January is Glaucoma Awareness Month. Glaucoma is a disease of the optic nerve, Dr. Kelsey Durbin of Knox Community Hospital told the Mount Vernon News.
"The optic nerve takes the information from our eyes to our brain," she said. "When that nerve becomes damaged, you begin to lose vision. That vision is something that we are not able to regain. It's permanent vision loss."
Glaucoma progresses very slowly, Durbin said.
"Most people who have it don't even realize they are losing vision until they get close to the point that they are completely blind," she said. "That's the main reason why it's important to see an eye doctor. We can pick up those early signs of glaucoma, do some testing and start treatment if necessary to slow the progression."
There are some genetic links to glaucoma, Durbin said.
"People who have strong family history, especially immediate family members who have had glaucoma, should definitely get screened," she said.
She recommends screenings for everyone starting at age 40.
"It's usually a disease that affects older people," the physician said. "But if a family has a history of cases in younger people, then you should probably start getting screened at an earlier age."
Screenings are advised even for patients with no family history of the disease, said Durbin.
"There are plenty of people with glaucoma who don't have anyone in the family who had the disease," she said.
Treatment usually starts with eye drops.
"There are a lot of different options for eye drops," Durbin said.
Surgery is also an option.
"There are some minimally invasive options for surgery and more invasive as well, but we always start with eye drops before we get to that point," Durbin said.
Since 2018, two new eye drops have become available for the treatment of glaucoma.
"They have definitely put a lot of research into new treatments,” she said.
