Celebrate Glaucoma Awareness Month with an Eye Exam

Glaucoma Fact #1: Glaucoma is Actually a Group of Related Eye Conditions

When you hear the word “Glaucoma,” you may think of it as a singular eye disease like cataracts, or diabetic retinopathy. Actually, it’s a group of eye conditions that damage the optic nerve, a critical component for good vision. The damage is usually caused by abnormally high pressure building up in your eye. However, the way the cause of the increased pressure can differ, giving rise to different types of Glaucoma.

There are four main types of glaucomic conditions: 

• Open-Angle Glaucoma: This is the most common form. It happens gradually, where the eye does not drain fluid as well as it should, leading to eye pressure build-up and optic nerve damage. It’s so gradual that you may not notice a change in vision until the condition is at an advanced stage.  

• Angle-Closure Glaucoma: Also known as closed-angle glaucoma, this type occurs when the iris is very close to the drainage angle in the eye. The iris can end up blocking the drainage angle. When the drainage angle gets completely blocked, eye pressure rises quickly, leading to a narrow-angle glaucoma or acute angle-closure glaucoma attack.  

• Congenital Glaucoma: This is an extremely rare type of eye condition that occurs in young children due to eye abnormalities. It’s possible for babies to be born with glaucoma as a result. 

• Secondary Glaucoma: This occurs when another underlying eye condition creates the circumstances that cause glaucoma to develop, such as untreated uveitis, or diabetic retinopathy.

Glaucoma Fact #2: Over 3 Million People in the United States Have Glaucoma

Glaucoma is by no means an uncommon condition. The CDC estimates that over 3 million Americans currently have a form of glaucoma and predicts this number to increase to over 6 million Americans by 2050. The aging US population is a major contributing factor to these rising numbers as individuals over 60 years old are at increased risk of developing glaucoma.

Because of the elusive nature of the disease prior to irreversible damage to your vision, education remains the best way to combat the rise of late-stage glaucoma cases. This is why efforts like Glaucoma Awareness Month are so important to the eye care community.

Glaucoma Fact #3: Most People Don't Know They Have Glaucoma Until It's Too Late

Most glaucoma cases are of the open-angle variety. This means that pressure within the eye builds slowly over time. The early stages of the disease have no symptoms, which is why most people may not even know they have it. However, as soon as symptoms start to show, permanent damage to your vision has already occurred. This is why glaucoma is often referred to as “The Silent Thief of Sight.”

In the final stages of glaucoma, you’ll begin losing the vision on the sides of your eyes, also called your peripheral vision. This is also referred to as developing tunnel vision. Eventually, if still left untreated, you will begin to lose your central vision until you go completely blind. This process may take years but is irreversible once started.

Glaucoma Fact #4: Glaucoma is the Leading Cause of Preventable Blindness in Americans

Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness worldwide, and the leading cause of preventable blindness in the United States. There is currently no cure for glaucoma, but the disease is easily managed if caught. There are plenty of things you can do to help prevent glaucoma.

• Get a Yearly Comprehensive Eye Exam: By far the best method of prevention. Yearly comprehensive exams (with glaucoma testing) are the most surefire way to detect glaucoma early before it can start causing vision loss.  

• Avoid Smoking: Smoking raises your blood pressure which can significantly increase your risk of developing glaucoma. Avoiding or giving up smoking can help reduce this risk. 

• Practice Healthy Living: A healthy lifestyle, including eating healthy foods and exercising often, can reduce your risks of developing glaucoma later in life. 

• Talk to Your Doctor About Ocular Steroids: Your eye doctor may recommend steroid eye drops to treat certain conditions. However, ocular steroids have been shown to increase pressure in the eye. If you’re at risk of developing glaucoma, talk to your doctor about other potential treatment options. 

• Wear Protective Eyewear: Eye injuries can potentially lead to infections that can increase the pressure within the eye. Always make sure to wear protective equipment whenever working in an environment with flying debris. 

Glaucoma Fact #5: Some People Are More at Risk for Glaucoma Than Others

As discussed above, glaucoma is a condition of the eye that occurs when intraocular pressure starts climbing. Anyone living with conditions that could potentially lead to increased pressure within the eye is at much higher risk. Patients living with hypertension or diabetes are more likely to develop glaucoma as high blood pressure and be one of the catalysts that causes your eye’s natural drainage channels to swell and seal off. Additionally, those with a family history of glaucoma have a much higher risk of developing the condition themselves, as it does have a genetic component. An even rarer example of this is Hereditary Glaucoma, which develops in infants and young children born to parents with a genetic predisposition to glaucoma. 

Other health conditions which can potentially lead to higher glaucoma risk are eye injuries (especially those leading to uveitis), those with refractive errors like nearsightedness or farsightedness, and those with sleep apnea. Finally, if you are over the age of 60, you have a much higher risk of developing glaucoma.

Glaucoma Fact #6: Glaucoma Can Be Treated with Eye Drops and Laser Eye Surgery

Once glaucoma begins damaging your vision, whatever you’ve lost is gone for good. That’s why it’s so important to make sure you get regular checkups to catch glaucoma before it can permanently damage your eyesight. The good news is, if you do catch it, there are ways to treat it.

The first method of treating glaucoma is with specialty eye drops. There are different kinds of eye drops depending on how your doctor wants to tackle your glaucoma. Some are designed to lower the pressure within your eye by increasing how frequently your eye drains (prostaglandins). Other eye drops are designed to reduce the amount of fluid your eye produces to allow your eye’s natural drainage system to catch up (beta blockers, alpha-adrenergic agonists, carbonic anhydrase inhibitors). Speak to your doctor to determine which type of eye drops may be best for you. Your doctor may prescribe either or both.

The second method for treating glaucoma is through various surgeries. Laser trabeculoplasty is a surgery method where a doctor uses a laser to improve your eye’s drainage by widening or unblocking the original channel. A trabeculectomy is where a surgeon creates a new drainage pathway in the conjunctiva (the white of the eye) to allow excess fluid to drain. In either procedure, the surgeon may implant a drainage tube to keep the pathway open and improve the flow of fluid out of the eye.

There is a final procedure to treat glaucoma, however, it is usually reserved for angle-closure glaucoma where the pressure rises rapidly and poses an extreme risk to your vision. This is called laser peripheral iridotomy. During this procedure, your surgeon uses a guided laser to create a small hole in your iris. This allows fluid to drain quickly and rapidly reduce pressure in the eye until your natural drainage channels can be restored.

Glaucoma Fact #7: Angle-Closure Glaucoma Can Cause Blindness in Just a Few Days

Throughout this guide, we’ve discussed how glaucoma is an extremely dangerous condition for your vision. People usually don’t know they have it until it’s too late and damage to your vision has already occurred. However, angle-closure glaucoma, caused by the sudden blockage of your eye’s natural drainage channels and the sudden increase of pressure within the eye, is the most dangerous among all forms of glaucoma. This is because this condition can come on suddenly over the course of a day, and lead to permanent blindness in just a few days' time if left untreated. This is why angle-closure glaucoma is considered a medical emergency.

Symptoms of angle-closure glaucoma include:

• Severe eye pain 

• Headaches 

• Nausea/vomiting 

• Redness or bloodshot eyes 

• Halos around lights or sensitivity to light 

• Blurred vision or a sudden decrease in vision 

If you experience any of these symptoms, seek medical help immediately. Seeing an eye doctor as soon as symptoms start can be the difference between clear vision and significant vision loss.