Why Does Glaucoma Steal Sight?

Glaucoma is a very serious disease. It steals your vision over time without you even knowing! On top of that, glaucoma is not curable and the damage that it causes cannot be reversed.

This means that any sight lost to glaucoma is gone and can’t come back. Glaucoma can have its progress slowed down when treated. This is why it is so important to have regular eye exams.

When detected early enough, glaucoma will not affect your vision. However, this requires patients to never skip their medication. Keep reading to learn why glaucoma steals sight!

Worried about having glaucoma? You can schedule an eye exam with Arizona Eye Physicians and Surgeons in Glendale, AZ!

Open-Angle Is The Main Form Of Glaucoma

The reason glaucoma affects your vision is because it damages the optic nerve. The optic nerve sends information detected by the eye to the brain where it is then interpreted.

The optic nerve is a thick cord of tissue that can withstand a significant amount of eye pressure. Though it varies from person to person, too much pressure affects the optic nerve.

Glaucoma is most often associated with high internal eye pressure. This can happen for a few different reasons. The most common form of glaucoma is open-angle glaucoma.

With open-angle glaucoma, the meshwork drain becomes blocked. When a block occurs, it causes the eye to drain slower. This drain can be found where the cornea and the iris meet.

Other Forms Of Glaucoma

While open-angle glaucoma is gradual and hardly detectable, angle-closure glaucoma is the opposite. Angle-closure glaucoma comes on suddenly, with rapid symptoms. Angle-closure happens when the meshwork drain has become completely blocked.

This can also occur if the meshwork drain becomes too narrow. With angle-closure glaucoma, the blocked drain causes a spike in intraocular pressure.

This causes eye pain, headaches, blurry vision, and nausea. This form of glaucoma damages vision in a short period of time! If you experience any of these symptoms, you should seek medical attention immediately!

Glaucoma can also occur without abnormal eye pressure. This is normal tension glaucoma and likely occurs because of genetic predisposition.

Another form of glaucoma is secondary glaucoma. This can happen in rare cases as a side effect to eye surgery or because of cataracts, diabetes, or tumors.

Glaucoma Treatment

The most common way to treat glaucoma is through the use of eye drops. Glaucoma eye drops help maintain lower eye pressure in the eye. They must be taken every day as directed.

If eye drops are too difficult, you may be prescribed pills instead. These pills also work to lower eye pressure.

Surgery can also be an option to reduce eye pressure. This is a trabeculoplasty and is usually done in tandem with medication.

For patients with more severe glaucoma, surgery is often the next step after pills or eye drops. Not all patients can forgo medication for their glaucoma after surgery but it can happen.

Concerned that glaucoma could be stealing your sight? Schedule a consultation with the doctors at Arizona Eye Physicians and Surgeons in Glendale, AZ!