Treatment for Glaucoma

Glaucoma is a condition, or several conditions, that cause optic nerve damage, resulting in partial or total vision loss. According to the Mayo Clinic , glaucoma is the second-most common cause of vision loss. Some of the common symptoms of glaucoma include eye pain, gradual reduction of peripheral vision, blurred vision and seeing "halos" around lights. The sooner treatment begins, the better chances of preventing blindness.

Treatment Goals

• According to the Mayo Clinic, there is no cure for glaucoma and any damage already incurred is irreversible. Therefore, the goal of treatment is to simply slow or prevent further damage and vision loss.

Using Eyedrops

• When prescribed medicated eyedrops, patients should follow doctor's directions exactly or the damage may worsen. It may be necessary to wait between drops if more than one kind of eyedrops are prescribed.

Types

• Types of commonly prescribed eyedrops include beta-blockers, alpha agonists, carbonic anhydrase inhibitors, prostaglandin-like compounds, miotic or cholinergic agents and epinephrine compounds. These eyedrops help reduce the pressure of fluid in the eye.

Medications

• If the pressure in the eye is not adequately reduced by eyedrops, expect to take oral medications. When taking these drugs, patients need to consume more foods like bananas and apple juice because the drugs may cause potassium loss.

Surgery

• If neither eyedrops or oral medications are sufficient to treat glaucoma, surgery may be needed. Laser surgery, filtering surgery and drainage implants are all options for treatment.