90,000 people in Austria have been diagnosed with glaucoma. An estimated 50,000 do not know anything regarding their disease, which is considered the most common cause of blindness in this country. The insidious thing regarding the disease, which is still popularly known as “glaucoma”: By the time you notice symptoms, permanent damage has usually already occurred. A check-up can save your eyesight, warned doctors at a press conference in Vienna.
It can hit just regarding anyone; Certain risk factors, such as family history, increase the risk and should be taken into account during regular follow-up. Since glaucoma is usually completely painless and does not have any clear symptoms for a long time, the initial diagnosis is often an incidental finding. At this stage, however, the disease can usually still be treated well and with little invasive eye drops; later, often only a deterioration can be delayed.
Early detection is essential for maintaining the sense of sight. Irreversible damage is often initially manifested by a loss of visual field. However, contrary to popular belief, this does not manifest itself through a kind of tunnel vision, but is not actually perceived at all. In the beginning, head and eyes balance out the missing parts or supplement and complete them unconsciously, insecurity when stepping or running into door frames or similar can be the first signs.
At the latest from the age of 50, preferably from the age of 40, you should make an appointment with an ophthalmologist. “The central visual acuity only decreases in the final stages of the disease, when most of the optic nerve has already died. This unnoticed course means that around 50 percent of people who suffer from glaucoma do not even know that they have it and as a result, many of the patients are already visually impaired at the time of the initial diagnosis, because the diagnosis is usually only made as a coincidence,” explained Anton Hommer, specialist in ophthalmology and optometry and board member of the European Glaucoma Society. The focus is on the eye pressure, which above a certain level can irrevocably damage or destroy the optic nerve.
Eye drops, lasers and various surgical techniques are available for treatment, according to Clemens Vass, head of the glaucoma outpatient clinic at the University Clinic for Ophthalmology and Optometry, Vienna General Hospital. The most common surgical method and gold standard for glaucoma surgeries is the so-called trabeculectomy. In this surgical procedure, the surgeon cuts out a small fragment of the blocked trabecular filter to facilitate drainage of aqueous humor and thereby reduce intraocular pressure.
However, all methods of glaucoma surgery cannot offer permanent healing, and the patient remains under regular care for life with all forms of treatment. One of the most significant advances in recent years has been the introduction of preservative-free eye drops that are particularly well tolerated.
