Losing your vision day in, day out is intolerable, especially when there’s hardly anything you can do to keep it safe. This is what defines one of the most serious eye conditions the world has ever seen – glaucoma. The disease is linked to the long-lasting deterioration of the optic nerve, accounting for a large share of blindness cases globally. The worst is that no glaucoma cure has been discovered yet, and patients just have to rely on ‘slowing-down’ treatments to prevent visual impairment as long as possible.
If you (your loved one or someone you care about) have glaucoma, do you know what to do to stave it off? What is the most effective way to stand up to this disease and postpone its most unfortunate effects? It all starts with becoming aware of glaucoma prevention and treatment methods, so you can enjoy seeing the world at its best for many years to come.
5 Most common glaucoma causes
Let’s get back to the eye anatomy to understand how glaucoma develops. There’s some fluid right between the lens and the cornea that ensures overall eye health. This fluid is scientifically known as the aqueous humor. As it’s produced consistently, it should leave the eye through a special channel not to build up inside it. But when it fails to do so and remains there, it leads to the increase of the intraocular pressure, which wreaks havoc on the optic nerve and then escalates into glaucoma.
The reason why the aqueous humor stays inside your eye defines glaucoma types and treatment. Thus, if it drains out through the channel, yet it happens abnormally slowly, you are likely to be diagnosed with open-angle glaucoma. This type starts with the loss of peripheral vision and may progress into complete blindness over time.
However, when the fluid can’t get out of the eye because the channel is too narrow, it’s angle-closure glaucoma. It worsens in a flash, with the rapid increase in intraocular pressure and nerve damage. Angle-closure glaucoma can’t go unnoticed as it has an array of symptoms.
As part of the glaucoma diagnosis and treatment, it’s important to determine what exactly may have led to your eyesight deterioration. The most often recorded causes include:
- eye damage
- infection
- inflammatory disease
- thin corneas
- high blood pressure and diabetes
Available treatments: Glaucoma injections, eye drops, and PEMFs
As we’ve already mentioned above, glaucoma is not something you can easily fix. Unfortunately, no solution can restore the lost vision related to this condition. But many can help prevent it from worsening. By having regular eye examinations and using the latest modalities of treatment of glaucoma symptoms, you will be able to manage high intraocular pressure and protect your eyesight.
Three treatment options are more recommended than others when dealing with glaucoma:
- Eye drops. When taken every day, these can slow down optic nerve deterioration by lowering the pressure inside your eyes. They are often paired with oral medications for a greater effect.
- Injections. Having a shot of medications into the eye seems frightening, but it can also help with elevated pressure. Unlike eye drops, injections are only given by your healthcare provider.
- Surgery. For more severe glaucoma cases, laser treatment or some other surgical procedures may be prescribed. They are aimed at reducing fluid accumulation and helping it flow out.
Now, PEMFs are the newest possible way out for those dealing with a glaucoma medical diagnosis and a therapy choice. This treatment differs from traditional ones as it involves neither medications nor physical interventions. The beneficial effects of electromagnetic fields are the only thing PEMF therapy revolves around.
It’s an alternative that all glaucoma patients can use, regardless of the severity of their condition. Many recent studies suggest that PEMFs improve the flow of the aqueous humor, retinal function, and tissue regeneration in the cornea. What’s more, this therapy has shown positive short-term to long-term results for ocular circulation and inflammation reduction.
Affordability is another benefit of PEMFs. The prices for our OPHTHALMAG and Almag-03 devices pale in comparison with the cost of glaucoma medications. NOTE: As it is intended to be used for a lifetime, the affordability of your treatment is always worth taking into consideration. What is more, you can get a unique eye pressure tonometer from our store. It is designed to measure eye pressure with guaranteed accuracy.
We hope this information will help you regain your healthy eyesight!