Glaucoma (glaw-ko-ma) is a group of
disorders that cause fluid pressure to
rise inside the eye, which may result in
vision loss.
Except for the rare cases of acute
glaucoma that develop suddenly, most
people do not realize they have glaucoma.
As pressure is building in the eye, many
of the millions of nerve cells at the rear
of the eye are destroyed. The nerves
that die first affect peripheral
(pe-rif-er-al) vision, or how well people
see out of the sides of the eyes. When
the loss of vision becomes severe enough
for a person to notice, the damage is so
great that little can be done.
The best way to diagnose glaucoma is
through an eye exam that uses an
instrument called a tonometer
(to-nom-e-ter) to measure the pressure in
the eye. One type of tonometer registers
eye pressure by lightly touching the eye's
surface. Eyedrops are used to make this
procedure painless. Another tonometer
uses a puff of air to measure eye
pressure. The doctor or eye specialist
(ophthalmologist or optometrist) also may
use a scope that shines light in the eye
to look for damage to the optic nerve,
lastly a transpalpebral tonometry
measures intraocular pressure through
the eyelid. It is regarded as a simple
and safe method of
ophthalmotonometry. Transpalpebral
tonometry requires no contact with
the cornea, therefore sterilization of the
device and topical anesthetic drops are
not required and there is very little risk
of infection. Peripheral vision can be
checked as part of the eye exam.
The site is not a replacement for professional medical opinion, examination, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your medical doctor or other qualified health professional before starting any new treatment or making any changes to existing treatment. Do not delay seeking or disregard medical advice based on information written by any author on this site. No health questions and information on eHealth Forum is regulated or evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and therefore the information should not be used to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease without the supervision of a medical doctor. Posts made to these forums express the views and opinions of the author, and not the administrators, moderators, or editorial staff and hence eHealth Forum and its principals will accept no liabilities or responsibilities for the statements made.
Schizophreniahealth
This page was last updated on June 11, 2008
