What’s glaucoma?
Glaucoma is the blanket term for a group of eye conditions that affect your optic nerve, which sends images to your brain, enabling you to see. In most cases of glaucoma, the optic nerve is damaged over time as pressure accumulates in the eye. Glaucoma can also be caused by eye injury, inflammation, infection, and more.
It’s the second leading cause of blindness in people of all ages and the leading cause in people over 60.
What are the early signs and symptoms of glaucoma?
Catching glaucoma early is important because vision lost to glaucoma can’t be restored. The early signs and symptoms vary because there are two types of glaucoma.
Open-angle glaucoma
This is the most common type of glaucoma. The primary sign of open-angle glaucoma is loss of vision around the edges of your field of vision. Because this type of glaucoma develops slowly, you might not notice this vision loss at first.
Eventually, if left untreated, open-angle glaucoma will progress until you have tunnel vision and then become totally blind.
An annual eye exam is one of the best ways to defend against vision loss due to open-angle glaucoma.
During your exam, your Benjamin Optical optometrist will measure your eye pressure. This enables early glaucoma detection so you can begin treatment before you experience any vision loss.
Narrow-angle glaucoma
This is the acute type of glaucoma, meaning its symptoms come on suddenly. It’s important that you go to Benjamin Optical right away to protect your vision. The primary symptoms of narrow-angle glaucoma are:
- Eye pain
- Suddenly blurred or foggy vision
- Pupil dilation
- Nausea or headache
- Halos or rainbow-colored rings around lights
How do I treat glaucoma?
Fortunately, a glaucoma diagnosis doesn’t have to lead to blindness. With proper treatment, your Benjamin Optical optometrist can help you slow the disease’s progression and protect your eyesight.
The goal of your treatment is to lower the pressure inside your eye. The Benjamin Optical team can explore your options with you, which include medication, laser treatments, and surgery. In many cases, regular use of a medicated eye drop is sufficient to maintain a healthy eye pressure and protect your vision.
Don’t let glaucoma rob you of your sight. For regular screenings or glaucoma treatment, call Benjamin Optical or book your appointment online.
