Glaucoma
Glaucoma is a common and important health problem. It is one of the leading causes of blindness in Western Society (Hoskins & Kass, 1989). It is responsible for ten percent of all blindness in the United States and continues to be the second or third most common cause of blindness in the world (Bunce, Fraser, & Wormald, 1999). It is estimated that two million people in the United States have been diagnosed as having glaucoma. Glaucoma is known to affect about two percent of Caucasians beginning at the age of 40 with an increasing risk for those over the age of 60. This risk is especially high if a member of the family has glaucoma or diabetes. Further, there is a higher risk of a glaucoma diagnosis for African Americans
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Pain can be another result of the disease and is affiliated with the height of the intraocular pressure and the velocity with which it rises to that level (Hoskins & Kass, 1989). Altered vision is also a possible result of this disease and occurs in many forms. Episodic blurring of vision is frequently arises when rapid increase of intraocular pressure causes corneal edema. Loss of Snellen visual acuity generally appears late in the sequence of glaucoma unless some other problems transpire, such as central retinal vein occlusion. Other symptoms may include things such as a change in the appearance of the eye, halo vision, and redness. Before other symptoms occur, an increased level of intraocular pressure is usually observed. These symptoms and an increase in intraocular pressure are likely to occur in both open-angle glaucoma and angle-closure glaucoma, which are two of the major types of glaucoma.
Visual field defects, defects pertaining to everything a person sees from peripheral vision to central vision, and optic disc damage is the basis of diagnosis in glaucoma (Hoskins & Kass, 1989). If the eye pressure is not within the normal range or if the optic nerve looks unusual, doctors may perform a visual field test that maps out a person's field vision, or perform a test to check whether the angle where the iris meets the cornea is opened or closed. The optic nerve and visual field changes of glaucoma
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
I am indecisive on what occupation I would like to pursue in. I have many ideas on what I would like to become. Optometrist, optometrist assistant, something to do with law, forensic scientist, or becoming a business owner are my main top occupations I consider. For now, an occupation I would consider and enjoy is to become an optometrist or an optometrist assistant. I’ve always been fascinated by the nervous system, particularly with the optic nerves. I want to help people who aren’t able to see clearly or help them with any problem they have with their eyes. I have glaucoma and I tested for the disease for a year until I was officially diagnosed. There are two types of Glaucoma, Open-angle glaucoma, which is what I have is the type where
The dry form is broken down into three stages; Early, Intermediate, and Advanced (National Eye Institute 3). In the Early stage, people have several small or few medium yellow deposits under the retina called drusen. This stage shows no symptoms or vision loss. During the second stage, Intermediate, more medium or even large deposits happen. As this happens, a blurred spot can develop and more light could be needed for reading. Lastly, in the Advanced stage, a breakdown of light-sensitive cells and tissue causes the blurred spot to enlarge and darken. In this latter stage, facial recognition is unlikely unless the person is extremely close. Either form of Macular Degeneration can only be detected by thorough eye exams. The exam should include visual acuity, which measures sight at varied distance intervals. Also, dilation of the eyes will allow an ophthalmologist to check the retina and optic nerve. An instrument called a Tonometer will measure pressure within the eyes (National Eye Institute 6).
Myopia - is the refractive condition where the farthest point of focus is located at a point near to the observer, and not at infinity. When one is nearsighted, distance vision is blurred at all times while near vision is often excellent within a certain range. There are a number of explanations for this optical condition. The eyeball may be too long, causing the image to be focused short of the retina at the back of the eye. Or, the focusing lenses of the eye are too strong.
