Two years ago I was diagnosed with glaucoma. I use three eyedrops three times a day. The pressure has gone down from 27 to 18. I have no other symptoms. How long should I need to continue with these eyedrops? They do give me various troubles. I am 85 years old with probably a short time left to live, and I would rather not burden myself with any more medical cures.

Al

Glaucoma is one of the major causes of blindness. It involves an elevation in the pressure of the eye that damages the optic nerve, which carries information from the eye to the brain. The earliest sign of this damage is usually a loss of peripheral vision. Surprisingly, glaucoma causes no pain or discomfort. But if left untreated, it will eventually cause complete vision loss.

Fortunately, several treatments are available for glaucoma. Eyedrops are the primary therapy, and these are generally very successful at controlling eye pressure. If the eyedrops cannot control a person's eye pressure, then laser treatment can often bring the eye pressure down for three to five years. If both the laser and medications fail to control the eye pressure, the next option would be glaucoma surgery.

In your case, what's important to remember is that glaucoma is a slowly progressive disease. The eyedrops only treat it; they do not cure it. If you stop taking your eyedrops, it is highly possible that you will become blind during the next few years.