Glaucoma occurs when the pressure inside the eye rises high enough to damage the optic nerve. There are various types of glaucoma, the most common by far being open angle.
The condition often develops over many years without causing pain – so you may not experience vision loss until the disease has progressed. Left untreated, glaucoma can cause blindness. Regular eye exams and early detection are critical.
Symptoms include blurred vision, loss of peripheral vision, halo effects around lights and painful or reddened eyes. Risk factors include family history, high myopia, diabetes, thyroid disease,
previous trauma to the eye and ocular hypertension.
Treatments to lower pressure in the eye include prescription eye drops, medications, laser therapy, SLT, ALT and surgery. At our eye care centre we routinely dilate the eye, do contact
and non-contact tonometry, and visual field testing, all to
detect glaucoma.
Here is more information on glaucoma in an audiovisual format.
Here is more information on open and normal tension glaucoma in an audiovisual format.
Here is more information on narrow and closed angle glaucoma in an audiovisual format. |
