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Glaucoma
Glaucoma is one of the four leading causes of blindness in the United States defined as high pressure in the eye causing damage to the nerve of the eye, resulting in partial or total blindness. There are two major types of glaucoma:
- narrow angle glaucoma
- open angle glaucoma
Narrow Angle Glaucoma
What is narrow angle glaucoma?
Narrow angle glaucoma results from an anatomical abnormality of the eye. In a normal eye, fluid is produced in the back chamber of the eye. The fluid then flows to the front where it exits through tiny blood channels. (This fluid differs from the tears in the eye). In an eye with a narrow angle, the front of the eye is shallow which causes the fluid to build up in the back. Rapid build up of this fluid causes a narrow angle glaucoma attack.
Why is narrow angle glaucoma dangerous?
Glaucoma is one of the leading causes of blindness in the United States. Narrow angle glaucoma can cause sudden blindness in only one or two days. Furthermore, many people do not know they are at risk of having glaucoma and often confuse it with an infection.
Who's at risk of developing it?
Chinese and other Asians are at high risk. Other high risk groups include: people who are extremely farsighted, people over the age of 40 and people with dense cataracts. Those who have had an attack in one eye are also at high risk for developing glaucoma in the other eye.
What are the symptoms?
The symptoms include redness of the eye, blurred vision, and pain in the eye which occurs suddenly or over a few hours. This may be confused with an infection or corneal abrasion of the eye. When this occurs, you should immediately see an eye doctor because blindness can develop within a matter of hours.
How is it treated?
Once a person has an attack, the doctor must use a combination of eyedrops, medication, and laser treatment. If that is not successful, surgery may be required. Once an attack does occur, the longer the duration, the less successful the treatment. The best treatment is prevention. People who are at risk can be detected during routine eye examinations. If the person is at high risk, a laser treatment can be used to create a small opening between both the back and the front of the eye. This procedure is almost 100% successful. The complication rate for the laser treatment is close to zero.
Open Angle Glaucoma
What is open angle glaucoma?
It is the type of glaucoma where the fluid the eye produces (not the same as tears) cannot exit properly.
Why is open angle glaucoma dangerous?
It is a gradual disease with few symptoms. Peripheral vision deteriorates slowly over a period of years, so the decrease in vision goes unnoticed until it is too late. Once the vision is damaged, it can never be restored.
Who's at risk of developing it?
Older people, people with a family history of glaucoma, and diabetics are at high risk.
What are the symptoms?
Some symptoms include poor peripheral vision and haloes around lights. Normally however, there are few symptoms until the later stages, when blindness occurs. This is a disease that usually afflict adults. Therefore, an annual eye exam for people over the age of 40 is recommended.
How is it treated?
Eyedrops are usually sufficient. However in more advanced cases, pills, laser treatment and surgery may be required. It is also important to emphasize that any visual loss resulting from glaucoma is permanent and cannot be restored. Treatment can only be used to prevent further loss of vision. The best treatment is prevention. The disease can be discovered in a routine eye exam. If found in the early stages, damage can be prevented.
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