Sudden eye swelling and headache, vision loss, be careful of glaucoma

Glaucoma is one of the top three blindness-causing eye diseases in the world, and it is also a common eye disease in the elderly, especially if there is a family history of glaucoma, which is more likely to develop in old age. Because glaucoma is an irreversible and blinding disease, it is difficult to detect in some people at an early stage, so it is called "the thief who steals the light". Experts warn that if you suddenly experience eye swelling, headache, vision loss, etc., you must go to the hospital ophthalmology in a timely manner.

Mood swings can cause an increase in intraocular pressure

The intraocular pressure is the pressure inside the eye, which is the balanced pressure of the eye contents (atrial fluid, lens, vitreous humor) on the wall of the eye. Feng Qingyang, attending ophthalmologist at Guangdong Women's and Children's Hospital, introduced that IOP is generally stable at 10mmHg-21mmHg. When IOP rises for various reasons, it may induce glaucoma, causing optic nerve damage and symptoms such as eye distention and pain, headache, nausea, blurred vision and a smaller field of vision.

"Mood swings can lead to elevated IOP, so excessive worry, depression, anger, nervousness, and overexcitement are all causes of one aspect of glaucoma." Feng Qingyang said.

All ages can develop glaucoma, but the five groups of people with high myopia or hyperopia above 600 degrees, family history of glaucoma, cardiovascular system diseases, diabetes, and those over 40 years old belong to the high-risk group and should go to the hospital regularly for glaucoma-related examinations to exclude or detect glaucoma early and treat it early.

Some glaucoma symptoms are hidden

According to the introduction, at present, glaucoma is divided into primary open angle glaucoma, primary closed angle glaucoma, secondary glaucoma and congenital glaucoma according to different causes.

The acute attack of closed-angle glaucoma has typical symptoms of glaucoma such as eye distention, eye pain, headache, nausea, vomiting, lacrimation, photophobia and vision loss, while open-angle glaucoma and chronic closed-angle glaucoma often have no conscious symptoms in the early stage, and the symptoms of blurred vision, eye distention and headache will appear only with the progress of the disease, and night blindness and mobility problems will appear in the late stage. In the late stage, night blindness and mobility problems may occur. Secondary glaucoma is caused by cataract lens expansion, long-term use of hormones, trauma and other causes of glaucoma, and can appear the typical symptoms of glaucoma. Most congenital glaucoma is due to congenital abnormal eye development, which develops within one year of birth in infants and children and can present with symptoms such as photophobia, tearing and enlarged eyes. "

Feng Qingyang reminded that if there is a sudden onset of eye swelling, vision loss, accompanied by ipsilateral headache, nausea and vomiting in severe cases, you must go to the hospital ophthalmology department in time for a detailed examination to clarify whether it is glaucoma. Because sometimes the symptoms of glaucoma onset are not obvious, many patients miss the best time for treatment, thus losing part of their vision or even blindness, which is the last thing doctors want to see.

Timely IOP-lowering treatment

"If glaucoma is diagnosed, treatment to lower IOP and protect the optic nerve should be carried out under the guidance of a doctor, with medication administered on time and reviewed in a timely manner. If the IOP is poorly controlled and the optic nerve continues to be damaged, surgery is considered." Feng Qingyang also suggested that a healthy lifestyle in daily life can protect the eyes, such as not smoking, not drinking alcohol and drinking less caffeinated beverages. Drink water in small amounts many times, you can eat more food rich in zinc, copper, selenium and vitamins, keep a good state of mind, do not stay up late at night, do not look at the phone before bed, and ensure good sleep quality. (Reporter Zhang Hua Correspondent Lin Huifang)

Source: Yangcheng Evening News