Glaucoma is the most serious eyesight threatening condition of the eye. It usually manifests as a painless gradual loss of vision. The lost vision can never be recovered. However, medical or surgical treatment can prevent or retard further loss of vision. Many a times it can be confused with a cataract which also manifests as a painless gradual loss of vision. The difference is that in the case of cataract, the loss of vision is fully recoverable by means of a simple surgery called Phaco. Our eyes contain a clear fluid called aqueous humour, which is continuously produced in the eye to bath and nourish the
structures inside it. The fluid normally drains out of the eye through drainage canals in a fine meshwork located around the edge of the iris (the coloured part of the eye that surrounds the pupil). In people with glaucoma the fluid fails to drain due to some defect and thus increases the pressure inside the eyes called raised Intraocular Pressure (IOP) (or Tension)
In most cases of glaucoma, the patient is not aware of the gradual loss of sight until vision is significantly impaired.
However, if glaucoma progresses without adequate treatment, the following symptoms may occur in some individuals:
Pain around the eyes when coming out from darkness (e.g., as soon as the person comes out of a cinema hall)
Coloured halo rings seen around light bulbs especially in the mornings and nights
Frequent change of reading glasses, headaches, pain and redness of the eyes
Reduced vision in dim illumination and during nights
Gradual decrease of side vision with progression of glaucoma
