Don't take colds and headaches lightly; ophthalmologists remind you to rule out glaucoma

The weather in Wuhan has changed rapidly recently, and winter has arrived in a second. Many middle-aged and elderly people adhere to the health concept of "cover up in spring and keep warm in autumn", and did not add clothes in time when the temperature dropped rapidly, resulting in colds, headaches and vomiting... They thought it was just a common cold, but in the end, they found that it was acute angle-closure glaucoma, such as Ms. Li who lives in Hongshan.

Ms. Li, 49, did not add clothes in time after the weather turned cold. Last week, Ms. Li, who was doing business outdoors, was exposed to the cold wind for most of the day. When she went to bed at night, she felt stuffy in the head and stuffy in the nose. The next day, Ms. Li had a headache and felt weak all over. Ms. Li thought she had a cold. That afternoon, Ms. Li vomited severely, and her eyes were swollen and tearful. She rushed to a nearby hospital, and the doctor initially diagnosed her with drug allergy or acute gastroenteritis. After one day of drug treatment, there was no improvement, and the swelling of her eyes became more obvious. The doctor then recommended that she go to a professional ophthalmology hospital.

After arriving at the Glaucoma Department of the Aier Eye Hospital Affiliated to Wuhan University, Associate Chief Physician Sun Chong found that Ms. Li's vision in both eyes was only index and her intraocular pressure was as high as 55 mmHg. Finally, Ms. Li was diagnosed with acute angle-closure glaucoma in both eyes and needed antihypertensive treatment to alleviate her current symptoms.

"Weather changes can affect the body's temperature regulation center, causing intraocular pressure fluctuations and slowing down the discharge of aqueous humor, which can then induce glaucoma." Sun Zhong said that as the temperature drops, the number of patients with acute glaucoma who visit the ophthalmology department increases, and many patients come for treatment due to symptoms such as decreased vision, eye pain, dizziness, nausea, and vomiting. Quite a number of patients thought they had acute gastroenteritis, colds, migraines, and other diseases, and delayed the best time for treatment.

"An acute attack of glaucoma often presents with 'eye pain that feels like it's about to explode', hemiplegia, eye congestion, and a sharp drop in vision." Director Wu Zuohong of the Glaucoma Department reminds that you must seek medical attention immediately. Otherwise, if high intraocular pressure is not treated in time, it may cause ischemia and atrophy of the optic nerve, and there is a risk of blindness.