Many glaucoma patients have some misconceptions about glaucoma and are prone to two extremes: either they know the danger of the disease and think it is incurable, generating pessimism, disappointment and fear, giving up treatment and missing treatment opportunities; or they do not know enough about the danger of glaucoma, especially chronic glaucoma patients, whose symptoms are not obvious or are relieved after rest, think it is not a big deal and lose valuable The patient’s symptoms are not obvious or are relieved after rest, so he thinks it is not a big deal and loses the precious time for treatment.
Myth 1: Glaucoma can be cured
Some glaucoma patients think that their eyes are no longer swollen and painful after medication and surgery, so they no longer use medication and do not go to the hospital for review, which is very dangerous. Because.
1, many patients with glaucoma have a hidden onset, the disease is slow, even if the intraocular pressure is very high, there is no feeling of distension and pain;
2, most patients do not have painful symptoms when the IOP rises after glaucoma surgery;
3, some acute closed-angle glaucoma, acute attacks after a period of time into the chronic phase, the pain gradually tolerated without any symptoms or symptoms are not obvious. Therefore, it should never be considered that glaucoma is cured if there are no symptoms.
In addition, glaucoma is a lifelong disease that can only be controlled, but not cured, and patients need lifelong treatment. Patients who are being treated for glaucoma should not be blindly optimistic, even though their condition is stable. Some anti-glaucoma medications will gradually lose their effectiveness over time, and the effectiveness of surgery will be reduced. In addition, as the optic nerve becomes less tolerant of IOP over time, the IOP needs to be lowered to a lower level. Therefore, glaucoma patients must go to the ophthalmology department regularly to measure IOP, check the fundus, and perform visual field examinations if necessary to observe changes in their condition and adjust their treatment in a timely manner.
Myth 2: Glaucoma will make you blind sooner or later
In the past, due to the incomplete understanding of glaucoma and the lack of treatment means, some glaucoma patients eventually went blind. So some people are very afraid when they learn that they have glaucoma, lack confidence in the treatment, and do not actively cooperate with the treatment. In fact, glaucoma is by no means untreatable, and the majority of glaucoma can be effectively controlled through medication and surgery to maintain good vision for a long time. At present, clinicians can not only take a variety of methods to treat glaucoma (such as drugs, laser and surgery), but also prevent the occurrence of glaucoma by timely intervention in the early clinical stage of some glaucoma (such as closed-angle glaucoma). As far as the current medical level is concerned, if the patient actively cooperates with the treatment, the glaucoma will not be blinded in general, except for those eyes that are already blind.
Myth 3: Glaucoma is hereditary
Many people with glaucoma have a genetic predisposition, but it does not mean that people without a family history of glaucoma will not get glaucoma. Glaucoma can occur in people of all ages, from children to the elderly. People over the age of 40, people with hyperopia, people with high myopia, people with diabetes, people with autoimmune diseases, and people with a family history of glaucoma are all susceptible to glaucoma. It is recommended that these susceptible people have an eye examination every 1-2 years for early detection.
Secondly, glaucoma can be formed by a variety of pathologies, including local trauma, crystal changes (cataract, crystal dislocation, IOL), vitreous lesions (vitreous hemorrhage), retinal lesions (retinal detachment, retinal arteriovenous obstruction, hemorrhage), iridocyclitis, etc., and systemic cardiovascular diseases (hypertension, atherosclerosis), endocrine system (diabetes, thyroid disease), congenital Glaucoma can be caused by the development of dysplasia.
In addition, it is not uncommon for glaucoma to be caused by improper use of medications. Common drugs include: dilating drugs (such as atropine, etc.), anesthetic drugs (lidocaine, procaine, etc.), adrenaline-like drugs (epinephrine, ephedrine, etc.), vasodilators, sedative drugs (such as Valium), antibacterial and anti-inflammatory drugs (sulfonamide), hormonal drugs and contraceptives, etc.
Myth 4: Glaucoma is a monocular disorder
Except for some glaucoma secondary to other eye diseases, almost all glaucoma is a bilaterality, and both eyes can develop at the same time. Once you have glaucoma, regardless of whether the other eye is symptomatic or not, you must treat it as a bilaterality and take effective treatment measures to intervene in time to stop the progression of the disease. Some patients blindly believe that although one eye is blinded by glaucoma, there is still another eye and give up treatment, thus delaying the time of treatment and missing the best treatment opportunity, resulting in serious consequences of double blindness.
Myth 5: Glaucoma patients should drink as little water as possible
This is a completely wrong view. Such a view may arise from two points.
1, glaucoma is mainly an eye disease caused by elevated intraocular pressure, and intraocular pressure and atrial fluid (a flowing fluid in the eye) is closely related, “atrial fluid” since it is “water”, so less water or no water can control intraocular pressure;
2, in the early years of primary open-angle glaucoma auxiliary diagnosis there is a trigger test called “water test”, that is, by drinking a lot of water in a short period of time (5 minutes to drink 1000 ml) to trigger the IOP rise, so patients wrongly believe that less water, IOP will not rise.
In fact, the atrial water related to IOP does not come directly from the water in the blood, but is actively produced by special tissues in the eye. Moreover, the case of drinking 1000 ml of water in 5 minutes as in the “water test” does not happen in daily life, and drinking water in moderation will not cause an increase in IOP. If the glaucoma optic nerve damage is related to poor blood circulation (high blood viscosity, etc.), proper drinking can also promote the body’s metabolism, which can help improve the condition.
Myth 6: Glaucoma can be operated on both eyes at the same time
Glaucoma is a disease of both eyes and should be treated by surgery as soon as possible when the visual function is not yet damaged. However, some unpredictable complications may occur after surgery. Because the anatomical and physiological and pathological characteristics of both eyes of the same person are similar, intraoperative or postoperative complications are extremely similar in both eyes. Therefore, glaucoma patients must not have surgery on both eyes at the same time, otherwise, if problems occur, the patient may be blind in both eyes. The more severe eye is usually done first so that postoperative problems can be observed. Preventive work can be done when the second eye is done.