Seniorcare in Green Bay, WI provided by Comfort Keepers: What You Need to Know About Glaucoma on National Glaucoma Awareness Month
Learn how Comfort Keepers seniorcare in Green Bay, WI can help treat glaucoma
When you hear glaucoma, what comes to mind? Maybe a painful eye disease or maybe vision loss. Either way, it is a serious eye disease that needs to be managed as it does cause complete blindness, especially in seniors and can present itself without symptoms in some cases. The Comfort Keepers seniorcare team will talk more about glaucoma below to provide you with a better idea of the disease.
Glaucoma Risk Factors
One of the biggest risk factors for glaucoma is elevated pressure that is present within the eye. While this is the most common risk factor, it is not the only one. Some of the other risk factors include old age, thin corneas, previous eye trauma or injury, family history of glaucoma, steroid use, and a history of shock or anemia.
Glaucoma Causes
Glaucoma happens when the fluid within the eye does not properly drain and causes a buildup of eye pressure. The pressure then places stress on the optic nerve and this can lead to vision loss or even blindness. Comfort Keepers seniorcare professionals warn that glaucoma does not always occur because of pressure in the eye and may be present when the individual has a fragile optic nerve or when there is poor blood flow in the eye.
Glaucoma Symptoms
Professionals such as the Comfort Keepers seniorcare team recommend that seniors visit the eye doctor at a minimum of once per year for an exam to rule out glaucoma. Open-angle glaucoma affects many seniors and it does not present itself with any symptoms. The only symptom is vision loss.
Narrow-angle glaucoma is considered a medical emergency because it is painful, and it needs to be addressed quickly. This type of glaucoma will present itself with vomiting, severe eye pain, blurred vision, seeing halos around lights, and nausea.
Glaucoma Treatment
There are several ways that glaucoma can be treated and the most commonly relied on method is through eye drops. The patient will receive these drops from the eye doctor and they work to alleviate the pressure in the eye and decrease the rate of fluid buildup. If these drops do not work, then oral medications will be prescribed.
Another treatment option is laser surgery, which is used to treat open-angle glaucoma. This is typically a last resort treatment, but is effective when performed.
The Comfort Keepers seniorcare team is here to help your loved one who may suffer from glaucoma. Our experts want to remind you that glaucoma cannot be prevented, but it can be managed and treated when care is sought out.