Eye Pressure (Glaucoma)
Glaucoma is a serious vision-threatening disease characterized by the loss of function of the optic nerve.
If glaucoma is left untreated, it can cause vision loss. The most common cause of glaucoma is high eye pressure.
What Are the Symptoms of Glaucoma?
The most common glaucoma complaints:
Headaches that become evident in the morning,
Blurred vision from time to time
Seeing luminous rings around lights at night
It can be listed as pain around the eyes.
How is Glaucoma Diagnosed?
If the intraocular pressure is not at very high levels, the disease may progress insidiously without any symptoms. Therefore, many patients with glaucoma are diagnosed in advanced stages. Glaucoma is often diagnosed incidentally in patients who apply for an eye examination for another reason. In addition, in some patients, the so-called acute glaucoma crisis, which occurs when the intraocular pressure rises suddenly to very high levels; It manifests itself with a picture such as severe eye pain, headache and redness in the eye. In this case, urgent treatment is required.
Normally, intraocular pressure is at the level of 10-20 mm Hg (millimeters of mercury). Intraocular pressure above 20 mm Hg mostly suggests glaucoma, but only high intraocular pressure is not sufficient for glaucoma diagnosis. Because there are normal eyes although intraocular pressure is above 20 mm mercury, there are also eyes with glaucoma although the intraocular pressure is below 20 mm mercury. The definitive diagnosis here is made through visual field and OCT tests. should be repeated at monthly intervals.
What Factors Increase Glaucoma Risk?
Family presence of glaucoma
Long-term cortisone therapy
Intraocular inflammation (uveitis)
Advanced age
Diabetes (diabetes)
High or low body blood pressure
High myopia or hyperopia
Eye injuries
Migraine
Anemia (anemia)
How Many Types of Glaucoma Are There?
Open angle glaucoma: It is the most common type of glaucoma. In open angle glaucoma; There is an obstruction in the ducts that allow eye fluid to reach the blood vessels, which should not be normally present. Due to this congestion, eye fluid accumulates and increases intraocular pressure. High intraocular pressure damages the optic nerve and, if left untreated, can cause loss of vision up to blindness.
Closed angle glaucoma: It constitutes 5-10% of patients with glaucoma. This type of glaucoma occurs with a very noisy picture. In this table named as angle-closure glaucoma or acute glaucoma crisis; suddenly severe pain in the eye, redness, blurred vision, decreased vision, sensitivity to light, nausea and vomiting appear. In patients who consult a doctor with these complaints, eye pressure is usually 40-50 mm mercury or higher. This high eye pressure should be considered urgently by medication or surgery. It should be reduced with treatment, the patient should be operated and the problem should be solved. Otherwise, if the patient is delayed in applying to the doctor, this high eye pressure will result in complete loss of vision within a few days.
Secondary glaucoma: In secondary glaucoma, there is a disease state that causes an increase in intraocular pressure. Different causes such as intraocular bleeding, intraocular inflammations, diabetes, eye injuries (trauma), advanced cataracts can cause secondary glaucoma.
Glaucoma Treatment
Medication
First of all, the eye pressure of the patient is reduced by either reducing the production of the fluid in the eye or increasing its output. There are medications used for these two methods. These drugs are drugs that are taken at regular intervals every day and used throughout life. Despite the medication, if the patient's eye pressure does not decrease and the visual field is narrowed; The treatment method to be applied is surgery.
Surgical treatment
With surgery, a hole is made in the white part of the eye to facilitate the drainage of intraocular fluid. With this hole, which is too small to be seen from the outside, the excess fluid inside the eye is drained. Mostly, glaucoma can be eliminated after surgery. This situation is not possible in all patients.
Laser Therapy
Laser beam can be used in two ways in the treatment of eye pressure. First; It is applied in the treatment of acute glaucoma crisis and to prevent the other eye from entering a glaucoma crisis. Secondly; In chronic glaucoma cases, it is applied to drain-like outflow channels in order to facilitate the outflow of fluid made in the eye.
