Glaucoma

What is glaucoma?
Glaucoma is an eye disease that may cause loss of vision. Glaucoma is a group of disease that
damage the eye’s optic nerve and can result in vision loss and blindness. However, with early
detection and treatment, you can often protect your eyes against serious vision loss. Pressure
from a buildup of fluid in the eyeball is a major risk factor for glaucoma. Normally, this fluid
nourishes your eye and keeps it healthy. After the fluid circulates, it empties through a drain in
the front of your eye. In people who have glaucoma, the drain in the eye is blocked and the fluid
can’t run out of the eyeball. Instead, the fluid builds up and causes increase pressure in the eye.
Glaucoma called as “the vision thief” because it can come suddenly and take the vision away in
no time. Knowing the about the glaucoma can help us understand of the “thief” profile and
anticipate well when it come.

Symptoms
What are the symptoms of glaucoma?
The main symptom of glaucoma is vision loss, especially loss of peripheral vision. However, hall
of all people who experience loss of vision caused by glaucoma are not aware they have the
disease. By the time they notice loss of vision, the eye damage is severe.
Rarely, an individual will have an acute (sudden or short-term) attack of glaucoma. In these
cases, the eye becomes red and extremely painful. Nausea, vomiting and blurred vision may also
occur.

Cause and Risk Factor

Risk factor for glaucoma include:
- Being 60 year of age or older
- Belonging to certain ethnic groups, including black and Latino
- A family history of glaucoma
- High pressure in the eyes
- Diabetes
- Hypertension
- Heart disease
- Near-sightedness (it is difficult for you to see object in the distance)

Diagnosis and Test

How do I know if I have glaucoma?
You won’t know you have glaucoma until you ontice vision loss. Since glaucoma usually causes
no symptoms other than vision loss, it is important that you have a complete eye exam by an
ophthalmologist regularly. An ophthalmologist is a doctor who is trained to provide care for the
eyes, including the diagnosis and treatment of glaucoma. Your ophthalmologist can measure
your eye pressure, examine your optic nerve and evaluate your central and peripheral vision.
Early diagnosis and treatment of glaucoma can prevent damage to the eye’s nerve cells and
prevent severe vision loss.
Glaucoma is detected through a comprehensive dilated eye exam that includes the following:
- Visual acuity test. This eye chart test measures how well you see at various distance.
- Visual field test, this test measures your peripheral (side vision). It helps your eye care
professional tell if you have lost peripheral vision, a sign of glaucoma.
- Dilated eye exam. In this exam, drops are placed in your eyes to widen, or dilate, the
pupils. Your eye care professional uses a special magnifying lens to examine your retina
and optic nerve for signs of damage and other eye problems. After the exam, your close-
up vision may remain blurred for several hours.
- Tonometry is the measurement of pressure inside the eye by using an instrument called a
tonometer. Numbing drops may be applied to your eye for this test. A tonometer
measures pressure inside the eye to detect glaucoma.
- Pachymetry is the measurement of the thickness of your cornea. Your eye care
professional applies a numbing drop to your eye and uses an ultrasonic wave instrument
to measure the thickness of your cornea.

Type of Glaucoma
Open-Angle Glaucoma
Open-angle glaucoma the most common form of glaucoma, accounting for at least 90% of all
glaucoma cases:
Is caused by the slow clogging of the drainage canals, resulting in increased eye pressure
Has a wide and open angle between the iris and cornea
Develops slowly and is a lifelong condition
Has symptoms and damage that are not noticed
“Open-angle” means that the angle where the iris meets the cornea is as wide and open as it
should be. Open-angle glaucoma is also called primary or chronic glaucoma. It is the most
common type of glaucoma, affecting about three million Americans.
Angle-Closure Glaucoma
Angle-closure glaucoma, a less common form of glaucoma:
Is caused by blocked drainage canals, resulting in a sudden rise in intraocular pressure
Has a closed or narrow angle between the iris and cornea
Develops very quickly
Has a symptoms and damage that are usually very noticeable
Demands immediate medical attention.
It is also called acute glaucoma or narrow-angle glaucoma. Unlike open-angle glaucoma, angle-
closure glaucoma is a result of the angle between the iris and cornea closing.
Normal-Tension Glaucoma (NTG)
The two main types are open-angle and angle-closure. These are marked by an increaseof
intraocular pressure (IOP), or pressure inside the eye. Also called low-tension of normal-pressure
glaucoma. In normal-tension glaucoma the optic nerve is damaged even though the eye pressure
glaucoma is not very high. We still don’t know why some people’s optic nerves are damaged
even though they have almost normal pressure levels.
Congenital Glaucoma
This type of glaucoma occurs in babies when there is incorrect or incomplete development of the
eye’s drainage canal during the prenatal period. This is a rare condition that may be inherited.
When uncomplicated, microsurgery can often correct the structural defects. Other cases are
treated with medication and surgery.
Other Types of Glaucoma
Variants of open-angle and angle-closure glaucoma include:
- Secondary glaucoma
- Pigmentary glaucoma
- Pseudoexfoliative glaucoma
- Traumatic glaucoma
- Neovascular glaucoma
- Irido Corneal Endothelial Syndrome (ICE)
- Uveitic Glaucoma

How often should I have an eye exam?

People 18 to 60 years of age should have an exam every 2 years. After age 60, you should have
an eye exam once a year.
Treatment
What is the treatment for glaucoma?
The purpose of treatment is to lower the pressure in the eye to prevent further nerve damage and
vision loss. Glaucoma is usually treated with medicated eye drops. When eye drops don’t help
relieve pressure, surgery or laser treatments are usually done. Medicines that can be taken orally
(in pill form) can sometimes be prescribed as well, but are not commonly used. Nowadays,
glaucoma implant device can be implanted into glaucoma eyes to maintain ocular pressure. This
is done by bypass intraocular liquid to outer space of the eye.