What is glaucoma?
Ocular pressure glaucoma is a disease characterized by the deterioration of the normal structure of the optic nerve as a result of elevations in intraocular pressure, affecting the peripheral vision of the patient in the early period, and causing blindness in the late period if no diagnosis is made and treatment is not started. Another characteristic feature of glaucoma is the gradual enlargement of the optic cup, which is a small depression in the center of the optic disc in the eye and occupies one-third of the disc.
Eye pressure glaucoma treatment
Glaucoma, also known as glaucoma, has been the subject of research and studies for many years because of the development of pitting and atrophy in the optic disc, the destruction of nerve fibers in the visual field, leading to blindness and irreversible consequences. In the light of the data at the World Glaucoma Congress held in Australia in 2019, it is possible to say that there are 70 million glaucoma patients in the world and 6.5 million of them are blind due to the inability to carry out effective treatment. Early diagnosis and treatment are of vital importance because glaucoma is an insidious disease that does not show symptoms in the early period and vision loss occurs slowly, and therefore the patient cannot be noticed until his/her old age.Glaucoma is treatable, but its losses are irreversible.
What are glaucoma risk factors?
Although it is very important in the formation of glaucoma, the level of intraocular pressure is not the only risk factor. Some conditions such as thinner-than-normal cornea of the eye, glaucoma seen in first-degree relatives, advanced age, high and low blood pressure, circulatory disorders, thyroid gland diseases, diabetes, uncontrolled use of cortisone and eye drops, myopia are risk factors that play a role in the formation of glaucoma. In the early period, the patient with glaucoma may have complaints such as headache, blurred vision or problems in near vision, difficulty in adapting to the dark, but it is very difficult to be noticed by the patient since the patient’s vision is impaired. In the last stage, the patient loses his peripheral vision and applies to the doctor, saying that he is looking around through a pipe. For early diagnosis and treatment, measurement of eye pressure and examination of the fundus are vital.
How is glaucoma – eye pressure – treated?
If the eye has been damaged by glaucoma, it is irreversible. In general, treatments are related to before this condition occurs. The most important issue at the point of glaucoma loss is regular control. Medication, eye drops, laser surgery and surgical intervention are the treatment methods.