by Administrator
29. November 2010 14:48
Glaucoma is an eye disease that targets the optic nerve and causes rapid vision loss. It generally tends to affect people when they reach a certain age and rarely affects young people. However, there is no hard and fast rule regarding this. This disease can be very difficult to deal with as eye sight is one of the most important of our senses and losing it can cause massive adjustment problems in life. It can mean having to change the way you live. Thus, it is important to be aware of the causes; symptoms and preventions strategies that can help keep this dreadful disease at bay.
Causes: There are no set causes that are known to cause glaucoma. However, there are certain risk factors that are associated with the onset of this disease at some point in life. People who have parents or siblings affected by glaucoma have increased chances of developing the disease. Also, the elderly are more at risk from glaucoma than younger or middle aged people. This disease is also more likely to manifest itself in people who suffer from myopia, diabetes, arthritis, high blood pressure and Crohn’s disease. People who share Asian or Black genes are also more likely to have glaucoma than people descending from any other lineage.
Symptoms: There are many signs that can help catch glaucoma in its early stages. If you develop blurred vision or experience pain when you face significant changes in the amount of light your eye is exposed to, you may be suffering from early glaucoma. Other early signs of this disease are observing halos around bright objects or being unable to see from the sides of your eyes. If you have at least one of these symptoms, you need to be concerned about having this disease and head to your eye doctor.
Prevention: There is no way to prevent the manifestation of this disease. However, steps can be taken to catch it early so that the requisite treatment can be advised in a timely manner and your vision can be saved. You should have regular testing of your eyes done if you happen to be middle aged or at an advanced age in life. If you have recently suffered from a chronic disease, you should consider getting tested for glaucoma as this is also one of the risk factors for this disease.
For more information on various eye related diseases, visit us at Killeen Eyecare Center. We are located at 416 North Gray Street, Killeen, TX 76541.
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