Ron Guiley OD, MPH, FAAO
January 9, 2019
Patients are sometimes confused about cataracts, macular degeneration and glaucoma, so today we’ll give a brief introduction on glaucoma. Future articles will go into more detail concerning the other diseases.
Glaucoma has the following characteristics:
- It’s normally a slow deterioration of the optic nerve that is a major cause of blindness in the world. Nearly 2% of the US population over the age of 40 has glaucoma.
- In the early stages of the disease the patient often has no symptoms, and its presence can only be detected by an eye examination that closely inspects the optic nerve.
- While elevated eye pressure is a risk factor for the disease, many patients have glaucoma with normal pressure.
- In recent years we have developed much better ways of slowing down the disease. However, we still have no cure for it.
- The disease is genetic, though many patients are not aware of any family history of it.
Stay tuned for future articles that discuss these topics in more detail. If you missed it, here are articles on Glaucoma we found interesting and informative:
Tell a Friend about “The Sneak Thief of Sight” during Glaucoma Awareness Month
Glaucoma, the “Sneak Thief of Sight,” May Strike Without Pain or Other Symptoms