What is glaucoma and can it cause blindness if left untreated?
Glaucoma is a condition where the intraocular pressure (IOP) of the eye is too high leading to damage of the optic nerve with a loss of peripheral vision. As the disease progresses and the optic nerve dies, tunnel vision results. Like your blood system, your eye have a pressure known as intraocular pressure. High intraocular pressure is caused by the inability of the aqueous humor, the fluid filling the eye, to drain properly through the eye’s angle. The area in the anterior (front) portion of the eye where the cornea and the iris join is know as the angle and comprises the eye’s drainage system. Hence various form of glaucoma include the term angle in them. The various types of glaucoma include, open angle (the most common), acute angle closure, narrow angle, normal tension, congenital, pigmentary, and secondary. If left untreated, glaucoma will eventually lead to blindness. Testing for high IOP is simple and painless and usually includes an air puff test or the use of a manual tonome
