Dr. Alatkar Anil A

Dr. Rajeev Sudan talks about Glaucoma.

Hi, I am Dr. Rajeev. I am a consultant in Glaucoma Arch perfunctory surgery and Cataracts. Today I am going to talk about Glaucoma- a very important health issue. We must understand first, what Glaucoma is? Glaucoma is a condition in which the intraocular pressure of the eye doesn’t commensurate with its normal functioning.

Let’s talk about intraocular pressure and what intraocular pressure is? I’ll show you the diagram, the cut section of the eye. As you can see that eye is a hollow organ and so is to maintain its shape there has to be some intraocular pressure inside. This pressure is formed by the constant secretion of the fluid called aqueous and there is a constant ingress and egress which matches and maintains an intraocular pressure within a narrow range. Glaucoma is a condition in which the pressure of the eye increases and this increase in pressure effects the blood circulation to the optic nerve and as a result there is an optic nerve damage. This is how the vision of the eye is lost. This condition is called as Kala Motia. This is called Kala Motia because it’s a condition which silently destroys the vision and patient doesn’t come to know about it.

Glaucoma is a condition which doesn’t have any specific symptoms. There can be non-specific symptoms like heaviness of the eyes, frequent change of glasses, colored hallows round the eye, difficulty in moving around in dim light and in extreme cases you may have difficulty in walking around and missing objects in the periphery of eye. Glaucoma is a condition which can be hereditary if your parents or any of your siblings, sisters or cousins have suffered from Glaucoma then you have an increased high risk of developing Glaucoma late in your life.

If you are 45 and you have a family stay of Glaucoma, you must consult your ophthalmologist and get a screening for Glaucoma. The screen test involves testing your intraocular pressure. If the pressure is persistently beyond 28mm of mercury and the ocular findings are suggestive of Glaucoma, then we order certain special tests. The treatment is indicated if your pressure is persistently high and your visual feels or null fiber analysis shows abnormality. Open angle Glaucoma is a condition which is imminently treated with medication. We have very effective medicines available which can control intraocular pressure.

The surgery is needed only in cases where medicines cannot control intraocular pressure. In case you need any further information you can contact me through Lybrate or can contact me online through Lybrate.