What is Glaucoma?
Glaucoma is a complicated disease in which damage to the optic nerve results in vision loss. It is linked up to the pressure inside your eye. Glaucoma can be inherited and may show up later in life. The pressure which is called the intraocular pressure can damage the optic nerve, which is responsible for conveying images to your brain. If the damage continues and the disease is not checked glaucoma can lead to permanent vision loss. Without proper treatment of glaucoma, it can cause permanent blindness within few years.
Most of the people do not have any symptoms or pain. Therefore one must see an eye doctor regularly especially who have this problem in the family as this can be due to genetics. An early detection can result in less damage to the eye from the long-term visual loss.
What are the types of Glaucoma?
There are two main types:
- Open-angle glaucoma:
it is the most common type. It is also called wide-angle glaucoma. The drain structure in the eye looks normal but the fluid inside does not flow out like it should.
- Angle-closure glaucoma:
It is less common in West than in Asia. You can also call it acute or chronic angle-closure or narrow-angle glaucoma. The distance between the iris and the cornea is very narrow so the eyes do not drain right. This causes sudden buildup pressure in your eye. It can also cause cataract a clouding of the lens inside your eye; it is also linked to farsightedness.
What are the symptoms of glaucoma?
Most people do not have any such problem which can be linked to the disease. The first sign is often loss of peripheral or side vision, which generally goes unnoticed until late in the disease. Detecting glaucoma early is one of the reasons one should get checked up every 1 to 2 year. A person can have risen in pressure to severe level inside the eye. In such case, you can have eye pain, headache, blurred vision and halos around lights. Other symptoms when you should seek immediate medical care:
- Halos around light
- Vision loss
- Redness in eye
- Eye looks hazy
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Eye pain
- Narrowed or tunneled vision
