Glaucoma Symptoms and Facts
Glaucoma Symptoms and Facts
Glaucoma Symptoms and Facts
Glaucoma Facts:
The major problem with glaucoma symptoms is the 'lack' of them, you usually feel nothing until the damage is already done to your eyes.
Commonly known as the sneaky thief of the eyes, glaucoma is a disease that damage the main nerve to the eye- optic nerve by excess fluid pressure and in which the internal eye pressure is too high.
Optic nerve is responsible for transmitting electrical impulses to the brain. It is usually associated with a risky buildup of intraocular pressure. This damage results in gradual visual changes and then loss of vision.
Glaucoma often occurs in both eyes, but extra fluid pressure first begins to build up in one eye. If you don't seek treatment for glaucoma and can't control it, your peripheral vision will decrease by time and subsequent eye damage may easily lead to blindness.
Glaucoma is the second biggest cause of blindness in the world and it creates some vision loss in 1.3-1.4 million of the 2.5 million Americans affected by the disease. So yes, it can be very serious and you need to take it seriously.
The most common type of glaucoma is the open-angle glaucoma. It normally strikes after the age of 50. Pressure builds up and the optic nerve starts to fail. Blind spots eventually appear in the peripheral vision, and later in the central "seeing" area. This damage can't be repaired.
The other types are closed-angle, normal-tension, narrow-angle, pigmentary, secondary and congenital.
Glaucoma Risk Factors:
Family history: 20% chance if a parent has the disease and a 50% chance if one of your siblings has it.
High blood pressure
Diabetes.
Crohn's disease.
Rheumatoid arthritis
Being over 65 years of age.
Seeing a rainbow around lights at night.
Having had previous eye injury
Being of Asian or especially African background. Africans are three to four times more at risk than White people.
Long-term use of steroids.
Glaucoma Symptoms:
There are no symptoms until you develop glaucoma and your eyes start suffering. However on some occasions, as the disease progresses, you will feel:
Headaches.
Sensitivity to light.
Blurred vision.
Decreased peripheral vision- gradual loss.
Nausea and vomiting.
Severe pain in the eyes.
Reddening of the eyes.
One eye becoming bigger than the other.
Seeing rainbows around the lights at night.
Visual disturbance in low light.
Adjustment issues entering a dark room.
Excessive tearing.
Swollen eyes.
The white part of your eye may look red.
Prevention and Treatment of Glaucoma:
Most medications are in the form of eye drops and some are oral medications. Medications are usually successful in helping with glaucoma but they need to be used indefinitely, so many people end up having a surgery or a laser treatment- laser trabeculoplasty, a painless 15-minute procedure.
If you think you are at risk of having glaucoma, you should have an eye examination at least every two years. The most common eye tests used by doctors include:
Tonometry, which measures the pressure inside the eye, and
Visual field testing measures the entire area seen by the forward-looking eye to document central and peripheral vision.
There is no scientific study to suggest that you can prevent or treat glaucoma by living a healthy life and eating right. However there are certain nutrients that can help with better vision:
Oranges, broccoli, sweet potatoes, green vegetables, berries for Vitamin C; fruits, eggs, nuts for Vitamin E; mango, peaches, red grapes, kale, spinach for carotenoids; carrots, milk, egg yolk, liver for Vitamin A; oysters, turkey, chicken, dairy, certain cereals for Zinc; oily fish, flax seed and walnuts for Omega 3 fatty acids.
Exercise regularly and a few times a week.
Lose weight if you need to and stay at your ideal weight.
Quit smoking.
Limit caffeine intake to moderate levels. Some evidence suggests that high amounts of caffeine may increase eye pressure.
Go for regular eye checkups.
http://www.glycemic-index.org/glaucoma-symptoms.html
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