Charlotte County Florida Weekly

Leading cause of blindness most common in older adults



 

 

About 3 million people in the U.S. have glaucoma, and it’s the second leading cause of blindness worldwide, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

January is National Glaucoma Awareness Month.

Glaucoma is a group of eye conditions that damage the optic nerve, often due to abnormally high pressure in your eye. Elevated eye pressure is due to a buildup of the fluid that flows throughout the inside of your eye.

When this fluid is overproduced or the drainage system doesn’t work properly, the fluid can’t flow out at its normal rate and eye pressure increases.

Glaucoma is one of the leading causes of blindness for people over 60. It can occur at any age, but it is more common in older adults.

Glaucoma can affect people of all races and genders, but the risk increases with age.

African Americans and Latinos are much more likely to get glaucoma than other races, and they tend to develop the disease earlier in life. Asian and Inuit populations are also more susceptible to a specific form of glaucoma known as angle closure glaucoma.

 

 

People with diabetes are twice as likely to get glaucoma. Other risk factors include:

¦ Family history of glaucoma.

¦ Farsightedness or hyperopia (for closed-angle glaucoma).

¦ High blood pressure (hypertension).

¦ Long-term use of corticosteroids.

¦ Nearsightedness or myopia (for open-angle glaucoma).

¦ Previous eye injury or surgery.

The effect of glaucoma is so gradual that you may not notice a change in vision until the condition is at an advanced stage.

Many forms of glaucoma have no warning signs.

Because you can’t recover vision loss due to glaucoma, it’s important to have regular eye exams.

These exams can diagnose the condition in its early stages, when treatment can slow or prevent vision loss.

Glaucoma is treated by lowering your eye pressure, or intraocular pressure. Depending on your situation, your treatment options may include prescription eyedrops, oral medications, laser treatment, surgery or a combination of any of these.

Diagnosis

Your doctor will review your medical history and conduct a comprehensive exam. Several tests may include:

¦ Measuring intraocular pressure (tonometry).

¦ Testing for optic nerve damage with a dilated eye. examination and imaging tests.

¦ Checking for areas of vision loss (visual field test).

¦ Measuring corneal thickness (pachymetry).

¦ Inspecting the drainage angle (gonioscopy).

Eye health

Lifestyle strategies to control high eye pressure and promote eye health include:

¦ Eat a healthy diet.

While eating a healthy diet won’t prevent glaucoma from worsening, several vitamins and nutrients are important to eye health, including zinc; copper; selenium; and the antioxidant vitamins A, C and E.

¦ Exercise safely.

Regular exercise may reduce eye pressure in open-angle glaucoma. Talk to your health care provider about an appropriate exercise program.

¦ Limit your caffeine.

Drinking beverages with large amounts of caffeine may increase your eye pressure.

¦ Sip fluids frequently.

Drink only moderate amounts of fluids at any given time during the course of a day. Drinking a quart or more of any liquid within a short time may temporarily increase eye pressure.

¦ Sleep with your head elevated.

Using a wedge pillow that keeps your head slightly raised at about 20 degrees has been shown to reduce intraocular pressure while you sleep.

¦ Take prescribed medicine.

Using your eyedrops or other medications as prescribed can help you get the best possible result from your treatment. Be sure to use the drops exactly as prescribed. Otherwise, your optic nerve damage could worsen.

Surgery and other therapies

Other treatment options include laser therapy and various surgical procedures. The following techniques are intended to improve the drainage of fluid within the eye, thereby lowering pressure:

¦ Laser therapy.

Laser trabeculoplasty (truh-BEK-ulow plas-tee) is an option if you have open-angle glaucoma. It’s done in your doctor’s office. Your doctor uses a small laser beam to open clogged channels in the trabecular meshwork. It may take a few weeks before the full effect of this procedure becomes apparent.

¦ Filtering surgery.

With a surgical procedure called a trabeculectomy (truh-bek-u-LEK-tuhme), your surgeon creates an opening in the white of the eye (sclera) and removes part of the trabecular meshwork.

¦ Drainage tubes.

In this procedure, your eye surgeon inserts a small tube shunt in your eye to drain away excess fluid to lower your eye pressure.

¦ Minimally invasive glaucoma surgery.

Your doctor may suggest a MIGS procedure to lower your eye pressure. These procedures generally require less immediate postoperative care and have less risk than trabeculectomy or installing a drainage device. They are often combined with cataract surgery.

There are a number of MIGS techniques available, and your doctor will discuss which procedure may be right for you. ¦

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