Glaucoma… Shhhhhh!

They don’t call glaucoma the silent thief for nothing. It’s a slow progressive disease that has no symptoms until it robs 70-80% of the vision. 

I met the sweetest lady last November, she was a patient of ours who seemed to be constantly losing her things and looking for her phone, keys, purse, glasses …etc. Her daughter mentioned that mom is “just clumsy.” 

Mom wasn’t clumsy, she had moderate-severe glaucoma and her peripheral vision was gone due to the disease. She’s not clumsy, she has tunnel vision. 

What is Glaucoma? 

Glaucoma is progressive damage to the optic nerve that causes dimming of the peripheral vision. If goes untreated for long enough, it will start to affect the central vision as well. 
 

It is NOT always caused by high pressure in the eyes. When your doctor puffs air in your eyes to check your eye pressure, they’re checking for ONE risk factor for glaucoma but that’s not enough information to diagnose it. 

What can I do about it?

Get your eyes checked annually, ask about your family history (glaucoma is hereditary) and if you have enough risk factors for glaucoma, go ahead and get tested SPECIFICALLY for glaucoma. 

If you are diagnosed with glaucoma, take your drops religiously. If you’re not able to take your drops then let your doctor know ASAP. There are many different ways to treat glaucoma and if you happened to be sensitive to one drop or your insurance didn’t want to cover it, your doctor can easily prescribe something else. 

Check your blood pressure and blood sugar annually with your PCP. Quit smoking and do a sleep study. Go to your eye doctor as directed and be hopeful. 

Who is most likely to lose vision because of glaucoma? 

Glaucoma is more likely to cause vision loss in patients who are diagnosed at a young age ( teens or twenties) or were diagnosed fairly late in the stage of the disease. Patients who are not compliant with their drops (or who don’t have access to treatment) are more likely to progress. Patients who have other health conditions (uncontrolled blood pressure, uncontrolled diabetes, sleep apnea…etc) are also at higher risk for losing their vision. 

If you have never had an eye exam I highly urge you to do so. If you have glaucoma, please let your immediate family know. If you’re prescribed glaucoma meds, please take them regularly and make sure you don’t run out. And if you have any questions, shoot us a message or ask your eye care provider