Losing the sense of sight changes every aspect of living. In the past, people who developed blindness and had no safety net often ended up homeless, relying on begging for survival. While that happens far less commonly today, conditions like glaucoma still take a severe personal toll, and can result in blindness if not discovered and treated early. Glaucoma San Antonio patients fight optic nerve damage with education and the latest medical advances.
It commonly affects both eyes, and is characterized by an increase in fluid pressure within the eye. Under normal conditions, the fluids drain away, allowing pressure to equalize. When that process is interrupted, internal forces slowly build, and can cause long-term damage to the optic nerve and adjacent eye structures. There are two main types of this ailment, designated open or closed angle.
Because the onset of symptoms is gradual, victims may be completely unaware they face danger. Over a period of years, nerve damage causes a loss of peripheral vision that may not be obvious. If untreated, later stages affect all types of vision, sometimes restricting it to a small, tunnel-shaped space directly in front of the eyes. Closed angle disease causes more acute symptoms that become immediately noticeable.
These include blurred vision accompanied by eye pain, which may be severe enough to cause nausea and vomiting. Lights appear to have surrounding auras, and adjusting to different illumination levels becomes difficult. Risk of developing the disease increases with age, and can also affected by ethnic background, previous eye surgery, and the presence of certain other illnesses.
Early diagnosis is the key to successful long-term treatment. Most eye examinations include standard pressure tests which can immediately reveal higher-than-normal pressure levels. Gonioscopy is an additional procedure helpful in determining the extent of blockage of the angle from cornea to iris. Lateral vision loss is detected by perimetry testing, and additional medical tools can determine the amount of damage to the optic nerve itself.
When an exam reveals existing issues, treatment often begins immediately. Although there are currently no complete cures for this combination of eye conditions, progression can now be dramatically slowed, and often halted. Existing destruction is not reversible, but the most effective medications include eye drops containing beta blockers, fluid inhibitors, prostaglandin analogues, or liquid flow stimulants.
In cases that do no respond to eye drops, surgery may be the best option. Drainage passages can be effectively unblocked using lasers, while other patients show progress when treated with filters that help relieve internal eye pressure. In some cases aqueous shunt implants are installed. A victim of acute-angle glaucoma is treated as an emergency requiring immediate drug therapy and surgery.
San Antonio TX sufferers know the vital role eye examinations and early detection play in combating this second leading cause of blindness. Because the disease can progress even without symptoms, only an eye specialist can determine whether there is potential trouble. Technological improvements in equipment make an early diagnosis painless and relatively simple, giving doctors better ways to preserve vision longer.
It commonly affects both eyes, and is characterized by an increase in fluid pressure within the eye. Under normal conditions, the fluids drain away, allowing pressure to equalize. When that process is interrupted, internal forces slowly build, and can cause long-term damage to the optic nerve and adjacent eye structures. There are two main types of this ailment, designated open or closed angle.
Because the onset of symptoms is gradual, victims may be completely unaware they face danger. Over a period of years, nerve damage causes a loss of peripheral vision that may not be obvious. If untreated, later stages affect all types of vision, sometimes restricting it to a small, tunnel-shaped space directly in front of the eyes. Closed angle disease causes more acute symptoms that become immediately noticeable.
These include blurred vision accompanied by eye pain, which may be severe enough to cause nausea and vomiting. Lights appear to have surrounding auras, and adjusting to different illumination levels becomes difficult. Risk of developing the disease increases with age, and can also affected by ethnic background, previous eye surgery, and the presence of certain other illnesses.
Early diagnosis is the key to successful long-term treatment. Most eye examinations include standard pressure tests which can immediately reveal higher-than-normal pressure levels. Gonioscopy is an additional procedure helpful in determining the extent of blockage of the angle from cornea to iris. Lateral vision loss is detected by perimetry testing, and additional medical tools can determine the amount of damage to the optic nerve itself.
When an exam reveals existing issues, treatment often begins immediately. Although there are currently no complete cures for this combination of eye conditions, progression can now be dramatically slowed, and often halted. Existing destruction is not reversible, but the most effective medications include eye drops containing beta blockers, fluid inhibitors, prostaglandin analogues, or liquid flow stimulants.
In cases that do no respond to eye drops, surgery may be the best option. Drainage passages can be effectively unblocked using lasers, while other patients show progress when treated with filters that help relieve internal eye pressure. In some cases aqueous shunt implants are installed. A victim of acute-angle glaucoma is treated as an emergency requiring immediate drug therapy and surgery.
San Antonio TX sufferers know the vital role eye examinations and early detection play in combating this second leading cause of blindness. Because the disease can progress even without symptoms, only an eye specialist can determine whether there is potential trouble. Technological improvements in equipment make an early diagnosis painless and relatively simple, giving doctors better ways to preserve vision longer.
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