M.D. Glaucoma is a disorder that causes damage to the cells comprising the optic nerve, the structure that transmits visual information from the eye to the brain. During National Glaucoma Awareness Month in January, Prevent Blindness America urges people age 40 and older to learn about the disease and undergo proper testing. Visual field tests use specialized equipment and techniques to test a person's peripheral vision, which is slowly lost in glaucoma. For optic nerve examinations, improvements in testing tools make detection of nerve damage more likely and measurement more precise, allowing for better and earlier treatment. Once glaucoma is diagnosed, treatment can begin.
Surgery is more successful now than in the past, and medication is easier to take.
Americans age 35 and older, diabetics, anyone over age 50, those who are very nearsighted, those with a family history of the disease and people who had eye surgery or an eye injury earlier in life. All rights reserved.