Should I Worry About Glaucoma When I’m Younger?
Are you younger and feel like you are invincible? Do you ever worry about your eye health?
Being younger, it’s easy to think that a condition is something that only older people can get. But that’s not always the case.
This applies to eye conditions too. Keep reading to find out if you should worry about glaucoma while you’re younger!
Who can develop glaucoma?
When you reach age 60 or older, you have a higher chance of developing glaucoma, which can cause you to go blind. Even though older adults have a higher risk of developing glaucoma, anyone can develop it.
There are types of glaucoma that babies, children, and younger adults can develop as well.
What do I need to know about glaucoma?
Glaucoma is a member of a group of eye conditions that impact the optic nerve. To have good vision, your optic nerve needs to be healthy.
When you have glaucoma, your eye pressure increases, damaging your optic nerve. While most eye and health conditions have obvious symptoms and effects, you will not know you have glaucoma until you’re diagnosed with it.
The only person that can diagnose you with glaucoma is an eye doctor. Everyone needs to be worried about glaucoma because the symptoms are virtually unnoticeable.
For most people, this means that they don’t realize they have glaucoma until vision loss has already occurred. Once glaucoma is affecting your vision, nothing can reverse it.
The only way to detect and diagnose glaucoma early on is by having frequent eye exams. One of the things that are done during an eye exam is your doctor will measure your eye pressure.
This way they can detect any changes. Having this data makes it easier for them to diagnose glaucoma.
When glaucoma is diagnosed early, it’s easier to slow down and potentially prevent future vision loss.
What are the signs associated with glaucoma?
The signs and symptoms of glaucoma depend on the type and stage of glaucoma that you have.
Open-angle glaucoma
When you have open-angle glaucoma, you can develop tunnel vision as it progresses. You may experience random blind spots in your peripheral and central vision.
When a patient has this type of glaucoma, they experience it in both eyes.
Acute-angle glaucoma
Some of the signs of acute angle glaucoma include:
- Intense headaches
- Eye pain
- Vomiting and nausea
- Foggy vision
- Red eyes
- Noticing halos around lights
If you are experiencing any of these signs and symptoms, contact your eye doctor to schedule an appointment. When glaucoma goes untreated, it can blindness as it develops.
Do you think it is time for an eye exam? Frequent eye exams are the best way to keep your eyes healthy and detect any changes or conditions.
Early detection is key for keeping your eyes healthy and protecting your vision. If you can’t remember the last time you had an eye exam, it’s been too long.
Schedule an appointment at Complete EyeCare West in Columbus, OH with one of our talented ophthalmologists!
You’ll never regret the time you took to protect your vision!
