Glaucoma
glaucoma testing
Glaucoma Evaluations in San Jose, CA
Our doctors are trained to detect, diagnose, and treat glaucoma. Glaucoma is a “silent” eye disease that can cause complete blindness. It is estimated that over 80 million people worldwide have glaucoma, with approximately 6.7 million people suffering from vision blindness. Glaucoma is the leading cause of blindness in African-Americans, who are 6-8 times more likely to develop glaucoma than Caucasians.
Glaucoma is an eye disease in which vision loss is caused by damage to the optic nerve. The optic nerve serves as a cable that connects all the visual information from the eye to the brain.
Symptoms of Glaucoma
Symptoms of vision loss are not apparent in the early stages of glaucoma, which is why having your eyes checked yearly is vital in the early detection of glaucoma. By the time a person notices some loss of vision, there is already considerable damage to the eye. Most of the vision loss due to glaucoma is irreversible. The vision loss generally affects the peripheral vision first and then attacks the central vision as the disease progresses.
Treatment for Glaucoma
Presently, there is no cure for glaucoma. However, the treatments available are effective and can slow down or prevent further vision loss. The treatments include using eye drops to help decrease the pressure of the eye or surgical intervention.
Glaucoma Eye Exam
If a patient is suspected of having glaucoma or a patient has glaucoma, the doctors will recommend a separate glaucoma evaluation beyond the tests performed during a comprehensive examination. It is vital to establish a good baseline of data to properly diagnose and treat glaucoma. These tests may include procedures such as gonioscopy, serial tonometry, threshold visual field testing, pachymetry, and nerve fiber layer and retinal analysis. Visual field testing measures the peripheral vision (side-to-side vision) and allows us to determine if there is any damage to the connection between the eyes and the brain. If a patient does have glaucoma, the visual field test results provide doctors with information to analyze the progression of the disease and determine if the treatments are effective.