Do You Have a Grasp on Glaucoma Facts?
- Posted on: Apr 30 2020
One of the primary ways to protect health, including eye health and vision, is to be aware of potential risks. This is especially true when it comes to some of the more serious eye diseases like glaucoma. This condition is the leading cause of vision loss in older individuals, according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology. It is a condition for which there is currently no cure. This makes early diagnosis and treatment vital to the preservation of eyesight. To get the care you may need for glaucoma, it is first necessary to understand truths about this disease. We’ll discuss a few here.
- Glaucoma is not limited to the elderly.
Most cases of glaucoma are diagnosed in people over the age of 60. However, much younger adults and even some children have developed this condition. More than age, it is valuable to associate glaucoma with known risk factors, such as having a family history of this eye disease.
- Elevated intraocular pressure is a sign of glaucoma.
Most people with glaucoma do have increased intraocular pressure. This means that the pressure inside of the eyes is more than it should be. Pressure inside the eye affects the optic nerve that transfers light to the brain. Persistent pressure on the optic nerve can cause irreparable damage.
- Glaucoma has few warning signs.
Because we cannot see or feel increased intraocular pressure (except for possibly flashes of light when blinking), the primary way that this abnormality is identified is through a comprehensive eye exam. Otherwise, the first clues to glaucoma could be vision impairment that cannot be restored. The concern that eye doctors have about glaucoma and vision loss is that this can happen so slowly that a fair amount of damage may occur before one notices that they are not seeing as well as they once did.
Roholt Vision Institute is concerned with the smallest nuances of vision and we do our part to help our patients protect their eyesight. If you have a family history of glaucoma or want to assess your risk for this common eye disease, schedule a comprehensive eye exam with us. Contact our Canfield, Alliance, or North Canton office for assistance.
Posted in: Glaucoma