Glaucoma: Prevention and Treatment
Glaucoma is a sneaky condition that can cause blindness. It is a lot like having high pressure in your eyes. The key to treatment is early diagnosis and prevention. It is sad to think that almost all people who lose their eyesight to glaucoma didn’t have to. Glaucoma is easily preventable in virtually every case.
Don’t think that just because you are young that you are safe. Even babies can get glaucoma. The fastest growing group of people to develop glaucoma and blindness are in the twenty year old to thirty year old range. Long hours at a computer raise the pressure and swelling in your eyes and don’t allow them to drain normally. Many people resort to drug treatment to increase drainage of the fluid. The next step is laser surgery to open up drainage ducts in the eyes.
People of Asian descent and African Americans are at the highest risk of developing the disease. People over forty are always at risk and should see their eye doctor every year for a glaucoma check. People with frequent migraines or headaches should be checked yearly. People who work outside in the sun or at a computer should be checked yearly. If you are diabetic you are at an increased risk. If you’ve ever had an eye injury or if you have ever used cortisone or steroid medications, you’re at higher risk.
So, how can you save your eyesight before glaucoma creeps up on you? Early recognition and prevention are key. See your eye doctor if you feel overly sensitive to light, are having more frequent headaches, or if you fall into one of the higher risk categories listed above.
If you are diagnosed, your ophthalmologist will probably give you a strict regimen of eye drops, medications and laser treatments that you must follow to hopefully keep from going blind. The medications must never be missed. The eye drops must be administered exactly as prescribed. You must never stop treatment, even if you can’t tell that there is anything wrong.
