Glaucoma

What is Glaucoma?

Glaucoma can be very destructive to your vision; in fact, it's the second-leading cause of blindness in the U.S.Your eye has pressure just like your blood, and when this intra ocular pressure(IOP) increases to dangerous levels, it damages the optic nerve.This can result in decreased peripheral vision and, eventually, blindness.
Glaucoma is similar to ocular hypertension but with accompanying optic nerve damage and vision loss.

Statistics

Glaucoma is estimated to affect 12 million Indians.It causes 12.8 % of the total blindness in the country and is considered to be third most common cause of blindness in India. The prevalence of glaucoma in India ranges from 2.6 % to 4.1 % . Approximately 90.8 million individuals appear to have glaucoma. Of these 48 % million have OAG (Open Angular Glaucoma) and another 33.1 million have ACG (Angular Closure Glaucoma).

Signs of Glaucoma

" Glaucoma gradually reduces your peripheral vision, but by the time you notice it, permanent damage has already occurred.

" If your IOP remains high, the destruction can progress until tunnel vision develops, and you will only be able to see objects that are straight ahead.

" Other signs include headache, blurred vision, difficulty in adapting to darkness, or haloes around lights. Chronic glaucoma normally develops after 35 years of age

" An acute attack of narrow-angle glaucoma, also termed acute angle-closure glaucoma or acute closed-angle glaucoma, produces sudden symptoms such as eye pain, headaches, haloes around lights, dilated pupils, vision loss, red eyes, nausea and vomiting.

What causes Glaucoma

" Age. & Certain medical disorders.
" Diabetes, extreme nearsightedness and previous eye surgery are risk factors for chronic open-angle glaucoma.
" Family history. Like so many diseases, glaucoma tends to run in families; different genes, however, are involved in different families.

Types of Glaucoma

Congenital glaucoma is a rare form of the disease affecting babies, with 80% of cases diagnosed by age one. These children are born with narrow angles or some other defect in the drainage system of the eye.

Pigmentary glaucoma, another rare form of the disease, is caused by pigment from the iris clogging the draining angles, preventing aqueous humor from leaving the eye. Over time, the inflammatory response to the blocked angle damages the drainage system.

Secondary glaucoma develops after trauma to the eye that affects the drainage system. Injury, infection, inflammation, tumor or an enlarged cataract can precipitate secondary glaucoma.

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