Glaucoma - Are You at Risk?

Glaucoma is a leading cause of blindness in people across the globe. It damages the optic nerve that carries sensory images from the retina to the brain. A faulty eye pressure is responsible for damaging the very delicate optic nerve fiber causing small blind spots in the retina. Unfortunately, for most patients this disease only gets diagnosed when the number of blind spots is on the higher side.

Types of Glaucoma

1. Open angle: This is a type of Glaucoma which results from the blockage of the drainage angle of the eye resulting into an increased eye pressure.
2. Angle closure: This is the kind of Glaucoma which results from the narrowing down of the drainage angle leading to complete blockage.

Target segment of Glaucoma

1. Family history: Inheritance surely plays a role in case of Glaucoma too. If Glaucoma runs through families of an individual, there are higher chances of getting this disease. Although there is no hard and fast rule about it, the risks of inheriting this disease are on the higher side.
2. Eye injury: If there is any history of previous eye injuries, the probability of the onset of Glaucoma cannot be turned down. Specially, if the injury is related to optic nerve, there are very high risks involved.
3. Bilateral Oophorectomy: Dual Ovary removal before the age of 40 results in deficiency of estrogen resulting in Glaucoma. Although most surgeons warn their patients of the possible risk of these procedures, many surgeries such as these have resulted in patients losing eyesight in the form of Glaucoma.
4. Patient with Diabetes: In case of acute diabetes, retina gets damaged and the eye starts producing new blood vessels on the iris resulting into an increased eye pressure. This condition often leads to Glaucoma due to blockage of fluid flow in the eye.
5. Eye Conditions: Myopia, multiple surgeries to the eye, blunt trauma etc. can lead to Glaucoma. A patient who has undergone any kind of eye surgeries suffers from inflammation. However, major inflammation is often found twisting blood flow in the eye resulting into Glaucoma.
6. If a patient is 40 or above: After a person reaches 40 years of age, a lot of diseases start cropping in to the body. Studies show that Glaucoma has a higher frequency in people who is more than the age of 40 or above.
7. High eye pressure: A patient with an eye pressure of above 21 mm HG is also at a very high risk of getting glaucoma. For a normal person the IOP lies between 10 to 21 mm HG.
8. Blood flow related disease: Diseases such as acute migraine, hypertension and low blood pressure which involves blood flow related problem often aggravate to glaucoma.
9. Ethnic Background: Statistics show that people from Afro American, Hispanics, Asian and Caribbean background have greater chances of being affected by Glaucoma.

In case you have a concern or query you can always consult an expert & get answers to your questions!