What is good for eye pressure?

What is Eye Pressure?

Eye pressure, or glaucoma, is primarily caused by an increase in intraocular pressure due to the inability of the fluid inside the eye to drain out. The channels responsible for draining this fluid can become blocked for various reasons. Therefore, there is no single food, exercise, or vitamin that can independently alleviate eye pressure.

What Helps with Glaucoma?

Eye pressure can only be reduced using medications, lasers, or surgery specifically designed for this purpose. The patient’s responsibility is to adhere to the treatment and not skip their medications.

However, there are some healthy lifestyle recommendations aimed at reducing the damage glaucoma causes to the eye. These recommendations are not meant to replace medical treatment but to support it.

Mild exercises are essential for overall health. A healthy diet rich in fruits and vegetables is also important. Additionally, foods rich in omega-3 can help alleviate dry eyes caused by glaucoma medications. In this regard, foods such as seafood, North Sea salmon, raw leafy greens like lettuce, oranges, apricots, eggplants, and goji berries are among the recommended options.

What Should People with Eye Pressure Pay Attention To?

Glaucoma is one of the most insidious and dangerous diseases of the eye. The first and most important thing for glaucoma patients is to ensure they are under regular follow-up by a glaucoma specialist. Seeing the same doctor in the same facility, with the same devices, allows for better monitoring of disease progression, and treatment can be adjusted accordingly. Regular OCT (optical coherence tomography),visual field tests, and eye pressure measurements using an applanation tonometer (instead of air-puff devices) should be performed at the follow-up center.

Patients should strictly follow their prescribed treatment regimen, paying attention to the timing of their medications and not skipping them. If they encounter any issues, they should not discontinue their medication without consulting their doctor. Additionally, when applying eye drops, patients should be careful not to smear the medication around the eye, wash their hands before application, and avoid touching their eyes with the tip of the dropper.

Blood pressure plays a significant role in the damage caused by eye pressure. Very low blood pressure can make the optic nerve more vulnerable to damage from glaucoma. For this reason, people with low blood pressure should increase their salt intake slightly and consult a nephrologist if necessary. Furthermore, uncontrolled diabetes, high blood pressure, and blood clotting disorders are also important in the context of glaucoma.

Maintaining a healthy diet, avoiding smoking, managing cholesterol levels, and engaging in regular exercise are crucial.

Patients with narrow-angle glaucoma should consult their eye doctor before taking medications prescribed for other conditions and should avoid staying in the dark for extended periods. Beverages like tea and coffee generally do not significantly affect eye pressure when consumed in moderation; however, excessive intake can raise eye pressure. Smoking, hypertension, and high blood cholesterol, which contribute to vascular stiffness, reduce the optic nerve's resistance to damage caused by eye pressure.

It is essential to quit smoking, manage high blood pressure and cholesterol under medical supervision, and exercise regularly, as it generally helps lower eye pressure.