Any type of activity that positions your head lower than your heart for prolonged periods of time should be avoided, as it could lead to a spike in intraocular pressure. This includes inverted yoga positions (and headstands) or using inversion tables.
Maintaining a healthy weight, controlling your blood pressure, being physically active, and avoiding smoking will help you avoid vision loss from glaucoma. These healthy behaviors will also help prevent type 2 diabetes and other chronic conditions.
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.
No strong evidence suggests excessive use of digital technology is a glaucoma risk factor. However, prolonged computer, tablet, cell phone, and other digital device use can lead to eye strain. It's becoming increasingly difficult to function without computers and other digital technology.
Sleeping with your head elevated may reduce your eye pressure at night and decrease your risk of glaucoma-related vision problems. Baseline eye pressure was measured prior to sleep, then at two-hour intervals during a sleep period lasting six hours.
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.
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.
Diets high in fruits such as have been shown to lower the risk of glaucoma development. The most discussed benefit is through antioxidants. As oxidative stress is associated with optic nerve injury, fruits high in antioxidants, such as pomegranate, acai berries, cranberries offer the most neuroprotection.
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.
Although these glasses and contacts are not available now, it is important that patients with glaucoma have proper eyewear. Use of glasses can provide protection for patients who may only have one functional eye. In these cases, polycarbonate lenses can offer more protection.
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.
Age. The major risk factor of primary open-angle glaucoma is age. As we get older, the drainage system no longer functions as well, and the eye pressure can gradually increase.
Most cases are caused by a build-up of pressure in the eye when fluid is unable to drain properly. This increase in pressure then damages the nerve that connects the eye to the brain (optic nerve).
Bananas, avocados, pumpkin seeds, and black beans are great sources to help you meet the recommended daily allowance of 300-400 magnesium. Though more research is needed, preliminary studies suggest that dietary magnesium may benefit people with glaucoma by improving blood flow to the eye.
Dark Chocolate
Even if your Dove bar doesn't sharpen your vision, the flavonoids found in dark chocolate may help improve vision in people with glaucoma as well as reduce the risk for macular degeneration.
Fluid drainage failure causes the high pressure. Your eyes constantly make a clear fluid called aqueous humor that flows in front of your eye and then drains out. Normally, an equal amount goes in and out. If the fluid doesn't leave your eye when it should, your IOP increases.
Stage 4 (End-Stage) Glaucoma – This occurs when there is little to no healthy eye tissue left, and vision is increasingly limited. While blindness during end-stage glaucoma isn't a certainty, the risk is significantly elevated when this stage is reached.
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.
Summary. Living with glaucoma does not necessarily mean giving up driving. Some drivers with glaucoma learn to scan the visual environment such that they are still safe drivers. However, it is important to have your driving assessed if you or your family and friends are concerned about your driving.
Fluid buildup, eye trauma, medications, and other eye conditions are all potential causes of an increase in eye pressure. Typically, one of the keys to reducing it is treating the root cause. It's important to remember that higher-than-normal pressure doesn't guarantee severe problems.
People with glaucoma also need to consider where they lay their heads when it's time for sleep. With the knowledge that IOP rises at night or whenever a person is prone, many doctors have advised their patients to sleep in an upright position.
Approximately 66 percent of the patients with normal-tension glaucoma preferred to sleep with the worse eye downward and 71 percent of the patients with high-tension glaucoma slept that way. The results don't prove that sleeping position accounts for worsening glaucoma on one side.