What is glaucoma? Our eyes have a continuous flow of liquid into and out of them. The liquid drains through little drains in our eyes. Pressure is created by this liquid. Optometrists measure the pressure using the air puff non-contact tonometry or using a blue light applanation tonometry. This is just the beginning when testing for glaucoma. We also need a dilated exam to evaluate the nerves inside the eyes and we evaluate the front of the eye where the drain is located. Visual field testing also will help determine if there is any nerve damage. Sometimes we measure the corneal thickness to help in diagnosing glaucoma.
Glaucoma develops either because there is too much fluid being created or the drain is not functioning properly and not enough fluid is leaving the eye. In either case, the pressure builds inside the eye and choaks the nerves, killing them. We have a large redundancy of nerves in our eyes, so it takes a long time to kill enough nerves to notice a change in our vision. This is also why glaucoma is such a difficult disease to diagnose.
There are many different types of glaucoma. Some people will develop the disease because of trauma. Certain ethnicities are more prone towards Glaucoma because of their genetic pre-disposition. Some medications can lead to glaucoma, like steroids. Be very careful, and follow your doctor’s directions when taking medications. Sometimes you may think a drop makes your eye feel better and keep using it longer than recommended by your doctor. This can lead to glaucoma.
What happens to our vision when we develop glaucoma? When enough nerves are damaged, we begin to lose our peripheral vision. In the very late stages, glaucoma can lead to tunnel vision or blindness.
We can treat glaucoma with medicated eye drops or surgery. Follow-up care and consistency with medication use is very important. Remember that your doctor wants to save your vision.
We all need to have our eye pressures measured yearly and have a thorough eye exam to rule out glaucoma, along with other eye diseases. Just like seeing your dentist every six months, an average patient should see their optometrist every year. Even if you don’t feel any pain, or loss of vision, a routine eye health examination is quite important.
For more information, please feel free to contact us at 661-287-3939.