Glaucoma

Glaucoma Explained

Glaucoma is a progressive disease which is often referred to as the silent thief of sight. Glaucoma is a disease in which the optic nerve which transmits information from the back of the eye to the brain becomes damaged, leading to vision loss. In its early to moderate stages the symptoms usually go unnoticed as it progresses slowly and destroys vision gradually. As the nerve cells are damaged, the ability to see objects in the peripheral vision is lost.

This can progress until eventually only central vision remains or the patient may become totally blind. As our eyes usually work together covering for each other, the person is unaware of the vision loss until a majority of nerve fibres have been damaged, and a large part of vision has been destroyed.

There are several types of Glaucoma

Open angle Glaucoma is the most common type of glaucoma. This type of glaucoma is painless and progresses slowly and is treated with drops to lower eye pressure and sometime surgery.

Acute angle closure glaucoma is when the angle closes suddenly resulting in a sudden increase in pressure inside the eye. This is an ocular emergency and you need to contact us immediately or go to the Eye and Ear Hospital.

This type of glaucoma usually presents with the following symptoms:

Here at Melton Optical Services we have the knowledge, experience and equipment to assess your risk of glaucoma.

If you are at risk of developing glaucoma the following tests will be conducted:

If left untreated glaucoma can lead to blindness. Once damage has occurred it cannot be reversed. It is possible however, to prevent further damage. Book an appointment today to ensure you have the best vision possible in the future.

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