Glaucoma treatment

The hallmark of treatment for glaucoma is reducing eye pressure. Glaucoma treatment is dependent on your severity and your stage of glaucoma. There are various treatments for glaucoma, including eye drops, laser, and surgery. Whether you have drops, laser, or surgery is dependent on the stage of glaucoma.

There are four to five different classes of drops that we use to treat glaucoma and reduce the eye pressure. Usually these drops may be used once a day, twice a day, or three times a day. One of these classes of drops are called prostaglandin drops. These drops are first line therapy, and are usually applied at night. The reason is because these drops will give you red, sore, eyes and a gritty feeling after they’re instilled in the eye. Putting them in at night means it doesn’t affect you and your daily activities, and you are able to sleep and wear off these symptoms.

Treatment for glaucoma is dependent on the stage and severity of your glaucoma. Treatment options for glaucoma include drops, laser, minimally invasive surgery, and further surgery such as trabeculectomies and tubes. Initially, we would use drops or laser to control your intraocular pressure and if this was not adequate, then we would move to surgical procedures. It is important to note that the only treatment for glaucoma is to control your eye pressure and any damage that has already occurred cannot be reversed and the mainstay of treatment is to any new damage happening.

Old age and raised eye pressure increases the likelihood of developing glaucoma. If you’re over the age of 60, you’re more likely to develop glaucoma. Regardless, we advise anyone above the age of 40 to be screened for glaucoma, especially if you have a family history of glaucoma, as that increases the likelihood of you developing glaucoma. If you are black, Hispanic or Asian, you’re more likely to develop glaucoma compared to being Caucasian. Extremes of prescriptions, whether that is long-sighted or short-sighted, also increases the risk of developing glaucoma. Having certain eye surgeries or having certain eye conditions and being on steroid drops long term can also increase the risk of developing glaucoma as does having thin corneas or having trauma to the eye.

Glaucoma is a progressive eye condition characterised by optic nerve damage and visual field changes and pressure changes inside the eye. Usually with glaucoma, your peripheral vision goes first and therefore you do not realise it until the central vision is also affected. By then, it is too late as any damage that’s happened is irreversible. It is therefore very important that you screen for glaucoma, and the usual recommendation is to do this from the age of 40. Usually this is done by checking your eye pressure and doing an assessment of the nerve at the back of your eye.

Laser treatment for glaucoma is dependent on the type of glaucoma you have. There are two types of glaucoma, broadly speaking, open angle glaucoma and closed angle glaucoma. Open angle glaucoma can be treated by a laser procedure called selective laser trabecularplasty. This laser takes about five minutes to do, and essentially it creates channels to allow your fluid to drain out, reducing the eye pressure inside your eye. The procedure is usually very effective and lasts several months to a few years in most people. It can also be redone if the procedure does not work in the first instance. In closed angle glaucoma, you can have a laser procedure called peripheral iridotomy. This laser creates a channel to which fluid can drain out preventing GLI closure, glaucoma. It is important to note that with both these lasers, they do not prevent you wearing glasses and you would have to continue wearing glasses for good vision.

Treatment for glaucoma is dependent on the stage and severity of your glaucoma. Treatment options include drops, laser, and surgery. One type of glaucoma called closed angle glaucoma can be treated with lens replacement surgery. If you were having this surgery and you’re in the early stages of glaucoma, you can have a multifocal lens implant, which would make you glasses free. However, this is not suitable for everybody and you would have to have an assessment to assess your suitability for this procedure.