EyeMark Newsletters

Most health conditions announce themselves. They arrive with pain, discomfort or obvious physical changes that make us aware that something is not right and we need to seek help. Glaucoma is different. It doesn't knock, it doesn't warn, and it rarely causes symptoms in its early stages. Instead, it quietly creeps up and over time steals something priceless:  vision . Glaucoma, a leading cause of irreversible blindness, is often described as a “silent thief of sight” because it damages the optic nerve gradually, usually starting with peripheral vision. The brain is remarkably good at compensating for the vision loss, so that people may not notice anything wrong until significant, irreversible damage has already occurred. By the time vision changes are obvious, it may be too late to recover what's been lost. RISK FACTORS Glaucoma doesn't discriminate, and anyone can develop glaucoma, but there are factors that increase the risk. These include family history, age, shortsightedness, elevated eye pressure, eye injury, long-term use of steroid medications, diabetes, migraines, high blood pressure, poor blood circulation or other chronic health problems. CAUSES OF GLAUCOMA       The eyes constantly produce a fluid, aqueous humor which circulates in the front part of the eye. As new aqueous flows into the eye, the same amount should drain out, keeping pressure within the eye stable. The fluid drains out through the drainage angle, but if the drainage angle is blocked or not working properly, fluid builds up and pressure inside the eye rises, damaging the optic...

Few visual disturbances are as distracting as the tiny specks or sudden bursts of light that appear seemingly out of nowhere. These drifting spots, thread-like shapes, or quick flickers, which generally appear at the edges of the field of vision, are floaters and flashes. Many people experience them and they are usually no cause for concern, although they can signal a problem with the eyes. WHAT ARE FLOATERS AND FLASHES? Floaters are tiny shapes that look like small dots, squiggly lines, cobwebs, or shadowy shapes that drift across vision. They move when you move your eyes and dart away when you try to focus on them. They are most noticeable against bright, plain backgrounds like a blue sky, white wall, or computer monitor. Unlike floaters, which drift and linger, flashes often look like flickers, sparks, or fleeting streaks of light in the peripheral vision. WHAT CAUSES FLOATERS AND FLASHES?       Floaters are generally caused by clumps of gel or cells inside the vitreous, the clear jelly-like liquid that fills the inner eye between the lens and the retina. As we age, the vitreous changes, liquefying and contracting over time, a process that causes it to pull away from the inside surface of the eye. As the vitreous changes, collagen fibres within the vitreous break down and form clumps and strings which block some of the light passing through the eye. This casts tiny shadows on the retina that are seen as floaters. These usually fade or become less noticeable...