Family Histories (My Experience of Glaucoma)

Member Name: machar

Product:	My Experience of Glaucoma
Date:	22/04/01 (45 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: none!

Disadvantages: you can lose your sight

My family has the misfortune to have glaucoma as a common eye disorder. My mother and her mother have both suffered from glaucoma and cataracts. As it looks as though I am next in line, I've done some reading so I know what to expect.

The pressure inside the eyeball rising above normal causes glaucoma. The pressure is normally between 15 and 20 mm of mercury but with glaucoma, the pressure increases due to a blockage that prevents the fluid inside the eyeball draining away. Think of your eyeball as a ballon (strange I know but bear with me!). If you keep blowing up a balloon it will eventually burst as there is nowhere for the air to go. This is similar to what happens in glaucoma. The liquid builds up inside your eyeball and damages the delicate area at the back of the eye as the pressure increases and the liquid looks for a way out.

There are several types of glaucoma that can occur. The most common type is primary glaucoma, which can occur in two forms: open angle (chronic simple) and narrow angle (acute). The second form of glaucoma may be caused by infections, tumours, or injuries whereas the third group, congenital glaucoma, is largely due to developmental abnormalities.

My family suffers from chronic simple glaucoma that often appears in family history. This causes damage to your field of vision event though the pressure may not rise by that much. With acute narrow-angle glaucoma, you get very obvious symptoms. These are pain, redness, pupil dilation and severe vision loss. The cornea can become cloudy and the pressure rises substantially - you know something is wrong. The field of vision gets smaller as the disease gets worse.

Chronic simple glaucoma can be treated with drug and medication to decrease the pressure in the eye. However, if the pressure doesn't decrease it may be necessary to have surgery to help the outflow of fluid. The surgery can be laser or mechanical to create a new channel for th
e fluid to flow out.
My mother has had this surgery in both eyes and it was very straightforward. The only irritating things were the stitches that she could feel a little bit! My mother is now on drops that she has to use every morning and night which has helped to reduce the pressure even further after her operation. She'll have to take the drops for the rest of her life but they are saving her sight.

Glaucoma usually develops in middle age or later, although congenital, infantile, or juvenile glaucoma is not unusual. This is where my warning comes in. My mother showed the first sign of glaucoma when she was in her early thirties and had her first operation at the age of 36.
I get really annoyed when I see signs in opticians saying that people with a history of glaucoma in their family and are OVER 40 get free eye tests. What good would that have been to my mum? I have been tested for glaucoma since the age of 20 as, if I'm going to contract it (which looks likely), they want to catch it as soon as possible.

The tests for glaucoma are so simple I don't know why everyone doesn't have this test as part of a normal eye examination, no matter what age. Every time I go to the optometrists I have blue dye placed in my eye by a dipstick which you don't feel. A machine is then placed against the surface of my eye and the pressure is measured. Very simple, totally painless and no problem. The only after effects are a yellow stain round my eyes that wipes off.

If you have a history of glaucoma in your family, please go to your optician and get tested.

Summary: