Glaucoma eye disease

Glaucoma is a chronical eye disease of the ocular nerve, that in the case of a late diagnosis and inadequate treatment leads to severe eye damage and blindness. In the world, there is more than 70 milions of people suffering from glaucoma. More than a half of them begin a treatment late and on the other hand, based on the latest knowledge about this disease, it apears that many people are treated uselessly. Eye glaucoma is the most often cause of blindness in developed countries.

Damaged fibers of the optic nerve cannot be substituted in any way. Therefore at the moment glaucoma cannot be treated and the only thing we can do is to slow down or stop its further progress. The more damaged is the optic nerve at certain intraocular pressure and the more fibers which are dead then it is even more important to decrease intraocular pressure. Depending on how significantly we need to decrease intraocular pressure, we can opt for conservative, laser or surgical treatment of glaucoma. Eye drops are capable of decreasing it very slightly but surgery has usually higher effect.

Glaucoma can be specified as a group of eye diseases when changes are formed on the optic nerve and they lead to progressive damage of the papilla of this nerve. The formation of glaucoma is influenced by many various risk factors which we often cannot eliminate in any way and that is why it is good to know whether one does not have increased probability of the formation of this disease.

Signs and symptoms vary according to the type of glaucoma. In the early stages of glaucoma, there are often no symptoms, pain, or change in vision. As the eye disease progresses, a person begins to lose peripheral (side) vision and eventually loses vision completely if left untreated. Acute glaucoma develops suddenly as a result of sudden rise of intraocular pressure due to blockage of fluid drainage from the eye. This requires immediate medical attention in order to prevent permanent vision loss, which can occur within hours or days after the onset.

In most cases, an abnormally high intraocular pressure within the eye causes glaucoma. Inside the eye, fluid is continuously produced and circulated to nourish the nearby tissues, remove unwanted wastes and maintain normal eye pressure. This fluid is not the same as tears, which are produced on the outside of the eye. Fluid leaves the eye through a “drain” located at an angle where the iris and cornea meet. When the fluid drains too slowly out of the eye, the intraocular pressure builds up, causing damage to the optic nerve.

Glaucoma affects nearly 3 million Americans and is one of the leading causes of blindness in the United States. Glaucoma can gradually ”steal” your vision without your being aware of it. Early detection and prompt treatment are keys to protecting you against permanent loss of vision.