Glaucoma
What is Glaucoma?
Glaucoma is a group of conditions that damage the optic nerve, the wire that connects your eyes to the brain. As it progresses, you lose your peripheral (corner of your eye) vision, usually over a decade from start to finish.
In general, three things are everyday in all Glaucomas, increased eye pressure, changes to the optic nerve head, and loss of peripheral vision.
The main types of Glaucoma are Acute and Chronic.
Chronic
Chronic Open Angle Glaucoma is the most common type of Glaucoma that can be developed. Generally associated with increased eye pressure over many years, it is usually asymptomatic (no symptoms) until you lose a significant peripheral field and start bumping into things.
Getting a routine check-up at Murray Opticians means we will check for your pressures, especially if you are over 40, as this is when the risk starts to increase or if you are in an at-risk category.
Treating Open Angle Glaucoma can be done in 2 ways: eye drops or having a minor surgical implant (2mm size) placed in the eye.
Acute
Acute Angle Closure Glaucoma is rare and develops overnight. The first symptom is intense pain in your eye, to the point where you might also feel sick. This needs urgent intervention, as there is a blockage in pressure which causes the eye pressure to shoot to a very high level.
Treatment is at the hospital, where they will use drops and possibly liquid medicine to calm the pressure. After this, the Ophthalmologist would use a laser treatment to reduce recurrence to nil.
Eye Pressure
Just like you have blood pressure, you also have eye pressure. If you have high blood pressure, this can indicate damage to the heart. If you have increased eye pressure, this can tell there is damage happening to the eye.
At Murray Opticians, we check your eye pressure as standard when you are over 40.