Imagine how you would feel if someone was caught stealing 10 dollars from your wallet. You may be
angry. You may call the police. You would probably say, “$10.00 is not a lot of money and I won’t
go broke.” However, imagine if the thief confessed to stealing $10.00 a week from you for the past
15 years. That equals around $10,000 dollars! Now you would be upset!
Glaucoma is a disease very similar to this thief. It steals a small amount of your vision each week
and largely goes unnoticed until it is too late. Vision lost to glaucoma can never be recovered. Risk
factors for developing glaucoma include old age, race, family history, and certain medications. The
only way to be sure you don’t have glaucoma is to be checked by an ophthalmologist. An
ophthalmologist is a medical doctor with training in both medical and surgical eye care. He or she is
uniquely qualified to diagnose glaucoma.
Glaucoma is an eye disease associated with high intraocular pressure. Just like many people have
high blood pressure, many people can develop high eye pressure. As this pressure builds, it exerts
unnecessary forces on the nerve fibers of the eye. The most venerable nerves are those that are
used for peripheral or side vision. That explains why glaucoma is the silent thief of sight. We don’t
initially notice when we lose this peripheral vision and it can’t be recovered. It is sad to meet a
patient for the first time and diagnose him with vision threatening glaucoma. We know this probably
could have been prevented.
Glaucoma is usually treated with drops and minor laser procedures. Most people, if they visit their
ophthalmologist regularly will never develop glaucoma beyond this. The patient that never visits the
eye doctor is usually the one who goes blind from glaucoma. It is therefore vital for all seniors to
have an annual exam with an ophthalmologist. You cannot feel, see, or diagnose glaucoma without
the help of your doctor. Don’t let the thief rob you make an appointment with your eye MD today.
What is Glaucoma?
______________________________________________________________________ |
801-294-8855 |