How to Know if You Have Glaucoma
What Is It? Glaucoma Definition
Glaucoma isn't i thing. The term refers to a group of eye diseases that damage the optic nerve due to increased pressure within the heart. Glaucoma can cause serious vision problems including blindness, but it can often be prevented when it is detected early on enough.
What Is the Optic Nervus?
The optic nerve is the cord between your brain and eye. It is fabricated upwards of more than a million tiny nerve fibers. Without your brain, your eye is practically useless, as the brain reconfigures everything yous see, making sense out of the visual world. That's what makes this nerve and so important to your visual health; when this cord is damaged, your vision can be macerated.
If you or someone you know has glaucoma, the following slides can aid you in understanding the status, its treatments, and what steps yous should take while living with glaucoma. If y'all've never been diagnosed, learn who is most at take a chance of developing glaucoma and how it can be detected and prevented.
Causes of Glaucoma
Although at that place are multiple diseases that can cause glaucoma, most glaucoma causes stem from a failure to bleed fluid from your eye. Your optics are constantly making a fluid called aqueous humor. This fluid brings nourishment to your eye and keeps it inflated at a constant force per unit area.
Because you are constantly making more aqueous humor, the old fluid has to be tuckered constantly as well. The eye's drainpipe is known as the drainage angle. If your eye isn't draining properly, the pressure within your eye increases. This damages your optic nerve, killing off some of the tiny nerve fibers it is made of and leaving you lot with bullheaded spots.
Glaucoma Chance Factors
Some people stand a greater risk of developing glaucoma than others. You stand a higher risk of developing glaucoma if you belong to any of the following groups:
- People with diabetes
- African Americans over historic period 40
- All people over historic period 60
- People with a family history of glaucoma
The risk is highest for African Americans, who are half-dozen to viii times more likely than whites of developing glaucoma. People with diabetes are twice as likely equally those without diabetes of developing the condition.
Open-Angle Glaucoma
The vast majority of glaucoma cases are open-angle glaucoma. At to the lowest degree nine out of 10 glaucoma patients endure from this disease. It is sometimes known as chronic glaucoma or principal glaucoma. Nearly 3 million Americans endure from open-bending glaucoma.
The "open up-angle" role refers to the angle between the iris and the cornea, which is where fluid drains from your middle. This surface area is open wide, as it should be. Despite this, the centre drains slowly, which can atomic number 82 to as well much center pressure and potential incomprehension.
People with open-angle glaucoma need to carefully control their claret force per unit area. High claret pressure level can contribute to optic fiber nerve harm, so working with your doc to continue your blood pressure inside a good for you range is vital to your visual health.
Angle-Closure Glaucoma
Sometimes the bending between the iris and cornea is blocked by the iris. This causes angle-closure glaucoma. When the angle is blocked, fluid cannot leave the eye every bit it ordinarily does, which leads to eye pressure bug and potential incomprehension like all glaucoma types. Angle-closure glaucoma tends to be inherited. Nearly one-half a million people in the The states take this condition. People of Asian descent and near-sighted people are almost probable to be affected past information technology.
Angle-closure glaucoma tin can come on suddenly (acute) or slowly over time (chronic). When it is acute, this condition tin can be extremely painful equally the pressure in the eye rises suddenly. Symptoms of acute angle-closure glaucoma include:
- Seeing halos around light
- Red eyes
- Nausea
- Clouded vision
Immediate medical treatment is necessary if you experience these symptoms. With quick treatment, complete recovery is typical.
Normal-Tension Glaucoma (NTG)
In this blazon of glaucoma, the optic nervus is damaged despite most-normal eye pressure. As well known every bit low-tension or normal-pressure glaucoma, NTG is more common in people of Japanese heritage, those with a family unit history of the disease, and those who have an irregular heartbeat or a history of systemic heart affliction.
The causes of NTG remain a mystery. Your heart doctor tin observe it by looking at the optic nerve. If the nerve is not its normal healthy pinkish color, or if it is cupped, this may indicate NTG. Doctors may likewise use a field of vision test to search for loss of sight.
Built Glaucoma (Childhood Glaucoma)
Sometimes children are born with glaucoma. That's truthful in the instance of this illness, also known as pediatric or infantile glaucoma. In some cases, congenital glaucoma is inherited.
Oftentimes children with this disease are diagnosed inside the start year of their lives. Symptoms include:
- Unusually large eyes
- Cloudy corneas
- Excessive tears
- Sensitivity to low-cal (photosensitivity)
Surgery tin can correct this problem in many cases. Sometimes, medication in addition to surgery is necessary. Encouraging the kid to participate in self-care through oral medications and center drops tin help preserve his or her vision into the time to come.
