Glaucoma can't be cured, and damage caused by the disease can't be reversed. The good news is that with treatment, glaucoma can be controlled. Eyedrops, oral medications and surgical procedures are used to prevent or slow further damage.
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| Tips To Improve Vision |
If you have glaucoma, you'll need to continue treatment for the rest of your life. Because the disease can progress or change without your being aware of it, your treatment may need to be changed over time. Regular checkups and adherence to a treatment plan may seem burdensome, but they're essential to prevent vision loss.
Preventing further damage to the optic nerve and continued loss of visual field may be accomplished by keeping your eye pressure under control. Your eye doctor may focus on lowering your IOP to a level that's unlikely to cause further optic nerve damage. This level is often referred to as the target pressure and will probably be a range rather than a single number. Target pressure differs for each person, depending on the extent of the damage and other factors. Your target pressure may change over the course of your lifetime.
Eyedrops for the treatment of glaucoma
Your doctor may prescribe more than one type of eyedrop. If you're using more than one, wait 5 to 10 minutes between applications. Eyedrop types include:
Beta blockers
Function: Reduce the production of aqueous humor.
Drug names: Levobunolol (Betagan), timolol (Timoptic, Betimol), carteolol (Ocupress), betaxolol (Betoptic), metipranolol (Optipranolol).
Possible side effects: Difficulty breathing, slowed pulse, hair loss, decreased blood pressure, impotence, fatigue, weakness, depression and memory loss. If you have asthma, bronchitis or emphysema, or if you have diabetes and use insulin, beta blockers shouldn't be used unless no alternative is possible, and then only with great care.
Alpha-adrenergic agents
Function: Reduce the production of aqueous humor.
Drug names: Apraclonidine (Iopidine), brimonidine (Alphagan).
Possible side effects: Increased blood pressure, tremors, headache, anxiety, red and itchy eyes, dry mouth and allergic reactions.
Carbonic anhydrase inhibitors
Function: Reduce the amount of aqueous humor.
Drug name: Dorzolamide (Trusopt).
Possible side effects: A bad taste in the mouth. Frequent urination and a tingling sensation in the fingers and the toes are common when a carbonic anhydrase inhibitor is taken orally but rare when it is taken as drops. If you're allergic to sulfa drugs, this type of medication shouldn't be used unless no alternative is possible, and then only with great care.
Prostaglandin analogues
Function: Increase the outflow of aqueous humor. These hormonelike substances may be used in conjunction with a drug that reduces production of aqueous humor.
Drug name: Latanoprost (Xalatan).
Possible side effects: Mild reddening and stinging of the eyes and darkening of the iris and the eyelid skin.
Prostamides
Function: Increase the outflow of aqueous humor.
Drug name: Bimatoprost (Lumigan).
Possible side effects: Mild to moderate reddening of the eyes and eyelash growth.
Miotics (rarely used today)
Function: Increase the outflow of aqueous humor.
Drug names: Pilocarpine (Isopto Carpine, Pilocar, others).
Possible side effects: Pain around or inside the eyes, brow ache, blurred or dim vision, nearsightedness, allergic reactions, a stuffy nose, sweating, increased salivation and occasional digestive problems.
Epinephrine compounds (rarely used today)
Function: Increase the outflow of aqueous humor.
Drug name: Epinephrine (Epifrin, Eppy/N).
Possible side effects: Red eyes, allergic reactions, palpitations, high blood pressure, headache and anxiety.
Treating acute angle-closure glaucoma
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Acute angle-closure glaucoma is a medical emergency. When you come in with this condition, doctors may administer several medications to reduce eye pressure as quickly as possible. Once your eye pressure is under control, you'll likely have an operation called iridotomy (ir-uh-DOT-uh-mee). In this procedure the doctor uses a laser beam to create a small hole in your iris that allows aqueous humor to flow more freely into the anterior chamber. Many doctors recommend an iridotomy on the other eye at a later date because of the high risk that it too will have an attack within the next few years. To find out more, you can check out Tips To Improve Vision.