Glaucoma, often called the ‘Silent Thief of Sight,’ can strike without warning. It is a progressive condition in which the major nerve of the eye, the optic nerve, is damaged due to increased internal eye pressure.
As many as 65 million people around the world have glaucoma and it is the leading cause of blindness and visual impairment in the United States today. It is estimated that over four million people have glaucoma in the U.S. but only half of them know it. The key to combating this silent thief of sight is early detection followed by ongoing management of the disease.
Glaucoma consists of a group of conditions which damage the optic nerve. This nerve is responsible for taking light from the retina and sending impulses to the brain which are perceived as vision. Damage to the optic nerve dramatically diminishes eyesight.
At Wheaton Eye Clinic, glaucoma doctors perform an initial comprehensive glaucoma evaluation to:
The two most common types of glaucoma present themselves very differently. There are few or no symptoms or warnings for Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma (POAG). On the other hand, people with Angle-Closure Glaucoma (ACG) sometimes experience gradual loss of peripheral vision, usually in both eyes, which then advances to tunnel vision. Other people experience more pronounced symptoms including severe eye pain and headache, sometimes accompanied by nausea and vomiting, as well as blurred vision, halos around lights, sudden visual disturbances in low light and reddening of the eye.
The highest risk factors for glaucoma are elevated internal eye pressure, which can only be detected during a doctor’s examination, and age. People are six times more likely to get glaucoma if they are over 60 years old.
In addition, glaucoma is the leading cause of blindness among African Americans who are six to eight times more likely to get glaucoma than Caucasians. African Americans should begin to have their eye pressure monitored before age 30. Hispanic populations and people of Asian descent also face an increased risk of glaucoma.
Family history and individual medical conditions present other risk factors. Current medical findings indicate glaucoma may have a genetic link that causes members of some families to be unusually susceptible to the disease.
Medical conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease or even nearsightedness can increase a person’s risk for glaucoma. Using corticosteroid medications for prolonged periods of time, especially in eye drop form, also appears to create risk of glaucoma. Major eye injuries can cause glaucoma to occur immediately after the injury or even years later.
Depending on the type of glaucoma being experienced, your doctor may suggest treatment involving medication and/or surgery to lower the pressure in the eye and prevent further damage to the optic nerve.
Wheaton Eye Clinic’s unparalleled commitment to excellence is evident in our continued growth. Today we provide world-class medical and surgical care to patients in six suburban locations—Wheaton, Naperville, Hinsdale, Plainfield, St. Charles, and Bartlett.
(630) 668-8250 (800) 637-1054
