Glaucoma is a diagnosis no one wants to receive, but roughly 3 million people in the US and approximately 80 million people worldwide have it. Plus, many cases of glaucoma go undiagnosed, meaning those figures are likely higher than the numbers on record.
Glaucoma is the leading cause of blindness and develops when too much fluid or pressure builds up in the front part of the eye, placing damaging pressure on the optic nerve.
About Eye Fluid and the Eye’s Drainage System
The eyes have fluid that constantly flows, maintaining eye pressure and supporting eye health. In a healthy eye with normal eye pressure, watery fluid called aqueous humor freely passes through the inside of the front of the eye to deliver oxygen and remove any waste products that have accumulated.
Aqueous humor is formed by the ciliary body located on the inner wall of the eye and flows:
- From the posterior chamber (the area behind the lens)
- Between the iris and the lens
- Through the pupil into the anterior chamber (the area between the cornea and the iris)
- Out of the eye via the trabecular and uveoscleral outflow pathways
A functioning flow and drainage process is crucial for maintaining normal eye pressure, which allows for healthy vision and good eye health overall. A disruption to the flow and drainage process leads to significant problems over time, primarily glaucoma.
It’s common to assume that there is only one type of glaucoma you can develop, but there are actually four major types of glaucoma that can affect your eyesight and eye health.
The four major types of glaucoma include:
Open-Angle Glaucoma
Open-angle glaucoma is the most common type of glaucoma, affecting the majority of patients. It develops when the drainage system in the eye stops functioning properly. In the drainage system, there is tissue where the cornea and the iris meet that drains fluid away from this area. When the tissue in this area malfunctions, fluid is not able to drain, leading to vision-damaging fluid and pressure buildup.
Open-angle glaucoma is a slow-developing disease that gets worse over time until it’s too late to intervene. Plus, patients with open-angle glaucoma do not feel any symptoms or notice any signs of trouble until it’s too late. The only way to catch it early is through routine eye exams.
Causes for open-angle glaucoma are unknown, but there are identified risk factors for developing it, which include:
- Having a family history of open-angle glaucoma
- Being of African descent
- Being over the age of 60
- Having high blood pressure or diabetes
Closed-Angle Glaucoma
Closed-angle glaucoma, sometimes called angle closure glaucoma, is less common than open-angle glaucoma and occurs when there is a sudden blockage of the drainage process and fluid builds up rapidly. This fast, severe rise in fluid and eye pressure puts pressure on the optic nerve, causing irreversible damage. It can be acute or chronic, meaning the symptoms appear rapidly or over time, and it can occur in only one eye or both.
In an acute case, patients tend to experience:
- Eye pain
- Blurry or impaired vision
- Nausea and vomiting
- Eye discoloration (red eyes)
Causes for closed-angle glaucoma can include:
- Pupillary block (a blockage in the aqueous humor’s drainage path)
- A bulging iris
- Certain medications, including eye-dilating drops, certain steroid medications, phenothiazine, ipratropium, topiramate, chlorphenamine, and cimetidine
- Malformed or abnormal structure of the anterior chamber
Congenital Glaucoma
Congenital glaucoma is glaucoma that develops in babies or is already developed by the time the baby is born. In many cases, babies with congenital glaucoma have drainage systems in the eyes that did not form properly during fetal development. Additional causes can include injury to the eye in early childhood, underlying medical complications, or genetics/heredity.
If detected early enough, doctors may be able to interfere and restore proper function of the eye to help save vision and stop further progression.
Secondary Glaucoma
Secondary glaucoma is glaucoma that develops as a result of another medical issue present in the patient. Either open-angle or closed-angle glaucoma can develop if a patient suffers from:
- Additional eye diseases like uveitis, or inflammation of the eye’s middle layer
- Tumor development in the eye
- Bad reactions to eye medicines
- High blood pressure
- Diabetes
- Cataracts
- Eye injury
Can Glaucoma Be Cured?
Unfortunately, glaucoma of any type is an irreversible condition that cannot be corrected or cured once it has developed. However, if caught early enough, it can be mitigated, slowed, or even stopped. Your eye doctor can place you on the right treatment program to intervene with its development and either stop or slow its progression, saving your vision or prolonging your ability to see for as long as possible.
Since symptoms and warning signs are not noticeable in the early stages, it’s crucial to schedule routine eye exams with your doctor so that you both can monitor your eye health and catch glaucoma in its earliest stages.
Curious about any of the four types of glaucoma? Schedule an appointment with Vision Eye Group for a comprehensive eye exam, which includes a glaucoma check.
Don’t let glaucoma sneak up on you. The ophthalmologists at Vision Eye Group are available to provide routine eye exams and monitor your eye pressure at every visit. Our glaucoma exams allow us to catch problems early and intervene with proper treatment if glaucoma is detected.
Schedule an appointment with our team today.
Call 478-744-1710 to schedule your appointment.
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