Etiology Risk Factors

As humans, we don't always see with our eyes, but often with our imagination (Grunwald, 2016). Often times as people we never realize how useful our vision really is to us. You really don't think about something like that until it would actual happen to you. Throughout this essay, you will learn how the body is affected by Macular Degeneration (MD). Different signs and symptoms, as well as the etiology of MD, will be discussed. In the following, diagnosis tests and treatments may also be listed in order to help others who would like to know more about MD. Not to mention, you will learn the incidence and progression of MD. Furthermore, information though agencies and associations, as well as new research about MD will be given.

A risk factor can be defined as an individual’s characteristic or exposure which increases the possibility of developing a disease. There are two types of risk factors; behavioural and biomedical risk factors. Behavioural risk factors can be modified by the individuals, while biomedical risk factors are bodily states which arise as a consequence of behavioural risk factors (WHO, 2009). Smoking, alcohol consumption, daily intake of fruits and vegetables are some examples of behavioural risk factors. The examples for biomedical risk factors are obesity, high blood pressure, and dyslipidemia (Freyer-Adam, Gaertner, Tobschall, & John, 2011).

This article discussed the eye disease, Glaucoma. There are two types of Glaucoma; open-angle and closed-angle. Open-angle Glaucoma, there are no visual abnormalities, but there is a mechanical obstruction interfering with the drainage pathway. While closed-angle Glaucoma is a physical obstruction. Signs and symptoms of Glaucoma are; headache, nausea, vomiting, blurred vision, halo vision, and eye pain. Glaucoma progresses slowly and is asymptomatic at first. As the disease progresses symptoms appear, if symptoms are present, then there is already irreversible damage to the eye. There is no cure for Glaucoma, treatments are aimed at slowing the progression of the disease. Diagnostic tests done to detect Glaucoma are; measuring IOP, evaluation of the optic disks

Glaucoma can occur without much warning, whether its acute from a accident in which a trauma is issued on the eye, or if it is due to age and heredity. Glaucoma doesn 't discriminate, it is seen in all races and genders. It happens so slowly with age and heredity that you don 't even notice the loss of vision until it is too late, and with acute glaucoma it can be painful with pain that radiates over the face, a headache, nausea, vomiting and seeing colored halos around lights and even blurred vision can be a few symptoms (Ignatavicius & Workman, 2013). Once you start seeing halos, and lose peripheral vision, it may be an indicator that irreversible damage to the optic nerve has happened. In this paper we will discuss the pathophysiology of glaucoma, the types of glaucoma as well as the causes for them. the issues that glaucoma can cause someone, and the treatments and interventions. We will also have a education handout to help better understand how to administer the medication, and the effects it has on the eye.

A patient complaining of blurred vision, rainbow-colored circles around bright lights, eye and head pain accompanied by nausea, and sudden loss of vision (GRF, 2012) can all signal glaucoma, so educating patients to get treatment as early as possible to avoid further damage is imperative. When working with patients diagnosed with glaucoma it is crucial for a PTA to keep in mind that balance can be an issue because of impaired vision so keeping them safe from falls during exercise is vital, and it may be necessary to use tactile cues in addition to verbal

Age—people over age 60 are at increased risk for the disease. For African Americans, however, the increase in risk begins after age 40. The risk of developing glaucoma increases slightly with each year of age.

Marijuana is no longer used just to achieve euphoria or by hippies to show rebellion against the United States authorities. In today’s world you do not need a lava lamp and a van down by the river, you can now receive marijuana from doctors. The medicinal use of marijuana is fairly new in the U.S. One of the most common diseases medical marijuana patients suffer from is glaucoma. Although it is now legal, recent studies show hemp may not be the answer for glaucoma patients. The benefits of marijuana’s use for glaucoma treatment has not proven to outweigh its risks.

Roughly three million people in the United States suffer from glaucoma and the disease has actually impaired two million of those people. Glaucoma is the number one cause of blindness in the United States. Smoked marijuana does have properties that lower high internal eye pressure (intraocular pressure or IOP), alleviating the pain and slowing, sometimes stopping the damage to the eyes.

Acute ON usually involves a singular eye being affected whereby 90% of ON cases take place; the other 10% of cases occurring in both eyes is found to occur more frequently in children under the age of 15. The Optic Neuritis Treatment Trials (ONTT) identified vision loss and eye pain as the most common symptoms found in patients with acute unilateral ON. Vision loss was found to occur steadily over a period of a few hours to a few days, with a peak in between 1-2 weeks, whilst eye pain occurred in 92% of those affected and would worsen through eye movement. These visual defects however would usually resolve itself with care, with the ONTT presenting 56% of participants being clear after one year and 73% cleared after 10 (Cleary et al., 1997). In other cases, a patient may become affected with papillitis (intraocular ON) causing hyperemia leading to the swelling of the optic disc; a point of exit for optic ganglion cells. This area is important for the major blood vessels to supply the retina and thus aid in interpreting visual signals to be passed through the optic nerve into the brain. 

Glaucoma is a group of eye disorders that cause blindness by hurting the optic nerve, which is the large nerve that is responsible for vision. In glaucoma, the optic nerve damage is related to a change in the fluid pressure that circulates around the eyeball. In many cases, Glaucoma occurs when the eye's fluid pressure is high, but it can also occur when the pressure is measured as normal.

Glaucoma is an eye condition in which the optic nerve becomes damaged over time, reducing side vision. One cause of optic nerve damage in glaucoma is higher than normal pressure within the eye (intraocular pressure).Using medical marijuana can help decrease intraocular pressure. The idea of marijuana helping treat glaucoma dates clear back to the 1970s. Studies conducted then showed that smoking marijuana lowered the intraocular pressure of people with glaucoma. However, the pressure is only lowered for a short period of time, approximately three or four hours. This brief period of time could be a major disadvantage for using marijuana as a glaucoma treatment. Glaucoma is a disease that should be treated 24 hours a day to be comfortable.

Marijuana use can be used to treat and prevent the eye disease glaucoma, which increases pressure in the eyeball, damaging the optic nerve and causing loss of vision. Marijuana decreases the pressure inside the eye, according to the National Eye Institute "Studies in the early 1970s showed that marijuana, when smoked, lowered intraocular pressure in people with normal pressure and those with glaucoma."

There are many scientifically proven health benefits to smoking marijuana the first of which is it can be used to treat glaucoma and other eye disease. Pot doesn’t just treat glaucoma it can be used to prevent it. According to the National Eye Institute "Studies in the early 1970s showed that

In the article, Yvette states that Glaucoma has been treated with medical marijuana since the 1970’s. Marijuana decreases the intraocular pressure in patients with glaucoma. In addition to research done by the National Eye Institute, they found that the IOP is lowered after the use of medical marijuana. Even though it is short lived, it only last for about two

study, a woman with glaucoma was given a conventional glaucoma prescription drug and marijuana. By using both these things, the woman reduced the dangerous pressure that had built up in her eyes(Zeese and Ruzzamenti 23). But does this mean that a person has to get high so they don’t go blind? Researcher Paul Palmberg states that a person develops a tolerance to the drug so that the patient doesn’t get high but still gets relief(Zeese and Ruzzamenti 23). Marijuana helps with nausea, weight loss, and glaucoma, but what else does it do?