Why Eye really Important?

Glaucoma is often called “the sneak thief of sight.” This is because, as already mentioned, in most cases, the intraocular pressure can build up and destroy sight without causing obvious symptoms. Thus, awareness and early detection of glaucoma are extremely important because this disease can be successfully treated when diagnosed early. While everyone is at risk for glaucoma, certain people are at a much higher risk and need to be checked more frequently by their eye doctor. The major risk factors include:

1. Age over 45 years
2. Family history of glaucoma
3. Black racial ancestry
4. Diabetes
5. History of elevated intraocular pressure
6. Nearsightedness (high degree of myopia), which is the inability to see distant objects clearly
7. History of injury to the eye
8. Use of cortisone (steroids), either in the eye or systemically (orally or injected)
9. Farsightedness (hyperopia), which is seeing distant objects better than close ones (Farsighted people may have narrow filtering angles, which predispose them to acute (sudden) attacks of closed-angle glaucoma.)

So, if you in this 9 risk factors, be careful about this Glaucoma disease. Its not easy to cure it if you suffer this problem. I don’t want my kids have this disease. Its not worth.

Eyeman – Be more careful!

Did you know How is glaucoma diagnosed? Wonder about that? I guess only eye doctor can answer that. You can found many article about this. But i share you 2 way how glaucoma can be diagnosed.

An eye doctor (ophthalmologist) can usually detect those individuals who are at risk for glaucoma (because of, for example, a narrow filtering angle or increased intraocular pressure) before nerve damage occurs. The doctor also can diagnose patients who already have glaucoma by observing their nerve damage or visual field loss. The following tests, all of which are painless, may be part of this evaluation.

Tonometry determines the pressure in the eye by measuring the tone or firmness of its surface. Several types of tonometers are available for this test, the most common being the applanation tonometer. After the eye has been numbed with anesthetic eye drops, the tonometer’s sensor is placed against the front surface of the eye. The firmer the tone of the surface of the eye, the higher the pressure reading.

Pachymetry is a relatively new test being used for the management of glaucoma. Pachymetry determines the thickness of the cornea. After the eye has been numbed with anesthetic eye drops, the pachymeter tip is touched lightly to the front surface of the eye (cornea). Recent studies have shown that central corneal thickness can affect the measurement of intraocular pressure. Thicker corneas may give falsely high eye pressure readings and thinner corneas may give falsely low pressure readings. Furthermore, thin corneas may be an additional risk factor for glaucoma. treatment.

I believe you can will be more careful in future. So, be careful.

Eyeman - I hate glaucoma..

I guess many people already suffer a lots because of Glaucoma. So, did you know any treatment that can help this disease? If you don’t know, read this and you also might be interested to know about the preventation method too.

Glaucoma Treatment and Prevention

The most conventional treatment for glaucoma is medicine that is taken as a pill or as eye drops. The medicine has one goal and that is to decrease eye pressure. These medications either decrease the amount of fluid produced or help the eye remove fluid easier. Glaucoma medication might interfere with other medication so it is a good idea to consult your doctor and let them know about all of the medications you are taking. There are several different types of glaucoma medication so your doctor may want to try another one if it conflicts with medication you are currently taking or causes unwanted side effects. For most people medicine is enough to control glaucoma. For others, surgery is the better option. Laser trabeculoplasty is another option for decreasing pressure in the eyes. In this option, an Ophthalmologist sends a laser beam into the meshwork where fluid drainage occurs,called the trabecular meshwork. The process increases the drainage area and lowers pressure.

With Argon Laser Trabeculoplasty (ALT), the surrounding tissue in the meshwork is damaged and usually requires another session after a few years. Sometimes medication must also still be taken. With Selective Laser Trabeculoplasty (SLT), a specially designed laser emits a low-energy laser light that targets only melanin-containing cells in the trabecular meshwork. The laser is heated only enough to affect the opening of the meshwork and adjacent areas are not damaged.

This allows for multiple re-treatments. Endoscopic CycloPhotocoagulation (ECP) is another process to help alleviate eye pressure if medication and laser trabeculoplasty are not effective. Unlike laser trabeculoplasty, ECP uses lasers to target the ciliary body that produce fluid. This will causes less fluid to be produced and in effect lowers pressure. Lowering the risk of glaucoma or at least slowing down the progressive damage to optic nerves is the best preventive measure. It is really important to get routine check ups because glaucoma is unnoticeable at first. Certain risk factors to watch out for include race, medical disorders, and family medical history.

Glaucoma is more common in African Americans and Hispanic patients, especially with increasing age. People with diabetes or who have had eye surgery are also more likely to have glaucoma. A family history of glaucoma increases the risk that you could have glaucoma. If any of these factors relate to you, then you should definitely go for more frequent eye exams.

You can learn more information at this 3 site :

1. Glaucoma.com
2. Medicinenet.com
3. Eyewisevision.com.sg

For more information on glaucoma visit your eye care doctor or visit http://www.glaucoma.com/ or http://www.nei.nih.gov for more research. Materials on this page have been researched from the national Eye Institute.

Glaucoma is a disease that damages the eyes’ optic nerves. Damage does not become noticeable until significant damage has occurred and if not treated could lead to severe vision loss or even blindness. Glaucoma is usually present with high intraocular pressure, pressure in the eyes, and results in a loss of peripheral vision. Early detection through eye exams will greatly help slowing down the disease.

Forms of Glaucoma

1. Normal-tension Glaucoma – occurs when there is optic nerve damage and loss of vision even with intraocular pressure within a normal range
2. Angle-closure Glaucoma – Increase in eye intraocular pressure due either to too much fluid being produced in the eye or to fluid not being able to exit the eye due to a blockage of the meshwork inside the eye. This can cause pain, headaches, nausea, red eyes, blurred eyes and vision loss. According to the NEI, “This is a medical emergency. If your doctor is unavailable, go to the nearest hospital or clinic. Without treatment to improve the flow of fluid, the eye can become blind in as few as one or two days.”
3. Secondary Glaucoma – can form after eye surgeries or from certain medical conditions like diabetes
4. Congenital Glaucoma – present at birth due to birth defects that hinders the flow of fluid out of the eye that causes cloudy, white eyes and sensitivity to lights
5. Open-Angle glaucoma – the most common type of glaucoma, occurs when fluid drainage from the eye is hindered, causing intraocular pressure to increase above normal, thus damaging optic nerves and eventually leading to vision loss. Usually peripheral (side) vision is damaged first leading to tunnel vision and in time to blindness if not properly treated and monitored

Others information about Glaucoma : Learn more about Glaucoma