Glaucoma

Glaucoma also known as silent thief of sight is one of the leading causes of non-preventable blindness. It results when the eye pressure in the eyes becomes elevated above the normal pressure of 10-21mmHg , as a result of this causing damage to the optic nerve( the part of the eye that transmits visual impulse to the visual cortex for interpretation).

CLASSIFICATION

There are two major types of glaucoma

1. Primary open angle glaucoma
2. Angle closure glaucoma
   The other types are secondary forms of glaucoma
   In primary open angle glaucoma(POAG).This is the most common type of glaucoma. It happens gradually, where the eye does not drain fluid as well as it should. As a result, eye pressure builds and starts to damage the optic nerve. This type of glaucoma is painless and causes no vision changes at first.

Some people can have optic nerves that are sensitive to normal eye pressure. This means their risk of getting glaucoma is higher than normal. Regular eye exams are important to find early signs of damage to their optic nerve.

The second type which is Angle closure glaucoma .This type happens when someone’s iris is very close to the drainage angle in their eye. The iris can end up blocking the drainage angle. You can think of it like a piece of paper sliding over a sink drain. When the drainage angle gets completely blocked, eye pressure rises very quickly. This is called an acute attack. It is a true eye emergency, and you should call your ophthalmologist right away or you might go blind.

Here are the signs of an acute angle-closure glaucoma attack:

Your vision is suddenly blurry
You have severe eye pain
You have a headache
You feel sick to your stomach (nausea)
You throw up (vomit)
You see rainbow-colored rings or halos around lights.

To be continued