Glaucoma counts as a leading cause of blindness worldwide,
especially in individuals aged 60
and over. This disease usually occurs when certain conditions cause the
fluid pressure inside your eye to increase until the optic nerves sustain
serious damage.
The two primary categories of glaucoma include
open-angle and angle-closure (also called narrow-angle) glaucoma. Although
either type of glaucoma can damage your vision, the latter can prove especially
destructive without prompt care. Check out the answers to these frequently
asked questions about narrow-angle glaucoma.
How Does Angle-Closure Glaucoma Differ From Open-Angle
Glaucoma?
Both open-angle glaucoma and angle-closure glaucoma can stem
from drainage problems at the front of the eye. The eye produces fluid on a
continuous basis, with the excess fluid escaping through a drainage angle where
the iris meets the cornea. The drainage allows the eye to maintain constant,
safe pressure levels.
In open-angle glaucoma (the more common form),
this drainage system works, but not as well as it should, causing a mild,
chronic elevation in eye pressure that gradually damages the optic nerve. In
angle-closure glaucoma, the drainage angle itself gets partially or totally
blocked, causing a more dramatic spike in pressure.
Who Gets Angle-Closure Glaucoma?
Certain factors can increase your risk for angle-closure
glaucoma. In many people, the drainage angle at the iris naturally narrows with
age. Farsighted individuals naturally have a narrower drainage angle than the
general population. People of Asian or Inuit heritage may also have relatively
narrow drainage angles.
Angle-closure glaucoma may affect women more frequently than
men, depending in part on racial factors. For instance, while African-American
men and women have equal risk rates for angle-closure glaucoma, Caucasian women
have three times the risk of Caucasian men.
What Symptoms Can Angle-Closure Glaucoma Cause?
Another difference between open-angle glaucoma and
angle-closure glaucoma lies in the symptoms displayed. Open-angle glaucoma may
cause no symptoms for many years, finally producing peripheral and then central
vision loss. Angle-closure glaucoma causes more obvious and immediate symptoms.
Chronic angle-closure glaucoma may also produce
minimal symptoms at first; if you suffer a total fluid blockage due to
angle-closure glaucoma, you may develop a sudden blurring or loss of vision,
see strange-looking halos surrounding bright objects, or experience acute eye
pain, eye redness, headaches, nausea and vomiting.
What Kinds of Treatment Can Control Angle-Closure
Glaucoma?
Ophthalmologists consider an acute bout of angle-closure
glaucoma a medical emergency. Extremely high fluid pressure can do permanent
damage to your optic nerves in a matter of hours. Even the chronic type of
angle-closure glaucoma should receive the soonest possible treatment to prevent
future vision loss.
Fortunately, closed-angle glaucoma can respond to early
diagnosis and treatment just as readily as open-angle glaucoma. In both
conditions, the key to preserving your eyesight involves reducing and
controlling the eye's fluid pressure, either by reducing the amount of fluid
produced or by improving drainage angle function.
Many sufferers find that medication gets their angle-closure
glaucoma under control. Your ophthalmologist may prescribe eye drops that
reduce accumulated fluid, lower fluid production, or widen the drainage angle.
Painkillers, corticosteroids, and drugs to ease nausea and vomiting can provide
further relief.
Regardless of whether your angle-closure glaucoma has
produced any noticeable symptoms, your ophthalmologist may recommend surgery as
a smart means of preventing future crises. This measure makes even more sense
if you have a family history of angle-closure glaucoma.
Ophthalmologists typically perform a procedure known as an
iridotomy to help the drainage angle at the iris do its job more efficiently.
Some patients benefit from minimally invasive peripheral iridotomy, in which a
laser makes tiny openings in the iris. Others may need a surgical iridotomy
that makes a triangular opening in the iris.
Calvert Ophthalmology Center can help you
protect your vision against angle-closure glaucoma. Contact any of our
ophthalmology
offices
today.
