Glaucoma
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Kaya Life: Medical Marijuana
Medical Marijuana Specialists located in Pensacola, Marianna, Miramar Beach, Panama City, FL & Gulfport, MS
Glaucoma can cause a host of painful symptoms, and over time the increased pressure inside your eye that it causes can lead to vision loss or even total blindness. Luckily, with proper treatment, you can slow or halt the effects of glaucoma, and medical marijuana is one of several options available to lower intraocular pressure and treat glaucoma symptoms. Call the friendly staff at Kaya Life in Miramar Beach, Panama City, Marianna, and Pensacola, Florida, and Gulfport, MS, today to make an appointment, or make one online.
Glaucoma Q & A
What is glaucoma?
Glaucoma is a set of diseases that put pressure on the optic nerve, damaging an important component of your eye. Glaucoma is very common; in fact, it’s the leading cause of blindness for people age 60 and over. While it can occur at any age, glaucoma becomes more common as you grow older.
Once you start to lose your vision to glaucoma, you can’t ever get it back, so it’s important to get regular eye exams to identify the disease as early as possible.
What are the symptoms of glaucoma?
There are two types of glaucoma: open-angle glaucoma and acute angle-closure glaucoma.
Open-angle glaucoma
This is the most common form of glaucoma, and it usually causes patchy blind spots in your peripheral vision, often in both eyes. This may spread to your central vision and often has few symptoms until you begin to lose vision.
Angle-closure glaucoma
Angle-closure glaucoma can cause symptoms like severe headache or earache, nausea, and vomiting, redness in your eyes, or blurred vision. If angle-closure glaucoma occurs quickly (acute angle-closure glaucoma), it’s an emergency, and you should seek immediate medical attention.
What is the traditional treatment for glaucoma?
Vision loss due to glaucoma is permanent, but it’s possible to slow the effects of glaucoma, especially if you catch it early enough. The focus of glaucoma treatment is on lowering pressure inside your eye, to relieve the optic nerve. Prescription eye drops are most often the first treatment for this, and oral medication is also available. In the event that medication is not effective, or if your glaucoma is especially severe, surgery may also be necessary.
How can medical marijuana help glaucoma?
Cannabis, especially when used in conjunction with traditional therapies, can help reduce intraocular pressure and relieve other symptoms of glaucoma. Medical marijuana does not produce adverse reactions when combined with any of the prescription medications that are used to treat glaucoma. It also does not have any of the side effects like difficulty breathing, impotence, or fatigue, that can accompany other medications used in glaucoma treatment.
If you’re interested in treating your glaucoma with medical marijuana, make an appointment at Kaya Life today. Call now, or make an appointment online.
