Glaucoma Awareness: Types, Causes, Symptoms, and Management
Glaucoma is a serious medical condition that leads to permanent vision loss. So, learn about it, its types and treatment methods to manage it and get better.
Written by Dr Shreya Sarkar
Last updated on 3rd Jul, 2025
Glaucoma refers to multiple eye conditions that damage the optic nerve, leading to irreversible loss of vision if left untreated. This progressive disease can affect anyone, but it is more prevalent among older adults and people with a family history of this condition. Since glaucoma has no early symptoms, detecting the condition early and starting treatment is important. To do that, it is imperative to raise awareness about this condition and prioritise regular eye check-ups to intervene in glaucoma in its early stages and save vision for life.
Types of Glaucoma
There are four types of glaucoma. These include –
Open-Angle Glaucoma: In this popular variant of glaucoma the eye pressure increases gradually over time. However, people can't feel any symptoms of this glaucoma. In this case, the increased eye pressure pushes the optic nerve and significantly damages it. Finally, it leads to a blind spot in vision.
Angle-Closure Glaucoma: Angle-closure glaucoma occurs when the eye fluid is stuck and cannot flow outside the eye. As a result, it creates quick and severe eye pressure, which leads to a high-risk and emergency medical condition. So, if an individual shows signs of this condition in one eye, the doctor diagnoses and treats the second eye to prevent it from any further damage.
Normal-Tension Glaucoma: Also known as low tension glaucoma, the patient suffers from damage to the optic nerve that occurs without the intraocular pressure going outside the normal range. This type of glaucoma differs from others, where the optic nerve suffers damage due to heightened eye pressure. Patients suffering from the condition tend to have visual abnormalities around the centre of their vision.
Secondary Glaucoma: It occurs when certain conditions increase eye pressure. These conditions include uveitis (an inflammation in the middle layer of the eye), eye injury, specific medicines like corticosteroids, and specific diseases like diabetes.
Causes and Risk Factors
Glaucoma develops due to a combination of factors contributing to optic nerve damage. Here are the major ones –
Genetic Factors: People with a family history of glaucoma have a higher risk of developing this disease. Specifically, the diseases are inherited from first-degree relatives.
Age-related Risks: Age is one of the most common causes of glaucoma. Most types of glaucoma affect people aged 40 and above. Also, experts report that 10% of people aged 75 and higher usually have this disease.
Medical Conditions: Researchers have found that medical conditions like diabetes and hypertension may lead to glaucoma.
Symptoms and Signs
In most cases, patients don't experience any symptoms in the early stages. This happens in cases of open-angle and normal-tension glaucoma. Other common symptoms of the initial stage are double vision and headaches.
On the other hand, in the advanced stages of glaucoma, the patients experience severe headaches and eye pain. Eventually, they lose their side vision. Other advanced symptoms include rainbow-coloured halos around the lights, blood gathered in front of the iris, enlarged eyeballs, etc.
Get Your Symptoms Checked
Diagnostic Procedures
The diagnosis procedure of glaucoma involves a comprehensive eye exam. It consists of several eye tests and routine eye exams. Many of these tests check if there is any pupil dilation (mydriasis) in the eye. Some of the common tests include visual acuity testing, pachymetry, visual field testing, tonometry, slit lamp exam, depth perception testing, etc.
Among them, tonometry and visual field tests are mandatory. Tonometry helps to detect measuring eye pressure, and visual field tests help to measure peripheral vision. That means it checks how well an individual views the above, below, or sides of an object.
Treatment Options
The most common treatments of glaucoma are –
Medications: The medicines for glaucoma help to reduce the eye pressure. This includes beta-blockers, carbonic anhydrase inhibitors, alpha-adrenergic agonists, etc.
Surgical Interventions: Several surgical options are available, such as tube shunts, trabeculectomy, minimally invasive glaucoma surgeries, and laser therapy. These help improve fluid drainage and reduce eye pressure.
Home Remedies: At-home treatments can also help manage glaucoma. Using products and supplements with antioxidants, anti-apoptotic, and anti-inflammatory properties provides support. For instance, bilberry extract, medical cannabis, and ginkgo biloba extract become useful in managing this condition.
Living with Glaucoma
Glaucoma patients can manage and prevent their eyes from further complications with these simple tips –
They must take their medicines with proper dosage at the right time.
They should be careful about their daily screen time. They can set alarms while using computers, TVs, phones, etc., to remind them to take a break.
The patients suffering from this condition must protect their eyes from accidents and falls. Thus, they should be careful of doorways, table edges, drawers, counters, and other areas of their houses.
Physical exercise helps improve eye conditions. However, before starting any physical activity, individuals should consult their healthcare providers.
When reading a book, they might use a magnifying device to magnify the size of the text. Audiobooks are also a good alternative.
Prevention and Protection
Early detection and treatment help reduce glaucoma's adverse impact on the eye. Here are some tips –
Regular eye exams help detect an increase in eye pressure and guide the doctor in preventing further complications in the patient's eye.
If the patient regularly has higher-than-normal eye pressure, the eye care specialist may offer additional treatment options.
Wear goggles and protective eyeglasses to protect the eyes from any external damage.
In some cases, patients may also have to manage their other medical conditions, such as diabetes and high blood pressure.
Conclusion
Glaucoma is a critical eye disease caused by high eye pressure that often leads to vision loss. However, it is possible to prevent it with early intervention and proper treatment. By understanding the crucial details of the condition, such as its nature, causes, risk factors, and necessary lifestyle changes, it is possible to reduce its impact and live a healthy life.
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