How Glaucoma Affects Your Peripheral Vision

Glaucoma is a group of eye problems that can damage the optic nerves of the eye resulting in the loss of vision. Peripheral vision loss is caused by glaucoma. In this type of vision problem although the central vision is fine the normal and wide angle vision is lost. Peripheral vision is also called tunnel vision.

Peripheral vision loss is one of the most common outcomes of the problem of glaucoma. People often don’t realise that they are suffering from glaucoma and at the cost of ignorance they welcome another health ailment called tunnel vision or peripheral vision loss. The most common sign of peripheral vision loss are:

  • Difficult to see in dim light
  • Difficult to navigate while walking

Glaucoma is one of the most common causes of blindness in U.S. The most widespread signs of glaucoma are as follows:

  • Blurred vision
  • Hazy vision
  • Nausea
  • Vomiting
  • Headache
  • Eye pain
  • Red eye
  • Eye swelling
  • Sensitivity to lights
  • Rainbow like halos around eyes

What are the types of glaucoma?

There are four major types of glaucoma. These are as follows:

  1. Open angle glaucoma: it is the most common type of glaucoma which doesn’t have any particular cause. This type of glaucoma runs in families. Due to this glaucoma, some blind spots are formed in the optic nerve of eyes.
  2. Closed-angle glaucoma: it occurs when the fluid in the eye is suddenly blocked. This blockage creates a sudden pressure inside the eye, a very severe pain is also felt as a result. It is an emergency condition and the person is prone to get infected with glaucoma in the other eye also.
  3. Secondary glaucoma: it can be both closed or open type of glaucoma, but the cause of which is known. The common cause might be:
  • Diabetes
  • Eye injury
  • Due to drug side effects etc.
  1. Congenital glaucoma: It is found in babies, as a result of underdeveloped eyes. This glaucoma often runs in families.

Peripheral loss of vision and glaucoma:

Glaucoma is considered the most common cause of peripheral loss of vision. It occurs when an optic nerve get damaged due to glaucoma. Some other factors that may cause the peripheral loss of vision are:

  • Retinitis pigmentosa
  • Brain damage due to stroke or occlusions
  • Deformed retina
  • Concussions
  • Neurological damages

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In case you find any such symptoms, then you might be prone to have glaucoma sooner or later.

People with glaucoma often don’t realize that they might end up losing their peripheral vision, as they don’t notice the early signs. By the time they get warned of the disease, the vision problem might have advanced to dangerous levels. Symptoms of tunnel vision are not very easy to notice. Hence it is necessary for people with glaucoma and those above 40 years of age, to go for regular eye check-ups.

People who notice the early signs of glaucoma should also get tested for their vision. Glaucoma runs in families and most commonly in the African-Americans.

Treatment of tunnel vision or peripheral vision loss:

The treatment of the tunnel vision depends on the cause. For example, if the cause of peripheral vision loss is glaucoma, and the condition is detected during the initial stages, then some preventive measures could be taken to avoid the permanent loss of peripheral vision.

The doctor might prescribe some eye drops to the patients with glaucoma to relieve the eye pressure and to avoid the attack. Hence, the permanent damage to the optic nerve can be prevented by taking the glaucoma medication on time. If glaucoma is left untreated, then it might result in the loss of peripheral vision.

Unfortunately if you have a permanent peripheral vision loss, there are no corrective measures such as eye lenses or eyeglasses. However, the eye specialist might use some prism-like device to increase your vision width. This is possible in only certain types of tunnel vision problems.

Some eye specialist might also provide you some eye gears and optical devices, which might help you to solve the mobility problems.

Conclusion:

If you suffer from tunnel vision or glaucoma, you must immediately fix your appointment with an eye specialist to get yourself checked for your condition. A right diagnosis at a right time can save your eyesight.

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