Glaucoma patients suffer from the  buildup of internal eye pressure (known as intraocular pressure), which can damage the eye's optic nerve.  Damage to the optic nerve can be extremely serious, as the optic nerve transmits visual information to the brain.  For a demonstration of how glaucoma affects the eye, watch the following video.

The tragic result of glaucoma is decreased ability to see at the edges of your vision, damaging your peripheral vision.  One of the earliest life consequence of glaucoma is the loss of the ability to drive a car, which can greatly impact your ability to live life the way you want.  As glaucoma gets worse, progressive damage may lead to  blindness.  Once you lose vision to glaucoma it is permanent.  Nothing can get your vision back, which is why prevention is so critical.

In fact, glaucoma creates at least some vision loss in more than half of the approximately 2.5 million Americans estimated to have glaucoma and is the second leading cause of blindness.

Glaucoma Symptoms

Doctors call glaucoma "silent thief of sight," because most types og glaucoma typically cause no pain and produce no symptoms until noticeable and permanent vision loss occurs.  In the early stages, the only way to detect glaucoma is to see your eye doctor for an eye health exam in which the doctor routinely checks for glaucoma.

However, with a type of glaucoma known as acute angle-closure glaucoma  sudden symptoms can cause include blurry vision, halos around lights, intense eye pain, nausea and vomiting. If you have these symptoms, make sure you see an eye doctor or  visit the emergency room immediately so steps can be taken to prevent permanent vision loss.

Diagnosis, Screening and Tests for Glaucoma

During a routine eye exam, Dr. Randahawa and her associate doctors use a tonometer  to measure your intraocular pressure. Your eye typically is numbed with eye drops, and a small probe gently rests against your eye's surface.

High eye pressure is an indicator of a problem with the amount of fluid  in the eye. Either the eye is producing too much fluid, or it's not draining properly.

Normally, the pressure in the eye should be below 21 mmHg (millimeters of mercury).

If your pressure is higher than 30 mmHg, your risk of glaucoma damage is 40 times greater than someone with an IOP of 15 mmHG or lower.

Glaucoma can be successfully treated and managed.  The first step is to visit a doctor do ensure that you are not a victim of the "silent thief of sight."

Tragic stories of vision loss

An article in the Toronto Star presented the following story that puts a human face on the tragedy that can occur if one ignores the need for eye exams as well as how fortunate you can be if you see your optometrist:

'Keith Henderson, 62, a retired millwright in Alvinston, Ont., is fortunate. Ten years ago his brother was diagnosed with advanced glaucoma, which prompted Henderson to see an optometrist and request extra vigilance. Extra tests — which he had to pay for — showed he had high pressure. He eventually had prophylactic laser treatment to relieve the pressure.
“I won’t lose my eyesight to glaucoma because of what has been done,” says Henderson.

'"Henderson’s brother, Larry, now 65, is just about completely blind now, he says. The factory worker, was 55 when diagnosed, didn’t know to get regular exams.
“He didn’t get checked because he didn’t have coverage and then it started to get severe,” Henderson says. “They’ve got him as good as they could get him, but he’s lost a terrific amount of his vision.”

"Diagnoses before there is vision loss is key. For patients, who catch it early and are diligent with treatment, vision can be preserved, Buys says.

'Too many are doing it too late. “In a country that boasts of universal health care, our patients are coming in with already serious and significant loss of vision,” Hutnik says.'

Glaucoma

Permanent vision loss from glaucoma is preventable if caught early in an eye exam but too many Canadians are not doing enough to protect themselves.  Research published in the June 2011 issue of the Journal of Ophthalmology shows that Canadians are not taking easy steps to protect themselves against glaucoma.  The study found that 50% of those who are newly diagnosed with the disease are already in the moderate to advanced stages of the disease.  By this time they have suffered irreversible and often devastating vision loss.

South Asians living in North America have a higher risk of glaucoma than other ethnicities, according to an American study that looked at glaucoma risk among Asian Americans, including those of Indian and Pakistani ancestry. While the study looked at Americans, the findings will likely apply to Canadians who share a similar diet and lifestyle.

The study concluded that, among Asian Americans, Japanese Americans have the highest risk (9.5%) followed by Indian and Pakistani Americans (7.7%) of open angle glaucoma, the most common variant of the disease.

If you have a high risk of glaucoma, the best thing that you can do to protect yourself is to see the eye doctor at least once a year. Glaucoma can only be detected early enough in an optometric eye examination. It does not cause pain or blurriness or other obvious symptoms. That is why doctors often call glaucoma the "silent thief of sight". The disease is so gradual that you will likely not know that you have suffered permanent vision loss, beginning with your peripheral vision. Some people with undiagnosed glaucoma are no longer legal to drive and don't know it.

Eye exam finds glaucoma