Educating the public on glaucoma

GLAUCOMA is a disease of the optic nerve, which is the part of the eye that carries the images we see from the eye to the brain. The optic nerve is made up of many nerve fibres. Glaucoma damages these nerve fibres, which can lead to blind spots and vision loss.

There are many causes of this damage or optic nerve head failure, just like there are many causes of heart failure. Unique to glaucoma is that in most cases, there are absolutely no symptoms in the early stages. By the time vision is affected, it is too late to reverse the condition. Therefore, screening for this condition is important because if detected early, blindness is preventable, but if detected late, blindness is irreversible.

There are many risk factors for glaucoma. A major risk factor has to do with the pressure inside the eye, or intraocular pressure (IOP). When the clear liquid called the aqueous humour that flows in and out of the eye cannot drain properly, pressure builds up in the eye. The resulting increase in IOP can damage the optic nerve.

Other risks factors are age, family history, extreme refractive errors such as long- or short-sightedness, diabetes, migraine, history of steroid use and eye injury.

The most common form of glaucoma is primary open-angle glaucoma, where the fluid that normally circulates in the front portion of the eye is blocked from flowing out of the eye, causing IOP to increase, which can damage the optic nerve. Most people who develop primary open-angle glaucoma notice no symptoms until their vision is impaired.

In angle-closure glaucoma, the iris (the coloured part of the eye) may drop and close off the drainage angle, blocking the flow of aqueous fluid and leading to increased IOP

or optic nerve damage. Symptoms can include headaches, nausea, vomiting, seeing halos or colours around lights and eye pain.

Similar to high blood pressure, treatment for glaucoma is life-long. So long as you control your IOP, then blindness can be preventable, but if you stop your treatment, then the disease can still progress and lead to blindness.

Surgery can be performed if your IOP cannot be controlled despite treatment.

If your disease is not yet advanced, surgery can prevent further visual field loss, but what is already lost cannot be recovered. There are several operations that can be done to lower IOP.

Seek the advice of an eye specialist for treatment options.

n For more information, email enquiries@isec.my