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Glaucoma Testing
Glaucoma is an eye disease characterized by an increase in the pressure within the eye. Over time this increase in ocular pressure causes changes in the retina, namely damage to the optic nerve, which conducts visual impulses to the brain. Left untreated the results from Glaucoma are defects or blind spots in the patient’s peripheral field which can progress centrally to total vision loss.
It should be stressed that glaucoma is a so-called silent disease, much like high blood pressure. Glaucoma, sometimes is referred to as high pressure but has no definite relationship and should not be mistaken for high blood pressure.In most cases, the patient has no symptoms until sufficient damage has taken place to the point of irreversible visual loss.
It is crucial that people, particularly over the age of forty, have regular eye health assessments which include Glaucoma screening tests such as pressure checks, since most types of glaucoma present no detectable symptoms and it is a leading cause of vision loss. Testing is particularly important in high-risk groups, which include people with a family history of glaucoma and patients that have undergone long term steroid treatments. At Glenmore Landing Vision Center Glaucoma testing is done on every patient receiving a full eye exam over the age of 18 years old. Worldwide, about 60 million people have glaucoma. Approximately four and a half million people in North America are effected and it is estimated that as many as half of these have not yet been diagnosed. One hundred thousand North Americans are blind from glaucoma, making it the leading cause of preventable blindness in North America.
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