Warning Signs of Glaucoma

One of the main factors contributing to permanent blindness in the U.S. is glaucoma. Over 3 million Americans, including 2.7 million people over 40, suffer from glaucoma. While it can strike anyone, older people are more likely to develop glaucoma. Most glaucoma variants show no symptoms at all.

Regular eye exams that include measuring your eye pressure are crucial. Nevertheless, it can occasionally occur even with normal eye pressure. Early diagnosis enables the prevention or slowing of eyesight loss. For the remainder of their life, glaucoma patients will require treatment or monitoring.

What Is Glaucoma?

Glaucoma is a complex series of eye disorders that damage or impair the optic nerve. It results from fluid accumulation inside the eye due to inadequate drainage. Glaucoma is frequently asymptomatic until an eye doctor notices it during an eye exam.

Good eyesight depends on the optic nerve, which transmits visual data from the eye to your brain. High eye pressure is frequently associated with optic nerve damage.

What Are the Common Forms of Glaucoma?

Open-angle

Open-angle glaucoma often has no early warning signs or symptoms. It progresses gradually, sometimes for years, without causing any apparent vision loss.

Usually, the peripheral vision is the first to go away; sharpness or visual acuity is retained until late in the disease. Because of this, most people with open-angle glaucoma feel okay and do not initially detect a change in their vision.

The condition is well along when a patient becomes aware of vision loss. Even with surgery, glaucoma treatment cannot reverse vision loss.

Narrow or Acute-angle

Angle-closure glaucoma causes increased ocular pressure because the drainage is blocked or narrow in many or most places. The increase in ocular pressure can happen gradually or quickly. There are early phases of the illness where the angle is closed, but the optic nerve is still unaffected, and the ocular pressure may or may not be high.

Acute angle-closure glaucoma has pronounced symptoms and causes rapid damage. Take prompt action to contact an eye doctor if you have any of these symptoms.

What Are the Symptoms?

Around-the-light Halos

Bright rings around a light source look much like headlights. Halos surrounding lights indicate the onset of a severe eye condition, such as glaucoma or cataracts.

Vision Loss in One Eye

It is time to get checked for glaucoma if you experience vision loss or a blind patch in your field of vision. Because glaucoma causes a gradual loss of vision, it is crucial to remember that now is a good time to undergo an eye exam.

Sudden and Severe Eye Pain

Severe eye discomfort is the most noticeable symptom of an acute glaucoma event. It frequently results in nausea, either with or without vomiting, and eye redness.

Light Sensitivity

Younger individuals with elevated eye pressure had greater light sensitivity. There could be several causes for this. Although this will not impair someone's vision soon, it is a warning sign of glaucoma.

For more about the warning signs of glaucoma, visit Marshall EyeCare at our office in Aberdeen, New Jersey. Call (732) 837-0988 to book an appointment today.