Glaucoma is a group of related diseases that cause damage to the
eye’s optic nerve and result in visual impairment or blindness.
Most often, glaucoma occurs in the presence of increased
intraocular pressure (pressure inside the eye). However,
glaucoma can also occur when intraocular pressure is normal
(although treatment that reduces the pressure appears to benefit
this kind of glaucoma too). Glaucoma is the second leading cause
of legal blindness in the U.S., and the first leading cause of
blindness in African-Americans. Unfortunately, most of the time
glaucoma presents no symptoms until permanent damage has been
done. It is estimated that 2.5 million Americans have
glaucoma—and half of these people do not know they have it. For
this reason, regular checkups are advisable for people at high
risk for glaucoma. Risk factors include: - African-American
descent - Age over 60 - Family history of glaucoma - Use of
corticosteroid drugs (including steroid inhalers for asthma)
Physicians diagnose glaucoma by measurin