Are You At Risk For Glaucoma? (Symptoms To Look For)
Are You At Risk For Glaucoma?
If you want to know if you are at risk for glaucoma, you’d better find an eye doctor near you. Come and have your check-up at De Carlo Optometry Placentia. We offer different services for your eyes. Check here for our latest news and reviews. Read some of our Frequently Asked Questions, or contact us at (714) 996-1136. Remember, detecting it as early as possible and preventing it from worsening is possible.
Who Might Get Glaucoma?
Anyone of any race or gender can get it, but the risk goes up as you get older. People of African American and Latino descent are more likely to get it than people of other races. They tend to get the disease before people of other races do. Angle-closure is a type of glaucoma that is more common in Asian and Inuit people.
People with diabetes are twice as likely as people who don’t have diabetes to get glaucoma. Other danger signs:
- Family history of glaucoma
- Farsightedness (for closed-angle glaucoma)
- High blood pressure (hypertension)
- Long-term use of corticosteroids
- Nearsightedness (for open-angle glaucoma).
- Known Eye injury or surgery
After reading this section, answer the question “Are you at risk for glaucoma?” to see if you are. If you said yes, you need to set up a time to check it with us. If it seems hostile, you should go to your regular doctor.
What Are The Symptoms Of Glaucoma?
Open-angle glaucoma often has slow-developing, subtle symptoms. So, they are easy to miss. People with open-angle often don’t show any symptoms at first. That’s why it’s so important to get regular eye exams to detect this disease in its early stages. We can’t fix the damage caused by this condition. So, it’s important to get it checked out and treated right away so you don’t go blind. Closed-angle glaucoma has worse symptoms that usually come on quickly.
With any type, you may have:
- Pressure in the eye
- Headaches
- Low, blurred, narrowed vision (tunnel vision), or blind spots
- Nausea and vomiting
- Red eyes
What Are The Types Of Glaucoma?
There are several types of glaucoma, including:
Open-Angle
It is the most common type, affecting up to 90% of glaucoma patients in the United States. It happens when tiny deposits build up in the eye’s drainage canals, slowly clogging them. The channels appear to be open and operational. But, the deposits cause fluid to accumulate over time and pressure the optic nerve. Because most people do not have symptoms, the disease can go unnoticed for years.
Closed-Angle
This type is rare and is also called angle-closure or narrow-angle glaucoma. When the angle between the iris and the cornea is too small, it often comes on suddenly. Because of this, the drainage canals get full. It stops watery fluid from leaving the eye, which raises the eye pressure. Eye pain and headaches are two examples of very bad symptoms. In this case, it needs medical attention right away.
Normal-Tension
Even if their eye pressure isn’t too high or too low, up to three people hurt their optic nerves. Normal-tension glaucoma is a condition where the pressure in the eye is normal. It is also called glaucoma with normal pressure or glaucoma with low pressure. This kind of person is more likely to be Asian or Asian American.
Congenital
Some babies come out of the womb with drainage canals that didn’t form properly. Healthcare workers might notice that a baby has signs of glaucoma right after birth. Some of the signs may show up when the child is young. This type goes by a lot of different names. They are known as pediatric, infantile, or childhood glaucoma.
What Causes Glaucoma?
Glaucoma can happen for no reason, but it can also be caused by many different things. The most important thing to keep an eye on is the pressure inside the eye. Your eyes make something called “aqueous humor” that keeps them healthy. Through the pupil, this liquid moves from the back of the eye to the front. The fluid in healthy eyes goes through a drainage canal. It’s between the iris and the cornea.
When you have glaucoma, tiny deposits get stuck in the drainage canals. Since there is nowhere else for the fluid to go, it builds up in the eye. This extra fluid makes the eye look really tight. This high eye pressure can damage the optic nerve over time, which can cause glaucoma.
How Is Glaucoma Diagnosed?
Even if you have glaucoma, you might not know it. Glaucoma and other eye problems can only be found through regular eye exams. Eye exams can tell us if our eyes are healthy and if we are losing sight.
To check for this disease, your eye doctor may do one or more of the following tests, which don’t hurt:
Dilated Eye Exam
As part of the test, your pupils will be made bigger so that the back of your eyes can be seen.
Gonioscopy
This procedure will examine the angle where the iris and cornea meet.
Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT)
They will look for changes in the optic nerve that could be signs of glaucoma.
Ocular Pressure Test (Tonometry)
The doctor will do this to measure the pressure in the eyes.
Pachymetry
It is another assessment that will measure corneal thickness.
Slit-Lamp Exam
They will check the inside of the eye with a special microscope called a slit lamp.
Visual Acuity Test
It is a test that checks for vision loss with eye charts.
Visual Field Test (Perimetry)
It will check the changes in peripheral vision. You can see things off to the side.
Glaucoma Treatment
Dr. DeCarlo has had advanced training in how to find this disease and how treat it. Glaucoma is a sneaky illness that can make you blind. It usually shows up as high eye pressure, which damages the optic nerve over time.
