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Glaucoma
Medical Questions » Glaucoma
| Name: Glaucoma |
| Also known as: |
| An increase in the pressure of the half set jelly like fluid inside the eyeball that damages the eye and affects the vision. Three types occur chronic, acute and congenital.
glaucoma (open-angle glaucoma): the most common type with a slow onset over years. It usually occurs in both eyes simultaneously and runs in families.
Acute glaucoma (angle-closure glaucoma): the worst type, as it develops in a few hours or days, but usually involves only one eye. Permanent blindness can result. Congenital glaucoma occurs in babies who are born with the condition. |
Causes of Glaucoma
The eye is filled with a thick clear fluid (aqueous humor) that is slowly secreted by special cells within the eye, while in another part of the eye the fluid is removed, allowing a slow but steady renewal. If there is a blockage to the drainage of the fluid from the eye while new fluid continues to be secreted, the pressure inside the eye increases, and damage occurs to the light-sensitive retina at the back of the eye. Other conditions may also cause glaucoma including eye tumors, infections and injury, In rare cases drugs (eg. steroids) may be responsible. |
Symptoms of Glaucoma
Chronic: initially affects peripheral vision, which is how far you can see to the sides and up and down while looking straight ahead. One in every 75 people over 40 years have this type of glaucoma.
Acute: a rapid deterioration in vision, severe pain, rainbow-colored halos around lights, nausea and vomiting. May start after a blow to the eye, or for no discernible reason.
Congenital: earliest sign is the continual overflow of tears from the eye, and the baby turns away from lights rather than towards them as a normal. |
Tests for Glaucoma
Diagnosed in most cases by measuring the pressure of the fluid within the eye. This can be done by anesthetizing the eye surface with eye drops and then resting a pressure measuring instrument (tonometer) on the surface of the eye while the patient is lying down, or by using a machine that directs a puff of air onto the eye to measure the pressure. Glaucoma may also be detected by measuring deterioration in peripheral vision using a computerized device, charts or by following a white dot on a large black screen. More complex tests, including examining the eye through a microscope to determine the nature and seriousness of the glaucoma. |
Treatment for Glaucoma
Regular use of eye drops and/or tablets reduces the pressure in the eye. In serious cases, laser microsurgery to the tiny drainage canals in the front of the eye is necessary. Congenital glaucoma always requires surgical treatment.
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Complications of Glaucoma of its treatment
Immediate treatment of acute glaucoma is essential if the sight of the eye is to be saved. |
Likely Outcome of Glaucoma
Without treatment, glaucoma progresses inexorably to total blindness. If the disease is detected early, glaucoma in most patients can be successfully controlled but not cured. |
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