Video: What is Glaucoma?

Video Transcription

Hi I’m Dr. Larry Alexander and you’ve taken a big step towards caring for your eyes. An eye examination is however more than just a pair of glasses. It’s about eye health and preventing unnecessary loss of vision and life. Glaucoma is known as the silent thief of sight. Glaucoma is a group of diseases that damage the eyes optic nerve the eye connection to the brain.It can result in vision loss and total blindness. However with early detection and treatment you can often protect your eyes against serious vision loss. The really bad thing about Glaucoma is that the majority of cases have no symptoms no pain and no warning signs. The only way to discover glaucoma is a very careful eye examination by a licensed professional. Glaucoma is more than increased pressure inside of the eye. So simple pressure screenings are not effective. In fact a very high percentage of glaucoma does not even register high pressure. There’s a very strong hereditary tendency for glaucoma so be on special alert if you have other family members with glaucoma. Also there are several medications such as corticosteroids nasal sprays that can increase the risk of glaucoma. The doctor uses the observation of the inside of the eye coupled with very sophisticated diagnostic tests to determine the diagnosis. In most cases early diagnosis and the simple use of drops or laser therapy results in control of the disease to prevent permanent vision loss. Don’t let glaucoma steal your vision. Thank you for your attention today. Please take a moment to click on the appointment button on this page to take your next step towards having the best vision possible for many years to come. It may be the best decision you make today.