For the health condition description of age-related macular degeneration I will discuss the etiology, onset, prevalence rate, body systems, body structures, and associated deficits that come and are associated with this disease. “AMD is the degradation of the cells at the center of the retina which is the layer of tissue at the back of the eye that registers light. The macula is responsible for ventral vision, which enables us to read, drive, participate in sports, and do anything else that requires focusing directly ahead. Macular degeneration distorts the heart of the vision field” (Macular degeneration, 1998). Sunlight and smoking are both influences of the onset of AMD (Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD), 2014). It is suggested to avoid intense bright sunlight which may help reduce the retinal degeneration. Hats, sunglasses and any other accessories that can help protect the eyes from the sun are suggested. Cigarette smoking has also been linked to increasing the risk of developing AMD and it is recommended that persons should stop smoking to decrease their chance of developing AMD (Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD), 2014). AMD does not develop until the sixth or seventh decade of life, although early
“Glaucoma damage is permanent—it cannot be reversed. But medicine and surgery help to stop further damage” (Boyd). When starting treatment factors such as optic nerve damage, visual loss, and elevated eye pressure are deciding factors in what type of treatment will be necessary. The most common way to treat glaucoma is eye drops. The way the eye drops work is they either slow down the production of fluid that is created by the eye or they increase the amount of fluid in the eye to help it drain out of the eye. If a person is prescribed eye drops to use for his or her treatment they will usually be applied four times a day. With any type of medication there comes the side effects; In this case, glaucoma eye drops can help lower blood pressure while lowering the pressure in your eyes. The reason the eye drops are able to do this is because they have an element in them called a Beta-Blocker which is a drug that is used to keep the heart in a normal rhythm for people who have fast or irregular heartbeats. Although the best way for someone to prevent this sight-taking disease is to have regular checkups with an ophthalmologist. The doctor will be able to check the eye pressure and determine if it is in normal range. Also, the doctor will be able to actually look into the back of the eye to see if any damage has occurred to the optic
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.
How does the progression of optic nerve and RGC damage translate to the clinical symptoms of glaucoma? In a study published by Harwerth and Quigley in 2006, the structure-function relationships of human glaucoma and experimental glaucoma in monkeys are compared, in order to discern a possible correlation between the progressive loss of visual field experienced by glaucoma patients and the gradual neural losses. Previous studies had suggested a large amount of variance between the well-defined relationship of experimental glaucoma and the slightly different system of clinical glaucoma, but the discrepancies could have equally resulted from different methods of data analysis, which would affect the precision of the results. The study compared
Glaucoma occurs when there is an increase of intraocular pressure or IOP; IOP is the pressure of the fluid within the eye that builds up behind the eye (Ignatavicius & Workman, 2013). If the retinal ganglion cells degenerate, the visual field will decrease as well as the optic nerve will atrophy causing a distinctive clinical appearance (Gemenetzi, Yang, & Lotery, 2012). There are several types of glaucoma but the main two types of glaucoma; open-angle and
Glaucoma is several conditions of the eye that damage the optic nerve, which is vital to perfect vision. This damage is caused due to an abnormally high pressure in your eye. Glaucoma is one of the leading causes of blindness in the United States. It can happen at any age but is most common in older adults. If you lose your vision due to glaucoma, it is not possible to gain it back. It is important to get regular eye appointments because if glaucoma is caught early, the loss of vision can be slowed or prevented. There are two types of glaucoma. Open-angle glaucoma and acute angle-closure glaucoma. The symptoms for these two are very different. Open-angle glaucoma symptoms include patchy blind spots in your central or side vision,
Signs/Symptoms: The way a person would know if they have Glaucoma, an eye disease that can make someone go blind, is by looking for the signs or symptoms. Symptoms of Open Angle Glaucoma are patchy blindness spots in the peripheral or central vision and “tunnel” vision in both eyes. The symptoms for Acute Angle-Closure Glaucoma are, as said by Glaucoma - Symptoms and Causes by The Mayo Clinic “eye pain, nausea and vomiting, blurred vision, “halos” around lights - which may be rainbow,” red eyes, and sudden sight loss. The symptoms of this kind of Glaucoma have no typical early warning signs. This is the reason people don’t notice it until it is too late, and they end up losing their vision if it is not treated.
Stated by Web MD, for most people, there are usually few or no symptoms of glaucoma. The first sign of glaucoma is often the loss of peripheral or side vision, which can go unnoticed until late in the disease. This is why glaucoma is often called the "sneak thief of vision." Symptoms to look out for include, seeing halos around lights, vison loss, redness in the eye, nausea, pain in the eye, and narrowing of vison otherwise known as tunnel vison.
Glaucoma is a condition having to do with the buildup of pressure within the eyeball due to the obstruction of the outflow of liquid in the eye. Intraocular pressure can damage the optic nerve, which transmits images to the brain. If destruction to the optic nerve from high eye pressure continues, glaucoma will cause eternal loss of vision. The less common cause of glaucoma include a blunt natural damage to the eye, strict eye infection, obstruction of blood vessels in the eye, seditious conditions of the eye and occasionally eye surgery to correct the condition.
Basically what my research is stating is that there is a major genetic component that contributes to this disease. There are three general types of hereditary Macular Degeneration. The first is called early onset. This is when you get it when you are four years of age up to seven. In this type both parents and their children can be affected. This means it is dominantly inherited. Most of the time this is called Best Disease or Viteliform Macular Degeneration.
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.