Glaucoma

Glaucoma is one of the leading causes of blindness in the United States. One half of the four million people with glaucoma in the United States are unaware of their condition. For this reason, during your comprehensive eye exam, additional glaucoma tests might be done. Glaucoma is a slowly progressive deterioration of the optic nerve that can lead to severe loss of vision.

The risks factors for glaucoma include family history, age, diabetes, race and nearsightedness. Damage to the optic nerve will lead to loss of peripheral vision. These blind spots typically go unnoticed. Without early detection from a glaucoma test and early treatment, glaucoma can completely destroy the optic nerve and cause blindness. At Bagan Strinden Vision, we have high tech equipment that can pick up the optic nerve changes of glaucoma up to 5 years before noticeable loss of vision. This allows for early detection and treatment.

Types of glaucoma:

• Chronic open-angle glaucoma is the most common form of the disease. It develops slowly, as normal aging and wear and tear starts to clog the drainage area of the eye.
• Closed-angle glaucoma is much less common and develops rapidly. It occurs when the iris pushes forward and blocks the entire drainage area of the eye because the iris is too close to the drainage area. A careful slit lamp examination can determine if your eyes are at a high risk for angle closure. If so, a laser iridotomy can eliminate your risk for an attack in the future.
  • Contact us or another ophthalmologist immediately if you experience unexplained blurred vision, severe eye pain, headache, rainbow-colored halos around lights or nausea and vomiting.
  • Blindness can occur if closed-angle glaucoma is not treated right away.

Treatment:

• Eye drops taken daily increase drainage to lower pressure in the eye. Most glaucoma is controlled by the medication.
• Selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT) is a highly successfully procedure that lowers eye pressure in patients with open-angle glaucoma.
• Trabeculectomy is an outpatient surgery where a new channel for eye drainage is created.
• Several new surgeries for glaucoma are now available at Bagan Strinden Vision.

What you can do:

• Get your eyes checked regularly with an exam that includes a glaucoma test.
• Tell us during your exam if you have a family history of glaucoma, have diabetes or are 65 years old or older.
• If you have glaucoma, continue your treatment as directed.

ASK THE DOCTOR:

Q: Why do I need a glaucoma test when I get my eyes checked? That puff of air always makes me flinch.

A: Our accurate measurement of your eye pressure does not use a puff of air. Glaucoma is a disease without symptoms and is slowly progressive. Glaucoma needs early diagnosis and treatment to prevent blindness. It is the third leading cause of blindness and half of the people in the US with glaucoma do not know it. We have the latest technology to pick up glaucoma at its earliest stages.