Video Transcription

Light rays enter the eye through the cornea, pupil, and lens. These light rays are focused on the retina, a light-sensitive tissue lining the back of the eye. The retina has two areas: the peripheral retina, and the macula. The macula is a small area at the center of the retina. The peripheral retina is the large area surrounding the macula.

It is the peripheral retina that gives is our side or wide-angle vision. It is the macula that gives us our pinpoint vision and allows us to see details clearly, helping us to do things like drive, read, or recognize a face. Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a breakdown of the macula.

When the macula doesn’t work properly, your central vision can be affected by blurriness, dark areas, or distortion. This condition affects many people as they get older.

Video Transcription

In the healthy eye, a clear liquid called aqueous humor circulates inside the front portion of the eye. To maintain a constant healthy eye pressure your eye continually produces a small amount of aqueous humor, and an equal amount of this fluid flows out of the eye through a microscopic drain called a trabecular meshwork in the drainage angle. If you have glaucoma, the aqueous humor does not flow through the drainage angle properly. Fluid pressure in the eye increases and this extra force presses on the optic nerve on the back of the eye, causing damage to the nerve fibers.

Remember, glaucoma usually has no symptoms early in its course. Proper treatment can usually stop or delay any further vision loss. An evaluation for glaucoma is particularly important for those over age 60, relatives of people with glaucoma, people of African descent, and those with elevated eye pressure.

While there is no cure for glaucoma, and optic nerve damage cannot be reversed, we can usually prevent vision loss if glaucoma is diagnosed and treated, especially if it is detected in its early stages.

DRY EYES