What is glaucoma?

by Swiss Eye

Glaucoma is a chronic, incurableeye condition in which the optic nerve is damaged. The increase in pressure inside the eye, due to the presence of too much fluid between the cornea and the iris, can lead to the progressive destruction of the optic nerve and permanently alter vision.

There are 3 main types of glaucoma:

> Primary open angle glaucoma: mostly hereditary, it is the most common form and forms slowly.

> Angle closure glaucoma: it develops rapidly because the space between the cornea and the iris (usually sufficient to keep the angle between the two structures open in all circumstances) becomes narrower as the lens grows.

> Secondary glaucoma: there are many forms of secondary glaucoma, such as congenital glaucoma(often of genetic origin), glaucoma related to trauma, surgery, inflammation, tumor or hematoma, and neovascular glaucoma related to diabetic retinopathy.

The first cause of irreversible blindness in the world, glaucoma can go undetected in its early stages because it does not cause any pain or vision problems, hence the importance of getting screened regularly. Once the disease progresses - it should be noted that it can affect only one of the two eyes - the peripheral vision and then the central vision are altered and the following symptoms can appear: a very sharp pain in the eye, the perception of a colored halo around the sources of light, a visual decline or a suddenly blurred sight, the reddening of the eyes, a dilation of the pupil, headaches, nausea, vomiting.

> Glaucoma illustrated in 3D: " Glaucoma mechanisms and signs in 3D health video ".

> Retina France's video, " Glaucoma ", explains the disease, the types of glaucoma and their treatments.