Comfort Keepers Health Care Agencies in Oklahoma City, OK: What You Need to Know About Glaucoma on National Glaucoma Awareness Month

Comfort Keepers health care agencies in Oklahoma City, OK wants you to know how to manage glaucoma

Glaucoma is not a painful disease, but it is one that needs special attention because it causes damage to the optic nerve of the eye. The optic nerve connects your eye and brain together and this is what allows you to see. Unfortunately, glaucoma is one of the leading causes of blindness in senior citizens, so it is a serious health concern. Below, the Comfort Keepers health care agencies will talk about the condition in depth in hopes that you will have a better understanding.

Risk Factors for Glaucoma

One of the biggest risk factors for glaucoma is elevated pressure within the eye. Some of the other common risk factors include thin cornea, old age, previous eye injuries, steroid use, a family history of glaucoma, nearsightedness, and a history of anemia or shock.

Causes of Glaucoma

Glaucoma occurs when the fluid within the eye does not drain properly and this leads to a buildup of pressure within the eye. The pressure stops the optic nerve from being able to work properly, which means that vision loss or blindness can occur. Comfort Keepers Health care agencies want you to know that glaucoma can arise in an individual who has normal eye pressure if the optic nerve is fragile or if there is poor blood flow.

Symptoms of Glaucoma

Comfort Keepers Health care agencies suggest that seniors visit the eye doctor annually to have their eyes checked for glaucoma since open-angle glaucoma does not show any signs or symptoms other than loss of vision.

Narrow-angle glaucoma is a medical emergency and needs to be handled quickly. This type of glaucoma causes severe eye pain, vomiting, eye redness, blurred vision, nausea, and seeing halos around lights.

Glaucoma Treatments

There are many ways that glaucoma can be treated. The most common method of treatment is via eye drops that the patient receives from the doctor. These drops work to reduce the formation of eye fluid or increase the rate at which it outflows from the eye. If the eye drops do not help, oral medication may be prescribed.

Another treatment option is laser surgery, which is generally used to treat open-angle glaucoma in older adults. The surgery can be effective at stopping fluid blockage in the eye.

Comfort Keepers Health care agencies experts say that glaucoma cannot be prevented, but it is able to be controlled, especially when treated early.