Page contents
- what is glaucoma
- symptoms
- Causes and risk factors
- Multiples
- Diagnosis
- treatment
- protection
Glaucoma or glaucoma is a general name for a group of eye diseases that affect the optic nerve, which is responsible for transmitting information from the eye to the brain, located in the back of the eye where injury to this nerve can lead to loss of vision.
At first, a person suffering from glaucoma feels a diminished field of vision at the edges of the eye, and if glaucoma is not treated, the loss of vision may worsen gradually, which may lead to complete loss of vision over time.
There are three types of glaucoma:
- Wide - angle glaucoma / Open - angle glaucoma.
- Narrow - angle glaucoma or closed-angle glaucoma.
- Congenital glaucoma.
glaucoma symptoms
If someone has open-angle glaucoma, loss of vision is likely to be the only symptom they will have. One may not notice this before open-angle glaucoma worsens and vision loss becomes serious, because the unaffected eye compensates for the affected eye, in the early stages of open-angle glaucoma. Peripheral vision (the ability to see things that are not directly in front of the eye) is often damaged before central vision (the vision resulting from light rays falling directly on the central vision).
Symptoms of open-angle glaucoma are mild symptoms such as slightly blurred vision from time to time and for a short period of time, but the more severe symptoms that indicate narrow-angle glaucoma are those that include blurred vision for longer periods of time, pain around the eye and seeing some halos around points Strong light, red eyes, nausea and vomiting.
The symptoms of congenital glaucoma usually include cloudy eyes and hypersensitivity to light, and children may have other additional symptoms such as persistent itching, squinting or closing the eyes most of the time.
Glaucoma causes and risk factors
Damage to the optic nerve is generally caused by intense pressure inside the eye, this can happen when there is an excess of fluid accumulated inside the eye, either because the eye itself produces an excess of fluid or because there is a problem with the drainage of fluid produced by the eye, however There are cases in which glaucoma occurs and is not caused by high pressure inside the eye, in these cases it is not possible to identify and determine the cause of the glaucoma.
Glaucoma may also occur as a result of an eye injury, eye surgery or a cancerous tumor in the eye, and there are some medications such as corticosteroids that are used to treat various other diseases that may lead to glaucoma.
glaucoma complications
Complications include the following:
- Chronic corneal edema.
- Loss of central or side vision.
- Vision loss or changes in vision.
glaucoma diagnosis
The attending physician will ask the patient questions about their symptoms and then perform a comprehensive physical examination. If the doctor suspects that a person has glaucoma, he will be directed to an eye doctor's examination to complete the examinations.
An ophthalmologist or optometrist can diagnose and treat glaucoma, but an optometrist is not qualified and not authorized to diagnose and treat glaucoma.
If anyone notices the appearance of black spots in his field of vision, or vision problems and difficulties that persist for a long time and get worse and worse, he should consult a doctor immediately to clarify the matter. The doctor should also be consulted if the person knows about previous injuries in members of his family, any family history With open-angle glaucoma, if he's 70 and over or if he has diabetes.
glaucoma treatment
In most cases, glaucoma is treated with medications such as eye drops. The use of drops on a daily and consistent basis must be emphasized in order to achieve their effectiveness as expected, and medication may need to be taken for life. Even more, it may require laser treatment or surgical treatment.
For the elderly, the treatment will not be able to restore the vision they have lost, but it can help them maintain the status quo. The treatment is intended to stop the process of destroying the optic nerve by reducing the pressure inside the eye.
A person obtaining the results of the diagnosis that proves that he has glaucoma may have a severe psychological impact, especially since he may have lost more of his ability to see in the meantime. While maintaining a normal quality of life.
He can use different glasses such as glasses to magnify printed letters or glasses to watch TV, etc. All of these are means that can help in the face of glaucoma.
Glaucoma prevention
It can be prevented by the following:
- Get regular eye exams for dilated eyes.
- Learn about your family's eye health history.
- Take the prescribed eye drops regularly.
- Wear eye protection.
smilesإخفاء