| People often wonder if glaucoma, cataracts, or | | | | eye is a closed, fluid-filled system. If too much |
| diabetic retinopathy aggravates macular | | | | fluid accumulates, pressure inside the eye rises, |
| degeneration or if macular degeneration | | | | pushing on the optic nerve and gradually damaging |
| aggravates any of them. The answer is no. AMD | | | | the delicate fibers. If detected early, glaucoma is |
| is not directly related to any other disease or eye | | | | easily treatable in most people with prescription |
| condition to our knowledge. There is some | | | | eye drops, laser, or surgery. If untreated or |
| evidence that cataract surgery might affect | | | | uncontrolled, glaucoma can cause peripheral vision |
| macular degeneration. To understand why | | | | loss and eventually complete blindness. |
| glaucoma cataracts, diabetic retinopathy, and | | | | Diabetic retinopathy is a condition caused by |
| macular degeneration are unrelated, it may help to | | | | diabetes in which the retina may become swollen |
| clarify how each of these conditions causes vision | | | | and abnormal blood vessels may develop on the |
| loss. | | | | surface of the retina. These vessels can bleed or |
| Cataracts occur when the lens on the front of | | | | constrict and cause retinal detachment. Diabetic |
| your eyes clouds up. This opacity prevents | | | | retinopathy can affect the entire retina, resulting |
| images and light from entering your eye, sort of | | | | in different degrees of vision loss. It is treatable |
| the same way sheer curtains block the view | | | | with laser in most people if identified early enough. |
| through a window. Unlike macular degeneration, | | | | You cannot get diabetic retinopathy if you don |
| cataracts do not affect the retina or the macula, | | | | not ha diabetes. People with diabetes have a |
| Cataracts are caused by a number of things, but | | | | higher incidence of glaucoma and cataracts but |
| none of them are related to macular degeneration | | | | not of macular degeneration. |
| or its causes, Cataracts can usually be surgically | | | | Glaucoma, Cataracts, and Diabetic Retinopathy |
| removed and replace by new lenses. | | | | affect the Eye differently from AMD. They are |
| Glaucoma is a condition of high pressure inside | | | | not related conditions. |
| your eye that damages your optic nerve. Your | | | | |