What is Low Tension Glaucoma?

What is low tension glaucoma and what is the difference to other types of glaucoma? Low tension glaucoma is a chronic medical condition in which an insufficient amount of blood supply reaches the blood vessels supplying the optic nerve located at the back of the eye.

When not enough blood is flowing through the small artery located at the back of the eye to feed the many smaller arteries, the optic nerve becomes damaged and the result is a reduction in sight.

The term low tension glaucoma refers to the fact that the pressure supplying blood flow to this area of the eye is too low and creates vision problems. Regular glaucoma, by comparision, is a condition in which high pressure within the eye stops the blood from entering the optic nerve arteries and blood vessels, also causing a reduction in sight and in severe cases, blindness.

Cause of Low Tension Glaucoma

The cause behind the low pressure that results in low tension glaucoma has not yet been pinpointed, but in most cases, the optic nerve is never damaged badly enough to cause blindness. Most patients with this condition respond well to eye drops prescribed by their eye doctor.

Low Tension Glaucoma Treatment

Eye drops work to relieve this condition by creating less fluid in the eye, which in turn helps to bump up the volume of pressure needed to get blood adequately flowing into the optic nerve artery and blood vessels. Some eye drops work by draining fluid from the eye, creating the same effect of boosting the pressure needed to get an increased blood flow to the optic nerve at the back of the eye.

If a patient does not respond to eye drops, an operation is another alternative. A small incision is made in the eyeball to drain some fluid from the eye in order to increase the pressure for distributing blood flow to the optic nerve. Called a trabeculectomy, it is an operation that must be performed by an experienced opthlalmic surgeon.

No matter what treatment option is pursued, early detection of low pressure glaucoma is the best preventative against an increasing loss of vision in the future. Another very effective method is treating glaucoma naturally, using eye targeted exercises and learning how to completely relax the eyes. Find out more with Vision Without Glasses™.http://www.visionwithoutglasses.com