Health information

QUESTION: I don’t know how to take the reporting about President Bush’s
glaucoma
Are they playing it down, so that people won’t get worried about
the ability of the President to function? Doesn’t this disease lead to
blindness? Perhaps you might want to explain this condition to your readers,
so they will know what is happening in the White House.

ANSWER: I am not sure that I am the one to comment on events in the White
House, they are confusing to me as well
But one thing is for sure.
President Bush is putting in his eye drops just as the doctor ordered.
Therefore it is highly unlikely that he will lose any of his vision, or be
unable to carry out his responsibilities
Glaucoma is a disorder
characterized by an increase of pressure within the eyeball
The eye produces
a fluid (aqueous humor) which circulates through the globe of the eye before
leaving through exit canals near the base of the iris
If either too much
fluid is produced or there is a blockage of the outflow passages, the tension
or pressure within the eyeball increases
This pressure pushes against the
optic nerve, damaging it and causing a very gradual loss of vision
Blindness
may occur, but only in those individuals where the diagnosis is late and
treatment has not been carefully carried out
The progress of the condition
is evaluated using an instrument called a tonometer, which can accurately
measure the intraocular tension (pressure within the eye)
Since the iris may
push against the canals which carry the fluid away from the eye when they are
dilated or widely opened, the drops carry a medication which keep the iris
closed (called “miotics”)
Many such medications are available; pilocarpine,
timolol and betataxolol to name a few
For the greater majority of patients
with this condition, the drops will be enough to control the disease and
prevent serious damage of the vision
The President will have to restrict his
liquid intake, avoid tobacco (I don’t think he smokes) and, according to the
textbooks, avoid fatigue and stress (don’t ask me how he will manage that!).
Should his therapy with eye drop medicine fail, there are surgical techniques
called iridectomy or laser iridotomy that can be used to relieve the pressure
by removing a bit of the iris that pushes against the outflow canals.

The material contained here is “FOR INFORMATION ONLY” and should not replace
the counsel and advice of your personal physician
Promptly consulting your
doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical
problem.

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