Why glaucoma is called the silent thief of sight
Glaucoma usually takes side vision first, without pain. Here is why it goes unnoticed, who is at risk, and how it's found.
Articles
Plain-language articles on glaucoma, eye pressure and treatment choices, with sources.
SLT laser or eye drops first? What the LiGHT trial found
A large trial compared starting glaucoma treatment with a quick office laser versus daily drops. The results changed guidelines.
Narrow angles: when a laser helps, and when it's an emergency
What a narrow drainage angle means, what the ZAP and EAGLE trials found, and the warning signs of an acute attack.
High eye pressure without glaucoma: what ocular hypertension means
High pressure doesn't always lead to glaucoma, and glaucoma can happen at normal pressure. What the big trials show.
Words you'll hear
Glaucoma glossary
- Intraocular pressure (IOP)
- The fluid pressure inside the eye, measured in millimeters of mercury (mmHg).
- Optic nerve
- The cable of about a million nerve fibers that carries vision from the eye to the brain. Glaucoma damages it.
- Drainage angle
- Where the iris meets the cornea. Fluid leaves the eye here, through the trabecular meshwork.
- Trabecular meshwork
- The spongy drainage tissue in the angle. SLT laser treats it.
- Gonioscopy
- An exam with a mirrored contact lens that shows whether the drainage angle is open or closed.
- OCT
- Optical coherence tomography: a light-based scan that measures nerve fiber and ganglion cell layers in microns.
- Visual field
- A map of everything you can see while looking straight ahead, including side vision.
- 24-2 test
- A common visual field test pattern that checks 54 points within 24 to 30 degrees of center.
- Pachymetry
- Measurement of corneal thickness, which affects how pressure readings are interpreted.
- Corneal hysteresis
- How well the cornea absorbs and releases force. Low values are linked to faster field loss.
- Target pressure
- The pressure range expected to protect your nerve, set for you and revised over time.
- Bleb
- The small fluid blister under the eyelid created by a trabeculectomy.
Book a glaucoma visit
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