Glaucoma is a disease that damages the optic nerve and can progress to blindness. Of
the 2.5 million people in the U.S. with glaucoma, more than half of them don’t realize
they have it because there are to often no warning symptoms. If you do not have regular
routine eye exams to check the health of your eyes, glaucoma and other diseases can
steal your vision. If the pressure inside the eye increases, it can damage the optic nerve
and lead to the development of blind spots in our peripheral vision. Blind spots in the
field of vision usually go undetected and the optic nerve is significantly damaged and
great loss of peripheral or central vision has occurred.There are many types of
glaucoma that can impact your life in different ways.
Symptoms
- gradual, painless loss of peripheral vision
- extreme rise in pressure causes blurred vision, headaches, severe eye pain, as
well as the appearance of halos around lights.
- It can be caused by trauma, surgery, diabetes and other medical conditions.
Treatment
- Medical and surgical treatment can prevent further loss of vision, but it can’t
restore vision that is already lost.
- It is important to have a good relationship with your doctor to help choose the
best option.
- Glaucoma is usually treated with daily eye drops that decrease eye pressure
either by slowing the amount of fluid produced within the eye, or by improving the
flow through the drainage angle
