Glaucoma is a group of eye conditions that damage the optic nerve, often due to high intraocular pressure. This damage can lead to vision loss or blindness if left untreated. This damage often happens due to high pressure inside the eye, but it can also occur even if the pressure is normal or low. The high pressure occurs when there’s an imbalance between the fluid produced and drained from the eye.Early detection and treatment are crucial for preserving vision.
Initially, there are no symptoms of glaucoma in almost all types of glaucoma. Only in the angle-closure type of glaucoma, the patient might experience sudden onset redness, blurring of vision, severe headache, watering ad light sensitivity. At later stages, the patient might expereince blind spots and loss of side (peripheral) vision. For this reason, glaucoma is also known as "sneak vision thief".