Glaucoma Treatment at Family Vision
Some 3 million Americans, and many millions of others around the world, suffer from a progressive eye disease known as glaucoma, and many of them don't even know it. Glaucoma can be an extraordinarily subtle opponent, sneaking up on you and gradually, but permanently, destroying your eyesight. If you're at risk for glaucoma, make sure you're receiving the regular eye exams that can detect the condition and lead to the proper treatment. Here at Family Vision, we know how to keep glaucoma under control.
The Destructive Effects of Glaucoma
Glaucoma erodes your vision by destroying your delicate optic nerves, robbing your eyes of the ability to send visual signals to the brain. It can be prompted by a number of different circumstances, from previous eye surgeries and hypertension, to inherited traits. Whatever the underlying issues, the actual mechanism for glaucoma development usually involves an increase in the eye's fluid pressure. Your eyes never stop producing a substance called the aqueous humor, which means that they must be able to drain off the excess fluid through a drainage angle near the iris. If this doesn't happen, ever-increasing eye pressure starts to destroy the optic nerve fibers.
In most glaucoma cases, the drainage system is still working, but at reduced efficiency. This open-angle glaucoma develops so slowly and painlessly that you might not even notice a reduction in your peripheral vision (the early stage of vision loss). Sometimes, however, glaucoma strikes fiercely and suddenly. If the drainage system totally fails (narrow-angle glaucoma), you can experience acute pain, vomiting, nausea, and eye redness that calls for emergency treatment.
Our Clemson Optometry Clinic Can Protect Your Vision
You should make certain that you're getting checked for glaucoma regularly, especially once you're into your 30s and 40s. Our optometry center's annual comprehensive eye exams use techniques such as tonometry (pressure testing) to evaluate your eye pressure. We will also look inside the eye to inspect the optic nerves and test your eyesight for peripheral vision loss.
Thankfully, glaucoma can be one of the easier sight-stealing eye conditions to control if it is treated early. We can control your eye's fluid pressure through eyedrops, oral medications, and lifestyle recommendations to reduce risk factors such as hypertension. Even severe glaucoma can often be controlled via laser surgery from a specialist, and we're happy to make that referral.
Schedule the Care You Need for Optimal Eyesight
The best time to think about preserving your eyesight is always right now.
