What is glaucoma and how is it treated?
The glaucomas are diseases in which pressure inside the eye damages the optic nerve so it no longer conducts vision from the eye to the brain. Glaucoma is damage to the optic nerve, not simply elevated eye pressure. The optic nerve is very much like a cable going to a television. No matter how good the TV camera and set are, if the cable is damaged, no picture will appear. The glaucomas can be caused either by the eye pressure being too high, or by the blood vessels or nerve cells being unusually sensitive to damage. This is why there is no “normal” pressure that is safe for everyone. Certain conditions such as blood vessel disease, diabetes, high nearsightedness, advanced age, race, and having several relatives with glaucoma make glaucoma more likely. People with African ancestry are eight times more likely to have glaucoma than Europeans and about 10% of black people over age 65 have glaucoma. About 2 million Americans have glaucoma, but only half know it. The most common type of gla
