What Is Glaucoma?Glaucoma is a condition that damages your eye’s optic nerve, and it gets worse over time. It’s usually as a result of pressure inside your eye. One usually doesn’t get it until later in life.
The increased pressure in your eye, called intraocular pressure, can damage your optic nerve that sends images to your brain. If the damage worsens, glaucoma can cause permanent vision loss or even total blindness within a few years.
What glaucoma looks like within the eye.
Most people with glaucoma don’t feel any symptoms or pain.
Visit your eye doctor so they can diagnose and treat glaucoma before you have long-term vision loss.
Most people with glaucoma who follow their treatment plan and have regular eye exams are able to keep their vision.
Causes
The fluid inside your eye, called aqueous humor, usually flows out of your eye through a channel. If this channel gets blocked or the eye is producing too much fluid, the liquid builds up. This blockage may be something inherited from a parent.Less-common causes of glaucoma include a blunt injury to your eye,or an injury caused by a chemical, an infection, blocked blood vessels inside your eye, and inflammatory conditions. Glaucoma usually affects both eyes, but it may be worse in one than the other.
Types of Glaucoma
Open-angle or wide-angle glaucoma;
This is the most common type. The drain structure in your eye (called the trabecular mesh-work) looks fine, but fluid doesn’t flow out like it should.
Angle-closure glaucoma(also called acute or chronic angle-closure or narrow-angle glaucoma);
This is more common in Asia. Your eye doesn’t drain like it should because the drain space between your iris and cornea becomes too narrow. This can cause a sudden buildup of pressure in your eye. It’s also linked to farsightedness and cataracts—a clouding of the lens inside your eye.Less common types of glaucoma include:
Secondary glaucoma;
This is when another condition, such as cataracts or diabetes, causes added pressure in your eye. This causes light sensitivity
Normal-tension glaucoma;
This is when you have blind spots in your vision or your optic nerve is damaged although your eye pressure is within the average range. Some experts say it’s a form of open-angle glaucoma.
Pigmentary glaucoma;
With this form, tiny bits of pigment from your iris (the colored part of your eye) get into the fluid inside your eye and clog the drainage canals.
The Risk Factors
Glaucoma mostly affects adults older than 40 years, but young adults, children, and even infants can have it. Its more common with African Americans.
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