Glaucoma has earned the moniker "silent thief of sight" because afflicted patients may have no symptoms until it is too late to save their vision.
The hallmark symptoms of glaucoma are elevated eye pressure and progressive loss of peripheral vision.
1)Elevated eye pressure
Normal eye pressure should be between 10-20. Patients can present to the doctor with pressure as high as 50 with no symptoms, if the pressure has been rising slowly. Elevated pressure stresses the circulation of the optic nerve, slowly damaging the nerve fibers.
2)Loss of peripheral vision
As the optic nerve is damaged it will affect peripheral or side vision before affecting straight ahead vision. A person can lose a significant amount of side vision before they notice it. The good news Glaucoma can be treated if found early. The treatments range from eye drops and laser to surgery for severe cases. If you are over 40 especially if you have a family history of glaucoma you should have a yearly screening exam. Nearsightedness and African descent are also risk factors.
Do yourself a favor and get your eye pressure checked. There may be a silent thief right behind your eyes.
2 comments:
Is high eye pressure associated with high blood pressure?
Traditional teaching is that eye pressure and blood pressure are not associated. High blood pressure can alter blood flow to the optic nerve which may affect glaucoma on a circulation basis.
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