Glaucoma Treatment
Glaucoma manifests itself in optical nerve damage often caused by an
increase in intraocular pressure. Treatment methods for glaucoma focus
on slowing the nerve damage by lowering the pressure in the eyes. In
adults, treatment will be ineffective if eyesight has already been lost
due to glaucoma. In children suffering from congenital glaucoma, however,
treatment can reverse some damage.
Treatment for glaucoma includes: medications, laser treatments and
surgery. For most patients, the first treatment step involves medications,
which aim to lower eye pressure by either reducing the amount of fluid
that is produced in the eye or increasing the amount of fluid that drains
out of the eye, thus slowing the progression of the disease. The most
common form of glaucoma, open-angle glaucoma, is usually treated with
medicated eye drops. Because glaucoma is a chronic condition, these
eye drops will need to be used for the rest of the patient's life. If
these medicated eye drops fail to lower the inner eye pressure, laser
treatments or surgery may be needed.
The more dangerous form of glaucoma, closed-angle glaucoma, requires
emergency medical treatment. After a sudden attack of closed-angle glaucoma,
medications must be immediately used to lower the pressure in the eye
or to constrict the pupil. Since these attacks come on suddenly and
can be very serious, laser treatment is usually done soon afterward
to prevent future attacks.
For more information on treatment of glaucoma, please contact us. Select
your state below for a consultation.
