(Image source from: Canva.com)
Glaucoma is a condition where high pressure inside the eye gradually harms the optic nerve. The optic nerve is responsible for sending visual information from the eye to the brain. Once this nerve gets damaged, it cannot be fixed. What makes glaucoma particularly hazardous is that it typically doesn’t show early signs. In the beginning, vision seems normal. Activities like reading, driving, and using screens feel fine. Usually, there is no pain or discomfort. By the time someone realizes there is an issue, serious and lasting damage has already taken place.
The most typical signs, like poor vision and a shrinking field of sight, only appear in later stages. Peripheral vision often gets affected first, which is why people may not notice the loss until it becomes quite severe. Just because there are no symptoms does not mean there is no disease. Glaucoma does not make itself known. It doesn’t wait for you to be ready to face it.
Just checking eye pressure isn’t enough. A thorough evaluation for glaucoma includes:
Checking the pressure in the eyes
Looking at the optic nerve
Testing the visual field to see side vision
Using OCT imaging to look for early nerve damage
Measuring the thickness of the central cornea, which helps interpret pressure levels.
Skipping these tests because vision seems "fine" is how glaucoma can take away sight. Ram and Shyam visited the eye doctor for a routine check-up, where Ram’s results were clear, but Shyam had high eye pressure and was recommended for more tests to check for possible glaucoma; he refused because he felt fine and had no symptoms. Three years later, a follow-up showed that almost 50% of Shyam’s optic nerve was already harmed because of high pressure, and although he was advised to use eye drops and undergo more tests, he again declined since he still felt no symptoms. Two years later, Shyam returned in distress after losing vision in his left eye, only to learn that the damage was permanent and could not be undone. He had been living with glaucoma all along, quietly worsening without any pain or early signs, just as this condition is known to do.
Anyone can get glaucoma, but the chances increase after turning 40. Having a family history of the condition, diabetes, long-term use of steroids, and high eye pressure makes the risk even greater. That is why annual eye examinations after age 40 are essential. They serve as preventive care. Catching glaucoma early allows doctors to slow down or stop its progression with eye drops, laser treatment, or surgery. What cannot be done is to recover any damage that has already happened.
