Glaucoma is a group of eye ailments leading to progressive damage of the optic nerves, thereby losing the nerve tissues and resulting in the permanent loss of vision. What makes the disease more dangerous is the absence of any sort of warning signs in the initial stage when people are affected by it. By the time people start getting unusual signs, irreversible damages already have taken place, making it difficult to prevent further damages.

Causes of Glaucoma
Glaucoma is mainly caused by the elevating fluid pressure in the eyes that damages the optic nerves, leading to permanent eye damage. The back of the eye continuously produces a fluid that nourishes the tissues of the eye.

Other causes are dilating eyedrops, certain medicines, poor blood flow to the optic nerves, and high blood pressure.

Symptoms of Glaucoma
There are no obvious symptoms of glaucoma as such in the initial stages. However, in the later stages, people may experience certain symptoms that depend on the type of the disease they are affected with.

• Blurry Vision
  When the disease has advanced to the later stages, people might experience blurry or hazy vision. The initial vision loss affects only the peripheral vision that does not make much of a noticeable difference.
• Halos Around Bright Lights
  People start seeing a rainbow-colored halo around any luminary object. This becomes quite annoying and needs immediate medical attention.
• Vomiting and Nausea
  Symptoms like vomiting and extreme nausea may be experienced that might be due to glaucoma.
• Severe Eye Pain
  Sometimes, the symptoms are characterized by excruciating pain in the eyes along with a severe headache. This is due to the elevated fluid pressure in the eyes that are gradually damaging the optic nerves and nearby tissues in the eyes.
• Sudden Vision Loss
  When the disease has already reached the advanced stage, people may experience a sudden vision loss without any warning signs. It seems more like that of a blackout that becomes lethal if not treated timely.

Treatment of Glaucoma
The treatment for glaucoma is mainly focused on reducing the pressure of the fluids in the eyes, thereby reducing the damages it can make to the optic and cranial nerves. The treatment procedures are discussed hereunder.

• Eye Drops
  Doctors prescribe eye drops and certain medicines as the first step of treatment. These eye drops and medicines help in reducing the production of the fluid and in the timely drainage of the fluids through the channels of the iris and the cornea. If there is any blockage in the channels, then these medicines can also open them, thereby maintaining the easy flow of the fluid out of the eyes. Efficient drainage reduces the fluid pressure thereby reducing the extent of damage to the eyes.
• Surgery
  When medicines and drops cannot treat glaucoma, doctors resort to laser and conventional surgeries. In a laser surgery, a laser beam is used to open the blocked channels in the meshwork. Conventional surgeries are procedures to create a flap in the eye where the fluid can percolate, reducing the pressure in the eyes. This percolated fluid is then drained out of the eyes into the vascular system.
• Electrocautery
  This is an invasive procedure where the doctors remove some of the affected tissues from the trabecular meshwork by using a device termed as a trabectome.