Glaucoma | National Eye Institute

Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that can cause vision loss and blindness by damaging a nerve in the back of your eye called the optic ... Skiptocontent NationalEyeInstituteResearchToday…VisionTomorrow Menu EnglishEspañol Searchthesite LearnAboutEyeHealth EyeHealthDataandStatistics HealthyVision EyeConditionsandDiseases NEIforKids OutreachCampaignsandResources GrantsandTraining HowtoApply FundingOpportunities TrainingatNEI FundingforTrainingandCareerDevelopment PoliciesandProcedures ResourcesforResearchers ContactGrantsandFundingStaff ResearchatNEI ClinicalTrials ResearchLabsandBranches JobsandTrainingOpportunitiesatNEI AboutNEI Diversity,EquityandInclusionatNEI StrategicPlanning NewsandEvents GoalsandAccomplishments NEIHistory NEILeadership BudgetandCongress AdvisoryCommittees NationalEyeHealthEducationProgram DonatetoNEI Home LearnAboutEyeHealth EyeConditionsandDiseases Glaucoma PrintthisPage Glaucoma Onthispage: Types Symptoms Risk Causes Diagnosis Treatment Research Resources Ataglance:Glaucoma EarlySymptoms: Oftennone LaterSymptoms: Lossofside(peripheral)vision,blindspots,blindness Diagnosis: Dilatedeyeexamwithvisualfieldtesting Treatment: Medicine(usuallyeyedrops),lasertreatment,surgery Whatisglaucoma? Glaucomais a groupofeyediseasesthatcancause visionlossandblindness by damaginganerveinthebackofyoureye called theopticnerve.   The symptoms can start soslowlythatyou may notnotice them. The only waytofindoutifyouhave glaucomaistogeta comprehensivedilated eyeexam.   There’sno cure for glaucoma,but earlytreatmentcanoftenstopthedamageandprotectyourvision.   Whatarethetypesofglaucoma? Thereare many differenttypesofglaucoma,butthemostcommon typeintheUnitedStates iscalled open-angleglaucoma — that’swhatmostpeoplemeanwhenthey talkabout glaucoma. Othertypesare lesscommon, likeangle-closure glaucomaandcongenitalglaucoma. Learnmoreabout thetypesofglaucoma Whatarethesymptomsofglaucoma? Atfirst,glaucomadoesn’t usually have any symptoms. That’swhy halfof peoplewithglaucomadon’t even knowtheyhaveit.   Overtime,you mayslowlylose vision, usually startingwithyour side (peripheral) vision —especiallythepartofyourvisionthat’s closesttoyournose.Becauseithappenssoslowly, manypeople can’ttell that their visionischangingatfirst.  Butas thedisease getsworse, youmay startto notice that youcan’tsee thingsofftothesideanymore. Withouttreatment,glaucomacaneventuallycauseblindness.  AmIatriskforglaucoma? Anyonecangetglaucoma,butsomepeopleareathigherrisk. You’reathigherriskifyou:  Areoverage60,especiallyifyou’reHispanic/Latino  AreAfricanAmericanandoverage40  Haveafamilyhistoryofglaucoma Talkwithyourdoctoraboutyourriskforglaucoma,andask how oftenyouneedtoget checked. Ifyou’reathigherrisk,youneedtogetacomprehensivedilatedeyeexamevery1to2years. Whentogethelprightaway Angle-closureglaucomacancausethesesuddensymptoms: Intenseeyepain Upsetstomach(nausea) Redeye Blurryvision Ifyouhaveanyofthesesymptoms,gotoyourdoctororanemergencyroomnow. Whatcausesglaucoma? Scientistsaren’tsurewhatcauses themostcommon types of glaucoma,but manypeoplewithglaucomahavehigheye pressure—andtreatmentsthatlowereyepressurehelptoslowthedisease.  Learnmoreabouteyepressureandglaucoma There’snowaytopreventglaucoma.That’swhy eyeexamsareso important—soyou andyourdoctorcanfind itbeforeitaffectsyourvision. Howwillmyeyedoctorcheckforglaucoma? Eyedoctorscancheckfor glaucoma aspartof a comprehensive dilatedeyeexam. Theexamis simpleandpainless— yourdoctorwillgiveyousomeeyedropstodilate(widen)yourpupilandthencheckyoureyes forglaucomaandothereyeproblems. Theexamincludesavisualfieldtesttocheckyoursidevision. Learnwhattoexpectfromadilatedeyeexam Didyouknow? Glaucomacanhappenin1eyeorbotheyes Somepeoplewithhigheyepressuredon’tgetglaucoma—andthere’satypeofglaucomathathappensinpeoplewithnormaleyepressure Normaleyepressurevariesbyperson—what’snormalfor1personcouldbehighforanother What’sthetreatmentforglaucoma? Doctorsusedifferenttypes oftreatmentforglaucoma,includingmedicines(usually eyedrops),lasertreatment, andsurgery.   If you haveglaucoma, it’simportant tostarttreatmentrightaway. Treatment won’tundoanydamagetoyourvision, butit canstopitfromgettingworse.  Medicines. Prescriptioneyedropsarethemostcommontreatment.They lowerthepressureinyoureyeandprevent damage toyouropticnerve. Learnmoreaboutglaucomamedicines  Lasertreatment. Toloweryoureyepressure,doctorscanuselasersto help thefluiddrain outofyoureye. It’sasimple procedurethatyourdoctorcandointheoffice. Learnmoreaboutlasertreatmentforglaucoma  Surgery. If medicines andlasertreatmentdon’twork,yourdoctormightsuggestsurgery. Thereareseveraldifferenttypesofsurgerythatcanhelpthefluiddrainoutof youreye. Learnmoreaboutglaucomasurgery  Talkover youroptions withyourdoctor.Whileglaucomaisaseriousdisease,treatmentworkswell. Rememberthesetips:  If yourdoctorprescribes medicine, besureto takeit everyday  Tellyourdoctorifyour treatment causessideeffects  Seeyourdoctor for regular check-ups  Ifyou’rehavingtroublewith everydayactivitiesbecauseof yourvision loss,askyourdoctor about visionrehabilitationservicesordevices that couldhelp  Encouragefamilymemberstoget checked forglaucoma,sinceit canrun infamilies  FeaturedResource:TalkWithYourDoctorAboutGlaucoma Doyouhaveglaucoma?Thisguidemakesiteasytotalkwithyourdoctoraboutyourcondition.Itincludes: Informationaboutglaucoma Questionsforthedoctor Asymptomtracker Gettheguide Whatisthelatestresearchonglaucoma? Scientistsarestudyingwhatcausesglaucomaandhowwecanfinditearlierandtreatitbetter. NEIalsofundsresearchonnewtreatmentoptions. GetthelatestnewsonNEI-supportedglaucomaresearch GlaucomaResources Checkoutourmedialibraryofglaucomaphotosandillustrations Seeourmaterialsforcommunityhealtheducators Getflyers,booklets,andotherresourcestoprintordownload Lastupdated:April21,2022 ResearchNews Proteinprotectsbraincellsmostimpactedbyglaucoma March3,2022 Anewtreatmentforglaucoma? October18,2021 Learninghowtransplantedneuronsfitin October7,2021 Readmorenews Close×