Glaucoma

Signs of Glaucoma in Chico

Glaucoma is an eye disease which causes optic nerve damage leading to loss of vision. It involves an increase in pressure within the eye that puts stress on the optic nerve. The staff specializing in ophthalmology at Reeve-Woods Eye Center in Chico provides complete glaucoma screening and treatment for our California patients. Keep reading to learn more about this condition and how we can help you keep seeing the beauty of the world clearly.

Glaucoma Risk Factors

There are several risk factors that make some people more likely to develop glaucoma than others. These include having a family member with glaucoma, having cardiovascular disease or diabetes, as well as being female or of African-American/Latino descent.

Glaucoma Warning Signs

Those in the high-risk groups should keep watch for the warning signs that glaucoma may be developing. Some will be obvious to you, but others may only be discovered by a professional ophthalmologist. If you notice these symptoms, it is important to schedule an appointment with one of our doctors of ophthalmology.

Nausea and headache are not exclusive to glaucoma but are two of the less commonly recognized symptoms, as they do not affect the eyes directly. Some symptoms present in the eyes include unexplained pupil dilation, redness, and eye pain. Warning signs of glaucoma that stem from your visual acuity includes blind spots in peripheral or central vision, an overall haziness, and halos around lights.

Glaucoma Treatment

There is no cure for glaucoma… yet. However, it is treatable. The goal of this treatment is to reduce the pressure in the eye and restore vision. First and foremost, the regular use of prescription eye drops is the most common treatment. More serious cases may require the use of medications. The most severe cases of glaucoma require surgery to correct the damage to the optic nerve.