Glaucoma Eye Disease

Glaucoma is a group of several diseases that all result in optic nerve damage and loss of vision; glaucoma is also the second most common cause of blindness.

Definition

• Abnormally high eye pressures often cause damage to the optic nerve; however, sometimes the damage occurs at normal eye pressures.

Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma

• In primary open-angle glaucoma, the small channels inside of the drainage angle inside of the eye are blocked or don't work as well as they should; this leads to increased eye pressure.

Angle-Closure Glaucoma

• In angle-closure glaucoma, the drainage angle inside of the eye is blocked by the tissue of the iris; this type of glaucoma is an emergency because it can cause massive vision loss quickly.

Normal Tension Glaucoma

• In some patients, the eye pressure is at a normal level, while the optic nerve continues to be damaged; this may be due to a sensitive optic nerve or problems with blood supply.

Risk Factors

• Besides increased eye pressure, other risk factors for glaucoma eye disease include age, ethnicity, genetics, family history and specific diseases like diabetes and nearsightness (myopia).

Treatments

• Glaucoma can be treated with eye drops to lower pressure, laser surgery to increase eye drainage or surgery to improve the fluid flow in the eye.