What is Glaucoma. Glaucoma Causes and Treatment

Glaucoma is a medical condition that damages the eyes optic nerve and this condition can get worse over time and lead to a permanent vison loss within a few years.

This can be caused by an increased pressure in the eye known as Intraocular pressure that leads to the damage of the nerves that sends image signals to the brain. This pressure can be case by an increase fluid buildup in the front part of the eye.

Many people with this condition are not usually aware in the early stage because it does not have any early symptoms of pain.

If you have glaucoma, it is important to stick the treatment recommended by the doctor to help lower your eyes pressure and keep your vision, became one you lose your vision, nothing can be done again, it is permanent.

If you are wondering, will I definitely go blind with glaucoma?

The answer is that you may not if the condition is well managed, although the condition is a very serious one and can definitely lead to permanent blindness if not detected early and well controlled.

Once it is detected and treatment is commenced, it can prevent it from further damaging the eye’s optic nerves and this will help prevent it further vison loss.

So, can you stop glaucoma from progressing? The answer is yes!

However, you have to know that you have it already by going to see your doctor for a regular checkup.

Can glaucoma be cured? The condition can be controlled by lowering intraocular pressure, but it is important to note that damages that are cause by this condition cannot be reversed, so it is important to detect it early and commence treatment before it gets worse.

However, with regular checkups and treatments, the damages can be slowed and loss of vision ca be prevented.

Also read: 13 Cancer Symptoms and Natural Remedies that Actually Work

Early detecting is very important because it usually develops slowly and sometimes can take up to 15 years for an untreated case to lead to total blindness. But in some cases, if the pressure in the eye is very high, it won’t take that long before it leads to blindness.

What are the 5 stages of glaucoma?

The severity of glaucoma can be categories into various stages and this includes:

Stage	Severity
0	Normal visual field
I	Early
II	Moderate
III	Advanced
IV	Severe
V	End Stage

Glaucoma Causes

• Blunt injury to the eye
• Chemical injury to the eye
• Severe eye infection
• Inflammatory conditions

I will also want to address some common questions or what activities worsen glaucoma?

Can watching TV cause glaucoma?

Watching TV can not necessarily cause it. However, if you already have it, it will be advisable not to over stress the eye from prolonged concentered watching of television at a close range, because this can further add more pressure to the eye.

Aside from hat, dot worry much about it if you watching Tv from a normal distance range. If you feel tired, just rest the eye periodically and you will be good.

Can exercising increase the risk of glaucoma?

So far, some exercises have been pointed out to likely have impact on the pressure build up around the eye and in turn can influence the effect of glaucoma.

These types of exercise include: the regular Sit-up’s, pull-up’s, sprinting, biking, swimming, powerlifting and bench presses.

This exercise was pointed out because in performing them, there is a degree of concentration or squinting of the eye at certain stages that can increase the pressure in the eye.

Note: it’s not like they can actually lead to glaucoma, but they can further impact it once it is detected.

Does sunlight hurt glaucoma?

JAMA Ophthalmology Journal that was published in 2014, made it known that an increased exposure to sunlight and the corresponding ultraviolet radiation could increase the risk of glaucoma.

What are the risk factors for glaucoma?

Some of the following factors can potentially tell who is most at risk for glaucoma?

Poor vison: if one already has a poor vision, it may be an easy entrance to having glaucoma, so it is important to visit the clinic and have any sign poor vision examined for proper cause and treatments.

Diabetes: a diabetic patient also has a high chance of having glaucoma due to other medical conditions that re associated with it.

40 years and above: this condition is very common for people that are over 40years mostly, although it still happens in people below that age, but it is just more prevalent for older people.

Family history: Family history (hereditary) of glaucoma is one of the easiest ways to know that someone might develop the condition later in life, because it usually runs in the blood and can transcend through the family.

Having a near sighted or farsighted: this can easily be an early leeway into glaucoma, so it is important to see a doctor if you have any of these conditions, so that a treatment process can be commenced, so that the eye will not have any further damaging condition that can lead to it.

Injury to the eye: depending on the type of injury and its impact on the eye structure and membranes, it can lead to glaucoma. So, see a doctor immediately you sustain any injury top the eye.

Have cornea that are thin than usual: this can be a natural condition, where the layer of the cornea is much thinner than it should be and, with this condition the risk of glaucoma is very high.

Have a high blood pressure: having a high blood pressure in general can lead to many other medical conditions that can endanger anyone, and so, it is very advisable to always check your blood pressure on a constant basis to ensure that your blood pressure is within the recorded levels.

Remember that glaucoma is mainly cause by pressure in eye that affects the optic nerve, so if you have a high blood pressure, it will inadvertently also affect the blood circulation in the yes and can easily lead to the condition.

See a doctor if you notice that you are having a high blood pressure for immediate recommendations and treatment.

