Danville Regional Health System - Advantage Plus for Seniors

Keep an Eye Out for Glaucoma
from Active & Healthy magazine, Spring, 2001

In the beginning, you don't notice any symptoms. In time, though, your peripheral vision gradually worsens. Your field of vision eventually narrows so much that you seem to be looking through a tunnel. Because the signs appear so gradually, you don't realize you have developed glaucoma.

Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that affect millions of Americans. The diseases cause damage to the optic nerve and shrink the boundaries of what we can see. If left untreated, glaucoma can cause irreversible damage. In fact, glaucoma is the most common cause of irreversible blindness in the world.

PRESSURE BUILDUP

In glaucoma, the eye's drainage canals stop working properly. This causes fluid pressure to build up. If the pressure stays too high for too long, the optic nerve becomes damaged.

The main types of glaucoma are closed-angle glaucoma and open-angle glaucoma. In closed-angle glaucoma, the fluid does not drain at all, causing a sudden increase in pressure. Symptoms include extreme eye pain, nausea, blurred vision, and eye redness. This is a medical emergency. Without treatment, the sufferer can become blind in one or two days.

Open-angle glaucoma accounts for about 90% of all cases. In this form of glaucoma, the fluid drains too slowly. The early stages cause practically no symptoms. As the disease progresses, any vision changes usually affect the peripheral vision. Without treatment, the field of vision continues narrowing, eventually resulting in total blindness.

ARE YOU AT RISK?

Glaucoma can affect people of all ages, but some people are at higher risk that others:

Everyone older than age 60

African-Americans older than age 40

Those with a family history of the disease

People with diabetes or high blood pressure

Experts advise people with a high risk for glaucoma to have an eye examination every two years. But, you should talk to your own doctor about when to begin screening.

EARLY TREATMENT IS KEY

Regular eye exams will not keep you from getting glaucoma. There is no cure for the disease. But early detection and treatment, before major vision loss has occurred, is the best way to control the disease. Once diagnosed, treatment is ongoing and lifelong.

Medications, including pills and eye drops, can reduce eye pressure and help preserve sight. Laser surgery has also been successful in controlling eye pressure. Conventional surgery, in which a new opening is created for fluid drainage, also may be recommended.

People with glaucoma should talk to their doctor about the best course of treatment.