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Glaucoma
Glaucoma is a silent thief that slowly steals your peripheral vision over time. Early diagnosis and treatment are essential to preserve vision. As an Optometric Glaucoma Specialist, Dr. Januskey is well qualified to diagnose and treat glaucoma.
Glaucoma
Great Comfort and Vision
Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases characterized by damage to the optic nerve usually due to excessively high intraocular pressure (IOP). This increased pressure within the eye, if untreated can lead to optic nerve damage resulting in progressive, permanent vision loss. It starts with unnoticeable blind spots at the edges of the field of vision, progressing to tunnel vision, and then to blindness. For more information, please see our frequently asked questions below.
Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness and a major source of morbidity and disability in the United States. 6 to 13% of people with glaucoma become legally blind.
There are no symptoms until people reach end-stage glaucoma. In most cases, your eye doctor will diagnose you with glaucoma before you experience any symptoms. As glaucoma advances, people start to lose their peripheral vision until eventually, it’s like looking through a toilet paper tube.
The estimated overall prevalence of glaucoma in the US civilian, noninstitutionalized population 40 years of age and older is 2.1%
Glaucoma is most commonly found in:
- people over age 40
- African Americans
- Hispanics
- diabetics
- people with high blood pressure
- people with high eye pressure
- people with large optic nerves
- people with asymmetrically sized optic nerves
- people with a family history of glaucoma
There is no cure for glaucoma, but treatment can dramatically slow the course of the disease. Glaucoma is managed with prescription eye drops, laser surgery, or traditional surgery to lower the eye pressure. Because glaucoma is a chronic condition, people need to take their glaucoma medication for the rest of their life.
On average, glaucoma advances 1.5% each year. It takes over 20 years for the average glaucoma patient to reach severe peripheral vision loss.
The best thing you can do is get a yearly eye exam so that your eye doctor can diagnose you and initiate treatment if necessary. About half of people with glaucoma don’t realize that they have it. Unfortunately, there is no special diet or vitamins that will prevent you from developing glaucoma. Early diagnosis and treatment provides the best prognosis.
