Glaucoma is a condition where the optic nerve is damaged. It can lead to progressive vision loss. The optic nerve carries visual signals from the front of the eye to the brain. If left untreated, primary open-angle glaucoma can cause the loss of these nerve fibres.

Gary Rodney, the Founder of Smart Vision Optometry and a leading Smart Vision Optometrist at Eyes InDesign Mosman, provides insight of contributing factors that worsen the condition of glaucoma in people of all ages.

Glaucoma can be controlled with a series of medication or surgery. If it is diagnosed early, it can usually be managed. Primary open-angle glaucoma usually doesn’t show symptoms until it has progressed to central vision loss. Acute angle-closure glaucoma is a less common type of glaucoma. It occurs suddenly and can cause severe pain, nausea, and blurred vision.

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Although it can’t be predicted who will develop it, most people with high eye pressure will eventually develop glaucoma. “It occurs when the pressure inside the eye is too high for a certain nerve,” says Rodney.

A family history of glaucoma can increase a person’s risk of developing the condition. Also, being born with a damaged eye can increase a person’s chances of suffering from chronic eye inflammation.

The “cause of glaucoma is usually linked to an increase in fluid pressure in the eye, or is caused by a lack of oxygen to the nerve,” says Rodney.

There are different types of glaucoma that have different potential causes. Primary open-angle glaucoma is a slow and painless damage to the optic nerve is the most common type of glaucoma. Those with this condition can lose a significant portion of their vision before they realise their issues. Angle-closure glaucoma is a less common type of eye disease that can cause vision loss in just one day of its onset. It usually appears when the drainage angle in the eyes gets blocked.

As the size of the eye’s lens gets larger, the space between the cornea and the iris widens, and the fluid that collects in the eye can then be blocked. This causes the eye pressure to increase.

An acute form of eye disease occurs when the iris completely obscures the fluid drainage. An acute attack occurs when the drainage of the eye completely blocks. It can happen even if the person has no drainage angle.

“People over age 60 are at an increased risk of suffering from glaucoma”, say Rodney. Age is a common factor that increases the risk of developing glaucoma.

Having a family history of glaucoma is associated with a higher risk of developing the condition. Certain conditions can also increase the risk of developing the disease. “Physical injuries to the eye can increase pressure in the eye,” says Rodney. By keeping your eye pressure under control, your optometrist can help prevent further damage to the optic nerve. A reduction in eye pressure that is at least as likely to cause further damage is known as the target pressure.

“Other eye-related risks include having a thinner cornea and optic nerve sensitivity,” says Rodney, “further, being near-sighted is known to increase the risk of developing glaucoma.”

There is no cure for glaucoma. As the condition worsens, patients need to continue taking their medication and undergoing eye examinations. “Getting diagnosed early and treating it properly can help prevent vision loss and minimise the risk of suffering from it,” says Rodney. Having regular monitoring and treating glaucoma can also help control it.

Smart Vision Optometry clinics are located in Sydney. Book a Smart Vision Comprehensive Vision Skills Assessment or Advanced Eye Health Test for any child or adult by calling the Mosman clinic (02) 9969 1600 or the Bondi clinic (02) 9365 5047, alternatively book an appointment online.

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Glaucoma is a name given to a group of eye diseases where vision loss is due to the damage of the optic nerve. This can be linked to the build-up of intraocular pressure in the eye. The increased pressure in the eye damages the optic nerve and can gradually worsen.

In this Blindness Awareness Month, Jacqueline Gattegno, a Smart Vision Optometrist at Eyes InDesign Bondi, offers insight into the detection of glaucoma.

Glaucoma is often called “the sneak thief of sight” because the loss of vision may occur before an individual is aware of it. Signs of glaucoma often go unnoticed because there may be no visible or noticeable symptoms. For instance, the loss of vision in the periphery is a common sign of glaucoma, but it often goes unnoticed.

It is important to detect signs of glaucoma as soon as possible as this condition is a common cause of blindness. Regular eye examinations are advised to “diagnose and treat early signs of glaucoma,” says Jacquie.

Jacquie stipulates common signs of glaucoma to look out for which include, “seeing halos around lights, vision loss, redness around the eye, hazy eyes or eye pain”. If individuals are aware of these signs, it may help eye doctors treat the eye before getting worse and prevent rapid vision loss.

While anyone is at risk of developing glaucoma, some people are at a higher risk. Numerous cases of glaucoma are over the age of 40, however, signs of glaucoma can be visible at any age.

People are more likely to have glaucoma if they have “a history of glaucoma in the family, poor vision/myopia, diabetic, high eye pressure or have an injury to the eye,” says Jacquie.

