What is Glaucoma?

Glaucoma is a condition in which pressure builds up within the eye and will, if untreated, eventually damage the optic nerve which connects the eye to the brain, causing permanent blindness. If the mesh which drains the fluid from the eye becomes blocked, pressure builds up and the eye will suffer severe damage.

Who can have Glaucoma?

Glaucoma is usually an inherited condition. Some forms are congenital (inborn) while others don’t manifest until middle adulthood. Some types of Glaucoma are more prevalent in certain ethnicities than other types.

Anyone with a family history should have regular eye checks because there are no outward symptoms in the early stages. It can also manifest as part of other conditions such as Diabetes, cataracts or Retinopathy of Prematurity. 

What can people with Glaucoma see?

People with Glaucoma may experience loss of peripheral (side) vision, halos around their vision, redness, blurred vision and pain due to increased pressure within the eyes. This pain can be sudden and severe and may be treated with eye drops or laser surgery. Any decrease in vision is not reversible, so early treatment is crucial if complete vision loss is to be averted. 

Assistive Technology

This will depend on the level of vision and may include magnification software such as Zoomtext, screen reading software such as NVDA or JAWS, and/or braille. 

Talk with Elise and the team about your individual needs.