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Facts And Information On Glaucoma San Antonio

By Eloise Hewitt


Glaucoma refers not just to one eye disease but a group of eye conditions that bring about damage of the optic nerve. This may result to vision loss. When there is too high pressure within the eye, known as intraocular pressure, this is likely to lead to eye damage. It is among the leading causes of blindness and damages vision slowly in such a way that one may not realize the loss of vision until later in the advanced stages. When considering treatment of glaucoma San Antonio residents should know all details involved.

Of the various types of this condition, the most common is primary-angle glaucoma. This has no noticeable symptoms other than the fact that it becomes more defined during the advanced stages. With early diagnosis and timely treatment, any damage to the optic nerve may be prevented. During the periodic examination of the eyes, there should be measurement of intraocular pressure.

Primary-angle and angle-closure glaucoma have very different symptoms. The first of the two, primary-angle, is of two types; gradual loss of peripheral vision in the two eyes and tunnel vision during the advanced stages. The other, angle-closure, has symptoms such as blurred vision, pain in the eyes, vomiting, sudden onset of visual disturbance and nausea. This condition is referred to as secondary when it can be traced to known causes and primary when the causes are unknown.

Individuals are not supposed to wait until the symptoms are advanced. The key to avoiding suffering from this condition is to go for check-ups frequently. Whenever one realizes sharp pain in the eyes, blurred vision, strong headaches and nausea, they should seek medical advice. Otherwise, there is the risk of seeking medical care when it is too late.

There is the fluid known as aqueous humor that flows in and out of eyes. When the fluid builds up inside the eye, there is increased pressure. This fluid gets out of the eye via a drainage system that is at the angle where the iris and cornea meet. If in any case the drainage system does not work well, then the fluid does not filter normally from the eyes. There is thus pressure build-up in the eyes.

Among the many causes of glaucoma, there are risk factors that enhance possibility of suffering from it. One such factor is age, with people over 40 the most affected when it comes to angle-closure glaucoma. For the African Americans, there is a higher risk of developing the condition, plus it takes place in younger people. Mexican-Americans over 60 years are at increased risk.

Persons that have a family history of glaucoma have a greater risk of development. There is a genetic link to the condition, which means that there is a defect in one or more genes which makes some individuals to be more susceptible to the disease. Medical conditions that may increase risk of infection are high blood pressure, diabetes and heart diseases.

The treatment is mainly used to reduce pressure of the eyes. The pressure of the eyes is lowered, the drainage system improved or the quantity of fluid reduced. The condition itself cannot be cured. It is the damages that are minimized and vision loss prevented.




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