January is an important time to recognize Glaucoma Awareness Month. It’s an opportunity to spread the word about this silent sight-stealing thief that usually presents no symptoms.
This way, more people will be aware of glaucoma and they can be more proactive with their eye health to preserve their vision. Keep reading to learn more about why Glaucoma Awareness is so important!
What is Glaucoma?
Glaucoma is the number one cause of preventable blindness in the U.S. It’s defined as a group of eye conditions that slowly steal your vision without warning.
The loss of sight from glaucoma is a result of damage to your optic nerve. The optic nerve is like an electric cable that carries images from your eye to the brain.
Damage to the optic nerve leads to the formation of blind spots in your field of vision. Blind spots often go undetected until your optic nerve suffers damage.
When this happens, a great loss of central or peripheral vision has occurred. Your peripheral vision can close so gradually that it becomes hard to notice for weeks, months, or even years that you are losing your sight.
In fact, the National Eye Institute estimates that about half of the people with the condition have no idea they have it. To date, glaucoma doesn’t have a cure.
But early detection and treatment can slow its progress and save your vision.
The Risk Factors of Glaucoma
People of Hispanic, African, and Asian descent are at a higher risk. Other high-risk groups include:
- People older than 40
- People with trauma to the eye
- Those with extreme nearsightedness
- People suffering from hypertension
- Diabetics
- Smokers
- People who are anemic
- People who have a family history of glaucoma
It’s essential for anybody who falls in the above categories to pay more attention to their eye health. Routine eye examinations with an ophthalmologist are especially important for high-risk groups.
These can help avoid unnecessary vision loss.
Signs of Glaucoma
Angle-closure and open-angle are the most common types of glaucoma. Many people with open-angle glaucoma do not experience any obvious symptoms early on. But in the advanced stages, there is tunnel vision.
Acute angle-closure glaucoma needs immediate treatment or you may become blind in as little as two days. The signs of acute angle-closure glaucoma include:
- Vomiting and nausea accompanied by severe eye pain
- Abrupt visual disturbance in low light and halos around lights
- Eye redness
- Blurred vision
Glaucoma Diagnosis and Treatment
To check whether you have glaucoma, your ophthalmologist will measure your intraocular pressure. They will also examine your eye’s drainage angle, confirm if you have optic nerve damage, and test your peripheral vision.
Prescription medication and surgery are common treatments for glaucoma. They can lower your eye pressure to prevent further damage to your optic nerve.
You cannot reverse any vision loss that’s already occurred due to glaucoma. The beginning of a new year is a perfect reminder to save your vision for tomorrow.
Get a healthy start this January by going for your annual vision screening early. By having your yearly eye exam, glaucoma can be detected and treated early if you have it.
This can prevent considerable vision impairment. It’s a good idea to see your eye doctor for eye exams on a regular basis.
Top-Rated Glaucoma Doctors
The eye doctors at Joshi Eye Institute are dedicated to offering the most advanced care to patients suffering from glaucoma. Our primary goal is to preserve your vision and stop vision loss so that you can enjoy a better quality of life.
The best way to detect this debilitating disease is a yearly vision checkup. Schedule an appointment at Joshi Eye Institute in Boynton Beach, FL today!
