When most people hear about glaucoma, they typically associate it with being a condition that affects the eyes. Yet, being that this perception merely holds basic truth, many people remain ill-informed of the exact causes, types, and symptoms of the disease. Therefore, to gain a better understanding of the disease, one must first understand the specifics of its diagnosis. Glaucoma is a form of degenerative eye disease that consists of a combination of different types of related eye disorders that occur from the build-up of pressure inside the eye—causing damage to the optic nerve. The optic nerve is the optical component within the eye that is responsible for transmitting visual information from the eye to the brain. Nonetheless, when the optic nerve becomes damaged, it creates visual impairment and in some cases even blindness if the damage is too severe or goes without treatment.
Unfortunately, it is a known fact that glaucoma affects the lives of millions of people every year—the greatest impacted being those individuals of age 40 and older. Furthermore, according to scientific studies, it is also understood to be an inherited disease with signs and symptoms that are usually never exhibited until much later in life. There are several existing types of diagnosis for the form of eye disease and they are congenital, secondary, pigmentary, normal-tension, narrow-angle, and open-angle glaucoma—the most common type. However, even though there are various types of the disease, they all exude related symptoms which include blurred vision, distorted vision, vision loss, eye pain, nausea, sudden visual disturbance, headache, and rainbow halos.
