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Comments Glaucoma: An Over View
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Glaucoma is a serious health issue that affect the eyes. It is the eye diseases that damage the optic nerve. The optic nerve that usually carries information from the eye to the brain is placed in the back of the eye. Any damage to it can result in loosing the vision.
As the first step, the person affected by the glaucoma will loose the side (peripheral) vision. But if it is not cured at the right time, it may get serious and could even result in the loosing the vision of both eyes leading to total blindness over time.
Glaucoma exists in three types:
Open-angle glaucoma is on of the most common form found in the United States. In open-angle glaucoma, the optic nerve is damaged bit by bit, slowly leading to the loss of eyesight. One eye may get affected more than the other and most probably, the eyesight may be lost even before you notice it.
Closed-angle glaucoma is not much common. About 10% of all glaucoma cases in the United States are closed-angle, in which, the coloured part of the eye (iris) and the lens block movement of fluid between the chambers of your eye causing pressure to build up and the iris to press on the drainage system of the eye. A related type is sudden (acute) closed-angle glaucoma, which is often an emergency. This requires medical care right away to prevent permanent damage of the eye.
Congenital glaucoma is a rare form that some infants have at birth. Finding and treating glaucoma early is important to prevent blindness.
The glaucoma risk rises after age 40 and even more quickly after age 70. The risk factors are more if you have diabetes or if a close family member has had glaucoma. Thorough check ups from time to time is a must in this case.
Tags: Health, eyes, diabetes, Blindness, vision, family, glaucoma, affect, Closed-angle glaucoma, United States, congenital glaucoma

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