Glaucoma: síntomas y tratamiento

Ocular hypertension is the permanent or intermittent increase of the internal pressure of the eye above normal limits. In itself this alteration is not any pathology as such, but it is a risky situation since it can progress towards a glaucoma, which could mean irreversible damage of the vision. This type of hypertension is frequent and has no obvious symptoms, so diagnosing it is very important. On the one hand, people who suffer from it need to have regular check-ups to detect any signs of progression to glaucoma. On the other hand, according to current guidelines some groups of patients with ocular hypertension should receive preventive treatment to avoid progression to glaucoma.Glaucoma is a complex disease of the optic nerve and some layers and cells of the retina with a principal, but not only, risk factor for internal pressure of the eye (intraocular pressure or "IOP").. It is so frequent that, at the moment it is the first cause of blindness in the developed world.

Symptoms of glaucoma

It is a pathology often hidden and traitorous because it does not present symptoms but, when it does, the chances of irreversible loss of vision are very great.It is a chronic pathology, elusive and difficult to stop because the treatments that work, often without symptoms or warning, stop working, or treatments that for most patients are usually sufficient, for others tragically proves that they are not .

Treatment of glaucoma

Finally, these types of treatments require patients to follow complex and scrupulous procedures using different types of drops several times a day, which is why compliance is often reduced. Although warning symptoms do not appear for a while, this noncompliance can have very negative and irreversible consequences for the patient's vision.Surgical treatment of glaucoma, unlike cataract, is more complex and discussed and has more risks in the operation. That is why it requires a high technical capacity by the specialist in Ophthalmology. At best, the surgical intervention stops the progression of vision loss, but does not return the vision lost, as it happens in cataract interventions. It is therefore of little use if it is too late, at the same time that it can overcome important and unnecessary risks if it is carried out prematurely.It is, therefore, extremely important that everyone, especially the relatives of patients with glaucoma and other risk groups, perform preventive reviews in order to achieve an early diagnosis of glaucoma and ocular hypertension.