Glaucoma Specialists in Pottsville, PA

When patients are first diagnosed with glaucoma, they are understandably fearful. One of the first questions on their minds is “Will I go blind?” Know that a glaucoma diagnosis does not equate to a diagnosis of blindness. You’ll need a great glaucoma specialist, and in Pottsville PA, the best physicians are right here in town at Eye Consultants of Pennsylvania.

The origin of glaucoma

Most types of glaucoma are chronic diseases that require long-term eye care. Patients who come in for regular eye exams are more likely to be diagnosed earlier which means earlier treatment, and that translates to our ability to preserve any remaining vision that has not already been lost.

Glaucoma is a silent asymptomatic disease that progresses slowly over many years. The vision loss caused by glaucoma is so gradual that it appears to be loss due to normal aging. Because symptoms usually don’t occur until the late stages of the disease, significant vision damage may have already taken place by that point. This is why eye exams are crucially important as they are the only way to diagnose glaucoma early. Patients don’t get eye exams, and have no symptoms so they don’t think there is a problem, instead thinking their vision loss is normal due to aging.

Glaucoma is caused by a fluid buildup in the eye. The fluid cannot drain and pressure inside the eye builds up causing damage to the optic nerve. Over time, this damage can result in vision loss. Glaucoma typically occurs in both eyes, but the pressure buildup does tend to first happen in one eye. A person usually first notices a change in peripheral vision, and over time, central vision becomes affected.

Who is at risk for glaucoma?

Over three million Americans are affected by glaucoma each year, with people age 60 or more at higher risk. If you have a family history of glaucoma, you’re also at higher risk; people of African, Asian or Hispanic descent are at higher risk of developing glaucoma before age 60. Other risk factors include people with previous eye injuries, thin corneas, who have used steroid medications long-term, and people with high refractive error for either nearsightedness or farsightedness.

Any vision loss already done due to optic nerve damage cannot be restored. This is why we stress the importance of early detection because we can treat the disease to try to prevent any loss of remaining vision.

We treat glaucoma with medications and/or surgery. If it has been a while since your last eye exam, and you have any of the above risk factors, take the important step to come see us. Put your mind at ease. Make an appointment with our glaucoma specialist in our Pottsville, PA office. We have other locations as well if those are more convenient. Just don’t wait. Give us a call today at 610-378-8500 or schedule an online appointment at the Eye Consultants of Pennsylvania website. We can’t wait for you to be our next new patient.