How Glaucoma Can Steal Your Vision?

Most Americans do a great job getting routine dental exams or even seeing their family doctors for routine physicals. When was the last time you thought to have an eye exam to check your eye health? Most people would agree that next to life itself nothing is more important than our ability to see. This is why the doctors at Rosin Eyecare want to continue education related to glaucoma. Because vision loss from glaucoma is irreversible, it is important to schedule regular and complete eye exams to detect glaucoma.

Almost two and a half million people have this disease, but half do not yet realize it because there are often no warning symptoms. Glaucoma is known as the silent-thief of sight because it silently and slowly steals your vision without you even realizing it. If you do not have routine eye exams to check the status of your eye health, glaucoma and other diseases can steal your vision. Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness in the U.S. and the leading cause of preventable blindness. According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, approximately 2.2 million Americans age 40 and older have glaucoma.

What is Glaucoma?

Glaucoma is a disease of the optic nerve. The optic nerve carries the images we see to the brain. Many people know that glaucoma has something to do with pressure inside the eye. The higher the pressure inside the eye, the greater the chance of damage to the optic nerve. This intraocular pressure is not the disease itself, but the single most important risk factor for the development of glaucoma. The optic nerve is like an electric cable containing a huge number of wires. Glaucoma can damage nerve fibers, causing blind spots to develop. Often people do not notice these blind areas until much optic nerve damage has already occurred. If the entire nerve is destroyed, blindness results. Early detection and treatment by your ophthalmologist are the keys to preventing optic nerve damage and blindness from glaucoma. If you have early stages of glaucoma and you visit an ophthalmologist you can dramatically decrease your chance of blindness.

Glaucoma Risk Factors:

There are several types of glaucoma that can affect practically anyone. The following risk factors increase your chances of getting this disease:

Family history of glaucoma

High myopic (nearsightedness)

Age over 45

African-American or Hispanic background

Thin corneas

African-Americans ages 45-65 are 14 to 17 times more likely to go blind from glaucoma than Caucasians with glaucoma in the same age group.

Early detection is exceedingly important so glaucoma can be treated and blindness prevented. Glaucoma is treatable with various options, including eye drops, laser, and surgery. Research on this disease is on-going and supported by many groups including the Glaucoma Foundation and Research to Prevent Blindness. The American Academy of Ophthalmology encourages routine eye exam to prevent blindness from this disease. Call Rosin Eyecare for more information regarding glaucoma or to schedule a comprehensive eye exam.