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Glaucoma
What
is glaucoma?
Glaucoma is
a disease of the optic nerve, which
is the part of the eye that carries the images
we see to the
brain. The optic nerve is made up
of many
nerve fibers, like an electric
cable containing numerous wires. When pressure inside
the eye
increases, damage to the optic nerve fibers may occur, causing blind
spots to develop.
These blind
spots usually go undetected until the optic nerve is significantly da
Early detection and treatment by your ophthalmologist
are the keys to preventing optic
nerve damage and blindness
from glaucoma.
What causes
glaucoma?
Clear liquid,
called the aqueous humor, circulates
inside the front
portion of the eye. A small amount
of this fluid is
produced constantly, and an equal
amount flows out of
the eye through a microscopic
drainage system,
maintaining a constant level of pressure within the eye. (This liquid is
not part of the tears on the outer surface of the eye.).
Because the eye is a closed structure, if the
drainage area for the aqueous humor-called the
drainage angle is
blocked, the excess
fluid
cannot flow out
of the eye. Fluid pressure within
the eye will
increase, pushing against the optic nerve and potentially causing
damage.
What are the
different types of glaucoma?
Chronic open –
angle glaucoma:
This is
the most
common form
of glaucoma
the risk of
developing chronic open-angle
glaucoma increases with age. The drainage angle of the eye
becomes less efficient over time, and
pressure within the eye
gradually increases, which
can damage the optic nerve.
In some patients, the optic nerve becomes sensitive to normal eye
pressure and
is at risk for damage. Treatment is
necessary to prevent
further vision loss.
Chronic open-angle glaucoma damages vision so gradually and
painlessly that you are not aware
of trouble
until the optic nerve is already injured.
Angle-closure
glaucoma:
Sometimes
the
drainage angle of the eye may become completely
blocked. In
the eye, the iris (the part that makes
eyes blue,
brown or green) may drop over and completely close off the drainage
angle. You can
imagine this
occurring much like a sheet of paper
floating
near a drain. If the paper suddenly drops
over the
opening, the flow is abruptly blocked.
When eye pressure
builds up suddenly,
an acute
angle-closure glaucoma attack
occurs.
Symptoms may
include:
$ Blurred vision;
severe
eye pain;
headache;
$ Rainbow-colored
halos around lights;
nausea and vomiting.
In some patients,
glaucoma has features of
both the chronic
open-angle type and the
acute angle-closure
type. This may be called chronic
angle-closure glaucoma
or
mixed
mechanism glaucoma.