What happens if glaucoma worsens?

Written by Li Zhen Dong
Ophthalmology
Updated on September 14, 2024
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Glaucoma, if left untreated or improperly treated leading to worsening, can result in blindness, which is referred to as absolute glaucoma. In such cases, it becomes impossible to recover vision; in other words, it is irreversible. Therefore, it is crucial to proactively treat glaucoma after its onset by reducing eye pressure to protect vision, adjusting one's mindset, resting adequately, and avoiding close-range activities. The treatment is generally quite successful nowadays. Glaucoma can be classified into acute angle-closure glaucoma and open-angle glaucoma, both of which are types of primary glaucoma. Additionally, it can be categorized into primary glaucoma, secondary glaucoma, congenital glaucoma, and mixed glaucoma. With active treatment, the outcomes for glaucoma are generally good.

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Written by Zheng Xin
Ophthalmology
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Does glaucoma require surgery?

There are many types of glaucoma, such as primary angle-closure glaucoma, open-angle glaucoma, and normal-tension glaucoma. Once glaucoma is definitively diagnosed, medication can be used first to control intraocular pressure. If medications cannot control the pressure, surgery may be considered. However, generally, if it is early stage, and there is no damage to vision or visual field, with not very high intraocular pressure, medication can be considered first. If the intraocular pressure remains very high, medication fails to stabilize it, and there is a decline in vision or damage to the visual field, then surgery is needed.

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Written by Peng Xi Feng
Ophthalmology
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What is glaucoma?

Glaucoma is one of the main blinding eye diseases in ophthalmology, with a certain genetic predisposition, affecting 10 to 15 percent of direct relatives of patients. Intraocular pressure is the pressure exerted by the contents within the eyeball against its inner wall. Glaucoma is a group of diseases characterized by distinctive optic nerve atrophy and visual field defects, and pathologically increased intraocular pressure is one of the main risk factors for glaucoma. The level of increased intraocular pressure and the tolerance of the optic nerve to pressure damage are primarily related to the occurrence and progression of glaucomatous optic nerve atrophy and visual field defects.

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Written by Zheng Xin
Ophthalmology
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Must glaucoma undergo surgery?

Glaucoma is a group of diseases characterized by pathological increase in intraocular pressure that causes damage to the optic nerve and visual field defects. The treatment for glaucoma can include conservative management and surgical interventions. The primary goal of treatment is to control intraocular pressure and delay the progression of optic nerve damage. Generally, intraocular pressure can be controlled with medication; if medication fails to control the pressure, surgery may be necessary to manage it.

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Written by Dong Xian Yan
Pediatrics
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Can children have glaucoma?

Children can develop glaucoma. Congenital glaucoma typically presents within the first year of life and is more common in boys. The disease onset before the age of two to three years leads to increased eye pressure, which results in the enlargement of the eyeball. This manifests as photophobia, tearing, and eyelid spasms. Once diagnosed, early surgical treatment is recommended. For children under three years old, the preferred surgical procedures are trabeculectomy or goniotomy. As children are in a developmental stage and have poorer overall tolerance, anti-glaucoma medications are only suitable for short-term bridging treatment.

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Written by Peng Xi Feng
Ophthalmology
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What are the symptoms of a glaucoma attack?

Typical acute angle-closure glaucoma has several different clinical stages, divided into the preclinical stage, prodromal stage, acute attack stage, intermittent stage, chronic stage, and absolute stage. The acute attack stage is mainly characterized by severe headache, eye pain, photophobia, tearing, and significant deterioration of vision, often reduced to counting fingers or hand motion, and may be accompanied by systemic symptoms such as nausea and vomiting. Physical signs include eyelid edema, mixed congestion, corneal epithelial edema, and the appearance of small droplets under the slit lamp. Patients may complain of rainbow vision, which primarily occurs due to the large number of small vesicles in the swollen corneal epithelium and the spaces between epithelial cells.