January is Glaucoma Awareness Month

January comes a month of the year when people should stop and think about glaucoma. While it may not seem like glaucoma is a big deal, this eye disease develops into a serious problem that affects many people. Glaucoma steals people’s vision. It does so quietly and without warning. It isn’t painful and it doesn’t strike all at once. The problem does come on strongly once it makes itself known to those it affects. Take hear much can be treated with help of expert physicians like Dr. Amjad Khokhar. 
Open angle glaucoma
Open angle glaucoma can take several years to make itself known and for a time it may not see like that big of a deal. It begins with losing first the sides and peripheral vision. Many people can write this off easily enough as a momentary lapse of vision that they weren’t using anyway. It can continue onward with time until it begins to affect more central vision. Unfortunately, the problem does not get any better and almost always gets worse unless actively treated. 
The trouble with open angle glaucoma comes as once you become aware that your vision has deteriorated, the disease has progressed into an advanced state. At this stage of the game, surprisingly, it may not be too late to do something about the condition due to how far medical treatment has advanced. But if you do nothing, glaucoma has a significant chance of rendering you blind for the rest of your life. Sugarland Eye & Laser Center has a variety of options to handle such a condition including laser eye surgery. 
Receiving regular eye exams
Medicine in the modern age has many of the early warning and detection capabilities. For so many people who have glaucoma these methods of early detection can show that the disease has developed long before any signs and symptoms show. If the disease is caught early, you may experience absolutely no loss of vision because you eye doctor can prescribe a treatment that will stop glaucoma in its tracks. 
What causes glaucoma?
The damage that glaucoma causes can seem mysterious, even strange. The optic nerve functions by letting light from your eyes reach your brain, and this nerve is crucial for seeing anything. When your eyes can no longer properly drain fluid out of them due to a clog of some kind, the pressure in your eye causes damage to the optic nerve. Four million people have this type of glaucoma and it can be treated with relative ease. 
Glaucoma is also more likely to occur in people who have a family history of it. Latin Americans have an unfortunate genetic trait of having an increased incidence of this illness. This becomes even worse if you are older, if you have diabetes or if you have a cardiovascular issue such as high cholesterol. A few lifestyle changes may or may not be the ultimate difference between keeping your eyesight for life and losing it rather early. Doctors prefer you make lifestyle changes first before beginning major treatment unless the glaucoma has reached an advanced state. In that case, treatment becomes the best option. 
Schedule a consultation or counseling session with the staff at Sugarland Eye & Laser Center in Houston. They can explain the surgery options available such as LASIK. 
 
Sources: 
http://www.glaucoma.org/glaucoma/symptoms-of-primary-open-angle-glaucoma.php?gclid=CMva4t6nkMMCFdBDMgodi30AMA
https://www.nei.nih.gov/health/glaucoma/glaucoma_facts
 
 
 
Sugarland Eye & Laser Center leads in providing premium LASIK technologies to Houston, Sugar Land, and the surrounding region. The Center’s award-winning medical director introduced revolutionary technologies such as iLASIK to the region. This technology is used by NASA astronauts, Navy SEALS and Air Force fighter pilots. At Sugarland Eye & Laser Center, you can now receive the same treatment. For more information, please call (281) 240-0478 or visit us at www.houston-lasik.com. 
 
About the Author
Amjad Khokhar, M.D. is Chief LASIK Surgeon at Sugarland Eye & Laser Center. Add Dr. Khokhar on Google+ here. 
 
 :

are you a Candidate?
find out in 30 seconds
what will it cost me?
get a binding quote now
schedule your lasik!
book for surgery online
Phone in Chat Bubble Icon
Schedule Your Virtual Appointment!
are you a Candidate?
find out in 30 seconds
what will it cost me?
get a binding quote now
schedule your lasik!
book for surgery online