Glaucoma Treatment
Glaucoma is a very common eye condition and has the potential to lead to blindness if it is not treated as needed. While the condition cannot be cured, the treatment for glaucoma can slow the progression of the disease and limit any impact or loss of vision. Treatment options for glaucoma include eye drops, laser surgery, or surgical procedures. In many cases, multiple treatment types will be needed to manage glaucoma over time.
Since there are no symptoms from glaucoma until the severe end stages of the disease, it is important to maintain all follow-up appointments to ensure that the treatment is working as needed.
What is Glaucoma?
Glaucoma is a condition that results due to damage to the optic nerve. This damage is usually due to the eye pressure inside of the eye being too high and leading to compression on the nerve in the back of the eye.
The normal eye pressure ranges from 10 to 21, anything greater than 21 can be indicative of glaucoma if additional signs are present.
The damage to the optic nerve will not cause vision loss initially, instead, the first changes will result in loss of peripheral vision in one or more quadrants of the visual field.
The Goal of Glaucoma Treatment
The goal of glaucoma treatment is to lower eye pressure and prevent any additional damage from occurring to the optic nerve.
Depending on the person, the ideal eye pressure may be anything in the typical normal range, in the low teens, or even below 10 in the most advanced cases of glaucoma.
Treating Glaucoma with Eye Drops
In the majority of cases, the first treatment used for glaucoma is prescription eye drops. These eye drops can reduce eye pressure by up to thirty percent of the highest recorded eye pressure.
There are many eye drops used to treat glaucoma. These medications will either reduce the rate at which fluid is made inside the eye or increase the rate at which it is drained.
There are combination eye drops that have multiple medications in one bottle, and there are instances in which multiple types of eye drops will be prescribed.
The biggest downside to using eye drops to treat glaucoma is that the drops must be used daily to effectively treat glaucoma.
This means that missing or forgetting to use the drops or failing to get the eye drops in the eye can reduce the effectiveness of the treatment.
Laser Surgery (SLT) for Glaucoma
There is a laser procedure, a selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT), which can be performed and reduce the eye pressure by up to thirty percent from the previous eye pressure.
This procedure is a quick, painless procedure that does not require any preparation or post-surgical recovery.
This procedure is gaining popularity due to the ability to quickly lower eye pressure and reduce the dependence on eye drops for treatment.
Glaucoma can also be Treated with Surgery
If other options have been unsuccessful in controlling the eye pressure and preventing glaucoma progression, there are incisional surgeries to treat glaucoma.
Each of these procedures carries a higher risk than eye drops or laser therapy and is saved for instances when other options are exhausted.
Our eye doctors at GHEye excel in the prescription of glasses, contact lenses and the diagnosis of a variety of eye diseases. Call our optometrists at (571) 445-3692 to schedule your appointment today to be evaluated for glaucoma treatment. Our eye doctors, Dr. Ally Stoeger and Dr. Jennifer Sun, provide the highest quality optometry services and eye exams in the Gainesville VA and Haymarket VA areas.
Glaucoma is a very common eye condition and has the potential to lead to blindness if it is not treated as needed. While the condition cannot be cured, the treatment for glaucoma can slow the progression of the disease and limit any impact or loss of vision. Treatment options for glaucoma include eye drops, laser surgery, or surgical procedures. In many cases, multiple treatment types will be needed to manage glaucoma over time.
Since there are no symptoms from glaucoma until the severe end stages of the disease, it is important to maintain all follow-up appointments to ensure that the treatment is working as needed.
What is Glaucoma?
Glaucoma is a condition that results due to damage to the optic nerve. This damage is usually due to the eye pressure inside of the eye being too high and leading to compression on the nerve in the back of the eye.
The normal eye pressure ranges from 10 to 21, anything greater than 21 can be indicative of glaucoma if additional signs are present.
The damage to the optic nerve will not cause vision loss initially, instead, the first changes will result in loss of peripheral vision in one or more quadrants of the visual field.
The Goal of Glaucoma Treatment
The goal of glaucoma treatment is to lower eye pressure and prevent any additional damage from occurring to the optic nerve.
Depending on the person, the ideal eye pressure may be anything in the typical normal range, in the low teens, or even below 10 in the most advanced cases of glaucoma.
Treating Glaucoma with Eye Drops
In the majority of cases, the first treatment used for glaucoma is prescription eye drops. These eye drops can reduce eye pressure by up to thirty percent of the highest recorded eye pressure.
There are many eye drops used to treat glaucoma. These medications will either reduce the rate at which fluid is made inside the eye or increase the rate at which it is drained.
There are combination eye drops that have multiple medications in one bottle, and there are instances in which multiple types of eye drops will be prescribed.
The biggest downside to using eye drops to treat glaucoma is that the drops must be used daily to effectively treat glaucoma.
This means that missing or forgetting to use the drops or failing to get the eye drops in the eye can reduce the effectiveness of the treatment.
Laser Surgery (SLT) for Glaucoma
There is a laser procedure, a selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT), which can be performed and reduce the eye pressure by up to thirty percent from the previous eye pressure.
This procedure is a quick, painless procedure that does not require any preparation or post-surgical recovery.
This procedure is gaining popularity due to the ability to quickly lower eye pressure and reduce the dependence on eye drops for treatment.
Glaucoma can also be Treated with Surgery
If other options have been unsuccessful in controlling the eye pressure and preventing glaucoma progression, there are incisional surgeries to treat glaucoma.
Each of these procedures carries a higher risk than eye drops or laser therapy and is saved for instances when other options are exhausted.