Glaucoma
Introduction
Untreated glaucoma can lead to blindness. Glaucoma is one of the leading causes of blindness worldwide. Your eye doctor can screen you for glaucoma during your regular eye exam. Although there is no cure for glaucoma, early detection and treatment can manage the condition and prevent vision loss.
Anatomy
Causes
Symptoms
Diagnosis
Treatment
Glaucoma involves lifelong treatment and monitoring. Most people with open-angle glaucoma respond well to eye drop medications. Surgery may be necessary if eye drops fail to reduce intraocular pressure. Laser surgery is used to open the canals in people with open-angled glaucoma. Lasers can also be used to open the iris in people with closed-angle glaucoma. In some cases, glaucoma filtration surgery called trabeculectomy is used to create a new drainage system for the eye.
Am I at Risk
People who are farsighted are at greatest risk for angle closure glaucoma. Open angle glaucoma often runs in families but anybody can develop it. People who have sleep apnea are also at risk.
Complications
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This information is intended for educational and informational purposes only. It should not be used in place of an individual consultation or examination or replace the advice of your health care professional and should not be relied upon to determine diagnosis or course of treatment.
The iHealthSpot patient education library was written collaboratively by the iHealthSpot editorial team which includes Senior Medical Authors Dr. Mary Car-Blanchard, OTD/OTR/L and Valerie K. Clark, and the following editorial advisors: Steve Meadows, MD, Ernie F. Soto, DDS, Ronald J. Glatzer, MD, Jonathan Rosenberg, MD, Christopher M. Nolte, MD, David Applebaum, MD, Jonathan M. Tarrash, MD, and Paula Soto, RN/BSN. This content complies with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health information. The library commenced development on September 1, 2005 with the latest update/addition on February 16, 2022. For information on iHealthSpot’s other services including medical website design, visit www.iHealthSpot.com.
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