symptoms of glaucoma:

What are symptoms of glaucoma?

symptoms of glaucoma

Glaucoma - eye disease is asymptomatic with almost at which there is damage to the optic nerve and the retina with a characteristic loss of visual fields associated typically with elevated intraocular pressure without treatment leads to blindness.

Damage to the optic nerve in glaucoma is irreversible and can eventually lead to blindness. Therefore, it is important to timely detect glaucoma is to prevent its progression.

Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness in the world, affecting people of any gender, race, and nationality. In Russia today there are more than 1 million patients with glaucoma (Libman ES, 2009).

symptoms of glaucoma:

Most types of glaucoma, especially in the early stages, are asymptomatic, that is the cause of late uptake of patients to medical attention when the disease reaches an advanced stage, and there are irreversible changes in the optic nerve.

Symptoms of allowing suspected glaucoma are: narrowing of the boundaries of the peripheral field of vision, visual field defects, sometimes iridescent circles when looking at the light source. Visual acuity at the same time can be quite high.

Thus, glaucoma is an insidious disease with asymptomatic in the early stages. The patient notices if the narrowing of the field of view of the borders, it is already at an advanced stage of the disease. To suspect and detect glaucoma at an early stage can only ophthalmologist. Therefore, preventive examinations ophthalmologist people older than 40 years are required.

An acute attack of glaucoma is characterized by a variety of symptoms: sudden blurred or decreased vision, rainbow-colored circles or halos when looking at light sources, eye pain, radiating to the temple, and sometimes nausea and vomiting. If you have such symptoms should immediately go to the nearest emergency room eye care to prevent irreversible vision loss.

Types of glaucoma

Classifications glaucoma lot, but depending on the profile of the anterior chamber angle, distinguish between open-and-closure glaucoma. This is important because flowing open-angle glaucoma usually initially chronically and often gives closure glaucoma attacks of sharp pressure increase which are extremely destructive to the optic nerve and the ocular tissues in general. Also recovered from low-pressure glaucoma, congenital glaucoma and secondary.

Primary open-angle glaucoma is the most common form of glaucoma in Russia and is characterized by a chronic course. If untreated, elevated intraocular pressure damages the optic nerve, which is manifested by gradual narrowing of the boundaries of fields of view up to a tunnel or blindness. The angle of the anterior chamber with the open and cause increased intraocular pressure is to increase the resistance to outflow of liquid through the drainage network. Read more about the open angle glaucoma.
Primary angle-closure glaucoma occurs in Russia less than open and is characterized by a special structure of the eye in which the short anteroposterior axis and a relatively large lens cause a narrow or closed profile of the anterior chamber angle. (See. Figure) flows almost asymptomatic disease, patients may note in the forehead episodes of blurred vision and one-sided headache and temple, the so-called sub-acute attacks of glaucoma. If you do not start the appropriate treatment, it may be an acute attack of glaucoma with severe irreversible consequences. In this form of the intraocular pressure is glaucoma attacks in the early stages may be normal. But the particular form of the structure of your eyes, namely, the anterior chamber angle, allows the ophthalmologist time suspected glaucoma or a predisposition to it, to hold a special screening for glaucoma and take appropriate preventive or curative action. Therefore, regular checkups from an ophthalmologist are extremely important to your vision. Read more about the closure glaucoma.

Glaucoma is a low-pressure or normal pressure glaucoma or glaucoma pseudonormal pressure - this is a special subspecies of open-angle glaucoma, characterized by progressive optic nerve damage and visual field defects corresponding, but at normal intraocular pressure. It is believed that this pathology is the cause of inadequate blood flow to the optic nerve, the so-called low perfusion pressure, and extreme sensitivity to the optic nerve even numbers normal intraocular pressure. Often people who suffer from normotensive glaucoma have low numbers of blood pressure - gip OTO Niki and may suffer cervical osteochondrosis.
Congenital glaucoma - a hereditary form of the disease, the cause of which is the abnormal development of intraocular structures, which leads to fluid retention, increased intraocular pressure, increased diameter and corneal edema.
Congenital glaucoma is detected in a child, usually under the age of children's pediatrician or ophthalmologist and almost always requires surgical treatment.
Secondary glaucoma usually arises due to other eye disorders: trauma to the eye, prolonged inflammatory diseases (uveitis, iridocyclitis), changes in lens position or its scope, intraocular tumors, etc. Long receiving corticosteroids, for example, patients with asthma, or systemic autoimmune diseases. It can cause the development of secondary glaucoma steroid.

Diagnosing glaucoma

Elevated intraocular pressure is the man himself does not feel it can only be determined by a special study - tonometry. Tonometry is a contact, when applied to the eye of a special sinker and contactless, with the help of special devices - pneumotonometer.

Damage to the optic nerve in glaucoma is manifested narrowing the field of view of the borders, therefore the study of the visual field perimetry or is required by screening for glaucoma. Patients themselves rarely notice the change in their peripheral visual field, especially the initial character, which is why doctors-ophthalmologists are often found already developed and far-advanced stage of glaucoma.

In the course of the anterior segment, biomicroscopy ophthalmologist can detect changes characteristic of the different types of glaucoma and suspected it. To see the angle of the anterior chamber and to estimate its shape and condition, it is necessary to conduct a study - gonioscopy.

Inspection fundus ophthalmoscopy or to assess the condition of the optic nerve, retinal vessels. Ophthalmoscopy may be carried out by contact when the eye puts a special lens, but more often it is carried out without contact by using the lens magnifies the image and/or a special apparatus - ophthalmoscope.

Currently, the arsenal of ophthalmologists to diagnose glaucoma, there are high-tech methods of inspection, such as the Heidelberg retinal tomography and optical coherence tomography. These methods make it possible to accurately determine the thickness of the layer of nerve fibers in the optic nerve, its excavation and other parameters, the estimation of which is extremely important in the diagnosis of primary glaucoma and in controlling its flow.

Ultrasound biomicroscopy allows you to visualize the structure of the eye in detail, including ways of outflow of intraocular fluid, and gives an idea of ??the size and the ratio of intraocular structures, are not available imaging techniques ophthalmoscopy.

For more information on glaucoma diagnostic methods, you can read in the section Testing for glaucoma.

glaucoma Treatment

Unfortunately, to date, there are no methods to cure, cure glaucoma, but it can and must be treated and controlled. Depending on the type, stage and severity of the disease ophthalmologist will prescribe drops from glaucoma, will recommend laser treatment or surgery offer.

Generally, treatment is initiated with the purpose of eye drops of different types that have one property - reduce intraocular pressure and thereby prevent damage to the optic nerve. But these need to drip drops constantly on schedule because the period of validity of the eye is limited. Some drops may cause discomfort, a burning sensation in the eye, but that is no reason to cancel the self drops without prior consultation with an ophthalmologist the possibility of replacing them with others.

Regardless of the method of treatment, early diagnosis of glaucoma - it is the best way to avoid blindness. Therefore, preventive examinations ophthalmologist are essential for early detection of glaucoma, especially if you have risk factors for developing this disease.

The asymptomatic and painless course of the disease leads to the careless attitude of some patients to prescribed treatment that drip drops regularly, if not longer, to forget in advance to buy a new bottle of drops, do not appear at the appointed time on the control examination, the ophthalmologist. Such treatment is related to the cause and progression of glaucoma, as a result, irreversible vision loss.

Adherence of the patient to treatment - is one of the main factors of success in the fight against glaucoma.