The Best Treatments For Patients With Glaucoma

By Tammie Caldwell


Glaucoma is not just one eye disease, but a group of eye conditions resulting in optic nerve damages which cause loss of vision. Abnormal high pressure inside the eyes or also called as the intraocular pressure often, but not always causes this kind of damage. Glaucoma is one of the leading causes of blindness around the world. It damages your vision gradually so you may not notice any loss of vision until it is already at an advanced stage

Early diagnosis and treatment can lessen or prevent optic nerve damage and limit any related vision loss. It is important to get your eyes examined regularly and make sure that your doctor measures your intraocular pressure. Taking any medication as prescribed is essential to prevent more complications. You have to discuss things with your doctor to prevent further glaucoma San Antonio damage.

The treatment for this eye problem usually starts with medicated eyedrops. Make sure to use the drops as prescribed. Otherwise, your optic nerve damage could get even worse. If your doctor prescribed more than one type of eyedrop, just be sure to ask how long to wait between applications and taking the drops as your physician prescribed them.

There are times, when eye drops do not sufficiently control the instraocular pressure or IOP, pills can be prescribed aside from drops. These pills may have more systematic side effects as compared to drops. These pills usually turn down the faucet of the eyes and reduce the production of fluid. These medications are taken from 2 to 4 times on a daily basis. Sharing this to your doctor is important so you will be given medications which will not cause dangerous interactions.

When medications do not achieve the desired results, and show intolerable side effects, your ophthalmologist may recommend you surgery. Laser surgery has become popular as a transitional step between traditional surgery and drugs though the long term success rates are variable. This method is painless and only takes 10 to 15 minutes and can be performed to an outpatient facility.

After the procedure, you may go back home and resume your activities. Your doctor will continue checking your condition especially for your IOP following the surgery. Though it usually takes weeks to determine the positive effects of the method, these times, you may continue taking your medications. Your doctor will determine whether you still need medications or not.

Complications from laser are only minimal which is why this method has become popular and some facilities are recommending the use of laser before drops to some patients. On the other hand, when drugs as well as laser therapies do not lower eye pressure, doctors may recommend a conventional surgical operation.

Some patients no longer require glaucoma medications after the surgical procedure for a length of time. A trabeculectormy is often an outpatient procedure. The number of operative visits to the doctor may vary and some activities such as reading, driving, heavy lifting and bending must be limited for 2 to 4 weeks following a surgical procedure.

If you have been detected with this problem, this condition should be properly monitored for any further damage. Depending on how your glaucoma is progressing, you also need a further appointment in the city of San Antonio TX with an ophthalmologist. A lot of specialists will use an unlicensed medication if they think the medication is effective and benefits of treatment outweigh associated risk. If your ophthalmologist considers an unlicensed drug, they should inform you that it is unlicensed and discuss possible risks and benefits with you.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment