How Long Does It Take For Glaucoma To Cause Complete Vision Loss?
One of the emerging causes of blindness worldwide is glaucoma. And it’s quite obvious to consider it the “silent thief of sight,” as it goes unnoticed until the issue becomes major, much like someone entering a room without knocking or walking so silently that you can’t hear the footsteps. Generally, people are anxious about the question of how long it takes for glaucoma to completely take away vision. To be very honest, it depends on how early glaucoma is diagnosed and the level it has reached. This is what a prestigious doctor from the best eye hospital in Jalgaon addressed.
Let’s continue to dig deeper into this.
Understanding Glaucoma: Silent Thief Of Vision
Glaucoma is an eye condition that emerges due to a group of eye issues causing to damage the optic nerve, often because of high intraocular pressure (IOP). The optic nerve transmits the visual information to the brain from the eyes, when it gets damaged the vision loss is certain.
Glaucoma has many types, but let’s discuss the two most common to get it simplified:
1. Open-Angle Glaucoma:
Open-angle glaucoma is the most common type and develops very slowly without giving any warning symptoms. eventually, the eye’s drainage angle gets blocked, which causes high intraocular pressure.
The optic nerve gets damaged through this pressure, resulting in slow vision loss.
2. Angle-Closure Glaucoma:
In Angle-Closure Glaucoma the reasons are similar that is blocking the drainage angle and the high intracular pressure does the havoc of the vision, but the twist is that the patient seemed to suffer from severe pain, nausea, and of course blurry vision.
How Fast Does Glaucoma Cause Vision Loss?
The experts at the Best Hospital for Glaucoma Treatment in Jalgaon addressed that The severeness of glaucoma depends not only on one factor instead there are many,
Let’s break it down to find the answer to how speedily glaucoma starts taking the clarity from the vision.
- Open-Angle Glaucoma:
Open-angle glaucoma is comparatively slow to develop. The duration of a year can be expected to cause noticeable vision loss. The peripheral vision(side vision) gets damaged first later on it takes its way toward the center.
Most people with this eye condition do not notice any symptoms until the vision gets blurry to a significant level.
- Angle-Closure Glaucoma:
The vision loss speed is faster in Angle-closure glaucoma. You can consider it as an emergency condition that needs immediate treatment. it is so severe that can lead the permanent vision loss even in a matter of days or even hours.
The sudden increase in eye pressure can lead to permanent vision damage in a matter of hours or days.
How To Know If You Are Trapped By Glaucoma?
From the above discussion, one thing is very clear glaucoma usually doesn’t show any presence hint in its early stages, you might not know you have it until the vision loss starts.
That’s why eye exams are important. During an eye exam, an eye doctor will the doctor will check the intraocular pressure of the eye which is the main reason for vision loss which gets affected due to glaucoma and damages the optic nerve, so here is the best thing to perform a visual field test as it is very helpful in determining what are the areas of your eyes gets affected and which are left.
If you or your loved ones are noticing any of the following symptoms, make an appointment with the eye hospital such as the best eye hospital in Jalgaon:
- Gradual loss of peripheral vision (side vision)
- Tunnel vision, not able to see the objects placed at far distance (in advanced stages)
- Severe pain in the eye (for angle-closure glaucoma)
- Blurriness in the vision (for angle-closure glaucoma)
- Nausea and vomiting (for angle-closure glaucoma)
Is It Possible To Prevent Glaucoma?
It’s horrible, and of course, the next question that arises in the mind is that since vision is one of the most crucial elements of our life, imagining life without it is really hard. The difficult part of this disease is whether you can prevent it or not.
The experts at the best eye hospital give a green flag to it, saying that the advancement of medical science really works best, but what you need to do is just follow the advice that is discussed below.
- Regular Eye Exams:
Regular eye checkups are the best solution to prevent glaucoma. With age, the functioning of organs automatically slows down, which opens the path for diseases.
Talking about glaucoma, if you’re over 40, it’s recommended that you have your eyes checked every two years.
- Medications:
Glaucoma is manageable with medications, especially if diagnosed earlier with lower intraocular pressure.
The prescription generally consists of eye drops and oral medications according to the eye’s needs. Ensure to follow the prescription rules mandatorily.
- Surgery:
If the severity goes beyond, the eye specialist prescribes surgical intervention to control the eye condition and prevent sight from being lost. The surgery lowers the intraocular pressure by improving fluid drainage.
- Lifestyle Changes:
A healthy lifestyle can reduce the risk of glaucoma, such as doing eye exercises regularly in the morning, eating foods rich in vitamins that support healthy eyes, and avoiding junk to prevent your eyes from getting damaged.
Conclusion
Here, the complete story of glaucoma is revealed by going through the roller coaster of seeing its devil side and preventive measures. All that can be concluded is that early detection can turn the tables and win the battle.
So if you are someone who is awakened to the vision goal, consider an eye check-up mandatory once a year, just like having a cup of tea or coffee in the morning.
The best hospital for glaucoma treatment in Jalgaon, Pratibha Hospital, is creating awareness of this concern by educating people regarding glaucoma through campaigns, blogs, and many more so that their vision is safeguarded before it’s too late.