Glaucoma

What is glaucoma?

Glaucoma is an eye disease that causes fluid to accumulate inside your eye, which increases pressure and damaging your optic nerve. In most cases, glaucoma doesn’t cause any symptoms until the disease affects your central vision, and at that point, the damage is irreparable.  

There are two primary types of glaucoma: open-angle and closed-angle glaucoma. Open-angle glaucoma is the more common type of the disease and tends to develop slowly.

What causes glaucoma?

Your eyes continuously produce a fluid called aqueous humor. Glaucoma develops when your eyes don’t drain correctly and fluid builds up in your eyes. It could be due to a problem in the trabecular meshwork behind your drainage angle or a blockage of the angle itself. An analogy is a sink with running water where the drain is blocked and the water level rises.

Your risk of glaucoma is higher if you have a family history of the disease. Your risk also increases as you age or if you have other health conditions such as high blood pressure, heart disease, or diabetes. Race is also an important risk factor.

How is glaucoma diagnosed?

Dr. Bragin and his team measure the pressure in the eye painlessly, and accurately, with additional office testing of your peripheral vision. This is often the initial sign of nerve damage.

He then scans the retina and optic nerve searching for early signs of damage and looks at the drain or angle to make sure there is no damage. Dr. Bragin also measures the thickness of your eye in order to get the most accurate readings.  

How is glaucoma treated?

Dr. Bragin offers expert and customized medical, laser, and in some cases surgical treatment. Depending on the type and severity of your eye disease, he often prescribes eyedrops to reduce the pressure in your eye. Most cases are treated this way.

Dr. Bragin also provides state-of-the-art laser procedures to help the aqueous fluid drain more efficiently. Depending on whether you have open- or closed-angle glaucoma, he may offer office-based procedures known as trabeculoplasty or an iridotomy.  Each procedure takes about a minute or less and is painless.

Having routine eye exams at least every two years, unless you have increased risk factors — in which case you should have your eyes checked annually or even more frequently—, is the best way to catch the early signs of glaucoma and get the treatment you need before your vision is damaged.

Call Dr. Bragin, or make an appointment online today for expert diagnosis and treatment for glaucoma.