An overview of Glaucoma symptoms, causes and treatment

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Glaucoma
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Glaucoma

• Glaucoma is a health condition that is the
  result of a number of mechanisms that produce
  increased pressure within the eye. This increased
  eye pressure causes damage to the eye nerve over
  time. Unfortunately, the damage caused by
  glaucoma to the eye nerve is irreversible. There
  are no symptoms associated with most forms
  of glaucoma, a reason why it is also referred to
  as the silent thief of vision.The eye is a
  crucial body part. The eye captures information
  about shape, colour, and movement, and sends it
  to the brain. The brain then processes this
  information to enable us to see the world. Like
  the blood pressure, we have pressure in the eye. 

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Causes of Glaucoma

• For unknown reasons which eye specialists dont
  understand, increased pressure within the eye is
  normally, but not always, associated with
  the optic nerve damage that characterizes
  glaucoma. This pressure is due to a build-up of a
  fluid that flows in and out of your eye. This
  fluid normally exits your eye through a drainage
  system at the angle where the iris and the
  cornea meet. When the drainage system doesn't
  work properly, the fluid can't filter out of the
  eye at its normal rate, and pressure builds
  within your eye. 

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Symptoms

• The most common types of glaucoma- primary
  open-angle glaucoma and angle-closure glaucoma
  have different symptoms. Primary open-angle
  glaucoma signs and symptoms include 
• Gradual loss of peripheral vision, usually in
  both eyes
• Tunnel vision in the advanced stages
• Acute angle-closure glaucoma signs and symptoms
  include Eye pain
• Nausea and vomiting, accompanied by extreme eye
  discomfort
• Sudden onset of visual disturbance, often in low
  light
• Blurred vision
• Halos around lights
• Reddening of the eye

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Treatment

• The objective of the treatment is to prevent
  further damage to the eye nerve. However, it
  cannot recover the loss. One treatment method
  doesnt overtake the other, e.g. surgery for
  glaucoma may not necessarily score over the eye
  drops and none of them can cure the disease. Each
  treatment modality has its own advantages and
  disadvantages. Some of the treatment methods
  include 
• Eye drops The anti-glaucoma eye drops minimize
  the secretion of eye fluid and thereby reduce the
  eye pressure. Eye drops may cause a burning or
  stinging sensation upon application. This is
  often due to the antibacterial agent present in
  the drop solution and not due to the drug itself.
  While it can be uncomfortable, the discomfort
  lasts for only a few seconds.

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Treatment
Continue

• It is important that you take your medication
  exactly as it is prescribed if you are to control
  your eye pressure.
• Medication Sometimes, drops are not enough to
  control the eye pressure. In that case, oral
  medications may be prescribed in addition to the
  drops. They do have more side effects compared to
  the eye drops. Therefore, they are usually
  prescribed for a short period to control the eye
  pressure.
• Laser procedures These procedures are advised in
  certain types of glaucoma. The most common laser
  procedure performed for the so called
  angle-closure glaucoma is called laser iridotomy.
  This procedure takes between one and three
  minutes, is painless, and is performed on
  outpatient basis. You can resume normal
  activities in a short time following the
  procedure.

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Treatment
Continue

• Surgery The most common anti-glaucoma operation
  is called trabeculectomy. In this procedure,
  the surgeon removes a small section of the eye
  wall to facilitate drainage of the eye fluid.
• This procedure is usually done after giving
  anaesthetic injection around the eye on an
  outpatient basis.
• The process of managing glaucoma doesn't end by
  treating the patients alone. Glaucoma appears to
  run in families. The tendency for developing
  glaucoma may be inherited.

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