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| Lifelong Treatment |
Having glaucoma means you'll need to continue treatment for the rest of your life. Because the disease can progress or change without your being aware of it, your treatment may need to be adjusted over time. Regular checkups and adherence to a treatment plan is essential to prevent vision loss.
Topical eye medications are the most common early treatment for glaucoma. Reducing the pressure in the eyes has been shown to reduce the progression of visual field loss. Standard practice has been to move on to surgery if medications are ineffective or if the glaucoma patient has difficulty in adhering to the medical therapy recommendations. However, surgery is also a relatively safe and effective initial treatment. |
 Eye Drops: Glaucoma treatment often starts with medicated eye drops The types of eye drops that doctors most commonly prescribe include: Beta blockers, Alpha-adrenergic agents, Carbonic anhydrase inhibitors. Prostaglandin analogues, and Miotics. Epinephrine compounds. |
Oral Medications: If eye drops alone don't bring eye pressure down to the desired level, an oral medication is prescribed. Commonly carbonic anhydrase inhibitors are prescribed, such as acetazolamide and methazolamide, for glaucoma. |
Neuroprotective Drugs: Lowering the intraocular pressure provides only a partial solution when it comes to preserving vision in people with glaucoma. The potential neuroprotective effects of brimonidine (Alphagan), a topical eye medication that may already be prescribed for glaucoma, and the potential neuroprotective effect of memantine, an oral medication generally used in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease is being investigated. |
| Surgery: surgery may be needed to treat glaucoma if medications are not ineffective. |
Laser Surgery: In the last couple of decades, a procedure called trabeculoplasty (truh-BEK-u-lo-plas-te) has been used increasingly in the treatment of open-angle glaucoma. In this high-energy laser beam to shrink part of the trabecular meshwork, which causes other parts of the meshwork to stretch and open up. This helps aqueous humor drain more easily from the eye. |
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