Eye Specialist for Glaucoma Bonita Springs

What is glaucoma? Rather than a single disease, glaucoma is actually a group of eye disorders. All of these disorders cause damage to the optic nerve, meaning the signals between your eye and brain are interrupted, resulting in vision loss. If you have glaucoma, you need an eye specialist for glaucoma. In Bonita Springs, look to Elmquist Eye Group for all your eye care needs.

More about glaucoma

The most common form of glaucoma is primary open-angle glaucoma. Pressure buildup occurs inside the eye and causes optic nerve damage, which leads to vision loss and potentially even to blindness.

Because this pressure increase builds slowly over time, glaucoma has no symptoms and is very difficult to detect. Most patients notice a reduction in peripheral vision, a hallmark sign of glaucoma. Sadly, the disease is often quite advanced before patients notice any symptoms or changes in vision.

Just because you have high pressure inside the eye does not necessarily mean you will develop glaucoma. Conversely, patients who have normal eye pressure can develop glaucoma. While anyone can develop glaucoma, it is mostly seen in patients over age 40 and in people of African American and Hispanic descent.

A rarer form of glaucoma is acute angle closure glaucoma. It is far less common than the open-angle form, and develops much more quickly. Symptoms are eye redness, intense eye pain, nausea and blurred vision. If you experience any of these symptoms, seek immediate emergency medical attention. Angle closure glaucoma must be treated right away because it can lead to significant vision loss in less than a day.

Prevention

There is no way to really prevent glaucoma, but regular eye exams are important for early diagnosis and treatment to control the glaucoma and limit its negative effects on the eye and vision. Glaucoma cannot be reversed, but we can use medications to halt the progression.

Surgery is often warranted and recommended, particularly if prescribed medicines have not worked to improve your condition. Surgery is not a cure, but it can help prevent the progression of glaucoma. At Elmquist, we use several different surgical techniques, all of which can help lower the internal eye pressure. We perform surgery one eye at a time, and send you home with eye drops specially formulated to stave off infections and diminish swelling.

Recovery is pretty straightforward. We just ask that you become more of a couch potato and avoid strenuous workouts until the eye properly heals. We typically ask patients to change their routines for two to four weeks to avoid any possible complications. For example, we recommend no heavy weight lifting for two to four weeks after the surgery.

During your recovery period from the surgery, the Elmquist team will discuss your progress with you and ensure that all check-ups are being conducted to be on the lookout for complications.

Assess your risk

Are you at risk? Certainly, if any of the aforementioned risk factors affect you, seek medical treatment from the trusted professionals at Elmquist Eye Group. For over a decade, our team has been how do you fare within the risk categories we’ve outlined? If you fit any of these risks, do not hesitate to come see us. Your eyesight is too important not to. Search for “eye specialist for glaucoma near me” and you will see that Elmquist Eye Group is at the top of your search results. We are trusted eye care professionals. So many patients in southwest Florida have trusted us for over two decades for all eye care needs.

Regular eye exams are the best early detection for glaucoma. Give us a call today, and make an appointment at either one of our convenient locations, in Fort Myers or Cape Coral. We are ready for you to be our next new patient.