Signs and Symptoms of Glaucoma—When To See Your Doctor

Glaucoma is a very common cause of visual disability world-wide. Sadly is often preventable.

Many people with glaucoma have no early symptoms. So early detection is the key! The sooner glaucoma is diagnosed and treated the better the chances of keeping your eyesight in most cases.

Types of Glaucoma

Many people do not realize that there are actually many types of glaucoma. A common misconception is that the eye pressure has to be high to have the disease!

The most common type is open-angle glaucoma. In this type of glaucoma, there are few symptoms before vision begins to wane. The most common symptom that people notice is gradual loss of peripheral vision in from of the other eye. In advanced stages, you may experience tunnel vision. The eye pressure can sometimes, but not always, be high.

About half the people with open angle glaucoma have never had their eye pressures be high. This is called low tension glaucoma. However the appearance of the optic nerve can be an early tell tale sign. This is why you should never refuse dilation during your exam. If the examiner cannot see the nerve well, this important early sign may be missed.

The second type of glaucoma is acute-angle closure. This happens usually in smaller or far-sighted eyes. This anatomic abnormality is usually easy to detect long before it becomes an emergency.  If acute-angle glaucoma is not treated immediately it could lead to blindness within just one or two days. This type of glaucoma is characterized by intense eye pain, sometimes accompanied by vomiting, as well as blurred vision, reddening of the eye, seeing halos around lights, and sudden onset of visual disturbance. This is a medical emergency and you should see a doctor right away.

There are other types of glaucoma but the above are the most common. Most glaucoma goes undiagnosed for some time, as there are few symptoms and vision loss is extremely gradual. What you lose you don’t get back.  It can be detected through some tests during your routine eye exam.

When to See Your Doctor

If you are experiencing vision problems or eye pain, you should see your doctor right away. Since open-angle and chronic-angle glaucoma often do not have symptoms at first, it is important to get an annual eye exam complete with testing for glaucoma, especially as you age. If you haven’t had a recent eye exam, contact our office today to schedule an appointment.