Comprehensive Glaucoma Information

Introduction

The photo above is an exaggeration of actual sight restrictions caused by glaucoma, but the fuzziness fading into black is not. The scariest effect of glaucoma is that it comes on gradually and without much notice. When you go to a bi-annual exam for glaucoma, your TTP Ophthalmologist will test you specifically for diseases of the eye such as glaucoma. They will educate you in ways that will help you care for your eyes and ask about symptoms you may or may not have noticed.

High pressure in the eye is an indication that glaucoma may be present. This is called intraocular pressure. Glaucoma may also include variations of symptoms like loss of side vision (peripheral), or possibly blindness. Early detection is key from damaging vision loss.

Background...

The eyes are organs that produce fluids other than tears. The aqueous humor (aqua = water, humor = fluid) is a gel that can be found behind the iris of the eye (the colored area). It is also called vitreous humor. This provides body to the eyeball giving it structure. It also provides nourishment and keeps it from losing structure. It has to maintain a delicate balance between too much and too little, therefore it drains through trabecular meshwork. When this liquid cannot drain properly, either due from clogging or in other cases where the iris is pushes against the cornea restricting drainage, the pressure builds and the result is loss of peripheral vision.

Factors:

This can depend on the type of glaucoma.

family history
race is a factor in some cases
severe pain
nausea
redness of the eye
blurred vision
narrowed vision
blindness
close-angle has different factors

for information on Close-Angle Glaucoma