Understanding Glaucoma - The Eye Disorder

Glaucoma is an eye-disorder, which often causes blindness, if not prevented beforehand. Glaucoma can damage the eye’s optic nerve and deteriorate vision over time. This is associated with abnormally high pressure inside the eye.

Causes of glaucoma

According to theories, glaucoma might be due to abnormal eye development, eye infection, drugs, or no supply of blood to the eye. However, the exact reasons behind optic nerve damage are still not certain.

Symptoms of glaucoma

Gradual loss of vision is a major symptom of glaucoma. A few other symptoms that might also cause glaucoma include-

• Severe headache
• Sudden loss of eyesight
• Nausea and vomiting
• Flashes of light
• Redness of eye
• Severe eye or eyebrow pain
• Hazy or Blurred vision
• Appearance of rainbow colored circles around bright lights

Risk factors of glaucoma

As signs and symptoms are not easily apparent, it is difficult to know if anyone is suffering from glaucoma. Following are a few possible risk factors about which one should be aware-

• Age – People around the age of 40s or 60s and above are at a risk of glaucoma.

• Family history – This is a genetic problem. If anyone in a family is suffering from glaucoma, then it is possible that other members in the family may also develop this disorder.

• Medical conditions – Medical problems such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart diseases are also the reasons behind glaucoma. People suffering from these health issues are prone to the glaucoma problem.

• Long-term medication use – Intake or use of medicines such as eye drops for a longer duration of time can also cause glaucoma.

• Other risk factors – Besides the above mentioned risk factors, a few other risk factors that can cause this problem include-
• Contraceptive medications
• Nearsightedness
• Sleep disorders
• Migraine

Diagnosis process

Medically there is no cure for glaucoma eye disease. The only way to prevent is regular examination of eyes. Eye specialists recommend people to go for regular eye tests in every three to four months.

Glaucoma tests include following medical testing procedures-

• Tonometry - Examining the inner eye pressure
• Ophthalmoscopy - Examining the shape and color of the optic nerve
• Perimetry -Examining the complete field of vision
• Gonioscopy –Examining the angle in the eye where the iris meets the cornea
• Pachymetry –Examining the thickness of the cornea

Why Cholesterol Screening is Important?

Cholesterol is an important part of everyone’s body composition. However, too much of cholesterol can have a serious impact on one’s health. It can put you at risk of heart disease, heart attack, or stroke.

Therefore, it is very important for you to check your cholesterol level regularly. If you live in Glen Oaks you can check it with a simple cholesterol screening in Glen Oaks from a reliable health care facility and work on the required treatment and prevention options to remain safe and healthy.

One reason why getting your cholesterol checked is so important because high cholesterol does not show any symptoms. Without routine check-up, a person may not even know that he has high cholesterol until some serious problem arises. Often called the silent disease, high cholesterol can result in very serious problems, as it takes just seconds for a clogged artery to cause a heart attack or a clot-forming stroke.

Another important reason to get a regular cholesterol screening is that if you are already a patient of high cholesterol you can continue to consult your doctor to develop a better prevention and treatment plan.

A person with high cholesterol should always prefer a diet that is low in saturated fat. Along with this, a healthy body weight, a regular exercise, healthy lifestyle changes can also help keep cholesterol in control.

However, if you have many risk factors or have high cholesterol caused by genetics, the doctor may also prescribe you certain medications to keep it under control.

There are a number of things that can affect the cholesterol level. Some of them are mentioned below.

• Diet

• Weight

• Exercise

• Age and gender

• Genes

• Medications

Checking your cholesterol level is very easy. So, make sure to get it checked regularly to avoid any serious health problems in future.

Top Medical Services Provided By Primary Care Physicians

Health is the most important thing that you need to take care of, if you want to lead a normal and independent life. However, at some point of time, everyone does fall ill. It can be due to changing weather conditions, infection or some other reason.

If you live in Mt. Sinai and have a health concern, then in order to get the medical attention you need, you will have to consult a primary care physician in Mt. Sinai. A primary care physician provides many services. This may include relevant tests and screenings that are important to ascertain the overall health of the individual and to detect any signs of illness.

The treatments for the medical conditions mentioned below, are some of the top medical services that are provided by a primary care physician.

Obesity- Obesity is a     most common medical issue all over the world. It is a condition     where the intake of calories is more than those you burn, which over time results in massive fat and cholesterol build up. The primary care physicians help the patients in controlling their weight by guiding them to follow a strict diet and healthy lifestyle.    

Depression- These days, a number of people are suffering from depression. Even     teenagers and young adults are becoming a victim of this problem. The doctors at primary care help the victims of depression by identifying the source and conducting several counselling sessions.    

Diabetes- Primary care physicians provide medical care to the patients suffering from     diabetes. The body of a diabetic patient is unable to create the required amount of insulin and as a result the organs fail to get the amount of glucose they require. The physician provides the proper medication to control diabetes.    

Asthma- The primary care physician also deals with the different types of respiratory     problems such as asthma. There is no exact cure for this problem, but the physician helps by providing the required equipment and medication to control the problem.    

The primary care doctors can easily be found at any heath care facilities including hospitals, clinics etc. So, in case of any of the aforementioned condition, make sure to consult a primary care physician as soon as possible.