In the United States, more than a half of the 2.5 million glaucoma patients suffer from different degrees of vision loss. Resulted from internal eye pressure (IOP) built-up and optic nerve damage, glaucoma has been the second leading cause of blindness.

From the IOP accumulation and optic nerve damage to various degrees of vision loss, there are always no obvious symptoms so that glaucoma is often called the “silent thief of sight”. One exception may happen to acute angle-closure glaucoma, which bring blurry womens vision, halos, intense eye pain, nausea or vomiting.

Tonometers can measure your IOP either by resting a small probe or sending an air puff onto your eye’s surface. IOP above 30 mmHg indicates a problem of the amount of fluid in the eye and brings a much higher risk of developing glaucoma. Special eye drops are created to keep IOP low, which is a treatment for glaucoma.

Scanning laser polarimetry, optical coherence tomography and confocal scanning laser ophthalmoscopy can be used to monitor the progression of glaucoma by setting up baselines and detecting changes. Optic damage by glaucoma may bring blind spots, so that visual field tests can also be used to monitor glaucoma. And ophthalmoscope can be used to view your eye’s internal structures.

There are mainly two types of glaucoma: acute angle-closure glaucoma and chronic or primary open-angel glaucoma. Chronic glaucoma has no obvious symptoms during its process of decreasing your peripheral vision. The result is that you can only see objects straight ahead. Unlike primary open-angle glaucoma, another form of open-angle glaucoma has normal IOP level, which is called normal-tension glaucoma. This type of glaucoma has no other different features with primary open-angle glaucoma. Also called narrow angle glaucoma, angle-closure glaucoma brings unexpected symptoms such as eye pain, headaches, halos, red eye etc… These symptoms appear in certain periods.

Besides the above types of glaucoma, there are still other variations. Pigmentary glaucoma is caused by iris pigment deposits and clogs the draining angles. This form of glaucoma also has no clear symptoms. Secondary glaucoma is always associated with infection, inflammation or an enlarged cataract. Infants may be born with congenital glaucoma due to natural narrow angles. Parents should take good care of their babies’ eyes, in case of congenital glaucoma signs such as cloudy, white or hazy eye.

Eye drops with medication are used to control glaucoma by bringing down IOP. Careless use of these eye drops may bring higher risks of vision loss. Further treatments include glaucoma surgery, lasers and medications.

Article Source:http://vision.firmoo.com/eye-diseases/types-of-glaucoma-and-diagnosis.html

Vision Library is the information source in area of vision care, including eyeglasses, sunglasses, contact lenses, sports protective eyewear, vision error and diseases, vision surgery, ageing and kid’s vision etc., solely sponsored by Firmoo.com, an emerging online optical store offering high quality eyewear at the lowest prices.Firmoo’s return and refund policy make any purchase risk-free.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/vision-articles/types-of-glaucoma-and-diagnosis-1399834.html