Glaucoma

What is glaucoma?

Glaucoma is an eye disease that involves damage to the optic nerve, which sends visual signals to the brain. No one knows what causes this damage. When the optic nerve is damaged, some signals from the eye aren't transmitted to the brain. This can result in visual field loss and, if not managed, could eventually lead to blindness.

Glaucoma strikes without any obvious symptoms. You usually don't know it's there until serious vision loss has occurred. Unfortunately, there is no cure for glaucoma. Once you have lost your vision, it can't be restored. The good news is that glaucoma can be detected early before there is any loss of vision. There are also convenient treatments that can lower intraocular pressure (IOP), one of the major risk factors for glaucoma.

What is IOP?

The front of the eye is filled with a liquid called the aqueous humor. This is produced by the eye to bathe and nourish its different parts. The aqueous humor normally flows out of the eye through various paths and chambers. When these paths get clogged, aqueous humor gets trapped in the eye. This causes a pressure buildup and leads to high IOP. Doctors can easily measure IOP and use it as an important clue in the diagnosis and treatment of glaucoma.

Am I at risk for glaucoma?

Some people are at a greater risk than others. Studies have proven that anyone who meets one or more of the following criteria is at increased risk:

• Over the age of 40
• Family history of glaucoma
• Abnormally high IOP
• African, Scandinavian, Celtic, or Russian ancestry
• Diabetic
• Nearsighted
• Regular, long-term use of steroids/cortisone
• Previous eye injury

How can glaucoma be stopped?

It's awfully hard to stop glaucoma completely, but we have years of research that shows that treating the disease early helps preserve vision. The primary effect of any glaucoma treatment is lowering IOP. This has been proven over the years to be an effective way to help prevent or slow down vision loss in glaucoma patients. IOP can be lowered with medication and/or surgery. In most cases, medication is used before surgery, which is often reserved for patients who haven't responded adequately to or are intolerant of medications.

How will I be examined for glaucoma?

Although glaucoma cannot be cured, it can be detected early and controlled. There is a comfortable and rapid exam that detects glaucoma before other technologies - in fact years ahead - the OCT. The OCT evaluates the actual site of damage caused by glaucoma before you experience any vision loss. The OCT is rapid and non-intrusive. There's no discomfort. You simply lean into the instrument and look at a visually comfortable light. A safe laser scans the back of your eye and acquires an image in less than one second.