Glaucoma is a disease that causes damage to the optic nerve, which can then lead to vision loss. The optic nerve is made up of numerous nerves and fibers and glaucoma damages those nerves and causes blind spots.
Frequently, people don’t notice the blind spots in the beginning when there is still a possibility of catching the glaucoma and treating it.
What Causes Glaucoma?
Glaucoma is usually caused by excess fluid called aqueous humor in your eye building up and causing pressure that can damage the optic nerve. The fluid is always flowing through your eye and usually flows through a tiny drainage system. The drainage angle is the tube that the fluid drains out of the eye through and if it gets clogged, the fluid can’t get out. Since the eye is a closed structure, the fluid stays inside and causes pressure to build up.
Types of Glaucoma
The most common form of glaucoma is called chronic open-angle glaucoma. With this type, the drainage angle gradually narrows over time and causes pressure to slowly build up. When the pressure builds, it puts pressure on the optic nerve and damages it. Symptoms include tunnel vision and gradual loss of peripheral vision, usually in both eyes. The worst part of this type of glaucoma is that it happens so gradually that you might not know it’s occurring and by the time you notice the blind spots, the damage is irreversible.
Angle closure glaucoma occurs when the drainage angle gets blocked because it has a narrow angle. If this happens, the fluid can’t get out of the eye and the pressure can build up either gradually or quickly. Some symptoms of this can include headaches, pain in the eye, blurry vision, nausea and rainbow-colored halos around lights. This type of glaucoma is more common in people of Asian descent than in other nationalities. Sometimes the glaucoma has features of both types and is called mixed mechanism glaucoma.
Low-tension glaucoma occurs without excess pressure in the inner eye. Nobody is sure what causes this but doctors theorize that it may have something to do with low blood flow to the eye or an extra-sensitive optic nerve.
The final form of glaucoma is pigmentary glaucoma and is caused when pigment granules from the iris block the drainage angle. This can occur in young to middle-aged people because physical activities such as running or aerobics can stir up the pigment granules.
Treatment for Glaucoma
Because damage usually can’t be repaired once it occurs, the best thing to do is to go to your ophthalmologist regularly so that your doctor can monitor your eye health. If you do get glaucoma, there are several eye drops and pills that you can use to control it. There is also the option of surgical intervention to either stop or slow down further damage.
In closing, whether you have glaucoma or not, it is extremely important to get your eyes checked regularly and be using eye supplements. When you go to the eye doctor for an exam, make sure that he checks your interocular pressure and if there is an issue, don’t hesitate to get it treated. Quickly addressing glaucoma could very well be the difference between having healthy eyes and being blind.
