DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT OF GLAUCOMA

Glaucoma is a disease that damages the optic nerve in your eye. Usually, the condition happens when you have excess fluid building up in the front of your eye. This can place too much pressure on your optic nerve and damage it. This is a common cause of blindness for people who are older than 60 years of age. The good news is that there is treatment.

Diagnosing Glaucoma

To diagnose this condition, your eye doctor will take your medical history, as well as do a comprehensive examination of your eyes. You might have several tests. For example, your intraocular pressure might be measured. Your eye doctor may also test to see if you have any damage to your optic nerve. This will be done by a dilated eye exam.

Glaucoma can cause vision loss, so your doctor may give you a visual test. Then your corneal thickness will be measured. You may also have the drainage angle of your tears measured.

Treatment For Glaucoma

Glaucoma can cause damage that cannot be reversed. However, having regular checkups and treatment can slow your loss of vision. This is especially true if you catch the disease when it is in its early stages. The goal of the treatment is to lower the pressure in your eyes.

Depending on the situation you have, your eye doctor may recommend using prescription eye drops, laser treatment, medications, or even surgery. In many cases, you will have several treatments at once.

EYE DROPS

Often, your treatment will begin with a prescription for eye drops. This can help fluid drain from your eyes, decreasing pressure in your eyes. The eye drops may also decrease the amount of fluid that your eyes make. You may have one or more eye drops, depending on how low the pressure needs to be.

Getting prostaglandins will increase the outflow of fluid from your eye. You might have latanoprost, latanoprostene bunod, or tafluprost. A few side effects of this medication can include reddening of your eyes, darkening of your iris, blurred vision, or stinging eyes. You will take this eye drop once a day.

ORAL MEDICATIONS

If eye drops are not helping your condition, then you may need to take an oral medication with it. This might be a carbonic anhydrase inhibitor, which can reduce the pressure in your eye. Some of the side effects can include tingling in your toes or fingers, upset stomach, or frequent urination.

SURGERY

In severe cases, you might need to have surgery. For example, you might have drainage tubes placed in your eyes. During laser therapy, you can have clogged channels in your eyes cleared with lasers. It can take a few weeks to see the effects of this type of procedure. You might have a trabeculectomy procedure in order to improve fluid drainage from your eyes.

Getting early treatment of glaucoma is vital to help prevent vision loss. A yearly eye exam is important for detecting this health condition. Make an appointment at Longview Eye Associates in Longview, Texas, today to learn more information on glaucoma.