Wold Glaucoma Week : What is glaucoma disease ?

Have you heard of glaucoma during World Glaucoma Week? You wonder if you are affected by this pathology. Our professional optician Sarah Marlien helps you see more clearly in this post.

Glaucoma is a disease that affects the optic nerve, destroying it gradually and irreversibly. This disease is often linked to an increase in pressure inside the eye. Each year is held the world week of Glaucoma. This year, it takes place from March 9th to 14th, 2020.

When he has glaucoma, the patient's visual field gradually narrows, starting at the periphery.
There are two predominant types of glaucoma:

• open angle glaucoma,
• closed glaucoma.

This disease is the second leading cause of blindness in the world, AMD (age-related macular degeneration) is the first cause of blindness in the world.
It is very important to carry out screening and monitoring from the age of 40 once a year. Glaucoma disease is often asymptomatic at first and the damage is irreversible.

We tell you everything about glaucoma

The aqueous humor contained in the eye is like the air in a balloon enabling the eye to maintain its shape and its optical properties; it is produced by the ciliary bodies and evacuated by the trabeculum.
* The most common glaucoma is open angle (90% of cases). It is due to poor elimination of the aqueous humor and causes the increase in intraocular pressure.
* The second type of glaucoma, caused by the closing of the iridocorneal angle leads to a decrease in passage from the aqueous humor to the trabecumum.
This blockage increases the pressure. This disease has a rapid progression and is an emergency because the vital prognosis of the eye is dependent on it.

Risk factors for glaucoma

The risk factors for glaucoma are:
- myopia,
- heredity,
- the age, in fact, after 40 years, the risks are higher,
- diabetes,
- arterial hypertension,
- long-term corricoid.

Glaucoma screening

The main risk is the loss of the field of vision. It is painless and the patient generally does not realize anything (except at a more advanced stage or for angle-closure glaucoma progresses very quickly and can cause severe pain such as headache, redness and halo). around light sources). Only a fundus can identify the papilla of the optic nerve and confirm or not the diagnosis. Normal pressure does not necessarily mean that you do not have glaucoma. In some cases the pressure does not change immediately.
Only a visual field can highlight the stocomas (loss of vision in certain places of the visual field).

Glaucoma treatment and advice

There is no curative treatment. Faced with glaucoma we can:

• reduce the production of aqueous humor (beta-blocker),
• increase its elimination (with prostaglandin analogues).

Treatment should be continued for life. Surgical or laser treatment may be considered in some cases.
It is better not to smoke, to eat a healthy diet (to eat fruits and vegetables), regular physical activity, to avoid caffeine and to pay attention to the sun (protection with sunglasses having a good index UV).