WHAT IS GLAUCOMA?

Glaucoma has been a disease which occurs undiagnosed unless the symptoms get severe enough for the patient to notice and take action. The number of people suffering from this disease has been constantly increasing in Australia. This has been mostly due to the increasing number of the older population in the country.

Glaucoma, if not treated correctly, can lead to a permanent loss of vision. It is the optic nerve that is affected with high pressure due to fluid blockage. These fluids build up in time causing a blockage and hence glaucoma is seen more often in an aged person. Sometimes, glaucoma can be genetically influential and its risk increases with age.

Symptoms

The initial symptom of glaucoma is basically the decrease in peripheral vision. However, it becomes quite difficult to detect this at the initial stage especially due to lack of pain or discomfort. As the symptoms continue to build such as a higher pressure in the optic nerve, the vision loss increases making it more evident for the person to get an eye test as soon as possible for detection and treatment.

Diagnosing and treating Glaucoma

In Australia, most Glaucoma cases were never diagnosed or detected at an early stage. In order to detect it early and prevent blindness, you must ensure to go for regular eye tests to an optometrist or ophthalmologist. It is essential to check for factors such as the eye pressure, damage to the optic nerve, loss of visual field and the angle where the iris meets the cornea.