Glaucoma Care in Las Vegas
Glaucoma is a group of eye conditions that lead to damage to the optic nerve, the nerve that carries visual information from the eye to the brain. It is often caused by a build-up of fluid pressure in the eyes due to an overproduction of fluid or when the drainage system of the eye becomes blocked. This progressive and irreversible damage to the optic nerve makes this one of the leading causes of blindness.
Glaucoma Risk Factors
The exact cause of glaucoma is unknown, but there are several risk factors that increase your risk of developing glaucoma. Even if you do not have any of these risk factors, you should still have regular eye exams.
- Older age
- High eye pressure
- Family history of glaucoma
- African-American or Hispanic descent
- Previous eye injury
- Diabetes.
Glaucoma Treatment Options
Glaucoma in 90% of individuals normally develops gradually and without any symptoms in the early stages. As a result, it can go undetected for years, leaving patients unaware that this disease is slowly damaging their vision. When and if symptoms do occur, patients may notice:
- A gradual loss of peripheral vision, usually in both eyes
- Blind spots
- Tunnel vision in the advanced stages.
PREVENTION is KEY! An annual fully dilated eye examination is highly recommended and could uncover this disease before symptoms even occur. Although vision loss can’t be recovered, we have plenty of treatment options available to help halt the progression of glaucoma and avoid further vision damage. There’s a wide spectrum of treatment options available, depending on the type and severity of the patient’s disease, such as:
- Eye drops
- Selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT)
- Minimally invasive procedures (MIGS)
- Traditional glaucoma surgeries.
Each method has the ability to lower the internal eye pressure to a certain degree, and our doctors will thoroughly discuss the recommended treatment plan with you.
Without early detection and treatment, you will not realize this silent disease is damaging your vision. Blindness due to glaucoma is permanent. This is why it’s important to go to the eye doctor if you notice any unusual vision loss immediately!
Call us at (702) 570-2820 to schedule glaucoma screening.