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Glaucoma and cataracts are two significant eye conditions that can impact your vision and quality of life.
Understanding these conditions, their risks, and available cataract and glaucoma management tools is crucial for maintaining eye health.
What are glaucoma and cataracts?
Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that damage the optic nerve, often due to elevated intraocular pressure.
It can lead to gradual loss of vision and, if untreated, potentially blindness.
Cataracts, on the other hand, involve the clouding of the eye’s natural lens, leading to blurred vision, glare, and difficulty seeing at night.
Both conditions can significantly impair daily activities and overall quality of life.
Who is at risk?
Certain individuals are at higher risk of developing these eye conditions. Risk factors include:
- having a family history of glaucoma
- age (risk factor increases with age)
- ethnicity (a higher prevalence with African, Caribbean, or Asian origin)
- existing medical conditions, such as diabetes
Symptoms and causes
Glaucoma often develops slowly and may not present noticeable symptoms until significant damage has occurred.
Progressive symptoms can include peripheral vision loss, difficulty seeing in low light, and halos around lights.
Cataracts usually manifest as blurred or cloudy vision, increased sensitivity to light, and trouble with night vision.
Both conditions can arise from natural aging processes, but cataracts may also be caused by trauma or prolonged use of steroid medications.
Glaucoma can be triggered by increased eye pressure or issues with the eye’s drainage system.
Importance of eye exams
If left undiagnosed and untreated, glaucoma can lead to irreversible vision loss due to optic nerve damage.
If cataracts are not addressed, they can progressively impair vision to the point of functional blindness.
As such, early detection and immediate cataract and glaucoma treatment are key to preventing serious outcomes.
Diagnosis and Management
We offer comprehensive glaucoma screenings using advanced diagnostic tools.
Our assessments include measuring eye pressure, performing a screening FDT visual field test,
and evaluating the optic nerve with hand-held lenses at the slit lamp.
If a patient is identified as a glaucoma suspect, we perform OCT (optical coherence tomography) and threshold visual field exams for a detailed evaluation.
Each screening appointment takes approximately 30 minutes. We recommend annual appointments to ensure early detection and prevent vision loss.