Ocular Hypertension Topic Guide

Glaucoma is usually high pressure inside the eye that damages the optic nerve and can result in permanent vision loss. Various exams and tests are used to diagnose the disease.

Glaucoma can be caused by a number of eye diseases that can damage the optic nerve, typically by elevating pressure inside the eye, which is called intraocular pressure (IOP) or ocular hypertension. Symptoms begin slowly and include vision loss and irregularities, eye pain, headache, nausea, and vomiting. Beta-blockers, Alpha-adrenergic agonists, and prostaglandin analogs are drugs used to treat glaucoma. Sometimes surgery is necessary, especially with congenital glaucoma. The disease is not curable but can be managed.

Glaucoma is usually high pressure inside the eye that damages the optic nerve and can result in permanent vision loss. While high pressure inside the eye, damage to the optic nerve and vision loss are common criteria for diagnosing glaucoma, glaucoma can be present without all three of these criteria. The two main types of glaucoma are open-angle and angle-closure glaucoma. Glaucoma may be symptomless until significant permanent vision damage has occured, but may show symptoms as well, including pain, redness, haloes, and blurred vision.

Normal-tension glaucoma or low-tension glaucoma is a condition in which the optic nerve is damaged despite normal fluid pressure inside the eye (other types of glaucoma result vision loss because of abnormally high pressure inside the eye. Normal-tension glaucoma typically occurs in older adults and can be caused by congenital nerve defects and irregularities in blood flow to the eye. Eyedrops and surgery are treatments for this disorder.

Glaucoma describes chronic high pressure within the eyeball. The pressure eventually causes nerve damage, though glaucoma can still occur without elevated pressure. Primary open-angle glaucoma is a subtype of the disease characterized by atrophy of the optic disc in the back oif the eye and other problems.