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What is Glaucoma?

Glaucoma is an optic neuropathy that leads to progressive loss of visual field and eventually blindness. It is very insidious because it does not cause symptoms.

How is Glaucoma caused?

Aqueous fluid is produced by the ciliary body, circulates between the lens and the iris, passes through the pupil of the eye and drains from the angle created by the sclera and cornea with the iris.

When the drainage of the fluid is obstructed, the fluid accumulates, the pressure inside the eye rises, and after a while it begins to damage the optic nerve.

There are people who do not develop glaucomatous damage, despite the fact that they have increased pressures, suffering from the so-called ocular hypertension.

On the contrary, there are patients with low pressures who develop glaucomatous lesions, suffering from what is called low-pressure glaucoma.

What are the Types of Glaucoma?

The drainage angle can be open or closed, and thus glaucomas are divided into open-angle or closed-angle glaucomas. They can also be hereditary or be the result of other eye diseases.

Their clinical behavior and their management are different, depending on their type. However, all lead to an irreversible loss of vision and visual field.

Increased intraocular pressure is one of the main risk factors, but not the only one. Family history of glaucoma, age, high blood pressure, Diabetes, or high myopia are important factors that can accelerate visual field loss.

Does Glaucoma Exist in Children?

Unfortunately, our children can also develop glaucoma, which is either congenital or hereditary, or after injuries or inflammations, or in combination with congenital cataracts, or other diseases.

These glaucomas are rarer and their immediate treatment improves the final prognosis.

How can I prevent it?

It is very important to have our eyes examined at regular intervals by our ophthalmologist.

Anyone who has a blood relative with open-angle glaucoma should be screened once every two years before the age of forty, and once a year after the age of forty, in order to detect any early signs of glaucoma.

Glaucoma is evaluated with a complete eye examination, gonioscopy, corneal pachymetry, visual fields and optical tomography – OCT.

How is glaucoma treated?

Treatment consists of reducing intraocular pressure with eye drops, laser or eye surgery.

Its aim is to slow down vision loss. At present, science has not succeeded in reversing glaucomatous damage.

However, we now also have the possibility of neuroprotection, that is, interventions not related to intraocular pressure that can delay the destruction of the optic nerve.

What should I remember?

Early diagnosis and treatment of glaucoma is what ensures a better quality of vision and therefore a better quality of life.