Glaucoma: Symptoms, Causes, Types & Treatment

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Glaucoma is a general term used to describe a group of eye disorders that damage the optic nerve. It's the most common form of optic nerve ... ThinkyoumayhaveCOVID-19? Findoutwhereyoucangettested Needavaccineorbooster? Nowschedulingforages6monthsandup ComingtoaClevelandCliniclocation? Visitationandmaskrequirements Home / HealthLibrary / Disease&Conditions Glaucoma Peoplewithglaucomahaveopticnervedamagefromfluidbuildupintheeye.Leftuntreated,thiseyepressurecanpermanentlyaffectvision.Glaucomaisthesecondleadingcauseofblindnessintheworld.Treatments—includingeyedrops,lasertreatmentsandsurgeries—canslowdownvisionlossandsaveyoursight. Appointments216.444.2020 Appointments&Locations RequestanAppointment Overview SymptomsandCauses DiagnosisandTests ManagementandTreatment Prevention Outlook/Prognosis LivingWith Glaucoma Overview SymptomsandCauses DiagnosisandTests ManagementandTreatment Prevention Outlook/Prognosis LivingWith BackToTop Overview Whatisglaucoma? Glaucomaisageneraltermusedtodescribeagroupofeyedisordersthatdamagetheopticnerve.It'sthemostcommonformofopticnervedamageleadingtovisionloss.Inmostcases,fluidbuildsupinthefrontpartoftheeye.Thisextrafluidputspressureontheeye,graduallydamagingtheopticnerve.Thispressureisknownasintraocularpressure(IOP),oreyepressure. Somepeoplehavenormaleyepressureandstillgetglaucoma.Untreatedorpoorlycontrolledglaucomacanleadtopermanentandirreversiblevisionlossandblindness. Whatistheopticnerve? Youropticnerveplaysacrucialroleinvision.Itsendssignalsfromtheretina(neuraltissueinthebackofyoureye,likethefilmofanold-fashionedcamera)tothebrain.Yourbrainreliesonthesesignalstocreateimages. Howcommonisglaucoma? Glaucomaisacommonage-relatedeyeproblemthataffectsanestimatedthreemillionAmericans.Globally,itisthesecondleadingcauseofblindnessaftercataracts. Whomightgetglaucoma? Glaucomacanaffectspeopleofallracesandgenders,buttheriskincreaseswithage.AfricanAmericansandLatinosaremuchmorelikelytogetglaucomathanotherraces,andtheytendtodevelopthediseaseearlierinlife.AsianandInuitpopulationsarealsomoresusceptibletoaspecificformofglaucomaknownasangleclosureglaucoma. Peoplewithdiabetesaretwiceaslikelytogetglaucoma.Otherriskfactorsinclude: Familyhistoryofglaucoma. Farsightednessorhyperopia(forclosed-angleglaucoma). Highbloodpressure(hypertension). Long-termuseofcorticosteroids. Nearsightednessormyopia(foropen-angleglaucoma). Previouseyeinjuryorsurgery. Whatarethetypesofglaucoma? Thereareseveraltypesofglaucoma,including: Open-angle:Thistypeisthemostcommon,affectingupto90%ofAmericanswhohaveglaucoma.Itoccurswhentinydepositsbuildupintheeye’sdrainagecanals,slowlycloggingthem.Thecanalsappeartobeopenandfunctioningnormally.Butovermonthsoryears,thedepositscausefluidtobuildupandputpressureontheopticnerve.Thediseasecangounnoticedforyearsbecausemostpeopledon’thavesymptoms. Closed-angle:Alsocalledangle-closureornarrow-angleglaucoma,thisraretypeoftencomesonsuddenly(acute).Itoccurswhentheanglebetweentheiris(thecoloredpartoftheeyethatcontrolslightexposure)andcornea(clearouterpartoftheeye)istoonarrow.Asaresult,thedrainagecanalsbecomeblocked,preventingaqueousfluidfromleavingtheeyeandcausinganacuteelevationineyepressure.Symptoms,includingeyepainandheadaches,canbesevereandrequireimmediatemedicalattention. Normal-tension:Asmanyasoneinthreepeoplehaveopticnervedamageevenwheneyepressureisnormalornotveryhigh.Expertsaren’tsurewhatcausesnormal-tensionglaucoma,whichisalsocallednormal-pressureorlow-tensionglaucoma.ThistypeismorecommonamongAsiansandAsianAmericans. Congenital:Somebabiesarebornwithdrainagecanalsthatdon’tformproperlyinthewomb.Yourhealthcareprovidermightnoticeababy’sglaucomasymptomsatbirth.Orsignsmaybecomenoticeableduringchildhood.Thisconditionisalsoknownaschildhood,infantileorpediatricglaucoma. Doesglaucomaaffectbotheyes? Mostpeopledevelopglaucomainbotheyes,althoughthediseaseinitiallymaybeworseinoneeye.Withopen-angleglaucoma,oneeyemayhavemoderateorseveredamage,whiletheothereyemaybemildlyaffected.Overtime,thediseasedamagesbotheyes. Peoplewithclosed-angleglaucomainoneeyehavea40%to80%chanceofdevelopingthesametypeofglaucomaintheothereyewithinfiveto10years. SymptomsandCauses Whatcausesglaucoma? Glaucomacanoccurwithoutanycause,butisaffectedbymanyfactors.Themostimportantofwhichistheintraoculareyepressure.Youreyesproduceafluidcalledaqueoushumorthatnourishesthem.Thisliquidflowsthroughthepupiltothefrontoftheeye.Inahealthyeye,thefluidleavesthroughadrainagecanallocatedbetweentheirisandcornea. Withglaucoma,thedrainagecanalsbecomecloggedwithmicroscopicdeposits.Thefluidhasnowheretogo,soitbuildsupintheeye.Thisexcessfluidputspressureontheeye.Eventually,thiselevatedeyepressurecandamagetheopticnerveleadingtoglaucoma. Whatarethesymptomsofglaucoma? Signsofopen-angleglaucomatendtocomeonsubtletyandgradually.Thatmakesthemeasytomiss.Manypeoplewithopen-angleglaucomahavenonoticeablesymptomsearlyon,whichmakesitincrediblyimportanttohaveroutineeyeexamstodetectthisdiseaseinitsearlierstages.Becauseglaucomadamageisirreversible,earlydetectionandtreatmentiscrucialtopreventblindness. Closed-angleglaucomahasmoreseveresymptomsthattendtocomeonsuddenly. Withanytype,youmayexperience: Eyepainorpressure. Headaches. Rainbow-coloredhalosaroundlights. Lowvision,blurredvision,narrowedvision(tunnelvision)orblindspots. Nauseaandvomiting. Redeyes. DiagnosisandTests Howisglaucomadiagnosed? It’spossibletohaveglaucomaandnotknowit.Regulareyeexamsareimportanttocatchglaucomaorothereyeproblems.Eyeexamscanassessoptichealthandvisionloss. Tocheckforglaucoma,youreyedoctormaydooneormoreofthesepainlesstests: Dilatedeyeexamtowidenpupilsandviewtheopticnerveatthebackoftheeyes. Gonioscopytoexaminetheanglewheretheirisandcorneameet. Opticalcoherencetomography(OCT)tolookforchangesintheopticnervethatmayindicateglaucoma. Ocularpressuretest(tonometry)tomeasureeyepressure. Pachymetrytomeasurecornealthickness. Slit-lampexamtoexaminetheinsideoftheeyewithaspecialmicroscopecalledaslitlamp. Visualacuitytest(eyecharts)tocheckforvisionloss. Visualfieldtest(perimetry)tocheckforchangesinperipheralvision(yourabilitytoseethingsofftotheside). ManagementandTreatment Howisglaucomamanagedortreated? Untreatedglaucomacanleadtofasterdevelopmentofpermanentvisionlossorblindness.Treatmentscanslowdownadditionalvisionloss,buttheycan’trestorelostvision.It’simportanttoseeyoureyedoctorrightawayifyouhaveeyepain,severeheadachesorvisionproblems. Glaucomatreatmentsinclude: