What is a Glaucoma and How Can It Be Treated?
The human eye is an amazingly advanced tool that is able to moderate even the most subtle differences in light, view in almost 16 million different hues and process a multitude of vision-related sources in order to provide us with sight. As advanced as our eyes are, there are instances where our sight can begin to suffer.
Of these instances, glaucoma can be one of the most detrimental to our clarity and it is believed to affect thousands of people each year. But what is a glaucoma and how can it be treated exactly? Well, in simple terms it refers to a particular medical condition whereby any number of specific eye diseases are able to take hold within the eye, before spreading to the optic nerves and causing damage.
Our eyes features millions of these tiny nerves, but when a substantial amount have been damaged – the result is often the formation of a blind spot, or greyed-zone. If this damage is allowed to spread further, it’s not uncommon for complete blindness to occur and this has led to Glaucoma becoming one of the main causes of sight loss throughout the world.
The cause of the condition is still being investigated, but it seems to occur within those aged between 50 and 70 far more commonly than in younger individuals. It has been discovered that eye pressure can lead to the event, but there have been a multitude of cases where the condition has occurred without any signs or symptoms being identified.
How can this condition be treated?
Although the condition can be very detrimental as far as vision is concerned, thanks to recent advances in technology it is treatable – with the majority of patients going on to recover fully. There are several types of condition that can develop, namely the open-angle, angle-closure, exfoliation and pigmentary glaucoma types.
Treating each one will require a firm diagnosis beforehand, in order to better understand the damage and severity of the case. Once the condition has been gauged fully it’s possible to address it with any one of the following eye treatments:
Eye drops
Eye drops are the most common solution and they are typically used to gauge the severity of the condition. If the drops seem to resolve the event, then a doctor will evaluate the repair and removal of the disease. If they fail to treat the issue however, then further treatment may be required
Oral pills
These are sometimes recommended as they can help to address the disease internally. Once consumed, the advanced chemical formula (typically containing antibiotics) will target the cause of the concern in an attempt to stop further damage from occurring, whilst encouraging repair
Laser eye surgery
Laser eye surgery, or LASIK, is often the last port of call and it’s capable of completely eradicating the traces of this eye disease in the majority of cases. When paired with other medicines it’s possible to eliminate even the most severe of conditions, or at least stem the development of further damage