Stages of development of glaucoma and methods of their treatment

2023 Author: Alfred Shackley | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-21 13:14

As you know, the eyes are not only the mirror of the soul, but also one of the main five senses. We perceive the world thanks to good eyesight, we see our beloved people. But what can I say, eyes are our everything.

And it’s not easy to live when trouble happens to our fifth sense organ. One of these eye diseases is glaucoma. This disease has grown significantly "younger" these days. It affects not only people of the older generation, but even babies.

Origins

Various eye diseases (more than 55), resulting from a periodic or constant increase in intraocular pressure, which becomes the cause of pathologies in the circulation of intraocular fluid, is glaucoma. A disease, the existence of which a person may not even know about for a long time.

Signs of glaucoma:

• Intraocular pressure regularly or periodically exceeds the allowable mark;
• The optic nerve damaged by the disease weakens every day and eventually collapses;
• The course of the disease itself is characterized by the fact that gradually a person ceases to see anything at all.

Where does it come from?

Glaucoma develops gradually. There are a great many reasons for its appearance. Often, the connection of them all together and becomes the reason for the onset of the disease.

In this case, it is worth taking into account heredity (if any of your close relatives were sick), individual features of the structure of the eye (for example, a thin cornea), diseases of the cardiovascular, nervous or endocrine systems, any eye surgeries, old injuries.

Over the years of studying the disease, scientists have come to the conclusion that a whole chain of risk factors triggers the mechanism of the disease.

As a result, there are complaints of the periodic appearance of rainbow circles before the eyes, frequent pain in the eyes or in the head, redness of the eyes, sometimes even vomiting. However, it should be borne in mind that these are concomitant signs of some other disease.

But it's still worth going to the doctor. Early diagnosis of glaucoma will allow you to cope with it in a timely manner.

If you do not seek help from a doctor for a long time, then the so-called peripheral vision may deteriorate, i.e. everything in front can be seen well, but what is on the side, above or below, remains unnoticed. First, a person's field of vision narrows from the side of the nose, then it covers what is around, and subsequently leads to a complete loss of vision.

Often the ailment is also characterized by the fact that a spot appears to form on the eye. In some cases, patients noted a violation of color perception. With a quick change from a lighted room to a dark one, visual impairment may occur. Also, among other symptoms of the disease - a decrease in the ability to distinguish the outlines of objects, but this is already the final stage of the disease, accompanied by the successive "dying" of the optic nerve.

Disease classification

There are several classifications of glaucoma: according to the degree of damage, according to the level of pressure inside the eye, along the course of the disease.

But basically the classification occurs into 4 types:

1. The first type is congenital glaucoma. Most often, genetics becomes the main reason for its appearance. Also, the reason for concern may be infectious diseases of the mother or pathology of the fetus in the womb or during childbirth. This disease manifests itself in infants in the period from the first days of life to several years after birth. Such cases are rare: about one such case in 15 thousand babies. Most often, the disease can be diagnosed at the initial stages and the baby is cured. For congenital glaucoma, doctors often use a surgical method;
2. Juvenile glaucoma is diagnosed in people under the age of 35;
3. Surgical interventions or inflammation of the eye, as a result of which the parts of the eye that are responsible for the exchange of intraocular moisture or its release are affected, lead to the appearance of secondary glaucoma;
4. Pathologies leading to disturbances during the "cycle" of intraocular fluid, become the cause of the appearance of primary glaucoma. According to statistics, every year 1 out of one and a half thousand inhabitants of the planet at the age of 45 and older are exposed to this disease.

Glaucoma stages

In medicine, four stages of glaucoma development are determined.

The first stage is the initial one. The patient seems to see well, but there are slight deviations in the main field of view. At the same time, the pressure inside the eye periodically increases. Outwardly, this can manifest itself in the form of a slight corneal opacity, excessive tearing, or a fear of light.

The second stage is developed. Here the field of view decreases from the nasal side by more than 10 °. In this case, the cornea of the eye becomes larger in size, the eye swells and becomes cloudy, and the patient often begins to change glasses for stronger ones.

The third stage is far advanced. Vision continues to fall rapidly. Abnormalities appear in the sclera of the eye. At the same time, the eyeball grows in size.

The last stage is terminal, absolute blindness. The lens of the eye becomes completely cloudy, the retina flakes off. Only light perception with incorrect light projection can remain.

Treatment

Treatment is possible and effective at the initial stage of the development of the disease. It can be treated with medication, laser or surgery. The most important task of specialists here is to reduce intraocular pressure to a normal level. Treatment methods depend on the patient's condition, the severity of the disease, the reasons for the appearance in each particular case. If you miss the time and allow it to develop, then you cannot do without an operation. The main thing is to prevent loss of vision.

Special eye drops that are able to normalize intraocular pressure are actively used by ophthalmologists. However, drug treatment is not always effective.

The prognosis will be satisfactory only after surgery or laser surgery. Vision can be preserved in 75% of patients, provided that the operation was performed at the initial stage of the disease, in late operated patients only in 15-20% of cases it is possible to avoid loss of vision.

In no case should you resort to folk remedies for glaucoma treatment.

Having spent time and effort on decoctions, unnecessary vitamins, tinctures, you can waste precious time and get serious complications. Any disease, including glaucoma, requires treatment, and others require surgery. Therefore, do not delay contacting a doctor.

Having come to an appointment with a specialist in a timely manner and taking appropriate measures, it may be possible to prevent malignancy or the transition to the next, more severe stage of the disease. An attentive attitude to your health will be the key to longevity for everyone.