Angular Eye Disease

As estimated in the Merck Online Medical Library, as many as 3 million people in the United States and 14 million people worldwide suffer from angular eye disease, more commonly referred to as glaucoma. Glaucoma exerts pressure on the optic nerve, leading to progressive and irreversible loss of vision. It is the third leading cause of blindness.

Types

• Two main types of glaucoma have are classified in the Merck Online Medical Library. In open-angle glaucoma, the more common type, the drainage canals in the eyes become gradually clogged over a period of several months or years. Because the fluid in the eye is inadequately drained, pressure in the eye rises and drains more slowly than normal. In closed-angle glaucoma, the angle between the iris and cornea is too narrow, thereby blocking fluid drainage and causing pressure in the eyes to rise rapidly. The terms open-angle glaucoma and closed-angle glaucoma yield the more general term "angular eye disease."

Risk Factors

• Glaucoma occurs more often in people over 40 years of age and in people of African-American or Hispanic origin. The Merck Online Medical Library also lists diabetes and long-term use of corticosteroid drugs as risk factors for developing glaucoma. Heredity, farsightedness and nearsightedness also seem to play a role in the onset and development of glaucoma. People who have suffered from eye injury or trauma are more likely to experience glaucoma later in life.

Symptoms

• Open-angle glaucoma typically causes no pain or symptoms until irreversible damage is done to the optic nerve. Thus, as explained on allaboutvision.com, glaucoma often progresses undetected until loss of vision occurs. In the case of closed-angle glaucoma, symptoms include blurred vision, halos around lights, intense eye pain, nausea and vomiting. If you have these symptoms, schedule an appointment with an ophthalmologist as soon as possible.

Diagnosis

• An ophthalmologist can perform a variety of tests to detect glaucoma. For example, during a routine eye exam, ophthalmologists generally use a tonometer to measure your eye pressure after your eye is numbed. Some tonometers, as allaboutvision points out, send a small puff of air onto the surface of the eye. Abnormally high pressure indicates a problem in the eye's ability to drain its fluid and the possible onset of glaucoma. Other ways to observe internal eye structures and the optic nerve include scanning laser polarimetry, optical coherence tomography and confocal scanning laser ophtalmoscopy.

Treatment

• The most common treatment for glaucoma according to allaboutvision.com is eye drops with medication aimed at lowering eye pressure. If eye drops don't work, surgery and additional types of medication may be used, depending on the severity and duration of symptoms. Often, because glaucoma is painless, people with eye drop prescriptions forget or become careless about using the eye drops. Permanent eye damage and even blindness sometimes follows.