Glaucoma is hereditary, therefore individuals are more susceptible to developing glaucoma if this condition is prevalent among blood relatives.

Individuals with high myopia (nearsighted or shortsighted) are at a higher risk of primary open-angle glaucoma,” says Jacquie.

Traumatic eye injury or operation can lead to glaucoma. “Eye pressure may rise immediately or gradually upon injury,” says Jacquie, and requires constant regulation and monitoring from eye specialists.

Symptoms unrelated to vision should also be adhered to. Studies have shown that people with diabetes have an increased risk and development of glaucoma. “High blood sugar can cause the lens to swell and can cause blurry vision,” says Jacquie. High or low blood pressure, can also increase the risk of glaucoma as it “affects the blood flow to the optic nerve,” says Jacquie.

Glaucoma treatment

Smart Vision Optometrists have a holistic approach to eye care and therefore invasive surgery, which is a permanent disfigurement, is not considered a viable option and would only be suggested in extreme cases as an absolute last resort,” Jacquie said.

Although glaucoma is a permanent condition, there are other ways to keep your eyes healthy. “Regular exercise may lower the pressure of the eye and keep the blood flowing to the nerve,” says Jacquie, “eating foods that are high in antioxidants also help to keep your eye condition healthy”.

Smart Vision Optometry clinics are located in Sydney. Book a Smart Vision Comprehensive Vision Skills Assessment or Advanced Eye Health Test for any child or adult by calling the Bondi clinic (02) 9365 5047 or the Mosman clinic (02) 9969 1600, alternatively book an appointment online.

He says glaucoma comes in various forms and progresses very slowly, sometimes taking as much as 20 years to complete its damage to the optic nerve, a vital part of the communication system between the eyes and the brain, and the one that allows people to see. 

But its slowness doesn’t make it any less of a threat, he says. Instead, with about 15 percent of those who have it eventually losing their vision even if they have had treatment, glaucoma is now considered to hold second place to cataract as the world’s top cause of blindness. 

Glaucoma Seriousness Leads to Many Studies

Glaucoma’s second place position as a potential killer of sight has given rise to a large number of studies in the past few years in an attempt to discover more information about this eye condition, its causes, and how its development and progression is affected by its relationship with other eye problems and people’s behaviour patterns, including sleep. 

“Glaucoma is the result of built-up pressure in the eyes caused by an imbalance between the production and drainage of aqueous fluid. And although the fluid production levels tend to drop during sleep, the imbalance isn’t necessarily rectified. Instead it can be exacerbated, and the intraocular pressure increased, if the body is in a position that blocks the drainage system still further, and it stays in that position for too long,” Rodney says.

How Sleeping Patterns Affect Glaucoma

Rodney says a US study which assessed glaucoma and its progression in close to 7,000 people, all in their 40s, has produced broad insight into the glaucoma/sleep relationship and how it affects the progression of the eye condition. 

The study indicates that what makes the relationship between sleep and glaucoma complicated is that in order to control the progression of glaucoma, the sleep pattern also needs to be controlled. This requires careful planning based on how quickly (or slowly) a person falls asleep; what position that person sleeps in; and exactly how long the sleep lasts. 

A Matter of Time

Sleep latency, or the time people take to fall asleep, holds the biggest threat for those who fall asleep almost instantly and those who take too long to do so. Those who fall asleep in 9 minutes or less after climbing into bed, as well as those on the other extreme, who take longer than half an hour to do so, face double the risk of getting glaucoma when compared with people who fall asleep within the middle zone (between 10 and 29 minutes).

However, Rodney says that the threats don’t stop there. The amount of time they stay closed also seems to affect the level of damage caused by glaucoma.

According to the study’s results those who have glaucoma, and once asleep, stay that way for 10 or more hours a night, treble their chances of optic nerve damage as a result of glaucoma. They also have three times the likelihood of missing areas of vision, in comparison with those who sleep for 7 hours. 

Again, the same applies to those who only manage to sleep for three hours every night. They also face the same three-times odds on missing vision in comparison with the 7 hour a night sleepers.

 HEAR: Ultra106.5FM Interview with Gary Rodney – Covid and Myopia: What you need to know!

For more information on eye health, visual skills and therapy, or to book an appointment, visit the Smart Vision website: Optometrists Sydney: Optometry Services For Children and Adults | Smart Vision; for specific information about Myopia treatment and prevention visit Myopia Prevention: Solutions, Control And Treatment In Sydney; and for detailed information about Myopia Treatment visit Orthokeratology In Sydney: The Non Surgical Alternative.

To book an appointment for a thorough eye check-up, click here or Call the Bondi clinic on (02) 9365 5047 or the Mosman clinic on (02) 9969 1600.

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