Understanding Glaucoma

Dr. Paul Harasymowycz, Ophthalmologist

Duration:

Glaucoma is one of the leading causes of blindness in the world. It is usually caused by high pressure in the eye, but 1/3 of patients actually don't have high pressure in their eyes. Certain patients may have an aggressive form of glaucoma, where the loss of visual field may be quite rapid. In this situation, it is important to lower the intraocular pressure as rapidly as possible and usually achieving a very low target inter-ocular pressure.

The way to diagnose Glaucoma is to look at the back of the eye at the optic nerve. This is done by screening exams by the optometrist or the ophthalmologists. In general, glaucoma has no symptoms. Once you start having visual problems, the disease is usually advanced.

Some of the main risk factors for glaucoma is having a family member with glaucoma, being of different ethnicities, having trauma in the eye, or the use of steroids. The good news is that we can stop glaucoma from leading to blindness by lowering the intra-ocular pressure of a patient. This can be done with either medications, lasers, or surgeries.

One of the most important things when picking your glaucoma medication, is not to stop if you have side effects, without having discussed with your ophthalmologist or optometrist. We can often find a better treatment for you.

If you have questions or concerns, make sure you contact your ophthalmologist or optometrist

Presenter: Dr. Paul Harasymowycz, Ophthalmologist, Montreal, QC

Local Practitioners: Ophthalmologist