Glaucoma is a disease of the optic nerve, which connects the eye to the brain. If the pressure inside the eye exceeds the level that the optic nerve can tolerate, the optic nerve becomes damaged. Since the optic nerve is a part of the central nervous system, once nerve fibers are damaged, it is a permanent condition and any vision that is lost cannot be recovered. This is why glaucoma must be caught as soon as possible because there is medication to lower the eye pressure and prevent further vision loss. Glaucoma starts with loss of peripheral vision and gradually moves centrally. In other words, the field of vision gets smaller and smaller, leaving the patient with tunnel vision, and eventually vision can fully disappear, resulting in total blindness.

Glaucoma can be generally divided into two types: the painful and the painless types. The first type of glaucoma is acute in nature. The eye pressure increases rapidly, causing pain, redness, and blurry vision. This prompts the patient to seek urgent medical care. Although most people associate diseases with pain or discomfort, the second, painless type of glaucoma is much more common. The patient will most likely not know that something is going on until the disease is at a very advanced stage. This second type of glaucoma usually spares the central vision in its early stage, so the patient does not experience or notice any blurriness in vision. Most patients with this painless type of glaucoma are diagnosed during a routine eye checkup.

The Risk Factors of Glaucoma

Because the majority of glaucoma cases are painless, by the time you start to notice problems, it may be too late. Because of this, glaucoma is often referred to as a silent disease, or the Thief of Sight. Most patients who have lost their sight because of glaucoma often state that they did not notice any problems until their sight was gone. Some people are more at risk than others. People with a family history of glaucoma are more likely to develop it, as are those who have diabetes or who have had a physical injury to the eye. Also, people who take certain medications are at risk. Read the leaflet carefully before you take any medicine, as it’s usually printed as one of the side-effects. Other risks include high eyeglasses prescriptions. High nearsightedness is more commonly associated with painless glaucoma, and high farsightedness is more common in the painful type. If you have one or more of these risk factors, it is imperative that you get regular eye examinations. However, all people should have regular eye check-ups because a few simple tests could save your sight.

The Treatment of Glaucoma

The aim of treatment of Glaucoma is to stop the disease from progressing. The damage that has already occurred to the optic nerve is not reversible, but treatment can prevent more damage. The basic aim is to lower the eye pressure to the level that can be tolerated by the optic nerve. There is a multitude of medications that can lower eye pressure. However, if the pressure cannot be reduced to an acceptable level by medication alone, surgery may be indicated.

There are several different surgical procedures, including some utilizing lasers, to achieve pressure-lowering effects. However, the best management of glaucoma is to catch the disease early in its development. This is achieved by having regular eye examinations, even if you do not feel any abnormality in your eyes or vision.