Glaucoma affects millions of people in the United States. However, many of those affected don’t realize they have an issue at all! Your eye care professional can diagnose this serious condition and recommend treatment before the problem becomes serious. Your annual eye exam is a vital part of keeping your eyes healthy!
Learn more about glaucoma, and how you can spot the symptoms. When you have glaucoma, prompt treatment is important to preserving your sight!
What is Glaucoma?
Glaucoma is a disease that causes the pressure in your eye to build up. This pressure can damage the optic nerve, which can lead to blindness. In fact, this condition is the most common cause of vision loss from optic nerve damage.
There are several types of glaucoma. These include:
- Congenital Glaucoma – Occurs when babies are born with malformed eye fluid drainage canals.
- Normal-Tension Glaucoma – Causes optic nerve damage even when the pressure in the eye is normal. This is most common among people of Asian descent.
- Open-Angle Glaucoma – The most common type of glaucoma, open-angle glaucoma occurs when resistance builds in the drainage canals of your eye. It often has no symptoms.
- Closed-Angle Glaucoma – A rare type of glaucoma that can often come on suddenly. It happens when the angle between your iris and your cornea is too small. This blocks drainage channels and allows fluid to build up pressure in your eye.
Know the Symptoms of Glaucoma
Some types of glaucoma have few noticeable symptoms. In this case, the condition is diagnosed during your yearly visit with your eye doctor. Because damage from this disease can’t be reversed, it’s important to have it diagnosed promptly so steps can be taken to prevent harm to the optic nerve.
There are symptoms you should watch out for, however. If you experience them, you should see your eye care professional immediately for a diagnosis. These signs of glaucoma can include:
- A loss of peripheral vision. In severe cases, you may suddenly lose the entirety of your vision.
- Tunnel vision when vision at the periphery of your visual field is lost.
- Seeing halos, or rainbow-colored circles around lights.
- A hazy, cloudy eye.
Make Eye Health a Priority with Valley Eyecare Center!
The eye health professionals at Valley Eyecare Center want to help keep your vision in top shape! Please visit us online to schedule an appointment.
