Glaucoma, Cataract, Vertigo, Tinnitus and Hernia: When Medicine Helps and When You Need a Specialist

Some health problems are commonly marketed with “treatment medicine” even though the real solution is a simple specialist procedure. This guide covers five of them, so you can get the right help early.

Glaucoma

• Glaucoma damages the optic nerve, usually because of raised pressure inside the eye. It is a leading cause of permanent blindness in Ghana, and people of African descent are at higher risk and often affected younger.
• It usually has no early symptoms; side vision is lost slowly.
• Lost sight cannot be restored, but treatment stops further loss: daily eye drops, laser treatment or surgery.
• Get an eye check including eye pressure from age 40 (earlier with a family history), then regularly.
• Never stop glaucoma drops for a herbal remedy; damage continues silently.

Cataract

• A cataract is clouding of the eye’s lens, causing blurred, dim or glary vision, mostly with age.
• Surgery is the cure: the cloudy lens is replaced with a clear artificial one, usually in under an hour with local anaesthetic. Many eye centres in Ghana and outreach programmes offer it.
• No drops, herbs or pills dissolve a cataract.

Dizziness and vertigo

Vertigo is a spinning sensation; dizziness can also mean light-headedness. Common causes:

• BPPV: brief spinning when turning in bed or looking up; often cured in minutes by a repositioning manoeuvre a doctor or physiotherapist performs.
• Inner-ear inflammation after a cold; Ménière’s disease (with hearing loss and ringing).
• Low or high blood pressure, anaemia, dehydration, low blood sugar, medicine side effects.

Emergency signs: dizziness with slurred speech, face or arm weakness, double vision or severe headache may be a stroke. Call 112. See stroke signs.

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Tinnitus (ringing in the ears)

• Often linked to noise exposure, ageing-related hearing loss, ear wax or ear infections, and some medicines.
• Have your ears examined and hearing tested. Removing wax or treating infection may stop it.
• Persistent tinnitus is managed with hearing aids where needed, sound therapy and stress reduction. There is no proven pill that cures it.
• Ringing in one ear only, or with sudden hearing loss, needs prompt assessment.

Hernia

• A hernia is a bulge where tissue pushes through a weak spot in the abdominal wall, often in the groin or navel. It may be more noticeable when standing, coughing or lifting.
• Only surgical repair fixes a hernia. No medicine, herb or cream makes it go back permanently. Hernia repair is a common, routine operation.
• Emergency: a hernia that becomes painful, hard, cannot be pushed back, or comes with vomiting may be strangulated. Go to hospital immediately.

Frequently asked questions

Can glaucoma be cured?

Not cured, but it can be controlled so you keep the sight you have. Early detection is everything.

Is there medicine for cataract without surgery?

No. Surgery is safe, quick and very effective.

Can a hernia heal by itself?

Adult hernias do not heal on their own. Some small navel hernias in babies close by themselves; a doctor will advise.

Related: hypertension and heart disease and diabetes and eye health.