Glaucoma
Glaucoma is a degenerative and chronic disease that progressively damages the optic nerve, causing vision loss.
What is it
Glaucoma, also known as silent blindness, is a potentially serious disease that slowly, progressively and irreversibly damages the optic nerve. As a result of the damage caused to the nerve fibers of the retina, responsible for transmitting information from the eye to the brain, there is a milder or more severe loss of vision depending on the degree of degeneration of this nerve. At first, peripheral vision is affected, and over time, central vision is affected.
The main risk factor for developing glaucoma is high intraocular pressure, which occurs when it exceeds 22 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg). For intraocular pressure (IOP) to remain constant, there needs to be a balance between the amount of aqueous humour (colourless liquid with nourishing properties and responsible for eye tone) that is produced and eliminated, thus contributing to the proper functioning of the eye. Intraocular pressure can be elevated when the removal of aqueous humor is ineffective or when its production increases.
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People with a family history of glaucoma and myopia are other risk groups that should be especially vigilant, undergoing periodic ophthalmological evaluations, in order to rule out the disease or diagnose it as soon as possible.
Glaucoma is a common pathology that is present in 2% of the population over 40 years of age and whose incidence increases with age. However, it can develop at any age, even at birth (congenital glaucoma).
The importance of this disease lies in the fact that only half of glaucoma patients know that they have this disease. This is because it is usually asymptomatic, so it is very difficult to detect it until it is in an advanced stage.
In addition, it is the second leading cause of blindness in developed countries, after diabetes. However, irreversible vision loss is avoidable in more than 95% of cases.
Therefore, it is essential to carry out routine check-ups to facilitate an early diagnosis to prevent its consequences and, if detected, to receive treatment aimed at reducing intraocular pressure to improve the prognosis of this condition. Even more so in the case of patients with predisposing factors.
TYPES OF GLAUCOMA
Although there are several classifications of glaucoma, the most widespread is based on the amplitude of the iridocorneal angle of the anterior chamber (angle between the cornea and the iris). This classification distinguishes between:
- Open-angle glaucoma.
- Angle-closure glaucoma, also called narrow-angle glaucoma.
Other classifications:
- According to their origin: primary glaucoma and secondary glaucoma.
- Depending on the time the disease appears: congenital, infantile, juvenile and adult glaucoma.
VIEW TYPES
SYMPTOMS
In most cases, glaucoma is characterized by the absence of symptoms. Hence, this disease is also known as silent blindness.
In chronic glaucoma, which is the most common, vision loss occurs very slowly and progressively. In addition, the signs that the patient can perceive are not very specific, almost imperceptible, since it does not cause discomfort until the disease is in a very advanced stage.
The general symptoms are headache above the eyebrows, loss of peripheral vision, generating what is called tunnel vision, or night blurriness.
On many occasions, the person suffering from glaucoma does not notice the presence of this disease until the damage caused to the optic nerve is irreversible.
The absence of appreciable symptoms and the fact that the loss of vision is irreparable make the ophthalmologist advise to carry out complete ophthalmological check-ups periodically from the age of 45 to keep intraocular pressure and the state of the optic nerve under control.
If the patient follows these preventive guidelines to detect and treat the disease in time, the visual loss it causes can be stopped.
In the particular case of angle-closure glaucoma, this acute form of glaucoma is accompanied by more severe symptoms such as severe eye pain, halos around bright lights, nausea and vomiting or sudden loss of vision, which is why ophthalmological emergencies are usually visited.
Patients with risk profiles such as people with a family history of glaucoma, diabetes, high blood pressure or cardiovascular disease, high myopia, hyperopia, and in general, those over 40 years of age should remain especially vigilant, undergoing routine examinations to rule it out or facilitate its early diagnosis. In fact, aging is one of the most important factors that predispose to suffering from this disease, since with age the drainage system of the aqueous humor stops working properly, which leads to an increase in intraocular pressure.
