Ocular Hypertension: An Overview, Causes, and Treatment

Have you ever wondered why even your eyes might develop high pressure and you might suffer from that? In fact, an increase in the pressure inside your eyes can also shoot up the chances of eye damage and therefore, such conditions can also have a negative impact on your vision.

Out of all the human body’s major organs, the eyes are some of the most significant ones. This is because, the eyes are not only the pair of organs that help us to see that are present in the surrounding world, but they are also one of the most crucial of the five sense organs present in the human body, that help us to get a sense of the outside world with the vision. So, it is quite clear that one should take proper care of the eyes and vision. There are different types of problems that might occur in your eyes if they are not taken proper care of. One such condition of eye damage can be ocular hypertension. Hypertension, according to medical terms, means an increase in pressure. So, as the name suggests, it is a condition of the increase in the blood pressure in the human eyes. Ocular hypertension is a type of disorder that occurs when the pressure in the eyes increases too much and because of this, some of the internal parts of the eyes might get damaged. When a person is affected with problems in their eyes and vision damage, one of which includes ocular hypertension, then it is highly likely that there might be other eye and vision-related conditions as well that this person might be suffering from, and as a result, if those damages are not treated in time, then there are high risks that his or her vision might get mildly to severely impaired. But, ocular hypertension though affects the eyes of most people, does not require treatment in all cases. Thus, to know about the possible treatment methods related to ocular hypertension and who exactly needs to be treated with this condition, it is important for you to have a detailed idea about what ocular hypertension is all about, what might be the probable factors that might be responsible for the occurrence of such a type of disease, the risk factors of high pressure in the eyes, and most importantly, the treatment of the disorder. This article will help you to have an in-depth concept of ocular hypertension. Read the entire article to know who needs to be treated with symptoms of ocular hypertension and get your vision improved today.

What is an Ocular Hypertension?

Ocular hypertension is a type of eye problem that occurs when the eye pressure increases and because of it, there are chances that the eyes might be affected. According to recent studies and experiment research, it has been found that the normal pressure inside the eyes should be between 11 and 21 mm of Hg, that is mmHg. A person is said to suffer from ocular hypertension when the inner pressure of the eye is more than 21mm Hg. The pressure inside the eyes is measured using a form of instrument that is known as ‘tonometer.’ Ocular hypertension is a problem that can affect one or both eyes. There are two specific types of conditions when an ophthalmologist or any eye care expert might clinically declare a person to be having ocular hypertension. These two conditions are as follows:

• When the pressure inside the eyes, also known as the intraocular pressure is more than 21 mmHg for a long perpetually long time
• When there is no trace of the development of conditions related to eye damage such as glaucoma, which is a sort of damage in the optic nerve, among those who have high levels of blood sugar, because of which people have vision problems and signs of eye damage.

Ocular hypertension might not cause any damage related to disorders like that of glaucoma, but if you think that are having problems like pain in the eyes, and signs of watery eyes, then it is important for you to seek the help of your ophthalmologist today and to get the pressure in your eyes checked as soon as you can, so that, if in any case you are diagnosed with ocular hypertension, then you can get the disorder treated at once. In many cases, it has been also found that those who have developed eye and vision problems related to ocular hypertension have developed signs of damage in the optic nerve, because in case of disorders like ocular hypertension, when the pressure in the inner portions of the eyes get elevated, then the risk of developing glaucoma can also be increased in your eyes. But this is not common among everyone who has ocular hypertension. The risks of developing glaucoma among people who already suffer from ocular hypertension are still not so high, but increased research is needed on this topic to confirm and generalize the statement.

Possible Causes Behind The Occurrence Of Ocular Hypertension:

Now that you know what ocular hypertension is all about and how the disorder can affect your eyes and vision, it is vital for you to know about the different types of factors that are responsible for the occurrence of this type of disorder. To understand the causes behind the occurrence of ocular hypertension, you need to take a closer look at the anatomy of the eyes. The front portion of the eye is covered with a type of fluid, which is known as aqueous humor, which mostly acts as the vital substance to provide the required amount of nourishment to the cells and tissues that are present in the eyes and therefore helps to keep the eyes in their proper shape and condition. When the eyes produce the fluid called aqueous humor, the fluid must also get drained. This fluid is drained at a place in the eye that is known as the drainage angle. Now, this form of fluid gets secreted in your body continuously and the drainage of the fluid helps to maintain the internal pressure in the eyes at an optimum level. Once the drainage of the fluid is normal, it means that there is no fluid build-up in the eyes. But if the aqueous humor fluid is not drained correctly, it is quite possible that a person might develop conditions like ocular hypertension. So, the accumulation of the fluid called aqueous humor in the eyes is responsible for a person to develop ocular hypertension.

Risk Factors Related To The Occurrence Of Ocular Hypertension:

In some people, ocular hypertension can have a moderate impact on their eyes and on their vision. But still, there are different types of risk factors that are related to the occurrence of ocular hypertension. Some of the prime risk factors of having ocular hypertension can be listed below:

• Having high levels of blood pressure
• Increased levels of blood sugar or the presence of disorders like type 2 diabetes or diabetes mellitus in the body
• If you are Black or Hispanic
• Presence of ocular hypertension, glaucoma, or any other related eye disorders in the genes or in the family history
• If you are an aged person and belong to the age group of more than 40 years
• If you are consuming steroid-containing products or medicines for a prolonged period
• If you have problems related to nearsightedness or other eye problems like pigment dispersion syndrome, and pseudoexfoliation syndrome

Treatment Of Ocular Hypertension:

If you are to prevent ocular hypertension, then it is important for you to treat the condition quite soon. If you have ocular hypertension, it is essential for you to stay under routine check-ups of the eyes and to take proper care of the eyes. It has been found in recent studies and sources that those who suffer from optical conditions such as ocular hypertension, can either treat their conditions through topical eye treatments and laser treatments, while people can also treat the disorder by applying some ocular drops as recommended by medical professionals. There are people who do not require to be treated through surgeries or similar other methods for curing ocular hypertension. But in some cases, the disorder might require serious treatments, if the condition of ocular hypertension has become quite severe. So, the treatment solely depends on the severity of an individual patient and thus, the treatment procedure to cure ocular hypertension should be decided by the concerned ophthalmologist only.