Saving Sight, One Glaucoma Patient at a Time

“The Dr. at the Greenwood [Dr. Tavel] office is wonderful. I believe he saved my husband’s eyesight by urging him to be tested further for Glaucoma even though the signs were slight. Best. Advise. Ever. The Glaucoma turned out to be much more advanced than it appeared. If the Greenwood staff hadn’t been as good as they are the Glaucoma might have gone undetected and caused loss of vision. Instead, my husband got the needed surgery to prevent permanent damage. And my exam went well too!” – Testimony from a Dr Tavel patient

Without a routine vision exam at Dr Tavel, this patient easily could have lost his sight. Glaucoma is an eye disorder that harms the optic nerve that carries information from the eye to the brain. Initially, it causes loss in peripheral vision and can eventually lead to complete blindness.

Open-Angle glaucoma, chronic glaucoma and the silent thief of sight are all names for the one in the same. But, what is it? Open-angle glaucoma is when an imbalance exists in the production and drainage of the clear fluid that fills the eye’s anterior chamber. When there is too much fluid, the internal eye pressure (IOP) rises. Rising pressure pushes against the optic nerve and reduces the blood supply to the nerve, which deprives the nerve of oxygen. Eventually, it will cause irreversible optic nerve damage and vision loss. If caught within a reasonable amount of time, glaucoma surgery can control the IOP within the eye.

How do you know if you are at risk for glaucoma? Well, the silent thief of sight is three times more likely to affect African-Americans as Caucasians, and twice as likely to affect Hispanics as Caucasians. Additionally, age, diabetes, and family history can increase your risk.

Concerned? Yearly eye exams can save your eye sight.  Contact your Indiana eye doctor just to be sure. Don’t wait until it is too late.