Aa
Risks of glaucoma development in non-treated ocular hypertension eyes (21<IOP<=25)
I've read in some research that when IOP is between 21 and 25 then if patient is not treated with IOP lowering medications then the chance of development of glaucoma during a period of 10 years is either 5% or 10%, is this true?
If so then why when IOP is that high doctors do not hurry with giving treatment?Medications become less useful eventually, that's why?
Also, another question - if glaucoma develops, for examples, in someone who is in 30s and not in early 20s then usually it is less aggressive, is it true that as glaucoma "ages" (as in the patient that is diagnosed with glaucoma gets older) it becomes weaker?
I have read only about few cases when people with glaucoma in early 20s lived with vision for over 40 years (and still living), maybe i'm wrong and glaucoma "aggression rate" is independent of age after all.
If so then why when IOP is that high doctors do not hurry with giving treatment?Medications become less useful eventually, that's why?
Also, another question - if glaucoma develops, for examples, in someone who is in 30s and not in early 20s then usually it is less aggressive, is it true that as glaucoma "ages" (as in the patient that is diagnosed with glaucoma gets older) it becomes weaker?
I have read only about few cases when people with glaucoma in early 20s lived with vision for over 40 years (and still living), maybe i'm wrong and glaucoma "aggression rate" is independent of age after all.
FYI, the air puff test can often be several points higher than the blue light IOP test if your cornea is thicker than average.
That is always the case for me, the air puff screening test usually gets 19-20 for me, but the blue light test the same day results are 15-16.
That is always the case for me, the air puff screening test usually gets 19-20 for me, but the blue light test the same day results are 15-16.
2 Comments
Your corneal thickness is higher than normal?
Your understanding is fragmentary but the subject is extremely complicated and I can give only basic information. First you should be under the care of an Eye MD ophthalmologist not a non MD Optometrist. Next glaucoma is not one disease but a large group of different types of glaucoma. The pressure in the eye IOP varies from hour to hour like blood pressure and blood sugar. Who has glaucoma and who needs treatment is based on an Eye MD’s assessment of these factors: age, family history, corneal thickness, depth of anterior chamber, cup/disk ration, visual field test, nerve fiber layer thickness, refractive error, patient understanding and reliability. Some glaucoma gets worse with age some get better. the incidence of glaucoma increases with age.
9 Comments
I will certainly do pachimetry, OCT, visual field test and repeated tonometry this time.It's just my eye pressure this time kinda scared me - it was 19 and 21 (done with the "air puff" tonometer), last year it was a little bit higher which made my doctor worried (but i have not worn specs for like 6 years despite being myopic and was a little bit scared, it might as well be due to this), but considering that it lowered in a year probably means that it's not that dangerous?It's just it's sort of borderline - this really scares me.
19 is normal and 21 is borderline. Besides 30 minutes after those tests were done the IOP would likely be different maybe higher or maybe lower. The puff is not as accurate as the Goldman application to no other and few eye MDs use them. You sure you are not seeing an optometrist?
The study you may have happened upon might be the ‘Early Treatment” study and I believe the threshold for beginning treatment was 28 or higher.
Sorry for late reply!The key info from where i've made this conclusion was this site, it was OHTS (Ocular Hypertension Treatment Study): http://eyewiki.aao.org/Clinical_Trials_in_Glaucoma#2._EMGT:_Early_manifest_glaucoma_trial_.281999.29
, i also made a mistake - it's 5 years and not 10 years, in the "results" it is even written that some patients with OH have a very low (1%-2%) or very high (25%-35%) risk of developing glaucoma over the period of 5 years, concluding that without correct details regarding other factors like You said (corneal thickness, nerve OCT , etc) should be taken into consideration before starting treatment.
, i also made a mistake - it's 5 years and not 10 years, in the "results" it is even written that some patients with OH have a very low (1%-2%) or very high (25%-35%) risk of developing glaucoma over the period of 5 years, concluding that without correct details regarding other factors like You said (corneal thickness, nerve OCT , etc) should be taken into consideration before starting treatment.
Deciding on who needs treating and who doesn’t is very very difficult in the very early stages of high risk people. Low risk people its not that difficult if the person is reliable and will have regular glaucoma tests BESIDES pressure.
Oh, i'm sorry for bothering you again, but another important thing came to my mind - when people reach "blindness" from glaucoma is it as in "legally blind" or total blindness?If it is legal blindness then does it in most of the cases continue to progress towards total blindness even if one continues to use medications and/or accept surgery?Of course, i know that many factors are not taken into consideration such as: 1) damage at the beginning of treatment, 2) non-compliance/bad persistence; which make the risks of blindness much higher and more unclear, i'm just curious especially by the cases that i've read about of people who were taking medications and were unable to stop the progression of the disease for unknown to me reasons.Then i read about people who have it for 30-40 years with little vision loss and my mind gets totally wrecked.
I’m not going there with you. You should spend some time on an anxiety forum.
No further comments from me.
Alright, i guess, thanks.
Have an Answer?
You are reading content posted in the Eye Care Community
Top General Health Answerers
Kansas City, MO
Grand Prairie, TX
San Diego, CA
Discharge often isn't normal, and could mean an infection or an STD.
In this unique and fascinating report from Missouri Medicine, world-renowned expert Dr. Raymond Moody examines what really happens when we almost die.
Think a loved one may be experiencing hearing loss? Here are five warning signs to watch for.
When it comes to your health, timing is everything
We’ve got a crash course on metabolism basics.
Learn what you can do to avoid ski injury and other common winter sports injury.
