A glaucoma is a group of progressive eye disease that occurs due to increased pressure inside the eye. It is one of the leading causes of irreversible blindness.
The increased pressure in the eye damages the optic nerve that transmits images to the brain, leading to vision loss or permanent blindness.
At the early stage, the disease shows no apparent symptoms but can be diagnosed through a regular eye test. If it is diagnosed early, additional vision loss and total blindness could be prevented.
Causes
When the aqueous humor fluid inside the eye is blocked, the liquid builds up, increasing pressure inside the eye. This is called intraocular pressure, which may damage your optic nerve.
Types
There are five main types of Glaucoma;
- Primary open-angle or chronic Glaucoma – is a silent condition that hardly shows any symptoms until the vision started having permanent damage.
- Secondary Glaucoma – This mostly occurs due to injury to the eyes. Other causes include diabetes, eye diseases such as cataracts, or eye tumors.
- Congenital Glaucoma – is an inherited type. This condition occurs in young children that were born with abnormalities in their eye’s drainage system.
- Angle-Closure or Acute Glaucoma – occurs when the flow of aqueous humor fluid is blocked, causing pressure inside the eye as more fluid is made.
- Normal-Tension Glaucoma – Generally shows no symptoms. It is believed that it occurs due to a lack of blood flow to the arteries in the optic nerve.
Risk Factors
- Eye trauma – can increases pressure in your eyes.
- Diabetes – Your chances increase if you have diabetes
- Family history – This means it is hereditary
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