Can glaucoma be cured?
No. There is no cure for glaucoma and vision lost from the disease cannot be restored.
How is glaucoma treated?
Immediate treatment for early stage, open-angle glaucoma can delay progression of the disease. That’s why early diagnosis is very important.
Glaucoma treatments include medicines, laser trabeculoplasty, (SLT), conventional surgery, or a combination of any of these. While these treatments may save remaining vision, they do not improve sight already lost from glaucoma.
Medicines
Medicine, in the form of eye drops is the most common early treatment for glaucoma. Some medicines cause the eye to make less fluid. Others lower pressure by helping fluid drain from the eye.
Before you begin glaucoma treatment, tell your eye care professional about other medicines you may be taking. Sometimes the drops can interfere with the way other medicines work.
Because glaucoma often has no symptoms, people may be tempted to stop taking, or may forget to take, their medicine. You need to use the drops as long as they help control your eye pressure. Regular use is very important. Make sure your eye care professional shows you how to put the drops into your eye.
Glaucoma medicines may be taken several times a day. Most people have no problems. However, some medicines can cause headaches or other side effects. For example, drops may cause stinging, burning, and redness in the eyes.
Many drugs are available to treat glaucoma. If you have problems with one medicine, tell your eye care professional. Treatment with a different dose or a new drug may be possible.
Laser Trabeculoplasty (SLT)
Laser trabeculoplasty helps fluid drain out of the eye. Your doctor may suggest this step at any time. In many cases, you need to keep taking glaucoma drugs after this procedure.
Laser trabeculoplasty is performed in your doctor’s office or eye clinic. Before the surgery, numbing drops will be applied to your eye. As you sit facing the laser machine, your doctor will hold a special lens to your eye. A high-intensity beam of light is aimed at the lens and reflected onto the meshwork inside your eye. You may see flashes of bright green or red light. The laser makes 50-100, evenly spaced treated spots that facilitate drainage in the meshwork. This procedure allows the fluid to drain better, thereby lowering the intraocular pressure.
Like any surgery, laser surgery can cause some side effects, such as inflammation. Your doctor may give you some drops to take home for any soreness or inflammation inside the eye. You will need to make several follow-up visits to have your eye pressure monitored.
Studies show that laser surgery is very good at reducing the pressure in some patients. However, its effects can wear off over time, and you may need more laser treatment.
Conventional Surgery
Conventional surgery makes a new opening for the fluid to leave the eye. Your doctor may suggest this treatment at any time. Conventional surgery is often done after medicine and laser surgery has failed to control pressure.
