Glaucoma
What Is Glaucoma and How Did I Get It?
by Charles Blotnick MD Patients often ask “what is Glaucoma and how did I get it?” Glaucoma is a disease where the pressure inside the eye builds up and damages the vision nerves. It effects over 3 million Americans and 70 million people worldwide. Glaucoma is considered the leading cause of irreversible blindness in the […]
Laser Treatment For Glaucoma: Results of the LiGHT Clinical Trial
According to the World Health Organization, glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness worldwide. At least 3 million Americans have glaucoma, but less than half of those people know they have the disease. Risk factors for glaucoma include a positive family history of glaucoma, diabetes, and nearsightedness. Glaucoma also increases in incidence with age, […]
Medications to Avoid with Glaucoma
Narrow Angle Glaucoma There are a number of narrow angle or “closed angle” glaucoma medications to avoid due to the fact that they block acetylcholine, the chemical that keeps the eye angle open. These medications can cause further narrowing and can lead to blockage of the eye’s drainage system. Here is a list of numerous […]
Are You at Risk for Glaucoma?
There are many risk factors for glaucoma. Glaucoma causes blindness due to damage to the optic nerve. The two main theories of nerve damage are elevated intraocular pressure and vascular insufficiency. An elevated eye pressure or intraocular pressure has traditionally been considered a major factor for glaucoma. There are multiple theories as to why the nerve becomes damaged with a high pressure. First, an elevated pressure causes an increase in the degrading enzymes that […]
What is Glaucoma
Glaucoma is a progressive, blinding disease that is unfortunately, common in the United States. Approximately, 50% of patients with glaucoma do not know they have the disease. Approximately, 20% of patients with cataracts, also have glaucoma. The treatment options for glaucoma have been limited in the past. To treat glaucoma, we used eye drops. We […]
Glaucoma Treatments with Lasers
Glaucoma Lasers Patients with glaucoma may benefit from two major types of laser treatments. Both treatments can be performed in the office without needing to go to an operating room. Most patients are able to return to work the following day. The laser treatments are aimed at improving the internal drainage system of the eye. […]