Powered by Blogger.

Blog Archive

Tuesday, April 25, 2017

By Joyce Brooks


Glaucoma is among the most dreaded conditions that affect eyes. When someone first gets diagnosed with the condition, the world can come crumbling around them. It is a condition that is known to cause loss of vision that is relentless, painless and progressive. It is classified as the second most common cause of preventable blindness in the world. In considering the condition glaucoma San Antonio TX residents should know facts about it.

This condition is caused by many reasons, with some being common and others rare. Glaucoma is actually not a disease but a group of conditions that are only common because they lead to damage of optical nerve. The optic nerve is what sends signals of images to the brain from the eyes. With the condition, nerves start getting damaged as time passes. The loss of vision takes time, which is what makes it hard to manage.

There are two sets of causes for this condition. The first will be the instances in which the defect lies in the eyes. This is the more common cause. The other option is when the defect lies in the eye optical disc. The pressure that results will cause damage to the optic nerve by reducing supply of blood to optic nerve. It is also possible that direct pressure also impairs never cells.

You should know what causes increase in pressure in eyes. Under normal circumstances, there are fluids constantly being formed in eyes and later being drained out. The fluid is called the aqueous humor. It is never the same as tears. Tears are within eyes while the aqueous humor is outside. As it drains, what results is an imbalance in formation of fluids. There will be pressure rise.

The other type is closed angle glaucoma. The part of the eye from where fluids drain is called angle. There is open angle type that is more common and will involve formation of cells in an abnormal way. This happens in such a way that there is not enough drainage of fluids. Pressure in eyes thus increases. It is open angle but which is abnormal, hence the name. In closed cases, drainage angle gets closed in an automatic way that also interferes with fluid drainage within eyes. This version is common in Asian countries.

There are three main treatment options that can be considered. These are use of eye drops, laser treatment and surgery. Medications are administered as eye drops. In rare cases, pills might be prescribed. This is usually as a temporary measure. The medications work by decreasing amount of fluid that is produced by eyes. They also improve drainage of fluids.

Laser surgical treatment will involve using low energy light beams. The beams of light are aimed at drainage channels so that there is better outflow. This will in turn reduce pressure in eyes. The surgery is performed in the office of a surgeon.

Surgical treatment will be recommended when eye drops and laser procedures do not reduce eye pressure. There are surgical procedures used to improve drainage. These include placement of stents and shunts.




About the Author:



0 comments:

Post a Comment