What is Glaucoma?
Glaucoma is a condition in which the eye (or intraocular) pressure is too high, and this can cause irreversible damage to the optic nerve, which can result in a loss of peripheral vision or tunnel vision. If untreated, the loss of vision can extend to involve loss of central vision too. The most common type of glaucoma is Primary Open Angle Glaucoma. It is often referred to as “the silent thief of sight” because there are no symptoms until the vision is severely and irreversibly damaged. It is estimated that 3% of people over 50 in Ireland has glaucoma.
What causes Glaucoma?
In most cases there is no specific cause of the raised intraocular pressure and can be considered to be due to an imbalance between how much aqueous fluid is produced by, and drains from the eye. Apart from intraocular pressure, patient age is the most common risk factor. Glaucoma is more common in people who have a family history of the disease, and has been associated with being short-sighted, diabetic or having high blood pressure. Glaucoma can sometimes also be caused by inflammation within the eye or injury to the eye.
What are the symptoms of Glaucoma?
Generally, there are no symptoms except in moderate to severe cases, where the loss of peripheral vision can extend in to affect the central vision, which patients will be aware of. In a rarer type of glaucoma called acute glaucoma, there is a sudden rise in intraocular pressure and this can cause blurred vision, eye pain, headache and nausea.
How is Glaucoma treated?
The main aim of glaucoma therapy is to reduce the intraocular pressure, and in most cases this can be achieved using eye drops, which either reduce the amount of fluid that is produced in the eye, or increase the amount of fluid that is drained from the eye. Some patients may prefer treatment in the form of laser trabeculoplasty (‘SLT’). This is a painless laser procedure that increases the drainage of fluid out of the eye. In more refractory cases of glaucoma an operation may be ne required to create an additional drainage channel from the eye, which Mr Agrawal is highly trained to perform and will advise you on appropriately.