Daily Medical Advices

Glaucoma is a disease by increased fluid pressure that is inside the eyeball. As in most things, prevention, ideally with a single test, particularly if there is a history in our family.

1. What is glaucoma?
Outline of the eye. An increase in IOP causes glaucoma. Glaucoma is a disease characterized by increased pressure within the eyeball.

Inside the eye we have a fluid called aqueous humor, which is responsible for maintaining proper eye pressure.This is done because there is a balance between the amount of liquid entering and leaving. If this balance is disrupted and the amount of fluid that comes in is greater than the sale will be an increase in pressure.

When the pressure inside the eye rises, some structures atrophy, principally the optic nerve fibers. This leads to visual field loss that starts at the periphery and progresses toward the center.

2. How is it diagnosed?
The tests necessary to diagnose glaucoma are three basically:
- A measure of intraocular pressure
- A pupil dilation to check the status of the optic nerve
- A perimetry in assessing the state where the visual field.

Visual field loss is irreversible, so if glaucoma is not treated in time may come a time when the vision is limited to central and even blindness is reached.Treatment in advanced situations is to try to save what little vision left.

3. What are the symptoms?
In many cases, glaucoma does not produce or pain or any symptoms, therefore it is desirable eyestrain reviewed from time to time.

Either way there may be some signs such as headaches, blurred vision, tearing or redness. In advanced cases causes severe pain in the affected eye that tradicinalmente are called “pain of nail.”

In most cases there is a hereditary factor in this disease, so patients who have had a history of glaucoma in your family intraocular pressure should be monitored regularly.

4. How is it treated?
The first thing to do is try to control the pressure, this will be prescribed medications that reduce the production of fluid in the eye or to facilitate their departure.

If drug treatment is inadequate there is the application of laser and if the latter would not happen to an effective outcome of glaucoma surgery.