Glaucoma is an eye disease that is usually caused by an increase in eye pressure and requires professional monitoring and specific treatment. What are the symptoms? How is it detected? What are the factors of chronic glaucoma? Dr. Stephanie Zwillinger’s COP9 team will provide you with all the answers you need and more: it is one of their specialties!

What is glaucoma?

Glaucoma is a chronic disease caused by lesions in the optic nerve at the back of the eyeball. This progressive destruction causes irreversible alterations to the nerve endings. Both eyes can be affected at the same time by this ophthalmologic disease.

It can cause a loss of vision because it leads to an obstruction of the filter for the evacuation of the aqueous humor, the trabecular meshwork. The pressure deforms the optic disc and causes damage to the optic nerve. Ocular hypertension is then observed. The visual field deteriorates leading to blindness.

In order to control the progression, Dr. Stephanie Zwillinger and her COP9 team invite you to have early and regular screening.

There are three forms:

Progressively modifying the visual field, this degeneration can be slowed down by an ophthalmologist check up. Do not hesitate to make an appointment at the slightest symptom, which you will discover below.

What are the symptoms of glaucoma?

The symptoms of glaucoma are sometimes difficult to detect since the evolution of the pressure can take many years. However, it is important to be aware of the different early signs of the ocular pathology in order to avoid any risk of uncontrolled deterioration:

If you find that a friend or family member over the age of 40 :

If you notice any of the above symptoms or abnormalities, do not hesitate to make a preventive appointment. Your specialized ophthalmologist will be able to examine the optic nerve.

How to detect glaucoma?

Your ophthalmologist will perform a series of visual field examinations to screen for glaucoma. The ophthalmic check-up includes a clinical examination and many complementary tests:

Other examinations are performed by your eye care professional. We have presented the instruments of the ophthalmologist in this article, if you want to know more.

Glaucoma: risk factors

Dr. Zwillinger’s COP9 team draws your attention to the following risk factors:

Regular screening helps to avoid the late discovery of glaucoma and to follow the evolution of the disease whose damage is irreversible. Find out how often you should have an ophthalmologic check-up! Other pathologies can then be detected, such as AMD or cataract.

How is glaucoma treated?

In a new article, we will deal with the treatment of glaucoma, prescribed by your specialist: eye drops, laser, surgery under local anesthesia in order to reduce the intraocular pressure and evacuate the aqueous humor.

In the meantime, feel free to follow our news on the social networks: our Instagram or our Facebook page!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Skip to content