Since January has been designated National Glaucoma Awareness Month, this post is intended to stress the importance of being aware of the indications of this vision threatening disease. Glaucoma is a group of progressive ocular disorders that cause damage to the optic nerve, which may cause a permanent loss of vision. If untreated, the damage often initially results in vision loss in the periphery of the visual field and ultimately ends up causing total blindness. It is thought to be the leading reason for preventable blindness and an estimated sixty million individuals around the world suffer from the disease.

A contributing source of glaucoma is considered to be an increase in pressure in the eye. As pressure around the eye is elevated, this causes damage to the optic nerve which is responsible for delivering signals from the eye to the brain. In instances where this system doesn't function normally, vision is impaired. At the current time, optic nerve damage can't be fixed.

Glaucoma is particularly threatening because distinct from other forms of vision loss, there are no symptoms until irreparable damage is done.
It is due to this that glaucoma has acquired the nickname the "sneak thief of sight." The quandary is how can a patient diagnose a disease which has no obvious symptoms?

Early detection of the disease is crucial to effective management. While glaucoma risk is universal, specific groups have a higher risk than others. Risk factors for glaucoma can include adults over 45, anyone having a family history of glaucoma, a predisposition to diabetes, or other eye conditions such as myopia, hyperopia, eye injuries or elevated intraocular pressure.

There are different kinds of glaucoma such as open-angle or closed angle glaucomas. As a rule of thumb, both eyes are affected, although the disease may advance more quickly in one eye than in the other.

You can learn more about glaucoma if you speak to an eye doctor. There are a number of diagnostic eye evaluations relied on by doctors to check damage to the ocular nerves caused by glaucoma. Particularly if you are over 45 or have one of the other risk factors named above, you should plan for a comprehensive eye exam at least once a year.

It is unfortunate that most types of glaucoma are not preventable. Nevertheless the deterioration of sight can be stopped by timely diagnosis and quick treatment. Contact Fort Wayne Family Eyecare today, for your annual glaucoma screening.