What is Glaucoma?

1,422 Views Updated: 02 Sep 2017
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What is Glaucoma?

Glaucoma is a severe condition, which generally occurs to old people. It is a disease of the eye, which leads to a rise in the fluid pressure in the eye. If the condition is left untreated, it can lead to a permanent loss of vision.

For those of you who don’t know, there is place in front of the eye called the anterior chamber. The chamber is filled with a clear liquid which nourishes the eye and other nearby tissues. However, if a person is suffering from glaucoma, the fluid drains way too slow, thus resulting in an increased fluid pressure in the eye.

In this article, we’ll see what some causes of glaucoma, the types of glaucoma, and the symptoms of glaucoma along with a few treatments for glaucoma are. Take a look:

What Causes Glaucoma?

Doctors have not yet found a final thing that leads to glaucoma. For most of the part, the causes of glaucoma are unknown. However, there are a few other things like tumor, diabetes, and inflammation that can lead to glaucoma. Having said that, there is no precise cause of glaucoma, and research is being done to find a proper reason.

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Types Of Glaucoma

There are two major types of glaucoma, which affect a lot of people. Take a look at the:

#1. Closed-Angle Glaucoma

This kind of glaucoma usually comes suddenly, without prior symptoms. It results in chronic pain in the eye along with temporary vision loss. However, because it causes severe pain, it prompts the patient to seek immediate medical help.

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#2. Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma

Unlike the previous one, this type of glaucoma develops gradually over time. This is particularly dangerous as the patient doesn’t see symptoms until very long, and there is often a delay in seeking medical help.

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Symptoms Of Closed-angle Glaucoma

Because closed-angle glaucoma comes all of a sudden, it is accompanied with chronic pain and slight loss of vision. Apart from that, the pain is accompanied by nausea and the eyes might have a dark red complexion.

Symptoms Of Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma

There are not many symptoms of this type of glaucoma because signs don’t show until long. The primary symptoms include gradual loss of peripheral vision. In the later stages of the disease, the patient might have tunnel vision.

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Treatments Of Glaucoma

The most traditional treatment of glaucoma involves the use of specially designed eye drops. In fact, doctors prescribe eye drops as part of the initial treatment of glaucoma. However, remember that eye drops can often have certain side effects that might cause a sensation of burning and redness. It is advised that you use eye drops before meals to minimize side effects.

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If eye drops didn’t quite help you, then surgery is the only option. There are three major types of surgery, namely, Trabeculoplasty, Filtering Surgery, and Drainage implant. Talk to your doctor regarding which of these three would suit you best.

So, there you have it. All you had to know about glaucoma, its types, its causes, symptoms and possible treatments. If you found this article informative, let us know in the comments below.

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