26/01/2024
With January being Glaucoma Awareness month, I wanted to take some time to write about glaucoma.
So what is Glaucoma doc? Glaucoma damages the optic nerve of the eye, leading to peripheral vision loss. Patients eventually complain of tunnel vision, and they begin to bump into tables or have trouble with basic daily activities. There are multiple reasons why glaucoma occurs, and there are multiple types of glaucoma, but the main mechanism of damage is increased eye pressure leading to optic nerve damage.
There are two major categories of glaucoma, the first being primary open angle glaucoma (POAG), and the other being angle-closure glaucoma (ACG).
POAG is a slow progressing condition where the fluid in the eye does not drain as well as it should leading to increased eye pressure. ACG causes a patient’s iris blocks the drainage angle of the eye. Sometimes it completely blocks the angle causing an acute attack which needs to be seen by an ophthalmologist ASAP. Some symptoms of an angle attack are blurry vision, severe eye pain, nausea, vomiting, and headaches.
Glaucoma is one of the leading causes of blindness in the western world, so it’s very important that you see your optometrist for your comprehensive eye exam regularly!
