Glaucoma definition

It’s by far the most common type of Open-angle glaucoma usually happens to people over 50. You often get it in both There’s no cure for it, and it gets worse over time. The key is to get checked and catch it early. Once you know you have it, you can get medicine and surgery to slow it down and save your What Causes It? You have fluid inside your The angle is where the clear part of your eye, the cornea, meets the colored part of your eye, the iris. It’s important because that’s where the system to drain your In some other types of In most cases, it isn’t clear what’s causing that clog or causing your eye to produce more fluid than normal. What Does It Do to Your Eye? Like with other types of glaucoma, you’ll have higher pressure than normal in your eye. Over time, that damages the optic nerve, the cord that sends information from your eye to your But high pressure can be a little tricky to pin down. It isn’t like That’s important when it comes to treatment. It means there isn’t a general pressure level that’s good for everyone. It’s specific to you. Who’s Most Likely to Get It? Your chances go up based on your: Age. It mostly affects people over age 50. Your risk rises as you get older. Family history. You’re more likely to get it if other family members have it. Race. African-Americans and Hispanics get it more often than whites. It tends to affect African-Americans earlier, and there’s a greater chance it will lead to blindness. Some conditions also raise your odds: • • ...

By Narrow-angle glaucoma is a type of drainage angle) becomes restricted. Narrow drainage angles in the eye increases the risk of the drainage angle becoming blocked, resulting in a significant increase in eye pressure and risk of vision loss. If this occurs, narrow-angle glaucoma is usually called angle-closure glaucoma. Closure of the drainage angle can occur gradually, partially and intermittently with few symptoms ( chronic angle-closure glaucoma) or suddenly and severely with painful symptoms ( acute angle-closure glaucoma). Acute angle-closure glaucoma is a medical emergency and requires immediate attention. Causes of narrow-angle glaucoma Generally, narrow-angle glaucoma is caused by the Conditions associated with narrow-angle glaucoma include: • Iris plateau— In this condition, the • Hyperopia — People who are highly • Tumors and other causes— A tumor behind the iris, swelling associated with inflammation of the ciliary body (intermediate Narrow-angle glaucoma symptoms While narrow-angle glaucoma is uncommon, when it occurs, it can cause much more rapid and severe increases in eye pressure and vision loss than the much more common form of glaucoma called primary open-angle glaucoma. This is especially true if the drainage angle closes suddenly, as it does in the acute angle-closure form of narrow angle glaucoma. Therefore, it’s critical to be aware of the signs and symptoms of this particularly dangerous type of narrow-angle glaucoma. The Glaucoma Research Foundati...

The optic nerve is a bundle of about 1 million individual nerve fibers that transmits the visual signals from the eye to the brain. In the most common form of glaucoma, primary open-angle glaucoma, the fluid pressure inside the eye increases. This increase in pressure may cause progressive damage to the optic nerve and loss of nerve fibers. Advanced glaucoma may even lead to blindness. Not everyone with high eye pressure will develop glaucoma, and some people with normal eye pressure will develop glaucoma. When the pressure inside a person's eye is too high for a particular optic nerve, whatever that pressure measurement may be, glaucoma will develop. Glaucoma is the second-leading cause of blindness in the U.S. It most often occurs in people over age 40, although an infant (congenital) form of glaucoma exists. People with a family history of glaucoma, African Americans over the age of 40 and Hispanics over the age of 60 have an increased risk of developing glaucoma. Other risk factors include thinner corneas, chronic eye inflammation and taking medications that increase the pressure in the eyes. The most common form of glaucoma, primary open-angle glaucoma, develops slowly and usually without any symptoms. Many people are not aware they have the condition until they have significant vision loss. Initially, glaucoma affects peripheral or side vision, but it can advance to central vision loss. If left untreated, glaucoma can lead to significant vision loss in both eyes, and...

The two main types of glaucoma are Open-Angle and Angle-Closure. But did you know that there are at least eight additional types of glaucoma? Most other types of glaucoma are variations of the open-angle or angle-closure types. These glaucoma types can occur in one or both eyes. What most types of glaucoma have in common is an increase of intraocular pressure (IOP), or pressure inside the eye. Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma, the most common form of glaucoma and also called Open-Angle Glaucoma, is a lifelong condition that accounts for at least 90% of all glaucoma cases. In Open-Angle Glaucoma, the eye’s drainage canals become clogged over time. This can damage the optic nerve. With regular eye exams, Open-Angle Glaucoma may be found early and usually responds well to treatment to preserve vision. The other main type of glaucoma is Primary Angle-Closure Glaucoma, also called Narrow-Angle Glaucoma. In this type of glaucoma, the angle in many or most areas between the iris and cornea is closed, reducing fluid drainage and causing increased eye pressure Acute Angle-Closure Glaucoma is a medical emergency that requires immediate medical attention. This is a form of glaucoma that has an identifiable cause for increased eye pressure that results in optic nerve damage and vision loss. For example, an eye injury, inflammation, and certain drugs may cause a Secondary Glaucoma. Secondary Glaucoma includes Pigmentary, Congenital, Exfoliative, Neovascular, Uveitic, and Traumatic Glaucoma....

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Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases characterized by damage to the optic nerve usually due to excessively high intraocular pressure (IOP).This increased pressure within the eye, if untreated can lead to optic nerve damage resulting in progressive, permanent vision loss, starting with unnoticeable blind spots at the edges of the field of vision, progressing to tunnel vision, and then to blindness. Description Between two to three million people in the United States have glaucoma, and 120,000 of those are legally blind as a result. It is the leading cause of preventable blindness in the United States and the most frequent cause of blindness in African-Americans, who are at about a three-fold higher risk of glaucoma than the rest of the population. The risk of glaucoma increases dramatically with age, but it can strike any age group, even newborn infants and fetuses. Eyes are sphere-shaped. A tough, non-leaky protective sheath (the sclera) covers the entire eye, except for the clear cornea at the front and the optic nerve at the back. Light comes into the eye through the cornea, then passes through the lens, which focuses it onto the retina (the innermost surface at the back of the eye). The rods and cones of the retina transform the light energy into electrical messages, which are transmitted to the brain by the bundle of nerves known as the optic nerve. The iris, the colored part of the eye shaped like a round picture frame, is between the dome-shaped cornea and the lens. I...