The Importance of Early Diagnosis of Glaucoma

Glaucoma is a well known eye condition in which your optic nerve, the bundle of nerves

at the back of the eye, which feeds visual information to the brain, is damaged because

of high inner eye pressure, otherwise known as intraocular pressure. This condition

can lead to total permanent blindness in a short amount of time if it is not treated in a

timely manner. In addition, glaucoma usually has no noticeable symptoms, and patients

diagnosed with glaucoma often note that they did not feel or notice anything different

about their vision at all. So, what can be done to detect glaucoma, and how can you

prevent it?

As noted above, glaucoma usually shows no symptoms until significant damage has

already been done to your eyes. This means that waiting until you already see or feel a

difference in your eyes or vision will significantly increase the chances that irreversible

damage may already have been done to your vision before glaucoma is detected and

treatment is started. Therefore, the central and effective way to prevent glaucoma is to

have a comprehensive eye exam once a year, at a minimum, including screening and

tests for glaucoma, so that signs and risk factors of glaucoma can be identified early.

Recent medical advances in retinal scanning and glacuoma screenings have allowed

for earlier detection of glaucoma than ever before. This advanced technology allows

your Ft. Lauterdale Associates eye doctor to measure your inner eye pressure

(tonometry), inspect the drainage angle of your eye (gonioscopy), evaluate your optic

nerve (ophthalmolscopy) and test the visual field of each eye (perimetry). Each of these

tests measures provide your eye doctor with information to detect glaucoma early and

begin treatment, for example, prescribing special eye drops meant to treat inner eye

pressure, which is often associated with glaucoma. These test results are often the

first line of defense against glaucoma if these indications present themselves.

Along with routine eye exams to ensure early detection, a variety of other steps are

doable to proactively prevent the development of glaucoma. A regular program of

moderate exercise has been proven to benefit your overall health. For example,

exercise such as walking or jogging three or more times every week can help lower

your intraocular pressure. Eye injuries, such as blunt force trauma, and severe eye

infections have also been linked to traumatic or secondary glaucoma, so

protecting your eyes from injury and keeping them clean of bacteria are also important

for preventing glaucoma.

For more on early detection of glaucoma and treatments, contact your Ft. Lauderdale Eye Associates doctor today.