What is Glaucoma?
Glaucoma is a group of diseases that affects and damages the optic nerve, (that carries information from the eye to the brain), due to higher than normal pressure (also called Intraocular Pressure, IOP) inside the eye.
If untreated, glaucoma can cause loss of peripheral vision and may eventually cause blindness. It is the second leading cause of blindness worldwide (after Cataract).
How to recognize Glaucoma?
Glaucoma often is called the “silent thief of sight,” because most types typically cause no pain and produce no symptoms until noticeable vision loss occurs. But in some cases, symptoms that occur suddenly can include blurry vision, halos around lights, intense eye pain, nausea and vomiting.
Evaluation
We evaluate the extent of damage caused by Glaucoma using the following Investigations apart from determining the intraocular pressure (IOP) using a tonometer.
- Gonioscopy
- Central Corneal Thickness using Pachymetry
- Visual Fields Test
- Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT)
Treatment Options
Treatment by Medication
Early treatment of glaucoma can be done by prescribing Eye Drops with medication that can lower the pressure inside the eye by fluid drain or cause the eye to make less fluid.
Treatment using Laser
We can treat glaucoma by a laser procedure called Argon LASER Trabeculoplasty. This procedure uses laser to treat the drainage angle of the eye. so that the fluid can easily flow out of the front part of the eye, thereby decreasing the IOP. Our doctors may suggest this step at any time.
Treatment by Surgery
We also perform surgery called LASER Trabeculectomy that makes a new opening for the fluid to leave the eye. We recommend surgery when even maximum dosage of medicines or Laser procedures have failed to control pressure.
Experiencing blurred, reduced or cloudy vision or eye strain, redness or itching?
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