Glaucoma & Abdominal Pain

According to eMedicine, glaucoma is a nonspecific term used for a conglomerate of ocular diseases resulting in increased intraocular pressure and decreased visual acuity. There has been a noted asymptomatic relationship between glaucoma and abdominal pain.

Description

• According to an article published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, symptoms of acute glaucoma include ocular pain, decreased vision and epiphora.

  "Associated systemic symptoms are headache, nausea and abdominal discomfort," the article reported, and it authors proposed "a direct relation between the ocular and abdominal symptoms."

  The connection between glaucoma and abdominal discomfort is not yet fully understood as of 2010. The presumed relationship is linked to oculocardiac reflex.

Symptoms of Glaucoma

• Symptoms of glaucoma are intense ocular pain, swelling, redness, decreased and blurred vision, colored halos around lights, headache, nausea, and vomiting. It is the latter of the symptoms---nausea and vomiting---that link glaucoma to abdominal discomfort.

  Merck Manuals asserts that "glaucoma is caused by factors that either pull or push the iris up into the angle junction of the iris and cornea at the periphery of the anterior chamber), physically blocking the drainage of aqueous."

Treatment

• For acute glaucoma, eye drops such as timolol are typically prescribed. For more chronic cases, iridotomy---a surgical procedure---is performed. Annual eye exams are recommended for prevention of glaucoma and other ocular diseases.