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Glaucoma is a generic term for a group of disorders that are typically related by damage to the eye caused by an increase in the pressure inside the eye. When the pressure is too high, damage occurs to the optic nerve. The optic nerve, which is like an electric cord sending information from the eye to the brain, is made up of a bundle of nerve fibers.. Damage to the optic nerve can initially cause blind spots at the outer edges of the field of vision called peripheral or side vision. This is the main sign of glaucoma. As damage to the optic nerve gets worse, the visual field can shrink leading to tunnel vision or even loss of central vision affecting a patients ability to read. Fortunately, this occurs only in patients with very severe disease.

 

 

Glaucoma is an important cause of blindness in the United States. At least two million Americans have glaucoma. Almost 900,000 of these people are visually impaired due to their glaucoma. Almost 80,000 Americans are legally blind due to their glaucoma.

Certain types of glaucoma (traumatic glaucoma or angle recession glaucoma) can occur in people who have had a history of being hit in the eye (e.g. soccer ball). Not only can they get a rise in pressure initially after the injury, but they also may develop glaucoma years later. All of these things stress the importance of regular eye exams.

 

 

Unfortunately glaucoma is typically associated with painless and progressive loss of vision that may not be easily detected by the patient. Only one type of glaucoma called angle-closure glaucoma is associated with a red, painful eye with blurred vision and even possibly nausea and vomiting. This is due to very high pressures resulting from a block in the drainage system of the eye. Most patients at risk for this type of glaucoma have structural differences in their eye which could be identified prior to an attack and preventative treatment could be performed. Rarely do patients with other types of glaucoma develop pressure high enough to have pain and redness.

 

 

The primary goal of treatment is to preserve vision. The typical first line of treatment is eye drops which lower the intraocular pressure by helping fluid leave the eye or by reducing the amount of fluid produced in the eye. Some patients may need to take multiple different types of eye drops or even eye drops plus medications in pill form to effectively lower the pressure. In addition, there are laser treatments for both angle closure and open angle glaucoma. Laser treatment for angle closure glaucoma is usually performed to prevent an acute attack as described above; while laser treatment for open angle glaucoma is performed when medications are not effective enough or the patient has difficulty taking medications. Surgery, which involves making a drainage system for the fluid in the eye, is usually performed when medications and lasers are ineffective. The best way to treat glaucoma is to be committed to the use of the medications as prescribed and to keep scheduled appointments for evaluations.