Glaucoma has no or very mild symptoms, so it needs to be checked every year. In rare cases of angle-closure, the pressure in the eye can rise to a level that is dangerous. It can cause nerve damage, pain, and loss of vision right away. Your optometrist can figure out if you are at risk for glaucoma during your annual eye exam.
There are many ways to treat it, but most people start with eye drops. There are laser procedures and other types of surgery for more serious cases.
Glaucoma can make permanent vision loss or blindness happen more quickly if it is not treated. Treatments can help stop vision loss from getting worse, but they can’t bring back lost vision. See your eye doctor right away if you have eye pain, severe headaches, or trouble seeing.
Treatments for glaucoma include:
Eye Drop Treatment
Prescription eyedrops reduce fluid and speed up the drainage to relieve eye pressure. We can treat this problem with a lot of different eye drops. Because it is a long-term disease, you may need to use eye drops every day for the rest of your life.
Laser Eye Surgery
Your eye doctor may use a laser (an intense beam of light) to help improve fluid drainage from your eye. The laser can substitute the use of eye drops, but it can not completely replace them. Laser treatments have varying effects, but they can last up to five years. We can also reverse some laser treatments.
Eye Surgery
Surgery is another way to lower the pressure in the eyes. Even though it is more invasive, it works faster and better than drops or lasers to control eye pressure. Surgery can help slow down the loss of vision, but it can’t cure it or bring back lost vision. There are many different kinds of surgery for this disease. Your eye doctor may suggest one over the other depending on what kind of glaucoma you have and how bad it is.
The Importance Of Having A Regular Eye Check-Up
Glaucoma is the most common cause of blindness, and many people don’t know they have it. Glaucoma is an eye disease that affects the optic nerve, which sends messages from the eye to the brain. If you don’t treat it, you could lose your sight for good.
Please don’t wait until you feel sick, because by then it might be too late. Early glaucoma can only be found with a thorough eye exam where the pupils are widened. This kind of exam can find early signs of damage to the optic nerve so that it can be treated right away. It is very important for preventing vision loss from glaucoma.
If you are over 60, have glaucoma in your family, are African American or Hispanic, or have diabetes, your risk of getting it goes up. At least once every two years, you should have a full eye exam with your pupils dilated. Even if your eyes are healthy, you should still get an eye exam every four to five years after you turn 18.
If you have glaucoma, make sure to see your eye doctor often and do what they tell you to do to treat it. It could be medicine in eye drops, laser surgery, or even the old-fashioned way of cutting out the eye. If you find out about it early and treat it, it won’t get worse and your vision won’t get worse.
De Carlo Optometry Placentia is reminding you of two things. The first is that health is wealth. The second and last thing is to give your eye a check before it’s too late. Losing your vision is the worst nightmare of your life. Avoiding this is possible with the help of our team. Contact us now at (714) 996-1136 and learn more about our services. Take a step toward seeing your bright future ahead of you.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is it possible for someone with glaucoma to live a normal life?
People who manage their glaucoma well can live a normal, independent life. A major issue with this is that in the early stages, people with the condition live their lives largely unaffected by it, while it progresses silently.
Can glaucoma be treated by an optometrist?
Their role in treating eye disease, glaucoma, in particular, is relatively new. The first state (West Virginia) passed a therapeutic enhancement to its scope of practice in 1978, and presently, 49 states allow optometrists to provide treatment.
How does an optometrist check if someone has glaucoma?
A comprehensive eye examination is often the only way to detect glaucoma. Your doctor of optometry will perform a simple and painless procedure called tonometry during your routine eye exam, which measures the internal pressure of your eye.
Is there any good news for glaucoma patients?
Although there is no cure for glaucoma at the moment, early treatment can help slow or stop the progression of vision loss. Treatment may include medications and/or surgery to lower eye pressure, depending on a variety of factors such as your age and the type and severity of your glaucoma.
Is it possible to reduce eye pressure by drinking water?
Drinking a bottle of water quickly raises your blood pressure, so drink slowly to avoid this.
Should optometrists or ophthalmologists treat glaucoma?
If, after performing the necessary tests, your optometrist determines that you have glaucoma, you will be referred to an ophthalmologist for further treatment.
Is it preferable to see an optometrist or an ophthalmologist?
Visit your medical optometrist for primary medical eye care, such as prescription eye medications, monitoring, and management of eye diseases, or emergency eye care. Consult an ophthalmologist if you need surgery for serious eye diseases, advanced ocular problems, or refractive eye surgery.
What type of doctor treats glaucoma patients?
An optometrist or ophthalmologist is usually the one who diagnoses this type of disease. These are people who have been specially trained to provide eye care.
What is the most accurate glaucoma test?
The Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT Scan) can detect glaucoma before any other test. It is arguably the most accurate test available to help doctors diagnose this disease.
What is the best test for glaucoma?
Gonioscopy is a test that uses a special mirrored device to gently touch the surface of the eye to examine the angle where the cornea meets the iris. Whether this angle is open or closed can tell the doctor what type of glaucoma is present, and how severe it may be.
What is normal glaucoma eye pressure?
According to studies conducted on large populations in the United States, the average intraocular pressure is between 15-16 mmHg, and approximately 95 percent of people have an intraocular pressure between 10 and 21.
