Symptoms of Glaucoma
Seeing halos around lights. Vision loss. Eye redness. Whitening/haziness of the cornea.
Anyone can get glaucoma, but certain groups are at higher risk. These groups include African Americans over age 40, all people over age 60, people with a family history of glaucoma, and people who have diabetes.
In eyes with IOP in the normal range, some neurophthalmological disorders can mimic and be misdiagnosed as glaucoma. Among them, isquemic and compressive optic neuropathies were the most common conditions whose fundoscopic appearance resembled glaucomatous optic neuropathy.
Researchers have found that immediately treating people who have early stage glaucoma can delay progression of the disease. This finding supports the medical community's emerging consensus that treatment to lower pressure inside the eye can slow glaucoma damage and subsequent vision loss.
If undetected and untreated, glaucoma first causes peripheral vision loss and eventually can lead to blindness. By the time you notice vision loss from glaucoma, it's too late.
Glaucoma is a slowly progressing problem. On an average, untreated Glaucoma takes around 10-15 years to advance from early damage to total blindness. With an IOP (Intraocular Pressure) of 21-25 mmHg it takes 15 yrs to progress, an IOP of 25-30 mmHg around seven years and pressure more than 30 mmHg takes three years.
Glaucoma is a chronic, progressive eye disease caused by damage to the optic nerve, which leads to visual field loss. One of the major risk factors is eye pressure. An abnormality in the eye's drainage system can cause fluid to build up, leading to excessive pressure that causes damage to the optic nerve.
In assessing your glaucoma, the ophthalmologist will dilate your eyes so that he or she can get a magnified, 3D view of your optic nerve. This helps to determine the status of your optic nerves and glaucoma. He or she will assess the shape, color, depth, size, and vessels of the optic nerve.
Eye doctors can check for glaucoma as part of a comprehensive dilated eye exam. The exam is simple and painless — your doctor will give you some eye drops to dilate (widen) your pupil and then check your eyes for glaucoma and other eye problems. The exam includes a visual field test to check your side vision.
Hazy or blurred vision: Distorted or blurry vision accompanied by other symptoms. Eye pain: Severe pain around your eyes & head. Eye redness: Red eyes caused by increased eye pressure. Colored halos around lights: Colored bright circles forming around light sources.
stages: stage 0 (normal visual field), stage I (early), stage II (moderate), stage III (advanced), stage IV (severe), and stage V (end-stage).
This approach encompasses 5 rules: evaluation of optic disc size, neuroretinal rim size and shape, retinal nerve fiber layer, presence of parapapillary atrophy, and presence of retinal or optic disc hemorrhages.
Many patients with glaucoma suffer from reduced contrast and difficulty adjusting between light and dark settings. Using sunglasses or transition lenses in bright conditions can sometimes help with these adjustments.
Drinking a quart of water in less than five minutes has been shown to increase intraocular pressure; instead, advise your patients to drink small amounts of water often to stay hydrated.
Even with treatment ,15% to 20% of patients become blind in at least one eye in 15 to 20 years of follow-up. In a recent study, Peters et al. found that at the last visit before death, 42.2% of treated patients were blind unilaterally and 16.4% bilaterally.
Absolutely. The aim of treating patients with glaucoma is for them to be able to maintain their quality of life and live as normally as possible. Patients with glaucoma have a normal life expectancy and, with treatment, can carry out activities as they did before diagnosis.
Some of the newer medications on the market are eye drops called VYZULTA (latanoprostene bunod ophthalmic solution) and Rhopressa (netarsudil ophthalmic solution). VYZULTA is a modification of a current class of medications currently used to treat glaucoma – the prostaglandin analogs.
Many people assume that 'using your eyes' can worsen your glaucoma. Reading, watching TV or using your phone or computer does not have any impact on your glaucoma.
Research has shown that regular exercise may lower intraocular pressure (IOP) in glaucoma patients. It does not have to be rigorous exercise to have a beneficial effect, but rather a brisk walk every other day for 20 to 30 minutes.
High trans fats have been proven to cause damage to the optic nerve. Time to cut out fried foods, baked goods and any product with an ingredient list that includes hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils. Saturated foods that include red meat, beef, lard, shortening and oils can also worsen glaucoma.