:cuffs:

PRISONERSWIFE Here..................
Recently my fiance who is being housed at a county facility in PA on a federal charge was diagnosed as having glaucoma. At 21 yrs old glaucoma??
He told me this about 1 month ago. Now yesterday I spoke with him and he is saying he wasn't treated he is asking for glasses and says they have him wearing disposable contancts. Can anyone inform me on how medical conditions like his are treated if they are? How can I go about staying on the facility concerning his health.

I Don't want him to go blind? His eyes are what I fell in love with.
I need help desperately, I barely know anything about glaucoma.:confused: :cuffs:

I don't know too much about glaucoma, although I do know while it *usually* happens to the elderly, it *can* happen to anyone. You might check out WebMD.com or some of the like medical info sites, they probably have lots of information. As for staying on the facility about his health, there'll be some folks knowledgeable about that coming along soon I'm sure... hang in there...

If you search under Mayo Clinic and the look up glaucoma they have a lot of information on it. I looked it up a while back.....

Deb

I will look up on the internet for info regarding his condition and email it to you, are they doing anything for him. Please email me at tonyxoxocherokee@comcast.com if you need help getting him assistance. I work with a group that writes letters on behalf of inmates to get them medical assistance.
Wait to hear from you

GLAUCOMA
"("glôkō̔;mə;")", ocular disorder characterized by pressure within the eyeball caused by an excessive amount of aqueous humor (the fluid substance filling the eyeball). This causes pressure against the optic nerve and compression of the blood vessels of the eye—the resulting impairment of vision ranges from slight abnormalities to total blindness. Chronic open-angle glaucoma is the result of impeded drainage of aqueous humor. In acute angle-closure glaucoma, the anterior chamber of the eye is shallower and the iris may obstruct the meshwork at the entrance of the canal of Schlemm. Although glaucoma is a leading cause of blindness in the United States, with timely treatment blindness is almost always avoided.

Chronic glaucoma begins gradually over a period of months or years, usually in patients over the age of 40. There are no symptoms in the early stages, and the condition can be detected only by measurement of the intraocular pressure. Such an examination is recommended every three years for all persons over the age of 20. As the disease progresses, often the only symptom is a gradual loss of peripheral vision. Chronic glaucoma can usually be controlled with eye drops or pills that increase the outflow or decrease the production of aqueous humor; laser treatment is also effective in the early stages. If treatment is continued throughout life, useful vision will be preserved in most cases; untreated individuals will gradually become blind.

Acute closed-angle glaucoma, which accounts for only 10% of the incidence of the disease, begins abruptly with severe pain and blurred vision. It is a medical emergency that causes permanent blindness in two to five days if left untreated. Surgery is usually necessary.

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The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright© 2000, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products N.V. All rights reserved.

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Questia Media America, Inc. www.questia.com

Publication Information: Publication Title: The Columbia Encyclopedia . Contributors: Paul Lagasse - editor. Publisher: Columbia University Press. Place of Publication: New York. Page Number: 18983. Publication Year: 2000.

This one I CAN answer. Glaucoma is caused by high pressure in the eyes, kinda like High Blood pressure, but just in the eyes. It takes several different tests to confirm that you have glaucoma. First is the eye pressure High pressure in itself does not confirm you have glaucoma. Any pressure that measures over 20 is watched and monitored. If it gets around 23 to 26 (depending on doctor, each doctor has their own number of comfort) they will start you on eye drops that help lower the pressure.

Now, if you have high pressure and they SUSPECT you might have glaucoma they do two more tests. One is a photo of your eyes. It's like an X-ray. Then they do a peripheral field vision test to see if there is any loss of peripheral vision. This is when the beginning stages of glaucoma start. If ALL of these show signs of glaucoma, then you are diagnosed with it.

I have high pressure in my eyes since I was in my 20's. It ranged anywhere from 18 to 21. I was to have my pressure checked every 6 months to watch the pressure. I am now 44 and my pressure has finally started to go up. It is up to 23 in one eye and 26 in another. I had the other two tests and my vision was fine. Also, they checked my pressure 3 times in a month to monitor the pressure. It went back down to 18 and 20. The cause of the raising in the pressure was an Occular Migraine. This is like a migraine, but it doesn't hurt, you just have vision problems. It too goes away.

I am still being monitored every 6 months. If your fiance has been diagnosed with glaucoma, ask him what tests they did to diagnos him with it. If it is just because of high pressure in his eyes, that does not mean he has it. Also, glasses are not the treatment. It is eye drops that will lower the pressure. Even IF you do have high pressure in your eyes that require eye drops, that also does not mean you have glaucoma. It is only a condition that causes it. He has to have the other tests to confirm it. I would find for sure what the doctor's did and what they used to confirm he has glaucoma. PM me if you need to find out more.

Joy