A lot of people have heard of glaucoma but really don’t know
what it is, how you get it and what some of the symptoms are. Most people think it is an “Old Person”
disease that has something to do with the eyes.
Though it is true that Glaucoma strikes older Americans, it can also
strike children and carries symptoms that are far reaching from your eyes.
To simplify it, Glaucoma is an eye disease that damages your
eyes optic nerve. An optic nerve is located in the back of the eye. It is also known as the cranial nerve. The optical nerve transmits visual
information from the retina to the brain.
There are different symptoms that people get when they get
glaucoma. Symptoms can vary depending on
what type of Glaucoma you have. There
are generally two primary types of Glaucoma:
Open Angle and Angle Closure.
Open Angle sneaks up without a lot of symptoms. For Open Angle glaucoma it is the loss of
side or peripheral vision. Since the
symptoms for this one are harder to recognize it is important to get checked
out every year. Just visit Orange county glaucoma specialist today to get a checkup.
Open Angle Glaucoma is when the eye draining canals become
clogged over a long period of time. As
a result of this clog, a lot of pressure builds up to the optic nerve. It is very similar to when you have a clogged
pipe in your house. Ultimately there is
a lot of pressure that is pushing against the clog, but the drainage doesn’t
happen, causing a lot of pressure.
On the other hand, the symptoms of Angle Closure are very
apparent. Some of the symptoms include
the following, eye and headaches/pain, sight loss, nausea or vomiting, and hazy
or blurred vision. Similar to Open
Angle, Angle Closure is also caused by blocked drainage canals in the eye. If you are experiencing symptoms, you really
need to visit a doctor immediately.
Though keeping an eye out for symptoms is key for Glaucoma,
there are certain ethnic groups that have a higher propensity to get this
disease. Glaucoma occurs five more times more often in African Americans than
other races and strikes earlier. The doctors suggest getting checked for
Glaucoma every year after the age of 35. By getting checked up more regularly you will be able to identify
symptoms earlier.
