Glaucoma, popularly known as glaucoma or glaucoma, is an important health problem that occurs with increased intraocular pressure and can cause vision loss.
What is glaucoma?
60 years old worldwide Eye pressure, which is the most common cause of blindness in people with a higher eye, is caused by the accumulation of fluid in the front of the eye. In every healthy individual, the eye fluid called humor aqueous is produced continuously and ensures that the eye is cleaned and eye and eyelid movements can be made easily. Excess eye fluid is sucked away from the eye. This also helps stabilize the intraocular pressure.
The pressure created by the accumulation of eye fluid in the eye increases the intraocular pressure. This condition, which causes damage to the optic nerve, can lead to complete loss of vision if left untreated. The discomfort, which is mostly characterized by a headache that becomes evident in the morning hours, can also cause problems such as blurred vision from time to time. The presence of pain around the eyes and the presence of halos and halos around the light at night can be counted among the symptoms of glaucoma. Individuals over the age of 40 who have a family history of eye pressure should have eye checks at least once every two years.
There is the eye fluid, defined as humor aqueous, with the space that fills the posterior side of the cornea and the anterior side of the lens. The aqueous humor, which is constantly secreted by the ciliary body in the eye, provides nutrition to the lens and cornea. Since there are no vessels in the cornea and lens, the presence of this fluid is extremely important for maintaining the continuity of eye metabolism. The excess part of the aqueous humor, which increases as it is constantly secreted, is absorbed by the trabeculum located in the lower part of the iris, which forms the colored part of the eye, and transferred to the blood circulation. Thus, the moist structure of the eye is constantly kept in balance. This keeps the intraocular pressure in balance.
In healthy individuals, the intraocular pressure is between 6 and 21 mmHg. Glaucoma can be defined as a change in the amount of pressure that changes throughout the day by more than 5 mmHg during the day. In the presence of glaucoma, which is a slowly progressing disease, the nerve fibers in the eye of the person cannot be adequately nourished and Optic nerves begin to be affected from the outer to the centre. Accordingly, although visual acuity is preserved, the visual field gradually begins to narrow. If glaucoma is not treated, the disease can cause a person to completely lose their vision. Since the eyesight of both eyes complement each other, it is extremely difficult for the person to notice the discomfort. Therefore, it is important to have an eye examination every two years.
What are the Types of Glaucoma?
The most common types of glaucoma are:
Open Angle Glaucoma: Very slow This progressive type of glaucoma usually does not show any symptoms. Although it affects both eyes, the effect it creates has different results in each eye. Since vision loss develops very slowly, open-angle glaucoma is not noticed until permanent damage to the eye of the person occurs, mostly in people aged 50 years and older. In this disorder, which has a prevalence of about 1% in the community, calcification occurs in the trabeculum region where the eye fluid is discharged. Thus, the aqueous humor stays in the eye, causing an increase in intraocular pressure. Under the influence of the increased pressure, the optic nerves begin to be damaged slowly.
After the damage reaches a certain level, the optic nerve head collapses. This causes the person to completely lose their eyesight. Unlike other types of glaucoma, the intraocular pressure does not exceed 22 mmHg in the presence of open-angle glaucoma. Having a family history of glaucoma, nearsightedness, hypertension and diabetes are important risk factors for open angle glaucoma. Therefore, the person can feel the symptoms easily and treatment can be started before visual impairment occurs. This disorder, also known as narrow-angle glaucoma, is mostly seen in people with narrow-angle or closed-angle eye structures.
Even though the trabecular drainage is normal, when the pupil dilates, it closes and occludes the drainage angle of the iris. In this case, the aqueous humor is trapped in the eye, and as a result, the intraocular pressure rises above 50 mmHg. In the presence of closed-angle glaucoma, which causes the person to see colored halos and impaired vision, the cornea is also paid. Intraocular pressure, which can cause paralysis of the pupil, causes the person to feel very severe eye pain. In some cases, vomiting may occur due to eye pain and headache. This situation, which is also defined as glaucoma crisis, can go away on its own and most often requires immediate medical attention.
What are the Symptoms of Glaucoma?
Although different symptoms are seen in different types of glaucoma, the common symptoms in the presence of glaucoma are as follows: can be listed as:
- Eye pain,
- Eye redness,
- Blurred vision,
- Decreased vision,
- Moire and halo around lights,
- Pain in the forehead,
- Headache,
- Nausea,
- Vomiting
Who Gets Glaucoma?
The risk of glaucoma increases in people over the age of 40. If you are over 60, the risk is much higher. The risk of glaucoma is much higher in people with a family history of glaucoma, abnormalities in the optic nerve anatomy, and people with structurally thin cornea. In addition to all these, the incidence of glaucoma is higher in high hyperopia, migraine and diabetes patients than in healthy individuals.
Glaucoma Causes?
Eye fluid secreted from the ciliary body in the eye or In other words, due to the inability to drain the aqueous humor, the intraocular pressure rises. This condition, called glaucoma, damages the optic nerves that allow vision. As a result, the damaged optic nerve head collapses, causing the person to lose sight.
How to Diagnose Glaucoma?
For the diagnosis of glaucoma, the ophthalmologist performs a comprehensive eye examination. In the meantime, eye pressure is measured with a tonometry device. When deemed necessary, visual acuity test can be performed to measure the quality of the person's vision. Peripheral vision is investigated by visual field test. Dilated eye examination can be performed to detect the presence of damage to the retina and optic nerves. In the optic nerve head analyzer method, the diagnosis is made after measuring the optic nerves with the help of laser and corneal thickness with pachymetry.
Glaucoma Treatment Nas� What is done?
The success of glaucoma treatment is directly related to how early glaucoma is diagnosed. Since the nerve damage caused by glaucoma is permanent, treatment can only protect the current situation. Therefore, it is extremely important for people with glaucoma symptoms to be diagnosed as soon as possible. Medication is primarily used in the treatment of glaucoma. With these drugs, which are in the form of eye drops and pills, it is ensured that the aqueous humor is discharged in a healthy way, thus reducing the eye pressure. Another treatment method is laser operation.
With laser operation, the holes in the drainage area where eye fluid needs to be drained are improved. Thanks to this method, which allows the eye fluid to be discharged easily, the eye pressure of the person returns to normal. After the operation, the use of eye drops is required. The last option in the treatment of glaucoma is glaucoma surgery. In this surgery, also known as trabeculectomy in medicine, a small amount of tissue is removed from the area to drain the eye fluid. Possible complications are prevented by using eye drops after the surgical operation, which can reduce the intraocular pressure by 80%.
Read: 0
