Glaucoma

There are two major types of glaucoma:

• Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma:

This is the most common type of glaucoma. It happens gradually, where the eye does not drain fluid as well as it should (like a clogged drain). As a result, eye pressure builds and starts to damage the optic nerve. This type of glaucoma is painless and causes no vision changes at first. Some people can have optic nerves that are sensitive to normal eye pressure. This means their risk of getting glaucoma is higher than normal. Regular eye exams are important to find early signs of damage to their optic nerve.

• Angle-Closure Glaucoma (also called closed-angled glaucoma and narrow-angle glaucoma):

With open-angle glaucoma, there are no warning signs or obvious symptoms in the early stages. As the disease progresses, blind spots develop in your peripheral (side) vision

This type happens when someone’s iris is very close to the drainage angle in their eye. The iris can end up blocking the drainage angle. You can think of it like a piece of paper sliding over a sink drain. When the drainage angle gets completely blocked, eye pressure rises very quickly. This is called an acute attack. It is a true eye emergency, and you should call your ophthalmologist right away or you might go blind.

Signs of an acute angle-closure glaucoma attack:

Your vision is suddenly blurry, severe eye pain, headache, nausea & vomiting, seeing rainbow-colored rings or halos around lights.

Many people with angle-closure glaucoma develop it slowly. This is called chronic angle-closure glaucoma. There are no symptoms at first, so they don’t know they have it until the damage is severe or they have an attack.

Angle-closure glaucoma can cause blindness if not treated right away..

The only sure way to diagnose glaucoma is with a complete eye exam. A glaucoma screening that only checks eye pressure is not enough to find glaucoma.

During a glaucoma exam, your ophthalmologist will:

• Measure your eye pressure
• Inspect your eye's drainage angle
• Examine your optic nerve for damage · test your peripheral (side) vision
• Take a picture or computer measurement of your optic nerve
• Measure the thickness of your cornea

Laser therapy, filtering surgery, drainage tubes, minimally invasive glaucoma surgery, and eye drops can help treat glaucoma. Sometimes a referral to a Glaucoma specialist will be recommended for certain types of treatment for glaucoma.

• Trabeculoplasty. This surgery is for people who have open-angle glaucoma and can be used instead of or in addition to medications. The eye surgeon uses a laser to make the drainage angle work better. That way fluid flows out properly and eye pressure is reduced.
• Iridotomy. This is for people who have angle-closure glaucoma. The ophthalmologist uses a laser to create a tiny hole in the iris. This hole helps fluid flow to the drainage angle.
• Prescribing medications for the treatment of glaucoma.