Loss of eyesight impacts every single aspect of daily life. In past eras, those who went blind without benefit of social safety nets often ended life as beggars. While that is usually no longer the case, diseases like glaucoma still exact a severe personal toll, and still can result in visual impairment if not found and treated in the early stages. Glaucoma San Antonio patients continue fighting this scourge using medical advances and education.
Glaucoma commonly attacks both eyes, and is characterized by ever-increasing liquid pressure within those orbs. Fluids regularly drain under normal circumstances, which allows internal pressure to remain balanced. If that natural process is blocked, internal forces slowly build, often causing permanent damage to nearby ocular structures, including the optic nerve. The two most common types are called open and closed angle.
Because the onset of symptoms is gradual, victims may be completely unaware they face danger. Over a period of years, nerve damage causes a loss of peripheral vision that may not be obvious. If untreated, later stages affect all types of vision, sometimes restricting it to a small, tunnel-shaped space directly in front of the eyes. Closed angle disease causes more acute symptoms that become immediately noticeable.
Those signs include eye pain accompanied by blurred images, sometimes causing nausea and vomiting. Lights seem surrounded by halos, and adjusting to different illumination levels becomes difficult. Advancing age increases the probability of developing this disease, which can also affect people with specific genetic backgrounds, those who have had recent eye surgery, and people already dealing with other illnesses.
Early diagnosis is the key to successful long-term treatment. Standard eye exams for glasses include simple, painless pressure testing, and can quickly detect unnaturally high readings. Gonioscopy is another diagnostic tool that helps determine the extend of blockage in the angle between cornea and iris. Lateral vision deterioration is tested using perimetry equipment, and there are measurements to determine optic nerve damage.
When an exam reveals existing issues, treatment often begins immediately. Although there are currently no complete cures for this combination of eye conditions, progression can now be dramatically slowed, and often halted. Existing destruction is not reversible, but the most effective medications include eye drops containing beta blockers, fluid inhibitors, prostaglandin analogues, or liquid flow stimulants.
In cases that do no respond to eye drops, surgery may be the best option. Drainage passages can be effectively unblocked using lasers, while other patients show progress when treated with filters that help relieve internal eye pressure. In some cases aqueous shunt implants are installed. A victim of acute-angle glaucoma is treated as an emergency requiring immediate drug therapy and surgery.
San Antonio TX victims of this condition realize how important regular eye exams and early detection really are. Because many patients experience the disease for years without overt symptoms, only a physician can determine the extent and severity of the problem. Current technological advances have made early diagnosis simple, easy, and painless, and help preserve visual acuity as long as possible.
Glaucoma commonly attacks both eyes, and is characterized by ever-increasing liquid pressure within those orbs. Fluids regularly drain under normal circumstances, which allows internal pressure to remain balanced. If that natural process is blocked, internal forces slowly build, often causing permanent damage to nearby ocular structures, including the optic nerve. The two most common types are called open and closed angle.
Because the onset of symptoms is gradual, victims may be completely unaware they face danger. Over a period of years, nerve damage causes a loss of peripheral vision that may not be obvious. If untreated, later stages affect all types of vision, sometimes restricting it to a small, tunnel-shaped space directly in front of the eyes. Closed angle disease causes more acute symptoms that become immediately noticeable.
Those signs include eye pain accompanied by blurred images, sometimes causing nausea and vomiting. Lights seem surrounded by halos, and adjusting to different illumination levels becomes difficult. Advancing age increases the probability of developing this disease, which can also affect people with specific genetic backgrounds, those who have had recent eye surgery, and people already dealing with other illnesses.
Early diagnosis is the key to successful long-term treatment. Standard eye exams for glasses include simple, painless pressure testing, and can quickly detect unnaturally high readings. Gonioscopy is another diagnostic tool that helps determine the extend of blockage in the angle between cornea and iris. Lateral vision deterioration is tested using perimetry equipment, and there are measurements to determine optic nerve damage.
When an exam reveals existing issues, treatment often begins immediately. Although there are currently no complete cures for this combination of eye conditions, progression can now be dramatically slowed, and often halted. Existing destruction is not reversible, but the most effective medications include eye drops containing beta blockers, fluid inhibitors, prostaglandin analogues, or liquid flow stimulants.
In cases that do no respond to eye drops, surgery may be the best option. Drainage passages can be effectively unblocked using lasers, while other patients show progress when treated with filters that help relieve internal eye pressure. In some cases aqueous shunt implants are installed. A victim of acute-angle glaucoma is treated as an emergency requiring immediate drug therapy and surgery.
San Antonio TX victims of this condition realize how important regular eye exams and early detection really are. Because many patients experience the disease for years without overt symptoms, only a physician can determine the extent and severity of the problem. Current technological advances have made early diagnosis simple, easy, and painless, and help preserve visual acuity as long as possible.
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