Eyedrops/Medication:Prescriptioneyedropsdecreasefluidsandincreasedrainagetoalleviateeyepressure.Therearemanytypesofeyedropmedicationsthatcanbeusedforthiscondition.Becauseglaucomaisalifelongcondition,youmayneedtousedailyeyedropsforlife. Lasertreatment:Youreyedoctorusesalaser(strongbeamoflight)tohelpimprovefluiddrainagefromyoureye.Whilethelasercancomplementtheuseofeyedrops,itmaynotreplaceitcompletely.Theresultsfromlasertreatmentsvary,butcanlastuptofiveyears.Somelasertreatmentscanalsoberepeated. Surgery:Surgeryisanotherwaytohelpreduceeyepressure.Itismoreinvasivebutcanalsoachievebettereyepressurecontrolfasterthandropsorlaser.Surgerycanhelpslowdownvisionloss,butitcan’trestorelostvisionorcureglaucoma.Therearemanytypesofsurgeriesforglaucoma,anddependingonthespecifictypeandseverity,youreyedoctormaychooseoneoveranother. Whatarethecomplicationsofglaucoma? Anestimatedonein10peoplewithglaucomadevelopsomedegreeofvisualimpairment.Blindnessisrarer,affecting5%ofpeoplewithglaucoma. Prevention HowcanIpreventglaucoma? Earlydetectionofglaucomathroughroutineeyeexamsisthebestwaytoprotecteyehealthandpreventvisionloss.Glaucomatestingshouldoccurevery: 1to2yearsafterage35forpeopleathighrisk. 2to4yearsbeforeage40. 1to3yearsbetweenages40and54. 1to2yearsbetweenages55to64. 6monthsto12monthsafterage65. Outlook/Prognosis WhatcanIexpectifIhaveglaucoma? Blindnessisararecomplicationforpeoplewithglaucomaifdetectedearly.However,glaucomaisachronicandprogressiveconditionthatoftencausessomedegreeofvisionlossovertime.Theearlieryoucatchglaucomaandstarttreatments,thebettertheoddsofsavingyourvision.Treatmentscanslowdowndiseaseprogressionandvisionloss.Ifyou’reathighriskforglaucoma,regulareyeexamsareamust. LivingWith WhenshouldIcallthedoctor? Youshouldcallyourhealthcareproviderifyouexperience: Blurredorlowvision. Halos,eyefloatersorflashers. Sudden,severeeyepainorheadaches. Sensitivitytolight. Visionloss. WhatquestionsshouldIaskmydoctor? Youmaywanttoaskyourhealthcareprovider: WhydidIgetglaucoma? WhattypeofglaucomadoIhave? WhatisthebesttreatmentforthetypeofglaucomaIhave? Arethereanytreatmentrisksorsideeffects? WhatlifestylechangescanImaketoprotectmyvision? ShouldIwatchforsignsofcomplications? AnotefromClevelandClinic Whilethereisn’tacureforglaucoma,treatmentscankeepeyepressureundercontrolandpreventvisionloss.Eyeexamscancatchthediseaseearlyandsaveyoursight.Ifyou’reathighriskforglaucoma,askyoureyedoctorhowoftenyouneedscreenings.Ifyouhaveglaucoma,it’simportanttousedailyeyedropsasprescribed.Youcanalsoaskyourprovideraboutlasertreatmentsandsurgeryoptions.Withpropercare,youcankeepglaucomafromworseningandcausingirreversiblevisionlossorblindness. Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Print Getuseful,helpfulandrelevanthealth+wellnessinformation enews ClevelandClinicisanon-profitacademicmedicalcenter.Advertisingonoursitehelpssupportourmission.Wedonotendorsenon-ClevelandClinicproductsorservices. Policy RelatedInstitutes&Services ColeEyeInstitute Thelatestinprevention,diagnosticsandtreatmentoptionsforawidespectrumofeyeconditions-fromtheroutinetothecomplex.LearnwhyClevelandClinicColeEyeInstituteisamongtheworld’smostadvancedeyecenters. ClevelandClinicisanon-profitacademicmedicalcenter.Advertisingonoursitehelpssupportourmission.Wedonotendorsenon-ClevelandClinicproductsorservices. Policy Morehealthnews+info ShowMore Appointments216.444.2020 Appointments&Locations RequestanAppointment Facebook Twitter YouTube Instagram LinkedIn Pinterest Snapchat



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