Glaucoma. The word can send shivers down the spines of those familiar with eye health issues, and it’s true that the condition is one of the leading causes of blindness in the United States. But with early detection and treatment, the disease doesn’t have to interfere with your life, according to Dr. J.D. Bonner, an ophthalmologist at Complete Eye Care.
Glaucoma is a condition that develops when the optic nerve, which connects the retina to the rain, is damaged. This leads to progressive vision loss, first noticed in a patient’s peripheral vision. The damage can be due to high pressure inside the eye, but this isn’t always the case. One-third of patients with glaucoma have normal eye pressure, said Bonner, who began practicing ophthalmology in 1999 and founded Complete Eye Care a year later.
Several technologies and tests are available at Complete Eye Care to detect glaucoma. These range from standard equipment like a diagnostic lens to more advanced tools like an optical coherence tomography machine, which takes detailed measurements of the optic nerve.
Bonner said the wide array of tests and devices are part of what sets Complete Eye Care apart as just that – complete eye care, with an emphasis on “complete.”
Glaucoma can be caused by many conditions, some of which can be eliminated with a single treatment, he noted.