What is Glaucoma? This question has baffled many, especially those over 60years. Glaucoma is a disease that damages your eye’s optic nerve and usually happens when fluid builds up in the front part of your eye. This fluid, which normally leaves the eye through the drainage angle in a healthy eye, increases the pressure in the case of Glaucoma, thereby damaging the optic nerve. This is a leading cause for blindness in people over 60years.
Types of glaucoma
There are two major types of glaucoma.
Primary open-angle glaucoma: This is the most common type of glaucoma. It happens gradually; where the eye does not drain fluid in the normal course and eye pressure builds and starts to damage the optic nerve.
Angle-closure glaucoma or Closed-angle glaucoma: This is a slightly different type where the iris can end up blocking the drainage angle. This happens when the iris is situated very close to the drainage angle in their eye and hence could end up blocking the drainage angle. This is also called an acute attack. This is an eye emergency and needs to be tended to immediately, else risk going blind.
A few signs of an acute angle-closure glaucoma attack:
• Vision is suddenly blurry
• Severe eye pain
• Headache
• Nausea & Vomiting
• You see rainbow-colored rings or halos around lights
Causes of Glaucoma: Your eye constantly makes aqueous humor. As new aqueous flows into your eye, the same amount should drain out through an area called the drainage angle. This process keeps pressure in the eye stable. Inability of drainage angle to drain regularly leads to fluid buildup and increase in pressure inside the eye; thereby damaging the optic nerve.
Some people have a higher than normal risk of getting glaucoma. This includes people who:
• Are over age 40
• Have a family history of glaucoma
• Have high eye pressure
• Are farsighted or nearsighted
• Have had an eye injury
• Have corneas that are thin in the center
• Have thinning of the optic nerve
• Have diabetes, migraines, poor blood circulation or other health problems affecting the whole body
Glaucoma has no symptoms in its early stages. In fact, half the people with glaucoma do not even know they have it! Having regular eye exams can help your ophthalmologist find this disease before you lose vision. Your ophthalmologist can tell you how often you should be examined.
Leading Ayurvedic Hospitals in Kerala conduct regular eye check up camps to detect any signs of Glaucoma or any other eye disorders and have wonderful therapies that can heal you without any side effects.
