Glaucoma - NHS

Glaucoma is a common eye condition where the optic nerve, which connects the eye to the brain, becomes damaged. It's usually caused by fluid building up in ... Skiptomaincontent Home HealthAtoZ Backto HealthAtoZ Overview - Glaucoma Contents Overview Diagnosis Treatment Glaucomaisacommoneyeconditionwheretheopticnerve,whichconnectstheeyetothebrain,becomesdamaged.It'susuallycausedbyfluidbuildingupinthefrontpartoftheeye,whichincreasespressureinsidetheeye.Glaucomacanleadtolossofvisionifit'snotdiagnosedandtreatedearly.Itcanaffectpeopleofallages,butismostcommoninadultsintheir70sand80s. Symptomsofglaucoma Glaucomadoesnotusuallycauseanysymptomstobeginwith.Ittendstodevelopslowlyovermanyyearsandaffectstheedgesofyourvision(peripheralvision)first.Forthisreason,manypeopledonotrealisetheyhaveglaucoma,andit'softenonlypickedupduringaroutineeyetest.Ifyoudonoticeanysymptoms,theymightincludeblurredvision,orseeingrainbow-colouredcirclesaroundbrightlights.Botheyesareusuallyaffected,althoughitmaybeworsein1eye.Veryoccasionally,glaucomacandevelopsuddenlyandcause:intenseeyepainnauseaandvomitingaredeyeaheadachetendernessaroundtheeyesseeingringsaroundlightsblurredvision Whentogetmedicaladvice VisitanopticiansoraGPifyouhaveanyconcernsaboutyourvision.Ifyouhaveglaucoma,earlydiagnosisandtreatmentcanhelpstopyourvisiongettingworse.Withouttreatment,glaucomacaneventuallyleadtoblindness.Ifyoudevelopsymptomsofglaucomasuddenly,gotoyournearesteyecasualtyunitorA&Eassoonaspossible.Thisisamedicalemergencythatmayrequireimmediatetreatment. Typesofglaucoma Thereareseveraldifferenttypesofglaucoma.Themostcommoniscalledprimaryopenangleglaucoma.Thistendstodevelopslowlyovermanyyears.It'scausedbythedrainagechannelsintheeyebecominggraduallycloggedovertime.Othertypesofglaucomainclude:acuteangleclosureglaucoma–anuncommontypecausedbythedrainageintheeyebecomingsuddenlyblocked,whichcanraisethepressureinsidetheeyeveryquicklysecondaryglaucoma–causedbyanunderlyingeyecondition,suchasinflammationoftheeye(uveitis)childhoodglaucoma(congenitalglaucoma)–araretypethatoccursinveryyoungchildren,causedbyanabnormalityoftheeye Causesofglaucoma Glaucomacanoccurforanumberofreasons.Mostcasesarecausedbyabuild-upofpressureintheeyewhenfluidisunabletodrainproperly.Thisincreaseinpressurethendamagesthenervethatconnectstheeyetothebrain(opticnerve).It'softenunclearwhythishappens,althoughcertainthingscanincreasetherisk,including:yourage–glaucomabecomesmorecommonasyougetolderyourethnicity–peopleofAfrican,CaribbeanorAsianoriginareatahigherriskyourfamilyhistory–you'remorelikelytodevelopglaucomaifyouhaveaparentorsiblingwiththeconditionothermedicalconditions–suchasshort-sightedness,long-sightednessanddiabetesIt'snotclearwhetheryoucandoanythingtopreventglaucoma,buthavingregulareyetestsshouldpickitupasearlyaspossible. TestsforglaucomaGlaucomacanusuallybedetectedduringaroutineeyetestatanopticians,oftenbeforeitcausesanynoticeablesymptoms.Thetestsarecarriedoutintheopticiansbyanoptometrist.Youshouldhavearoutineeyetestatleastevery2years.Findoutifyou'reeligibleforfreeNHSeyetestsSeveralquickandpainlesstestscanbecarriedouttocheckforglaucoma,includingvisiontestsandmeasurementsofthepressureinsideyoureye.Iftestssuggestyouhaveglaucoma,youshouldbereferredtoaspecialisteyedoctor(ophthalmologist)todiscusstreatment.Findouthowglaucomaisdiagnosed Treatmentsforglaucoma It'snotpossibletoreverseanylossofvisionthatoccurredbeforeglaucomawasdiagnosed,buttreatmentcanhelpstopyourvisiongettingworse.Thetreatmentrecommendedforyouwilldependonthetypeofglaucomayouhave,buttheoptionsare:eyedrops–toreducethepressureinyoureyeslasertreatment–toopenuptheblockeddrainagetubesorreducetheproductionoffluidinyoureyessurgery–toimprovethedrainageoffluidYou'llalsoprobablyneedregularappointmentstomonitoryourconditionandcheckthetreatmentisworking. FurthersupportforglaucomaTheRoyalNationalInstituteofBlindPeople(RNIB)andtheInternationalGlaucomaAssociationhavemoreinformationonglaucomaandofferfurthersupportforpeopleaffectedbyglaucoma. Video:Glaucoma Inthisvideo,anexpertexplainswhatglaucomais,howitcanaffectyourvisionandhowitcanbetreated. Medialastreviewed:1June2020 Mediareviewdue:1June2023 Pagelastreviewed:26February2021 Nextreviewdue:26February2024 Next : Diagnosis