Glaucoma: Symptoms and Treatment

Ocular hypertension is the permanent or intermittent increase of the internal pressure of the eye above normal limits. In itself this alteration is not a pathology as such, but it is a risky situation since it can progress towards glaucoma, which could mean irreversible damage to vision. This type of hypertension is frequent and has no obvious symptoms, which is why it is very important to diagnose it. On the one hand, sufferers should have regular check-ups to detect early any signs of progression to glaucoma. On the other hand, according to current guidelines, some groups of patients with ocular hypertension should receive preventive treatment in order to avoid progression to glaucoma.
Glaucoma is a complex disease of the optic nerve and some layers and cells of the retina with a main, but not the only, risk factor for the eye’s internal pressure (intraocular pressure or “IOP”). It is so common that it is now the leading cause of blindness in the developed world.

Symptoms of glaucoma

It is a pathology that is often hidden and treacherous because it does not present symptoms but, when it does, the possibilities of irreversible loss of vision are very great.
It is a chronic pathology, elusive and difficult to stop because treatments that work, often without symptoms or prior warning, stop working, or treatments that for most patients are usually sufficient, for others tragically prove not to be.

Glaucoma Treatment

Finally, this type of treatment requires patients to follow complex and scrupulous procedures using different types of drops several times a day, which is why compliance is often reduced. Even if no warning symptoms appear for a while, this non-compliance can have very negative and irreversible consequences for the patient’s vision.
Surgical treatment of glaucoma, unlike cataract, is more complex and controversial and has more risks in the operation. For this reason, it requires a high level of technical skill on the part of the ophthalmology specialist. In the best of cases, the surgical intervention stops the progression of vision loss, but does not restore the lost vision, as it happens in cataract surgery. Therefore, it is of little use if it is done too late, while it can overcome significant and unnecessary risks if it is done too early.
It is therefore extremely important that everyone, especially family members of glaucoma patients and other at-risk groups, perform preventive screenings in order to achieve an early diagnosis of glaucoma and ocular hypertension.