Low Tension Glaucoma and Blindness - How Serious Is Low Pressure Glaucoma?

Although it doesn't necessarily lead to blindness, low tension glaucoma is a serious illness and should not be disregarded. When suffering from this particular type of glaucoma, an insufficient volume of blood gets to the capillaries supporting the optic nerve at the rear of the eye, which very often causes diminished eye-sight.

The expression low tension glaucoma relates to the fact that the stress delivering blood flow to this area of the eye is too low and therefore creates vision problems. When not enough blood is going via the compact artery found at the back of the eye that will feed the various smaller arteries, the optic nerve will become damaged and the outcome is a decrease in sight. Typical glaucoma, by comparison, is a dysfunction in which increased pressure inside the eye stops the blood flow from getting into the eye nerve arteries and blood vessels, also producing a decrease in sight and in serious occasions, blindness.

The reason behind the low tension that results in this type of glaucoma hasn't yet been determined, but in many instances, the optic nerve is not destroyed critically enough to lead to blindness. Most people with this problem react fine to eye drops given by the physicians.

Eye drops succeed to relieve this condition through producing less fluid inside the eye, which in turn helps to boost the amount of pressure needed to get blood thoroughly flowing into the eye nerve artery and veins. Some eye drops operate by draining liquid from the eye, creating the equivalent effect of elevating the pressure needed to have an increased the circulation of blood to the optic nerve at the back of the eye.

In case a sufferer will not improve with eye drops, an operation is another alternative. A little incision is made in the eyeball to drain a little liquid from the eye as a way to boost the pressure and send the flow of blood towards the optic nerve. Referred to as a trabeculectomy, it is definitely an operation that has to be carried out by an experienced opthlalmic surgeon. Regardless of what treatment choice is pursued, early recognition of low pressure glaucoma is the ideal preventative from an increasing loss in vision

All the same, individuals are in a position to take action themselves towards treating glaucoma naturally by doing targeted eye exercises and figuring out how to totally relax their eyes.

Read more:

Glaucoma Symptoms & Treatments
Low Tension Glaucoma

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Amina_Lobert