When your patients come to you, they usually do so to prevent eye conditions such as glaucoma and cataracts. But one they may not be as familiar with is ocular hypertension, a condition characterized by increased pressure in the eyes that can indicate the risk of developing glaucoma. Learn more about the causes and symptoms of ocular hypertension and the methods you can use to treat it in your patients.
What Are the Causes of Ocular Hypertension?
Ocular hypertension occurs because of an imbalance in the eye’s aqueous humor production and drainage. Under normal circumstances, the ciliary body produces this fluid, which circulates through the anterior chamber and drains out via the trabecular meshwork.
Hypertension can occur when the eye overproduces the fluid or restricts its outflow, which leads to increased intraocular pressure. This can happen for various reasons, including pigment speck blockages, eye cancer, injuries to the eye, or malfunction of the anterior chamber.
What Are Its Symptoms?
Now that we’ve reviewed the causes, we can look at the symptoms of ocular hypertension. Because this condition is asymptomatic, your patients may not even realize something is wrong. The condition rarely manifests any noticeable symptoms before causing vision damage. In some cases, your patients may report that moving or touching their eyes causes pain.
The lack of overt symptoms underscores patients’ need to go in for eye exams. In addition, health-care providers must conduct comprehensive eye checks, including intraocular pressure measurements, as part of routine health assessments for early identification.
How Can I Treat It in My Patients?
When treating ocular hypertension, you must tailor your management strategy to each patient’s risk factor for developing glaucoma. Some may not need treatment, while others may need eye drops to lower the pressure.
Other options include laser therapy or surgical intervention to enhance the trabecular meshwork’s outflow. Monitoring the treatment’s success through regular follow-ups and adjusting strategies as necessary are also essential.
As we’ve seen, ocular hypertension is a silent harbinger of potential eye disease, necessitating vigilant screening, early detection, and individualized management to safeguard patient vision. Automated Ophthalmics can assist you in the fight against ocular hypertension. Our ophthalmic supplies can help you diagnose patients so that you can advise them on the next steps in improving their eye health.