack of a cure, early treatment of glaucoma can often protect your vision and stop damage to the eye from becoming severe.
How Glaucoma Is Diagnosed?
Although sometimes it is not known why or how glaucoma develops, many who suffer from the condition experience high eye pressure requiring treatments that lower eye pressure, helping to slow the disease. By attending an appointment with an eye doctor, you can learn more about glaucoma and ways to prevent it from affecting your vision.
When you receive a dilated eye exam, doctors can see the eyes more clearly, determine the condition of the eye, and see if any signs of glaucoma are present. While some may experience glaucoma in only one eye, others can have it affect both eyes.
Treatment Options for Glaucoma
According to the National Eye Institute, doctors use a variety of treatment options for glaucoma. Some of these treatments include:
Laser treatment: Lasers can help drain fluid from the eyes, lowering eye pressure.
Medication: One of the most common forms of treatment is the use of prescription eye drops. The eye drops can prevent damage to the optic nerve and lower eye pressure.
Surgery: If the above two options do not work, surgery may be suggested
In addition to the above, you can help the success of treatment by:
Informing your doctor of any side effects from medications
Taking medication as prescribed
Attending regularly scheduled check-ups with an eye doctor
Asking your doctor if vision rehabilitation services are available
With these treatment options, damage to the eye caused by glaucoma can be lessened, preventing symptom severity.
Glaucoma Symptoms and Types
To better understand glaucoma and how to prevent it, the symptoms of the disease should be known. Some of the symptoms an individual can experience when suffering from glaucoma include the following:
Slow loss of peripheral vision
Pressure behind one or both eyes
Headaches
Tunnel vision
Increase in floaters
Severe eye pain
Nausea or vomiting
Rainbow-colored halos around lights
Blurred vision
Seeing flashing lights
Red eyes
Dry eyes
Double vision
Development of blind spots in the eye
Bulging eyeballs
Sudden vision loss
Any of the above symptoms can develop in those suffering from glaucoma. Additionally, there are four types of glaucoma known as:
Primary open-angle glaucoma: The drainage angle is open wide, leading to drainage from the eye.
Primary angle-closure glaucoma: Fluid is prevented from flowing to the posterior chamber behind the iris due to the lens of the eye pressing too far forward.
Congenital glaucoma: This type of glaucoma develops during fetal development.
Secondary glaucoma: If glaucoma is diagnosed due to an eye injury or a separate disease, it is considered secondary glaucoma.
Contact your eye doctor and schedule a routine appointment.
Find Help Today
At Aloha Eye, we understand the importance of vision and how significant the eyes are to daily living. This is why we want to help keep your eyes as healthy as possible.
Consider scheduling a consultation with our eye care clinic. We offer laser surgery and can provide you with helpful tips to relieve pain and prevent glaucoma from continuing to develop.