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Glaucoma most often occurs in adults over age the age of 40, but it can also occur in young adults, children, and infants. In African Americans, glaucoma occurs at an earlier age and with greater incidence of vision loss.
Each person over fourty, with family history of glaucoma, poor vision, diabetes, or using corticosteroid medications such as Prednisone is at an increased risk of developing glaucoma.
Diagnosis of glaucoma
A diagnosis of glaucoma no longer simply relies on the presence of pressure within the eye, as it used to be before. This would require that there be optic nerve damage or a strong suggestion of damage. The doctor is able to see it clearly during a dilated eye examination of the optic nerve.
In general, the hallmark sign of this condition is a loss of peripheral vision, where a person can see in front of him or herself but has lost the vision to the side. But why does eye pressure rise to cause glaucoma in the first place?
Glaucoma usually occurs when intraocular pressure increases, and this occurs when the fluid pressure in the eye’s anterior chamber (the area between the cornea and the iris) becomes abnormally high. This fluid, called aqueous humor, flows out of the eye through a channel. If this channel becomes blocked, fluid builds up causing glaucoma although the direct cause of this blockage is unknown. However, doctors do know that the condition is commonly inherited.
Less common causes of glaucoma include a blunt or chemical injury to the eye, severe eye infection, blockage of blood vessels in the eye, inflammatory conditions of the eye, and eye surgery to correct another condition. Glaucoma usually occurs in both eyes, but it may also involve each eye to a different extent. An ophthalmologist will test your vision and examine your eyes through dilated pupils, but the doctor will also perform a procedure called tonometry to check for eye pressure.
Glaucoma tests are painless and take very little time so you should not be worried.
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