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Glaucoma is the #1 cause of blindness in the Black population, but anyone can have it. It is a disease in which the optic nerve fibers are damaged. Normally, this is a result of elevated eye pressure due to an impaired drainage of the aqueous fluid within the eye. There are several types of glaucoma. More info below the video:
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Open angle glaucoma is the most common type. There are usually no symptoms. The eye appears to look and see normally. Mild pressure elevations gradually damage the nerve fiber layer. As more and more nerves die, a depression called cupping increases. When enough damage takes place, peripheral vision develops defects. Only in the later stages of the disease does the patient notice a loss of vision.
Closed angle glaucoma is a result of a significant impairment of the fluids drainage ability. Pressure increases significantly and is accompanied by pain, blurred vision, halos, headache, nausea and sometimes vomiting.
Other causes of glaucoma are trauma, steroid medications, pigmentary disturbances of the iris, pathologic changes to the human lens, vascular disease, structural defects, and inflammation within the eye.
Treatment normally consists of medications to reduce the eye pressure, but there are also several surgical procedures.
In the United States, the overall prevalence of open-angle glaucoma for adults age 40 years and older is estimated to be 2%. The prevalence is higher in individuals of West African, Afro-Caribbean, Hispanic or Latino origin than in other groups. Blindness from glaucoma is at least six times more prevalent in the Black population than in the White population.