January is Glaucoma Awareness Month - What you should know about Glaucoma

Glaucoma is known as "the silent thief of sight" since there are no symptoms and once vision is lost, it's permanent. As much as 40% of vision can be lost without a person noticing.

Glaucoma is the leading cause of preventable blindness. Over 2.2 million Americans, and over 60 million people worldwide, have glaucoma. Experts estimate that half of them don’t know they have it. 

What is Glaucoma? 

Sometimes the eye’s drainage canals can become clogged over time. This causes fluid to build up in the eye. Glaucoma is the term for a group of eye diseases that result from this fluid build up. These diseases damage the optic nerve.

Glaucoma is a very common degenerative disease that often has no symptoms. Nearly 3 million Americans suffer from glaucoma, but only about half are even aware that they have the disease. Left untreated, glaucoma can cause vision loss and even blindness.

Are There Symptoms for Glaucoma

Although treatable when caught early, glaucoma has no early warning signs. Until its advanced stages, most patients have no indication that the pressure in their eyes is elevated or that their optic nerve may be damaged.

The disease affects peripheral vision first—meaning you could have “perfect” 20/20 vision but still have glaucoma. This is why regular eye exams that include glaucoma testing performed by qualified ophthalmologists, such as the doctors at the Specialty Eye Institute, are vital.

Who is at Risk?

Although there are no overt symptoms of glaucoma, certain factors elevate a person’s risk for developing the disease. Risk factors include:

• People with elevated intraocular pressure
• People over the age of 60
• Those with a family history of glaucoma
• People of African descent and over the age of 40
• People with diabetes

 

People in these ‘at risk’ groups won’t experience any noticeable symptoms of the disease early on, so it is important to have regular eye examinations that include a test for glaucoma.

Don’t risk your eyesight. Contact us today to schedule an eye examination.


To Learn more call Specialty Eye Institute at 877.852.8463 or visit our website www.specialtyeyeinstitute.com.