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Glaucoma is an ongoing disease whereby your vision slowly and insidiously deteriorates because the optic nerve is gradually over a period of time being destroyed.

You cannot feel it happening as it happens so gradually that you don’t actually notice the change in your vision. The disease is usually revealed by an optometrist during a routine eye examination.

Glaucoma is not an age related problem. Frighteningly, anyone can be affected from children to young adults, middle-aged adults and the elderly. It can be hereditary, but unfortunately there is no cure to the condition. However, there is good news in that the damage can be minimised with early diagnosis.

You are probably familiar with the term blood pressure. There is also a pressure within the eye which is known as intra-ocular pressure (IOP). At one time Glaucoma was thought to be caused by pressure in the eye increasing due to the blockage of drainage channels, however medical opinion seems to have moved away from this theory as Glaucoma can occur even when the pressure inside the eye is normal. Undoubtedly intra-ocular pressure is one cause of the condition.

There are many forms of Glaucoma, the two most common being Open Angle Glaucoma, and Angle Closure Glaucoma.

The optometrist or it could even be the ophthalmologist if you are in hospital, performs a simple test during an eye examination which reveals whether your intra-ocular pressure is normal or abnormal. Additionally they look carefully at the blood vessels and the optic nerve for damage.

If anything is found advice will be given in relation to additional tests to determine how advanced the condition has become. Usually there will be some sort of communication with your doctor in relation to a hospital appointment.

As I previously mentioned Glaucoma has no cure, but I also mentioned that early diagnosis can lessen any damage that may occur. The trick of course is catching the disease by having regular eye examinations.

Personally I remember having an eye examination at about five years old at school. However I had no further eye examination until the age of 45. Luckily I do not have the disease.

I’d only vaguely heard of Glaucoma up to that point. I think it would be safe to say that my parents were ignorant of the disease as well, because Glaucoma is not something that runs in our family. Knowing what I know now, tells me that what should have been happening, was that every member of our family should have been taking regular eye examinations every five years or so as we all got older.

Regular eye examinations are important if Glaucoma is found in your family, as the disease can be hereditary. It is also vitally important to know your family history. Glaucoma is thought to be genetic so if your grandparents or parents have the disease the chances are good that you may have it too.

I cannot stress the importance of this. Regular routine eye examinations are the only way of catching Glaucoma and getting early Glaucoma treatment. So if you or members of your family have never had an eye test, I strongly advise that you make an appointment for one without delay. If you are unfortunate to have the disease you will be very glad you did.

Tags: glaucoma, glaucoma treatment, eye examination



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