The Role of the Nurse in Glaucoma Management

Importance of Having an Eye for Detail in Healthcare

It is important for a healthcare provider to have an eye for detail. An eye to detail enables the healthcare practitioners to conduct comprehensive assessments on their clients and come up with an appropriate diagnosis (Yanoff and Jay 67). The nurses play a significant role in patient assessment and should thus be keen on both verbal and non-verbal cues presented by their clients. The case study involved geriatric clients over the age of 60 with questions surrounding glaucoma and its management. Advancement in age and a high blood pressure are the major risk factor in developing glaucoma. In that regard, the nurse would encourage the geriatric clients to go for eye check-ups and blood pressure monitoring on a regular basis.

Questions from the Weekend Warriors

Some of the questions that the weekend warriors had include questions on the cause of glaucoma, the diagnostic criteria, the risk factors of developing glaucoma, the early signs of glaucoma, the likelihood of one getting blind from glaucoma, management of glaucoma, and the complications thereof. Some of the important details that the nurse would put his or her eyes on include age group of the audience, the environmental risk factors as well as the perceptions of the clients about the chronic eye condition.

Understanding Glaucoma and Its Complications

Glaucoma is an eye condition that results in the damage of the optic nerve and loss of vision. If the condition is left untreated, it could lead to the gradual loss of peripheral vision, followed by central vision and eventually leading to blindness. The clinical features of glaucoma include blurring of vision, pain, eye redness and nausea (Yanoff and Jay, 114). The major complications of glaucoma are retinal detachment and blindness. The treatment basically involves the use of medications in the form of eye drops, lasers, and surgery.

Work Cited

Yanoff, Myron, and Jay S. Duker. Ophthalmology. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Elsevier Saunders 2014. Print.