Glaucoma Symptoms
One of the almost frightening things about glaucoma is that it frequently comes without early on symptoms. That's why it's sometimes chosen the "silent thief of sight." Before you're aware yous have a problem, yous may already have irreversible heart damage. Of the estimated 3 meg Americans with glaucoma, about half don't fifty-fifty know they have it. The number of undiagnosed glaucoma sufferers is even higher in certain populations. As many as 75% of Latinos with glaucoma do not know they accept the condition. That's a scary fact, considering glaucoma is one of the leading causes of incomprehension in the U.S.
Though most glaucoma cases begin with no symptoms, signs of the condition can develop over fourth dimension. Vision loss from glaucoma starts around the edges of your vision. It can be similar looking into a tunnel. This vision slowly goes away until the sufferer begins to miss objects out of the corners of their eyes. Eventually your fundamental vision decreases as well, ultimately leading to blindness if untreated. Since glaucoma usually begins with no symptoms, regular testing is crucial. Early on detection is key to preserving your eyesight.
How Is Glaucoma Tested?
Since glaucoma begins without symptoms, you need to get your eyes checked regularly. Centre doctors accept a variety of ways to diagnose glaucoma. Some of these tests require your eyes to be numbed first.
Your heart force per unit area can be directly measured with a device called a tonometer. This is a quick and painless test. The pachymeter measures how thick your cornea is. That'due south important because sparse corneas tin help predict glaucoma. Using other devices your doctor will desire to examine your peripheral vision and your optical nerve itself. Another device called a gonioscope can examine your drainage bending directly.
Glaucoma Medications
After being diagnosed with glaucoma, you need to take your medication regularly and precisely to preserve your vision. Some of these medications have side effects, merely many patients feel none of these. Equally with any new medicine yous should let your dr. know all the other medications you lot may be taking earlier you brainstorm your treatment.
Middle Drops
Most glaucoma patients volition be treated with centre drops. Eye drops prescribed by a doctor tin can maintain fifty-fifty pressure inside your middle. While there are several types of glaucoma eye drops, all of them take the potential to irritate your eye depending on your sensitivity. You may demand to switch medications depending on side furnishings, so work with your doctor to find the right fit for you.
Pills
A broad diverseness of pills are used to treat glaucoma. Some of these medications crusade your eyes to produce less fluid. Others increase drainage of eye fluid. A scattering of others do both. These medicines have a wide range of side effects and interactions with other medications, then letting your doctor know what drugs you already have is important.
Tips for Applying Glaucoma Heart Drops
To give yourself the best gamble at avoiding vision issues with glaucoma, you need to use your eye drops properly and consistently. Doing information technology right tin can mean the difference between a life of clear vision and 1 of increasing vision issues that tin result in incomprehension. Hither are some tips to help you lot preserve your eyesight with heart drops:
- Launder your hands showtime, and keep the eye dropper clean. You don't want to accidentally infect your optics! For the aforementioned reason, avert touching your eyes with the tip of the dropper.
- Some medications require more than one drop in a session. If that's truthful, look five minutes earlier adding a 2nd driblet. This gives your eyes time to absorb the medicine.
- After adding a drop, keep your optics shut for three minutes and don't blink.
- If yous find that your drops drain into your pharynx, gently press your finger or thumb confronting the inside corner of your closed center for two or iii minutes.
- If you lot notice it hard to keep your easily steady, a lightweight wrist weight from a sporting appurtenances store can be worn to prevent shaking.
Laser Surgery for Glaucoma
Light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation surgery is normally the first surgical option used for glaucoma patients. Using a highly focused light beam, a tiny hole is burned into your eye tissue to allow fluid to bleed more freely. This is an outpatient process, and patients are usually able to resume their normal activity the adjacent twenty-four hours. Typically, only one eye is operated on at a time.
There are various forms of laser surgery used for glaucoma patients depending on the cause of your condition and its severity. The nigh mutual forms are selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT), argon laser trabeculoplasty (ALT), laser peripheral iridotomy (LPI), and laser cyclophotocoagulation.
Y'all may see flashes of red or dark-green lite during the surgery. Later surgery, you may take inflammation or other side effects. You volition be sent home with anti-inflammatory eye drops, and will demand to schedule a follow-up visit for further monitoring. While laser surgery has proven successful, its effects are temporary in some cases and may require further surgery over time.
