Sometimes your eyes optic nerve gets damaged even though the pressure inside the eyes is not high. This type of glaucoma where your optic nerve gets damaged in low pressure also is known as normal-pressure glaucoma or low tension glaucoma or normal-tension glaucoma.
How is normal-tension glaucoma different from regular glaucoma?
Generally, glaucoma occurs when the fluid inside the eyes doesn't flush out due to blockage in the drainage channels. As a result of this, the pressure inside the eyes, known as intraocular pressure, gets increased, which damages the optic nerve and restricts your vision ability. If persisted it may lead to permanent blindness.
But in the case of normal-tension glaucoma, your optic nerve gets damaged when the intraocular eye pressure is not high and within the normal pressure limit.
According to a population-based study, the normal range of intraocular eye pressure is 10-21 mm Hg. Most of the people suffering from glaucoma have intraocular pressure of more than 21 mm Hg but in the case of normal-tension glaucoma, the intraocular pressure lies below 21 mm Hg or sometimes even below 10 mm Hg.
The cause behind normal-tension glaucoma
Till now doctors don't conclude the exact cause of normal-tension glaucoma. However, they thought it to occur either because of the high sensitivity of the optic nerve which makes it more prone to get damaged by even low pressure. Or due to improper blood flow to your optic nerve which leads to its damage and hence hindering your sight.
Risk factors of normal-tension glaucoma
You are more prone to low tension glaucoma if you:
- Have a family history of the situation.
[/*]- Belong to Japanese ancestors
[/*]- Have a medical history of heart disease
[/*]- Have sleep apnea
[/*]- Have diabetes
[/*]- Have irregular blood flow to the optic nerve.
[/*]
Symptoms of normal-tension glaucoma
Since glaucoma is a silent thief of vision, you might not see any identifiable symptoms at the very beginning.
As your optic nerve is made up of millions of tiny fibers like a wire cable, they are the first ones to suffer damage during the condition.
Slowly when these fibers begin to deteriorate you might begin to observe blind spots in your sight and when all these fibers are dead, you will permanently lose your vision.
If left untreated, then the very first identifiable sign that you may see is the loss of your peripheral sight or side vision.
You may not be able to see things located at the corner of your eyes.
With a worsening situation, your vision may get narrower than normal. It seems that you are looking towards a thinner line.
Normal-tension glaucoma progresses slowly and gets worse with time. So to slow its progression and to save your sight consult an ophthalmologist on time.
Diagnosing normal-tension glaucoma
- As the first line of treatment, your ophthalmologist will review your family history of the disease and examine your medical history for any of the risk factors like diabetes, heart disease, blood pressure issues, or migraine. He will also evaluate your underlying symptoms and cause.
[/*]- He will carry out a complete examination that includes a vision check and measurement of intraocular pressure.
[/*]- With the help of a slit lamp, a special type of microscope, your ophthalmologist will examine the front part of your eyes including the cornea, lens, and iris for any sign of possible risk factors.
[/*]- With the help of the tonometry method, he will measure the pressure inside the eyes.
[/*]- He may also use the pachymetry technique to measure corneal thickness as thinner cornea are highly prone to normal-tension glaucoma.
[/*]- He may also test angle side vision and examine the optic nerve for any other damage.
[/*]- Visual field testing is done to check your central and side vision.
[/*]
Treating normal-tension glaucoma
Although you can't reverse or prevent glaucoma from damaging your eyes, however, you may slow its progression and can retain your present vision to some extent by following treatment methods:
Eye drops
Eye drops are generally the first line of treatment for normal-tension glaucoma.
Ophthalmologists prescribe your eye drop-like
careprost that can have your eyes from further damage by lowering down the buildup of intraocular pressure inside the eyes.
What is careprost?
Careprost is a prostaglandin analog and contains bimatoprost(0.03% w/v). Careprost is used to reduce intraocular hypertension thus curing glaucoma.
How does careprost work?
Careprost being prostaglandin analog works by increasing the outflow of the retained fluid from the inside of the eyes to outside in the bloodstream thus reducing the high intraocular pressure inside the eye thus preventing your eyes from glaucoma.
How to use careprost?
Wash your hands thoroughly with water before using careprost eye drops. Hold the dropper having the careprost solution at a distance from the eye. Squeeze gently the prescribed dose of the careprost into the eye and wipe off the excess drop with tissue or soft cloth.
The recommended dose of careprost is one drop a day in the infected eye. Do not use careprost more than once a day.
Uses of careprost
Careprost is prescribed to decrease the intraocular eye pressures and treat glaucoma.
The topical ophthalmic derivative of careprost is used to get rid of hypotrichosis, a condition characterized by an inadequate amount of eyelashes. Careprost helps in increasing the thickness, length, and dark color of the eyelashes.
Side effects of careprost
Some of the side effects of careprost are:
- Pain in the eyes
[/*]- Itching in the eyes
[/*]- Redness in the eyes
[/*]- Swelling of the eyes
[/*]- Headache
[/*]- Discharge from eyes
[/*]
In rare cases, blurred vision and vision loss are also seen.
Oral medicines
Your eyes doctor may also prescribe your oral medicines like beta-blockers or a carbonic anhydrase inhibitor. These oral tablets help in either slowing down the formation of fluid inside the eyes or improving the outflow of the retained fluid.
Laser surgery
An eyes specialist will use the laser light to unblock and open up the drainage channels of your eyes. This will lead to the outflow of the retained eye fluid thus lowering the high intraocular pressure, hence saving your vision.
Microsurgery
If the medication and surgery don't work for you then your ophthalmologist will go for microsurgery. Through the process of trabeculectomy, a new drainage route is created to flush out the retained fluid thus reducing the high intraocular pressure.
Meta Description
Research suggests that besides having low intraocular pressure inside the eyes you can still suffer from glaucoma.
