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GlaucomaGlaucoma is a disease caused by increased intraocular pressure (IOP) resulting either from a malformation or malfunction of the eye's drainage structures . Although raised intraocular pressure is a significant risk factor for developing glaucoma, there is no set threshold for intraocular pressure that causes glaucoma. Left untreated, an elevated IOP causes irreversible damage the optic nerve and retinal fibers resulting in a progressive, permanent loss of vision. Glaucoma is not just one disease, but a group of them. The common feature of these diseases is damage to the optic nerve, usually accompanied by an abnormally high pressure inside your eyeball. It's like an electric cable made up of thousands of individual wires carrying the images from the inside back wall of your eyeball (retina) to your brain. Blind spots develop in your visual field when the optic nerve deteriorates, usually starting with your peripheral (side) vision. Fortunately, medical advances have made it easier to diagnose and treat glaucoma. If detected and treated early, glaucoma need not cause even moderate vision loss. But having glaucoma does mean regular monitoring and treatment for the rest of your life. Glaucoma is a group of diseases of the optic nerve involving loss of retinal ganglion cells in a characteristic pattern of optic neuropathy . Glaucoma occurs when the normal fluid pressure inside the eyes slowly rises. Eye pressure is largely independent of blood pressure. As the diagram below shows, this nerve carries information from the light sensitive layer in your eye, the retina, to the brain where it is perceived as a picture. In the United States, approximately 2.2 million people age 40 and older have glaucoma, and of these, as many as 120,000 are blind due the disease. African Americans experience glaucoma at a rate of three times that of Caucasians and experience blindness four times more frequently. Between the ages of 45 and 64, glaucoma is fifteen times more likely to cause blindness in African Americans than in Caucasians. Developmental glaucoma mostly affects babies and young children. It is rare but potentially serious and is caused by malformation of the eye. Unfortunately, the vision lost to glaucoma is gone forever. Medications and surgery can help slow the progression of the disease, but there is no cure. Causes of GlucomaCauses of Glucoma :
Symptoms of GlucomaSome Symptoms of Glucoma :
Treatment of Glucoma
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