Glaucoma is a medical condition that damages your eye’s optic nerve. It gets worse over time and it is linked to a buildup of pressure inside your eye. This Glaucoma disease tends to run in families and you usually don’t get it until later in life. Glaucoma can cause permanent vision loss or even total blindness within a few years.

Types of Glaucoma?

• Open-angle Glaucoma – This is the most common type of Glaucoma. It is also called a wide-angle glaucoma. The drain structure in your eye might look fine. However, you may find that the fluid doesn’t flow out like it should.
• Acute angle-closure Glaucoma – This type of glaucoma is more common in Asia. It is also called narrow-angle glaucoma. Your eye doesn’t drain like it should. This is because the drain space between your iris and cornea becomes too narrow. This can lead to a sudden buildup of pressure in your eye and it’s also linked to farsightedness and cataracts.
• Secondary Glaucoma
• Normal-tension Glaucoma
• Pigmentary Glaucoma

What are the Causes of Glaucoma?

The fluid inside your eye known as the aqueous humour usually flows out of your eye through a channel. And, if this channel gets blocked, the liquid builds up.

• Blunt or chemical injury to your eye
• Severe eye infection
• Blocked blood vessels inside your eye
• Inflammatory conditions
• Heredity

What are the Symptoms of Glaucoma?

Usually, people suffering with open-angle glaucoma do not have any symptoms. If symptoms do develop, it might mostly be visible late in the disease.

• Vision loss and redness in your eye
• Hazy looking eyes
• Pain in the eyes

Glaucoma Diagnosis

The doctor may perform several tests, including:-

• Evaluating intraocular pressure and testing for optic nerve damage with a dilated eye examination and imaging tests.
• Inspecting for areas of vision loss
• Measuring corneal thickness
• Examining the drainage angle
• Measuring Retinal Nerve Fibre Layer (RNFL) loss

Glaucoma Treatment –

The damage caused by glaucoma can’t be reversed. But, with the regular treatment and regular check ups vision loss can be slowed down.

Your options for treatment may include –

• Eyedrops
• Laser treatment
• Glaucoma Surgery