Types of glaucoma

1. Open -angle glaucoma
2. Angle-closure glaucoma
3. Secondary glaucoma
4. Normal-tension glaucoma
5. Pigmentary glaucoma
6. Congenital glaucoma

Glaucoma Symptoms

1. Redness in the eye
2. Low vison/blurred vision/tunnel vision or blind spot
3. Lazy eye (particularly in infants)
4. Eye pain
5. Severe headache.
6. Severe eye pain.
7. Nausea or vomiting.
8. Seeing Halos or colored rings around lights.

Ways to prevention glaucoma

1. Protect your eyes always to prevent any eye injury
2. Exercise to increase blood circulations
3. Eat healthy for a more balance nutrients
4. Have regular eye examination
5. Control blood pressure
6. Avoid smoking
7. Maintain a healthy body weight

How can I lower my eye pressure?

Doing some of the following things can help lower the pressure in the eye

Exercising:

Excursing is especially very good because it helps improve the circulation of blood around the body, even though at the peak of the exercise the pressure in your body may increase, but after training the body usually tends to calm down and this provides a good lowered pressure.

Stay hydrated:

The more hydrated your body is the calmer the system will be because you will not be suffering from dehydration which can increase the salinity of your system that can further lead to more dehydration and increased blood pressure.

Reduced or no consumption of caffeine:

Is coffee good for glaucoma? Is question that many coffee lovers would always ask.

But from what is evident, we already know that caffeine consumption can lead to dehydration of the system which as explained above can lead to high blood pressure which by extension can impact the pressure in the eye which is the main cause of glaucoma.

Consume more fruits and vegetable:

Eating of fruits is especially important because many fruits comprise of high value of water content that can further help calm the system.

Also, the fruits have some vital nutrients that will improve the body’s electrolytes and general wellbeing.

Avoid smoking:

Many studies have shown that eye pressure is likely to increase by 5 mmHg after smoking. To avoid this increase eye pressure the best thing is to avoid smoking.

Meditation:

Meditation is recommended because it has the ability to put one in state of calmness and with this comes with a reduced blood pressure which is very good for the eye health.

Stop or reduce steroid intake

Diagnosis of glaucoma

Glaucoma is usually diagnosed using the dilated eye exam with visual field testing.

Treatment of glaucoma

Can glaucoma be cured? this condition is usually managed with the use of eye drops, however other treatments are through laser treatments and surgery.

Some medications have shown to have effect on glaucoma, so it is advised to avoid these medications (consult your doctor proper advice).

Some medications to avoid if you have glaucoma includes:

1. Asthma medicines.
2. Some medicines used to treat depression (tricyclic antidepressants).
3. Antihistamines and decongestants.
4. Motion sickness medicines.

Natural remedy to fight glaucoma

Some natural methods and practices can help remedy the effect of glaucoma or even help prevent it from happening.

Avoid smoking: many studies have shown that eye pressure is likely to increase by 5 mmHg after smoking.

To avoid this increase eye pressure the best thing is to avoid smoking.

What foods fight glaucoma?

Just as stated above about eating fruits and vegetable, just because some of these fruits have antioxidants, nitrates and vitamins, they are potentially able to reduce risk of glaucoma.

Some popular fruits and vegetables include:

1. Carrots
2. Berries
3. Citrus fruits
4. Peaches
5. Green leafy vegetables
6. Cruciate vegetables

And if you are thinking, so what drink is good for eye pressure?

The fruits mentioned above can be blended into smoothies and consumed as a beverage.

Also, green tee or its extracts when drank in moderation might also have a good effect on those having a high Intraocular pressure an can also help prevent a potential case.

What is the best vitamin for glaucoma?

Some vitamins that have been posited to help in the remedy of glaucoma includes: Vitamin A, B1, B3, B12, C and E.

Also, some herbs and supplements can include:

• Ginkgo Biloba
• Forskolin
• Bilberry and Blackcurrant
• Citicoline
• Palmitoylethanolomide
• Docosahexaenoic acide and Eicosapentaenoic (EPA
• Mirtogenol

Does glaucoma damage the brain?

There is a high chance that a glaucoma condition can lead to brain damage.

This can likely happen if there is a spread of disease to the connected vison structure of the brain due to an injury to the retinal ganglion cells, which could happen because of the elevated intraocular pressure that synonymous to glaucoma.

However, this situation (Glaucomatous degeneration) does not happen in most cases and especially if the condition is detected early enough ad a treatment is commenced.

Can Laser Surgery stop glaucoma?

Laser treatment is one of the effective methods of treating glaucoma cases, it is important to note that this method does not work all the time for everyone

More so, after a surgery treatment one has to wait for a period of 4 to 6 weeks to find out if the surgery worked and, in some cases, patients will still have to keep using the glaucoma medicines even after the laser surgery.

Are bananas good for glaucoma?

While banana and other fruits like pumpkin seeds and avocados are great sources of magnesium, a micronutrient that helps improve blood flow in the body. There is still no evidence or research to support the assumption.