Traditional Glaucoma Surgery
Sometimes medicine and light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation surgery are not enough. In these cases, doctors turn to conventional surgery for glaucoma. This type of surgery lowers middle pressure level about 60% to 80% of the time, and may require boosted surgery depending on effectiveness. It'due south most constructive if you have non had other forms of eye surgery such every bit cataract removal.
About half the time patients don't demand their usual glaucoma medications for a significant amount of time following surgery. For those who do keep their medications, about 30% to forty% have better control of their eye pressure level.
Afterward you've had the surgery, y'all will be given a dissimilar kind of heart drop that helps fight off infections. You volition need to limit some activities for two weeks to a month after surgery, including reading, driving, bending, and lifting heavy objects.
Lowering Glaucoma Risk
There is no way to forestall glaucoma yet, but at that place are ways to reduce your run a risk of developing it. To give yous the best chances of avoiding this condition, here are ways to lower your take a chance of glaucoma:
- If you're overweight, lose weight. If you're at a salubrious weight, maintain that weight.
- Keep your blood pressure under command.
- Stay agile. Get plenty of practice. Simply talk to your physician most what exercises are about beneficial to regulating your centre pressure. Some forms of weight-lifting, for case, can increase center pressure.
- Don't fume.
- Go plenty of leafy green vegetables into your nutrition. These accept nutrients that provide special protection for your optics. Eat nuts and other foods with plenty of vitamin East, which preserves nervus cells.
- Don't drink too much at a time. Drinking a quart or more liquid in less than 20 minutes has been shown to contribute to your risk of developing glaucoma.
- If you spend a lot of time in front of a computer screen, remember to take frequent breaks. Fifty-fifty a few seconds away from the screen tin can be plenty to avoid eye strain.
Managing Glaucoma
If you've been diagnosed with glaucoma, you will desire to do everything you can to preserve your vision. Much of that comes downwards to setting and keeping appointments with your eye doctor, equally well as taking your medications properly and consistently. While this communication applies to anyone diagnosed with glaucoma, you may want to have extra steps if you've already experienced some loss of vision.
Fortunately, many products and resource are bachelor for those who suffer from low vision. Depending on your needs and your disability, you may find magnifying spectacles, text enlargers, or colored lenses useful. Glare tin can be particularly troublesome for glaucoma sufferers, and so finding ways to reduce glare tin really pay off. Ane fashion to do that is to utilise tinted lenses. Some other is to direct your light source from behind your shoulder when you're reading or doing other activities that require close examination.
Driving With Glaucoma
Most people with glaucoma can still drive safely. Of course, it depends on how advanced your vision loss has become. Go along in mind that in the initial stages of glaucoma vision loss, your peripheral vision is impaired. That can crusade y'all to miss important details on the route, including other cars and pedestrians, as they enter your field of vision.
If y'all're concerned about driving with glaucoma, talk to your heart doctor. At that place are glaucoma specialists who can appraise your driving ability with both on-road and off-road tests. These specialists can give yous driving tips tailor-made to arrange your circumstances.
If you lot have to surrender driving, in that location are still ways to maintain your independence. You lot can share rides with friends and family, larn bus, train, or subway routes, or call for a ride from a taxi or ridesharing plan.
Questions for Your Doctor
If you or a loved-one has been diagnosed with glaucoma, yous probably want to know more than most the condition and what steps should be taken next. It's a smart idea to come set up with a list of questions. You may want to inquire some of these:
- How will my vision be affected now and in the future?
- Should I change anything about my lifestyle?
- Are there any threatening symptoms I should watch out for?
- How tin I treat glaucoma?
- Should I avoid any medications, foods, or activities?
- What testing will I need?
- When will I hear dorsum about my tests?
- Volition I demand more than tests as time goes on?
Make certain to proceed request questions until you understand what y'all demand to know. Take notes. It may exist useful to have your medico write downwards whatsoever instructions he or she may have for you.
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REFERENCES:
- American Academy of Ophthalmology: "Aqueous Humor," "Causes of Glaucoma."
- CDC: "Don't let glaucoma steal your sight!"
- City of New York: "Guard your vision from glaucoma, the 'silent thief' of sight."
- The Glaucoma Foundation: "Bending-closure glaucoma," "Treating glaucoma."
- Glaucoma Research Foundation: "Eye drib tips," "Glaucoma medications and their side effects," "Laser surgery," "Types of glaucoma."
- International Glaucoma Association: "Master angle closure (astute) glaucoma."
- NIH: "Facts About Glaucoma."
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Source: https://www.onhealth.com/content/1/treatment_glaucoma_symptoms_definition
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