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While most people are familiar with the eye disease Glaucoma, few are aware of why Glaucoma is such a significant threat to sight.
In general, most serious eye diseases, eye conditions or eye problems cause patients to experience symptoms that make them uncomfortable or disturb their vision. The most common type of Glaucoma is an exception to this rule. Glaucoma begins without any symptoms or obvious loss of vision. Glaucoma is quite insidious in onset and, if not diagnosed and treated early in its course, will lead to progressive, permanent, and unnoticed vision loss. This is what makes it essential to diagnose and treat Glaucoma as early in its course as possible.
Glaucoma is actually not a single disease but is a term that is used to describe a broad range of eye problems that damage the Optic Nerve and potentially cause loss of vision. The pressure inside the eye is called Intraocular Pressure (IOP) and generally falls within some range that is considered “normal”. Many patients are under the impression that Glaucoma is simply due to a high pressure within the eye. While an elevated Intraocular Pressure can be one cause of Glaucoma, and in fact is the most common cause of Glaucoma, a high IOP may not be the only cause of Glaucoma. There are many possible causes of Glaucoma. Regardless of the cause, the various types of Glaucoma share a common factor-if not diagnosed early, treated properly and controlled, it will result in permanent vision loss and potentially blindness.
Glaucoma is one of the leading causes of blindness for patients between the ages of 18-65 years of age. It is estimated that approximately 3 million people have Glaucoma, yet only half of those actually know that they have it. (http://www.glaucoma.org/). In the United States alone, there are approximately 100,000 patients who are believed to be legally blind from glaucoma.
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Other estimates indicate that another 3-6 million people in the United States have higher than normal Intraocular Pressure (IOP), without obvious clinical signs of damage to the Optic Nerve. From this data, it is probable that there are another 1 million people who may have Glaucoma, but have not yet been diagnosed because they do not have access to eye care or even Glaucoma screenings. (http://www.emedicinehealth.com/primary_open-angle_glaucoma/article_em.htm).
The eye doctors at Coastal Eye Care find that the most disturbing attributes of Glaucoma are that it begins with a slow onset and there is a lack of visual symptoms. This makes Glaucoma easy to overlook unless patients are consistent about having routine eye examinations with Glaucoma testing. For that reason, we strongly recommend regular eye examinations and thorough Glaucoma testing.
How Often Should I be Tested for Glaucoma?
At Coastal Eye Care, our doctors recommend that all patients over 50 years of age who have no previous family history of Glaucoma or other general health conditions such as diabetes or high blood pressure, be evaluated for Glaucoma every two years.
If there is any family history of Glaucoma at all, or there are any other general health problems, we recommend patients be evaluated for Glaucoma every year beginning at age 40.
In addition, we now also know that there is considerable risk for siblings of those who have Glaucoma. In the Nottingham Glaucoma Study (http://bjo.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/abstract/90/1/59), it was found that the siblings of Glaucoma patients are 5 times the risk for developing Glaucoma by the age of 70 and therefore should be examined every year.
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Glaucoma is a very complex eye disease, and not simply an elevated Intraocular Pressure (IOP). Nonetheless, when detected early it can be successfully treated. At Coastal Eye Care in Maine, our eye physicians and staff provide the full scope of advanced technology diagnostic testing and treatment, as well as taking the time necessary to give each patient the personal education needed to fully understand their condition in order to get the best possible outcomes for our patients.
Coastal Eye Care provides advanced testing for the diagnosis and treatment of Glaucoma in Maine and is conveniently located for Eastern Maine and Downeast Maine eye care patients from Addison, Bangor, Bass Harbor, Bar Harbor, Belfast, Blue Hill, Brewer, Brooklin, Brooksville, Bucksport, Calais, Camden, Castine, Cherryfield, Columbia Falls, Deer Isle, Dennysville, Dexter Dover-Foxcroft, East Machias, Eastport, Ellsworth, Franklin, Hampden, Harrington, Hulls Cove, Jonesboro, Jonesport, Lincoln, Lincolnville, Lubec, Machias, Machiasport, Milbridge, Mount Desert, Northeast Harbor, Old Town, Orono, Orrington, Pembroke, Penobscot, Rockland, Rockport, Seal Harbor, Searsport, Sedgwick, Southwest Harbor, Stockton Springs, Stonington, Surry, Swans Island, Whitneyville, Winter Harbor, Winterport, Maine. To schedule an appointment for a Glaucoma evaluation, please call Coastal Eye Care in Maine at 207.667.6300.
