Glaucoma: Facts, Care, and Prevention

The American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) estimates that 2.2 million people across the United States suffer from primary open-angle glaucoma (this is the most common type of glaucoma).

Furthermore, they expect this will increase to 3.3 million people affected by 2020 since the U.S. population will continue to increase.

Glaucoma Care and Treatment

It's always best to seek treatment early on before glaucoma worsens. Many times patients have glaucoma but they don't notice it until they experience vision loss to some extent. At this point of vision loss, the optic nerve has already been irreversibly damaged (sometimes leading to permanent vision loss).

If a person does not seek treatment for glaucoma at any point, he or she can suffer from peripheral vision loss (also called “tunnel vision”), which can in turn lead to blindness.

We recommend seeking treatment and getting screened for glaucoma at your local optometry office.

Glaucoma Symptoms

Before glaucoma-related vision loss occurs, there are a few symptoms to be aware of:

• • nausea
• • vomiting
• • blurry vision
• • seeing halos around lights
• • significant eye pain

If you or a loved one suffers from these symptoms, we highly recommend visiting the nearest emergency room or scheduling your appointment with Dr. Gary Kirman or Dr. Stephen Baer at Kirman Eye. Doing so can help to prevent permanent vision loss.

Since some individuals may not notice initial symptoms (or they may not have symptoms at all), it is very important to get a routine eye exam. During your optical appointment, we can screen for glaucoma-related symptoms, along with other eye-related problems.

Tips for Preventing Glaucoma

There are several ways that you can help minimize your risk for glaucoma, including:

• • eating a healthy diet, including fruits and vegetables
• • eating a varied diet
• • not smoking
• • maintaining a healthy weight

At Kirman Eye, we use the Heidelberg Retina Tomograph (HRT) to detect and manage glaucoma. Our doctors also recommended the RHA scan (routine eye health screening) for patients over age 50.