Treatment Options for Glaucoma
While there’s no cure for glaucoma, treatment can help manage it. Your specialist will create a personalized treatment plan based on your needs. Your treatment may vary depending on certain factors:
- The extent of the disease
- How the disease is progressing
- Whether you respond to certain treatments
- Your age, medical history, and overall health
Find a Glaucoma Doctor
Glaucoma Eye Drops
Your glaucoma treatment may begin with prescription eye drops. You may take eye drops that improve fluid drainage in your eyes. Or you may use eye drops that decrease how much fluid your eyes make. The goal with either of these drops is to decrease your eye pressure. You may need to take more than one type of eye drop to adequately lower eye pressure.
In rare cases, your provider may also prescribe an oral medication to help decrease eye pressure.
Glaucoma Laser Therapy
Selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT) is a low-risk light therapy you will receive in the eye clinic. Your doctor will use a laser to stimulate the area of your eye where fluid drains (trabecular meshwork). This allows fluid to drain more freely, which lowers your eye pressure. You may need more than one SLT treatment to treat glaucoma effectively. We may offer SLT as a first-line treatment option for glaucoma because recent data suggests it may be more effective than drops. If SLT adequately lowers your eye pressure, it may help you avoid eye drops.
We also perform iridotomies. During this procedure, your surgeon will use a laser to make a small hole in your iris, which can help protect against angle-closure glaucoma.
Glaucoma Surgery
We offer a variety of glaucoma surgeries to decrease eye pressure and prevent glaucoma damage:
- Implantable glaucoma medications: Your provider will place glaucoma medication inside your eye. This can avoid the need for long-term eye drops.
- Minimally invasive glaucoma surgery (MIGS): A group of procedures that use instruments, such as stents, to help fluid drain from the eye.
- Trabeculectomy: Your surgeon will create a small flap in the sclera (white part of your eye) to create a new pathway where fluid can drain.
- Tube shunts: Your surgeon will implant a drainage device (shunt) that will drain fluid out of your eye to reduce pressure.
- Cyclophotocoagulation: We will use a laser to strategically treat the structure that produces the fluid inside your eye. This reduces eye pressure.
How to Prevent Glaucoma from Worsening
The best way to prevent glaucoma from worsening is to seek treatment with a glaucoma specialist. These experts can provide personalized treatments to help lower eye pressure and manage the condition.
You can also make some lifestyle changes that may help manage glaucoma:
- Avoid smoking
- Eat a nutritious diet
- Manage chronic conditions such as sleep apnea, diabetes, or very low blood pressure
- Practice aerobic exercise regularly
Can Glaucoma Be Cured?
Glaucoma can’t be cured, but it can be managed effectively. You may control the disease enough that symptoms don’t interfere significantly with your daily life. But you will need lifelong follow-up with an eye doctor to monitor and manage glaucoma.
Schedule an Appointment
Call 801-581-2352 to request an appointment with a comprehensive ophthalmologist. Your provider may also request a referral to a glaucoma specialist.
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