Early Signs of Glaucoma

Serving Poughkeepsie, NY, and Yorktown, NY, the eye care professionals at Seeta Eye want you to know all about the dangers of glaucoma. Testing for glaucoma and regular eye exams by your eye doctor can both minimize and control damage to your eyes. You should be aware of the risk factors for glaucoma. Unfortunately, with the most common forms of glaucoma, you might not have any symptoms until your vision deteriorates significantly.

Open-Angle Glaucoma

Open-angle glaucoma is a condition where your eye’s drainage canals become clogged over time, building up pressure on the eye. According to the Glaucoma Research Foundation, there are “typically no early warning signs or painful symptoms of glaucoma.” The disease develops gradually “and sometimes without noticeable sight loss for many years.”

Angle-Closure Glaucoma

This type of glaucoma is where the drainage canals in the eye become blocked “resulting in a sudden rise in intraocular pressure.” In contrast to open-angle glaucoma, angle-closure glaucoma is a rare and rapidly developing form of glaucoma and requires immediate medical care.

Symptoms include hazy or blurred vision and the appearance of rainbow-colored halos around bright lights. Sufferers also experience severe headaches and eye pain, nausea or vomiting, and sudden sight loss.

Childhood Glaucoma

According to the Glaucoma Research Foundation, the symptoms of this particularly cruel disease vary. “In some cases, children will show no symptoms. Usually, there will be a gradual onset of glaucoma-related problems.”

The earliest and most common sign of childhood glaucoma is a cloudy cornea. It is a loss of the cornea's transparency due to swelling of the tissue from excess fluid. Read more about childhood glaucoma on the aaapos.org web page.

The Bottom Line

With the most common forms of glaucoma, there are no reliable early warning signs. Regular testing to measure the possible buildup of pressure in the eye through regular eye exams by your optometrist is the most reliable way to detect and begin a regimen of treatment and control of glaucoma.

Schedule an Appointment with Our Ophthalmologist for Glaucoma Treatment in Poughkeepsie, NY, and Yorktown, NY

Call Seeta Eye today for more information on glaucoma or to schedule an appointment with our eye doctor.