Am I At Risk for Glaucoma?

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Glaucoma is a condition that can affect anyone, but some people are at specific risk for the condition. If you are at risk for glaucoma, you may need extra monitoring from your eye doctor in Wellington, FL.

At Family Vision Center PA, we help our patients determine their level of risk for glaucoma, and we perform comprehensive eye exams to identify problems like glaucoma. If you have concerns about your eye health, here’s what to know about this condition.

What is Glaucoma?
Glaucoma is a condition that causes damage to the optic nerve, usually due to a build-up of pressure in the eye. Glaucoma can have few or no symptoms in the beginning, and some people don’t find out they have glaucoma until they’ve already experienced irreparable damage to their vision. Glaucoma can’t be cured, but it can be treated. Your eye doctor can use treatments to slow the progression of the disease to help preserve your eyesight.

Who Is At Risk?
While anyone can get glaucoma, those at risk include those with glaucoma in their family and those with diabetes. In fact, if you have diabetes, you may need to come in for regular comprehensive eye exams to check for this problem. Talk to your eye doctor to find out whether you need to come in for a comprehensive eye exam. Other people who are at risk include:

African Americans over age 40
Anyone over the age of 60
Need Treatment or an Eye Exam? Contact Us
Do you need glaucoma treatment in Wellington, FL? Contact Family Vision Center PA to make an appointment to see our eye doctor.

How Will I Know If I Have Glaucoma?

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Glaucoma is a serious eye condition that can eventually cause blindness. Glaucoma treatment can control the condition and slow the onset of symptoms. Everyone is at risk for glaucoma, although some people are at higher risk than others. You can protect yourself from blindness related to glaucoma by seeing your eye doctor in Wellington, FL, and in the surrounding area.

What Is Glaucoma?

Glaucoma is a condition that damages the optic nerve in the eye, usually due to a buildup of pressure in the eye. Glaucoma can cause permanent vision loss or blindness, if left untreated for long enough.

Are There Symptoms of Glaucoma?

The unfortunate thing about glaucoma is that it often has no symptoms in the early stages. Many people don’t know they have glaucoma until they’ve experienced some vision loss and have gone to the eye doctor.

The only person who can tell if you have glaucoma during these early stages is the eye doctor. Your eye doctor can determine whether you have glaucoma by performing an eye exam.

Eye exams that detect glaucoma are not like standard eye exams for vision clarity. In fact, your eye doctor must be able to see into your eye in order to determine whether you have glaucoma.

To do this, your eye doctor will dilate your eyes. When this happens, the doctor will put drops in your eyes to dilate the pupils. Your vision will become blurry and you’ll become temporarily sensitive to light. When the dilation wears off, your vision will return to normal.

Get an Eye Exam

If you’ve never had a vision exam to test for glaucoma, now is the time. This is especially important if you’re over 60 years old, have diabetes, or if you’re in some other way at risk for glaucoma. To determine your risk for this condition, see the eye doctor. Your eye doctor at Family Vision Center PA can let you know whether you’re at risk for glaucoma and what you can do to protect yourself.

Call today to make an appointment for an eye exam in Wellington, FL, or to find out more about glaucoma treatment.