Ask the Expert
Your Eyes
Glaucoma 2015
Dr. Winston Garris,
Glaucoma & Cataract
Specialist, joined
Carolina Eye Associates
in 2014. He graduated
from NC State University
in Raleigh with a
Bachelor of Science
degree in Biology, and
received his medical
degree from Duke
University of Medicine in
Durham.
Call 336-629-1451 or
800-222-3043 or go to
www.carolinaeye.com
20
One of the most common causes for
blindness in the United States is glaucoma, a
disease that damages the optic nerve of the
eye. The optic nerve is like the electric cable
that transmits all of the information that
your eye sees to the brain for processing.
A normal eye consists of two separate
chambers that are connected via the pupil.
The pupil is the dark circle in the center of
the colored part of your eye. A healthy eye
produces a fluid called aqueous humor in
the back chamber where it flows through
the pupil and into the front chamber where
it is drained at a rate similar to the rate it is
produced. In glaucoma, the ability of the eye
to drain fluid is compromised while the rate
of production remains constant. As a result,
the pressure inside the eye increases leading
to optic nerve damage.
Optic nerve damage from glaucoma
is usually permanent and can lead to
devastating vision loss. It is the second
Asheboro Magazine, Issue 51
leading cause of blindness in the world and
is the most frequent cause of non-reversible
blindness in African Americans. The
problem is that glaucoma usually affects the
peripheral vision first, is slowly progressive,
and rarely has early symptoms. As a result,
most people do not realize that anything is
wrong until severe damage has occurred. In
fact, of the three million Americans afflicted
with glaucoma, only half are aware that they
have the condition.
There are a number of factors ][