Glaucoma
Do you have a family history of Glaucoma?
Do you see halos around lights?
Do you have problems with your peripheral vision?
What is glaucoma?
Glaucoma is an eye condition where the optic nerve, which connects the eye to the brain, becomes damaged. It is usually caused by fluid building up in the front part of the eye increasing pressure inside the eye.
The most common form of glaucoma is Open Angle Glaucoma, which tends to develop slowly. This is caused by the drainage channels in the eye becoming gradually clogged over time. Known risk factors include age, family history, diabetes, short-sightedness and steroid use. Although uncommon, another type is Angle Closure Glaucoma which is caused when the drainage in the eye becomes suddenly blocked, raising the pressure inside the eye very quickly.
Symptoms
Typically, glaucoma doesn’t cause any symptoms in the beginning, it tends to develop gradually over a number of years affecting your peripheral vision. Glaucoma can lead to loss of sight if it isn’t diagnosed and treated early.
Diagnosis
At Holley’s we use the latest technology to record your eye pressure, the thickness of your cornea and the nerve fibre layer depth at the back of the eye. This information helps in early diagnosis and subsequent treatment, most commonly by use of eye drops.
Glaucoma can be controlled with eye drops, pills, laser procedures, and surgical operations to prevent or slow further damage from occurring. With any type of glaucoma, regular eye examinations are very important to detect progression and to prevent vision loss.
Treatment
It is not possible to reverse any loss of vision caused by Glaucoma, but treatment can help slow down progression of the disease. Treatments normally involve using eye drops to lower the eye pressure, but in some cases surgery may be required.