World Glaucoma Week
Glaucoma is one of the most important blindness-causing eye diseases in the world, and it is the first irreversible blindness-causing eye disease in the world because of the atrophy of the optic nerve. Glaucoma sometimes arrives quietly, and by the time patients notice eye discomfort and seek medical attention, the optic nerve is often damaged and vision is irreversible, which is a very serious result.
The World Glaucoma Association (WGA) and the World Glaucoma Patient Association (WGPA) joined forces on March 6, 2008 to raise global awareness of glaucoma and launched World Glaucoma Day, which has been expanded to “World Glaucoma Week is a global initiative with the common goal of informing the world about the importance of early screening and appropriate treatment of glaucoma through various channels and forms of advocacy. This year, World Glaucoma Week runs from March 8 to March 14.
What is “glaucoma”?
Glaucoma is a syndrome in which the pressure in the eye (pressure in the eye) exceeds the capacity of the optic nerve at the base of the eye, resulting in damage to the optic nerve and visual field loss.
”What are the manifestations of glaucoma?
The clinical manifestations of glaucoma can be divided into two main categories. Patients with very obvious clinical symptoms often seek medical attention quickly because of the severity of the symptoms, so it is easy to detect glaucoma: these patients may experience iridescence (rainbow-like circles when looking at lights), severe swelling and pain in the eye, accompanied by ipsilateral headache, significant loss of vision, eye congestion, and in severe cases, nausea and vomiting.
More patients have a more insidious clinical presentation: these patients may present with recurrent episodes of ocular distension and pain, blurred vision, and iridescence. Or, usually without any conscious symptoms, they may unintentionally cover one eye one day, only to find that the other eye actually does not see clearly and the visual field becomes smaller, and the patient then seeks medical attention before it is too late!
What is the importance of monitoring 24-hour IOP changes?
The normal value of IOP is between 10-21mmHg. If the pressure in one eye does not fluctuate more than 8mmHg and the difference between the two eyes does not exceed 5mmHg, this is the normal range of IOP fluctuation. Therefore performing 24-hour IOP measurement is very meaningful for the diagnosis and treatment of glaucoma.
What are the screening items for glaucoma?
1.24-hour IOP curve: It can monitor the fluctuation of IOP several times in a day.
2.Visual field examination: It is the ‘gold standard’ for the diagnosis of glaucoma, but abnormalities in the visual field usually appear late.
3.Nerve fiber layer thickness examination: including OCT (optical correlation tomography) and HRT-II, which can objectively check whether the “cup-to-disc ratio” of the optic nerve is enlarged and whether the thickness of the retinal nerve fiber layer has been damaged and thinned.
4.UBM (Ultrasound Biomicroscopy): It can be used for glaucoma, ocular trauma, uveal disease, lens disease, corneal disease, choroid and other diseases of the anterior segment of the eye, and can provide patients with accurate test results.
What are the treatments for glaucoma?
The current treatment for glaucoma focuses on reducing intraocular pressure and optic nerve protection therapy. The main methods of treatment are laser, surgery and medication. Depending on the patient, treatment options vary.
Who is at risk for glaucoma?
1. elderly people with hyperopia. 2. highly myopic. 3. family history of glaucoma. 4. history of closed eye trauma. 5. long-term use of hormonal eye drops. 6. history of hypertension and diabetes. 7. physical examination reveals high intraocular pressure or abnormal cup-to-disc ratio.
The Ophthalmology Center of Peking University International Hospital has the most advanced ophthalmic examination equipment in the world, including specialized examinations for glaucoma, such as visual field, OCT, corneal thickness measurement, UBM, Goldmann tonometer, atrial angle lens, etc., and treatment equipment such as laser.