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Glaucoma, silent thief of vision

Glaucoma, silent thief of vision

20 April 2020

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Glaucoma, commonly known as "the silent thief of vision," is an eye disease caused by increased intraocular pressure, which causes progressive and irreversible damage to the optic nerve. There are many types of glaucoma, and the eye doctor is the trained professional to diagnose it.

There are two types of Glaucoma:

· Open Angle Glaucoma: This is the most common type of glaucoma. It occurs gradually, when the eye does not drain fluid as well as it should (similar to a clogged drain). As a result, the pressure of the eye increases and begins to damage the optic nerve. This type of glaucoma is not painful and does not cause any change in vision at first.

· Closed-angle glaucoma: This type occurs when a person's iris is very close to the drainage angle in the eye. The iris can block the drainage angle. When the drain angle is completely blocked, the eye pressure increases rapidly. This is called an acute attack. This is a true eye emergency and you should call your ophthalmologist immediately; otherwise, you may become blind.

There are factors that can predispose to suffering from glaucoma: family history; eye trauma or inflammation; myopia; arterial hypertension; diabetes; black race; age over 50, among others. While these are predisposing factors, glaucoma can affect people of all races and ages.

Glaucoma is currently the leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide. More than half of the people affected by this serious visual disease do not know that they suffer from it, which is why the annual ophthalmological examination is especially important.

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