Glaucoma

	Watch a video about Glaucoma (Part 1)
	Watch a video about Glaucoma (Part 2)

What Is Glaucoma?

Glaucoma is a leading cause of blindness in the United States, especially as we get older.

Many people know that glaucoma has something to do with pressure inside the eye. In fact, glaucoma is really a disease of the optic nerve and eye pressures are related to damage of this nerve.

The optic nerve carries the images we see from the light-sensing retina at the back of the eye to the brain. The optic nerve is like an electric cable containing a million wires. Each "wire" or nerve fiber carries a message to the brain, and those messages join together to provide vision. Glaucoma can damage nerve fibers, causing blind spots to develop. People seldom notice these blind areas until considerable optic nerve damage has already occurred.

If the entire nerve is destroyed, blindness results. Unfortunately, symptoms appear only after much damage has already occurred. Early detection and treatment by your ophthalmologist are the keys to preventing optic nerve damage and blindness from glaucoma.

Cause And Symptoms

A clear liquid called the aqueous humor continuously flows within the eye. This liquid is not part of the tears on the outer surface of the eye. The production and drainage of aqueous fluid can be compared to a sink with the faucet turned on all the time.

If the "drainpipe" gets clogged, water collects in the sink and pressure builds up. If the drainage portion of the eye (called the drainage angle) is blocked, the fluid pressure within the inner eye may increase and that can damage the optic nerve.

Detection

Regular eye examinations from an ophthalmologist are the best way to detect glaucoma. An ophthalmologist is the medical doctor specifically trained to perform all the different parts of a complete eye exam. The ophthalmologist is also the only professional qualified to treat this condition with whatever means necessary: eyedrops, pills, laser or surgery.

During a complete and painless examination, your ophthalmologist will:

• Measure the intraocular pressure (tonometry);
• Inspect the drainage angle of the eye (gonioscopy);
• Test the visual field of each eye (perimetry).

Some of these tests may not be necessary for every person. Many of the tests must be repeated on a regular basis, to detect any glaucoma damage over time.