Glaucoma 101 – HealthyWomen

What’s glaucoma?

Glaucoma is a situation that impacts the eyes. About 3 million people within the U.S. have glaucoma.

Usually, glaucoma happens as a result of there’s elevated stress inside the attention. The additional stress can harm the optic nerve over time and trigger you to progressively lose your imaginative and prescient.

Your eye is crammed with a transparent fluid referred to as aqueous humor. In a wholesome eye, there’s a stability between fluid being made and fluid draining from the attention by way of its drainage system. When fluid builds up and isn’t being drained accurately, the pressure in your eye can construct. This will harm the optic nerve fibers within the eye, which might result in imaginative and prescient loss. Untreated, glaucoma can result in blindness.

There are a number of sorts of glaucoma, however the two main types are main open-angle glaucoma and angle-closure glaucoma. Main open angle glaucoma normally has no signs and imaginative and prescient loss is gradual over time. Angle-closure glaucoma will be acute, and related to ache and imaginative and prescient modifications. Virtually all glaucoma varieties contain elevated eye stress. However, in uncommon cases, glaucoma can happen regardless of “regular” stress readings inside the attention.

Who’s in danger for glaucoma?

Your probabilities of growing glaucoma improve when you have sure elements, corresponding to:

• Being over age 60
• Being of African, Asian or Hispanic descent
• Having a household historical past of glaucoma
• Having elevated eye stress or skinny corneas
• Being nearsighted or farsighted
• Having sure medical situations, together with diabetes, hypertension and coronary heart illness
• Taking steroid medicines long-term
• Having had an eye fixed harm

Why are girls extra prone to get glaucoma?

Due to their longer life expectancy, girls account for six out of 10 glaucoma cases within the U.S. Along with age being an element, estrogen might also play a task.

Analysis means that declining estrogen levels at an earlier age, corresponding to early menopause, may trigger the optic nerve to age quicker than regular. This growing older may go away the nerve extra prone to be broken by glaucoma. One current study discovered that elevated ranges of estrogen may sluggish the event of glaucoma.

What are the signs of glaucoma?

Signs rely on which kind of glaucoma you could have.

Open-angle glaucoma:
Open-angle glaucoma doesn’t normally trigger any signs, which is why half of these with such a glaucoma don’t even know they’ve it. Nonetheless, because the situation worsens, you may discover blind spots in your peripheral (side) vision.

Angle-closure glaucoma:
Angle-closure glaucoma happens when there was a sudden blockage to the attention drainage system. This causes stress to construct up rapidly within the eye. Initially, you might have delicate signs corresponding to blurry imaginative and prescient, seeing halos or eye ache. These should be addressed instantly. An acute angle-closure glaucoma attack is a medical emergency and might result in everlasting blindness if not handled.

How does glaucoma get recognized?

To get a prognosis of glaucoma, you’ll need to see an ophthalmologist, a physician who makes a speciality of eye illnesses, for an eye fixed examination. The ophthalmologist will collect info and carry out a variety of tests, which could embody:

• Asking questions on your loved ones historical past
• Checking your imaginative and prescient, together with utilizing perimetry in your peripheral imaginative and prescient
• Measuring the stress in your eye utilizing tonometry
• Performing a pachymetry test to measure the thickness of your cornea
• Utilizing ophthalmoscopy to look at your eyes for optic nerve harm
• Performing gonioscopy to see how open the world of the attention that drains fluid is

How is glaucoma handled?

There is no such thing as a treatment for glaucoma, which is why having common eye exams is essential to catch any considerations rapidly. Getting correct remedy may also help cease the development of harm from glaucoma.

Prescription eye drops

Glaucoma treatment normally includes eye drops. These medicines work by decreasing eye stress and defending the optic nerve from harm. They’ll’t enhance your imaginative and prescient, however they’ll work to maintain your glaucoma from getting worse and forestall additional imaginative and prescient loss.

You may need unintended effects from the drops, together with purple, itching or stinging eyes; blurry imaginative and prescient; or perhaps a change in your eye shade. Don’t cease taking the drops with out speaking along with your healthcare supplier (HCP).

Laser remedy

A remedy referred to as laser trabeculoplasty makes use of a laser beam to assist drain the fluid from the attention. This remedy is normally carried out for open-angle glaucoma. The outcomes can final two to 3 years, so that you may need to repeat the process sooner or later.

For individuals who have angle-closure glaucoma, a laser iridotomy process makes use of a laser to make a small gap within the iris to assist fluid drain extra successfully.

Surgical procedure

Surgery could also be wanted if medicines and laser remedies aren’t serving to.

Trabeculectomy includes a surgeon making a small gap on prime of the attention. Additional fluid drains from this gap to lower eye stress.

In glaucoma implant surgical procedure, the surgeon locations a tiny tube into the sclera — the white a part of the attention. This drains fluid from the attention and reduces eye stress.

Micro-invasive or minimally invasive glaucoma surgery (MIGS) is a more recent remedy that works to decrease eye stress however has fewer unintended effects and dangers, and quicker restoration occasions, than different surgical procedures. It’s because it makes use of smaller surgical devices and incisions than in conventional glaucoma surgical procedures. MIGS is most frequently used for individuals with delicate to reasonable open-angle glaucoma. Extra research are being executed to find out the long-term security and effectiveness of this process.

If you’re involved that you just may need glaucoma or are in danger, speak along with your healthcare supplier. They may also help you give you a remedy plan that may be just right for you.