Glaucoma Awareness

Glaucoma is categorized into open angle and closed angle glaucoma (acute glaucoma).

Open Angle Glaucoma

In open angle glaucoma, the pressure inside the eye is usually slightly to moderately elevated. Generally, there are no early symptoms or warning signs, and it isn't painful. As the disease progresses, the damage to the optic nerve causes a gradual loss of peripheral vision that is so slow, it may go unnoticed until a substantial amount of nerve damage and vision loss has occurred. The only way to detect glaucoma early is through routine eye examinations by an eye doctor.

Closed Angle Glaucoma (Acute Glaucoma)

In closed angle glaucoma, the pressure suddenly rises extremely high, usually causing severe, dull pain, redness, and foggy or smoky vision. Nausea and vomiting can also occur. Closed angle glaucoma should be treated as an emergency because permanent vision loss can occur very rapidly.

Risk Factors

Increasing age; Elevated pressure within the eye; African American descent; Nearsightedness; Diabetes; High blood pressure; Vascular diseases

Treatment

Glaucoma is most often initially treated with topical medications (eye drops) that are administered either once or twice a day and have few side effects.

It has been shown that decreasing the eye pressure can slow or halt the progression of optic nerve damage and visual field loss. Medical, laser, or surgical therapy can be used to accomplish this goal.

Information provided by: 
Michael Hennessey, MD, Ophthalmology, Oak Park Eye Center, and Brian Proctor, DO, Ophthalmology, Gottlieb Eye Center