What is glaucoma?
Known as the“silent thief of sight”, Glaucoma slowly damages the eyes and can cause irreparable harm before there is any vision loss detected. Early detection and treatment are the most important steps to prevent vision loss. Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that damage the optic nerve, a cable at the back of the each eye that connects it to the brain. It often affects both eyes, usually to varying degrees. As most cases won’t have any symptoms, one of the best ways to detect glaucoma is during a routine eye test – that’s why it’s so important to have one regularly.
What causes glaucoma?
An abnormality in the eye’s drainage system can cause fluid to build up, leading to excessive pressure that causes damage to the optic nerve. The optic nerve is a bundle of nerve fibers that connects the retina with the brain. This damage leads to loss of eyesight.
Glaucoma typically develops when this increased pressure damages the optic nerve, which connects the eye to the brain, and harms the nerve fibres from the retina, the light-sensitive nerve tissue that lines the back of the eye.
In acute glaucoma cases this pressure rises rapidly to higher levels, even causing pain.
