Chronic glaucoma
Clinical findings
Chronic glaucoma is usually chronic bilateral elevation of
intraocular pressure sufficient to produce damage to the optic
nerve . Gradually visual field loss develops, which is the most
important aspect of this serious eye disease.
Examinations
At the outpatient clinic, intraocular pressure, ocular fundus
and visual field defects will be checked. It takes only 5 minutes
to measure the intraocular pressure, but in some cases the intraocular
pressure changes during a day(diurnal change) or day to day. In
such cases, it is necessary to measure the pressure several times
to assess the true intraocular pressure in a patient. The fundus
check is very important to estimate the status of the optic nerve
and the retinal nerve fibers. The visual field test is also needed
to check the optic nerve conditions. If your family has a history
of this disease, your eyes should be examined once or twice a
year. Even if your family has no history of this disease, it is
recommended that your eyes be checked at 40 years of age.
Therapy
When the intraocular pressure is diagnosed too high, causing
optic nerve damage, firstly eye drops to reduce the pressure should
be prescribed. If the eye drops or medication cannot normalize
your intraocular pressure, laser or surgical therapy should be
taken into consideration.