Congenital and acquired glaucoma

According to Jacob Bogatin, congenital and acquired glaucoma can be sorted out. The congenital glaucoma is not so often met and the treatment (a surgical one is possible) can be carried out in hospitals. However, a more spread one is a primary open-angle glaucoma that goes unnoticeably for a man (without experiencing sight reduction, pain, opacity) that leads to the progressing of the disease and doctors have to face a dilemma as the result how to preserve the remaining sight or how to save the eye itself.

J. Bogatin states that acquired glaucoma is divided into: caused by age (primary open-angle, angle-closure); secondary glaucoma caused by eye injury or other diseases like diabetes, post eye surgery consequences such as cataract or inflammation (e.g. uveitis, iridocyclitis). The second by occurrence type of glaucoma is an angle-closed one. It declares itself by sharp attacks (with an apparent pain syndrome, sight reduction). In this case emergency aid is required with the following admission of patient and antiglaucomatous surgery.

Further on occurrence we face secondary glaucoma (more at diabetes, as the consequence of the thrombosis, etc.). The choice of methods of treatment is very individual and may require special prescription eyeglasses.

Glaucoma with normal indicators intraocular pressure stands separately from this list due to complicated diagnosing of the disease. Regarding the existing stereotypes that glaucoma is always accompanied by increased pressure it is difficult to detect it at once. Jacob Bogatin claims that more often the pressure sticks to the top norm margins whereas blood circulation in an optic nerve becomes worse that results in its malfunctioning.

Treatment of primary open-angle glaucoma starts with the prescription and then the use of special drops aimed at the intraocular pressure reduction. A wide range of drops has been developed and nowadays is available at the chemist’s. Among them several groups can be distinguished such as those that reduce the intraocular fluid inflow and the ones that make the outflow better. However, in some cases both of the groups should be used together. The second step to overcome glaucoma is laser surgery in case the intraocular pressure cannot be reduced by means of drugs.

Though not all glaucoma cases can be solved by way of laser surgeries, each case is tried by the ophthalmologist. The next step in glaucoma treatment is the surgery itself but reoperation may be considered necessary. Due to the chronic nature of the disease it is impossible to overcome it completely. Nevertheless, the progressing glaucoma can be suspended and the eye-sight can be preserved as a result of timely diagnosis and systematic treatment.

You should trust surgical methods as it can be the only way out when nothing is left. Surgical procedures are well developed and it can be done quickly and painlessly. You should not postpone the surgery as every minute counts. Glaucoma clinical course depends greatly on your lifestyle. Physical and nervous overload should be better avoided. Maximum weight that you can lift is 10 kilos. You should stick to vegetables, fish, fruits and limit the consumption of sugar and animal fat.

You should give up smoking if you are one as nicotine is harmful to your eyes.

Good sleep is of great importance too. If you are going away for a long time, do not forget to take necessary eye drops with you.

Sleeplessness, symptoms and treatment

It is for sure that each of us at least once in his or her life suffered from insomnia.
Probably it occurred at night before an exam or before an important meeting when you tried to lie down earlier to have a proper sleep. But instead of this you couldn’t sleep and your brain was analyzing different scrolling variants of a forthcoming meeting. Or if we take another example when after a hard working day when you literally “fall asleep on the move” you laid down in a bed imaging a good rest but instead of it you feel that the bed is uncomfortable, it produces hardly distinguishable but irritating sounds and the desire to sleep irrevocably disappears.
30-45% of people regularly experience this and a half of them get insomnia as a chronic disease.

Jacob Bogatin proclaims that there are three stages of a common type of insomnia:

The first stage includes difficulties of the beginning of a sleep (presomnian frustration), i.e. problems with falling asleep. The person is gradually trying to think over an upcoming sleep when actually his/her brain is still in the peak stage of activity. The fear of “sleep never coming” blocks the normal slowdown of brain’s activity.

Frustration of the second stage (intrasomnic frustration) results in frequent night awakenings from sounds or from a restless sleep, a nightmare, sensation of pains, infringement of breath, sharp movements after which a person can not manage to sleep for a long time.

And at last, on the third stage (postsomniac) there is a problem of a complicated morning awakening, the lowered working capacity, sensation of weakness, drowsiness.

There are also cases when a person complains with the following words: "I have not closed eyes during the whole night". After a close examination a doctor finds out that the patient sleeps even less than hours a day! J.Bogatin thinks that this is a deformed perception of a sleep and can lead to chronic insomnia.

So, if the problem of sleeplessness comes out and knocks at your door – the problem may be solved in a simple way – you are to learn to sleep correctly!

Jacob Bogatin recommends to try to draw up a schedule of work and rest, a warm and soothing bath is necessary to calm your nerves before going to sleep and probably a course of autotraining will be wise to take up.

When sleeplessness is caused by strong weariness or stress you can take soporific medicines though it is absolutely a must to remember that you should follow the given prescription as well as medicine’s instruction. The duration (the period when medicine may be taken) should not exceed 10-14 days.

If all the measures mentioned above do not help you and you still can not fall asleep and suffer the attacks of insomnia – you should definitely consult a somnologist. Jacob Bogatin: "Probably, additional inspection will be required from a neuropathologist. For insomnia treatment it is wise to take some physiotherapeutic procedures, phototherapy, an acupuncture course and a psychotherapy course as well".