262 637 7494
1421 Washington Ave. Racine WI 53403
Glaucoma Awareness
Did you know that glaucoma is one of the leading causes of blindness in the world? Did you know that glaucoma, detected in its early stages, is treatable, and may never affect vision? The key is early diagnosis and proper management...and this can only happen if you are having annual comprehensive eye exams!
How does glaucoma affect your vision? When you come in for your annual eye exam, one measurement we take is your intraocular pressure (IOP). That's the pressure inside of your eye. Acceptable IOP measurements are different for everyone. So how do we know if your IOP is too high? We assess a variety of factors - your nerve tissue, your visual field, your eye structure.
What does a doctor see when he/she looks into an eye with glaucoma? In its earliest stages, glaucoma might be difficult to detect by just looking at the nerve - we utilize other testing in addition to observing the nerve for early diagnosis in these cases. In its more moderate to advanced stages, major structural changes may be noted when observing the optic nerve.
How does a doctor know if a nerve looks like it may be damaged from glaucoma? How about the doughnut analogy...it's fun! If you think of the optic nerve as a doughnut, it's easy to understand. A round doughnut with a hole in the middle that takes up 1/3rd of the doughnut is normal, right? But what if the hole in the middle of your doughnut took up 80% of your doughnut...yeah, that's sad, right? Well it's sad for a nerve too...we want the nerve tissue to be thick, symmetrical, and healthy...just how a doughnut looks!
How can we prevent vision loss? For many patients it's simple...eye drops. Putting drops in as little as once a day can save your vision! Compliance with drops as prescribed by your doctor and following up with your doctor as he or she recommends will prevent irreversible vision loss!
We hope that you have learned some things about glaucoma. The most important thing to know? Early diagnosis is key - and routine eye exams are essential for early diagnosis. If you haven't had an eye exam in the last year, give us a call today!