How slowly does glaucoma progress?
In the most common form of glaucoma, primary open-angle glaucoma, damage to the retinal cells occurs quite slowly. Untreated glaucoma can progress to blindness within several years. Acute angle-closure glaucoma is a less common form that can impair vision much more quickly.
What is the treatment for glaucoma in children?
It is important for treatment of childhood glaucoma to start as early as possible. Treatment may include: Medications. Some medications cause the eye to produce less fluid, while others lower pressure by helping fluid drain from the eye. Conventional surgery. The purpose of conventional surgery is to create a new opening for fluid to leave the eye.
Who is the best doctor for glaucoma treatment?
Yvonne Ou, MD, is a board certified ophthalmologist who specializes in glaucoma, including medical, laser and surgical therapies; cataract evaluation and treatment including combined cataract and glaucoma surgery; glaucoma filtering and implant surgery; and newer procedures.
What to do if you have open angle glaucoma?
Then you can start the treatment process, which seeks to accomplish the same goals as the treatment for open-angle glaucoma: lowering eye pressure. Even though your eye pressure levels may already be in a normal range, it’s important to keep them as low as possible while maintaining a healthy eye.
When do you know if your child has glaucoma?
The type of damage depends on the age of the child. Up to age two or three, the eye may stretch and enlarge. in older children, only the optic nerve is affected; the increased eye pressure shows up as “cupping” (an enlargement of the optic nerve area that an eye doctor can detect in an eye exam).
It is important for treatment of childhood glaucoma to start as early as possible. Treatment may include: Medications. Some medications cause the eye to produce less fluid, while others lower pressure by helping fluid drain from the eye. Conventional surgery. The purpose of conventional surgery is to create a new opening for fluid to leave the eye.
How does glaucoma affect your quality of life?
This form of glaucoma sometimes results in field of vision loss close to the central vision earlier in the course of the disease. This pattern of field of vision loss is certainly more concerning because vision-related quality of life due to glaucoma will be affected sooner.
What causes vision loss in children with glaucoma?
Glaucoma occurs when the fluid drainage from the eye is blocked by abnormal development or injury to the drainage tissues, thus, resulting in an increase in the intraocular pressure, damage to the optic nerve and loss of vision. There are many causes of childhood glaucoma.
How does glaucoma affect depression in the elderly?
Not only can glaucoma affect the development of depression indirectly through falls and hospital stays, the AFB points out that more than 57 percent of the elderly with vision impairments are “at risk of mild or moderate depression” as opposed to 43 percent of the elderly without vision impairment.