Clarus Eye Centre

What is Glaucoma

Glaucoma is an eye condition that develops when too much fluid pressure builds up inside of the eye. It tends to be inherited and may not show up until later in life. The increased pressure, called intraocular pressure, can damage the optic nerve which transmits images to the brain. If damage to the optic nerve from high eye pressure continues, glaucoma will cause loss of vision. Without treatment, glaucoma can cause total permanent blindness within a few years.

Glaucoma treatment is performed by Gary Scholes, M.D. and Stephen Reck, M.D.

Normal vision Glaucoma vision

Because most people with glaucoma have no early symptoms or pain from this increased pressure, it is important to see your ophthalmologist regularly so that glaucoma can be diagnosed and treated before long-term visual loss occurs.

If you are over the age of 45 and if you have a family history of glaucoma, you should have a complete eye exam with an ophthalmologist every one to two years. If you have health problems such as diabetes or a family history of glaucoma or are at risk for other eye diseases, you may need to visit your ophthalmologist more frequently.

What Causes the Pressure Inside the Eye to Increase?

Glaucoma usually occurs when intraocular pressure increases. This happens when the fluid pressure in the eye's anterior chamber, the area between the cornea and the iris, rises.

Normally, this fluid, called aqueous humor, flows out of the eye through a mesh-like channel. If this channel becomes blocked, fluid builds up, causing glaucoma. The direct cause of this blockage is unknown, but doctors do know that it is most often inherited, meaning it is passed from parents to children.

Less common causes of glaucoma include a blunt or chemical injury to the eye, severe eye infection, blockage of blood vessels in the eye, inflammatory conditions of the eye, and occasionally eye surgery to correct another condition. Glaucoma usually occurs in both eyes, but it may involve each eye to a different extent.

Types of Glaucoma

There are two main types of glaucoma:

Open-angle glaucoma. Also called wide-angle glaucoma, this is the most common type of glaucoma. The structures of the eye appear normal, but fluid in the eye does not flow properly through the drain of the eye, called the trabecular meshwork.
Angle-closure glaucoma. Also called acute or chronic angle-closure or narrow-angle glaucoma, this type of glaucoma is less common, but can cause a sudden buildup of pressure in the eye. Drainage may be poor because the angle between the iris and the cornea (where a drainage channel for the eye is located) is too narrow. Or, the pupil opens too wide, narrowing the angle and blocking the flow of the fluid through that channel.

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Risk Factors for Developing Glaucoma

Glaucoma most often occurs in adults over age 40, but it can also occur in young adults, children, and even infants. In African-Americans, glaucoma occurs more frequently and at an earlier age and with greater loss of vision.

You are at an increased risk of glaucoma if you:

Are of African-American, Irish, Russian, Japanese, Hispanic, Inuit, or Scandinavian descent.
Are over age 40.
Have a family history of glaucoma.
Have poor vision.
Have diabetes.
Take systemic corticosteroid medications, such as prednisone.

Medical Treatment of Glaucoma

Prescription eye drops are usually the first treatment option in lowering the eye pressure. Some medications reduce the eye pressure by decreasing the production of aqueous. However, because the aqueous supplies nourishment to the front of the eye, the body has a built-in mechanism that limits the extent the eye’s pressure can be lowered with medication. Other medications work by improving the outflow of fluid from the eye. For the maximum benefit, these two types of drugs are often used together. When medications no longer control the eye pressure adequately or cannot be tolerated, surgery may be needed. Click here to visit Glaucoma Surgery.