Glaucoma Eye Care with Bakersfield Optometry
An eye disease that causes damage to the optic nerve, Glaucoma can result in a complete loss of vision. Southwest Eye Care has a talented caring staff that can provide a complete screening for glaucoma. As your Bakersfield optometrist, we can develop a treatment plan to help you see the beauty of the world clearly.
What Is Glaucoma?
Glaucoma is a condition involving increased pressure within the eye. This increase in pressure puts stress on the optic nerve which can cause progressively worsening damage to that nerve. It can also cause the loss of nerve fibers and may result in vision loss. Severely advanced forms of glaucoma can eventually lead to total blindness.
Not all those people who have high eye pressure develop glaucoma, just as some develop glaucoma with normal eye pressure. The true determining factor is the optic nerve which is unique to each person. When the pressure within the eye is too high for a person’s specific optic nerve, glaucoma develops.
Some people possess risk factors that make them more likely than others to develop glaucoma. These risk factors include things such as:
- A family history of glaucoma
- Diabetes
- Cardiovascular disease
- Being over 40 years of age
- Being a woman
- Being of Latino or African-American descent
These high-risk groups of people need to stay vigilant when it comes to recognizing the warning signs of developing glaucoma. Some of these signs are obvious but others require specialized tools and testing that our optometry center can provide. Some symptoms you should keep an eye on include those such as:
- Nausea
- Headaches
- Unexplained pupil dilation
- Redness of the eyes
- Pain in the eyes
- Blind spots in central and peripheral vision
- An overall haziness to vision
- Halos — refracted rings of light — surrounding light sources
Glaucoma Eye Care
At this point in time, there is no cure for glaucoma. However, research continues to progress rapidly towards that end.
In the meantime, glaucoma, especially if caught early, responds well to treatment. The goal of glaucoma treatment is to reduce the pressure and restore vision.
The most common form of glaucoma treatment is the regular use of prescription eye drops. More severe cases of glaucoma may also need supplemental medication usage. In the most severe form, glaucoma often requires surgery to repair damage to the optic nerve.