Types of Glaucoma

A group of eye diseases that can cause vision loss or even blindness, no matter how old you are or how healthy your vision may be, glaucoma detection may play a major role in maintaining your vision over time. Indeed, given the seemingly fickle nature of this disorder, if you have been told that you are at risk for developing glaucoma, you should be taking the time to have your eyes regularly examined by an optometry professional. That said, the following is a list of the various types of glaucoma and how to identify them.

There are Multiple Types of Glaucoma

While you may have only heard of one or two types of glaucoma, there are actually a variety of types of glaucoma. The primary ones, or the ones that have unknown causes, are as follows:

• Open-Angle: The most common type of glaucoma, those with open-angle glaucoma represent 90% of glaucoma sufferers. This type of glaucoma typically has no warning signs but results in a loss of vision over time.
• Normal-Tension: One of three people with open-angle glaucoma also have normal-tension glaucoma.
• Angle-Closure: Also known as acute glaucoma, angle-closure glaucoma is marked by symptoms such as nausea, red eyes, blurred vision, and intense eye pain. It is considered a medical emergency.
• Congenital: Congenital glaucoma describes a condition in which a baby is literally born with the disease. It affects one out of every 10,000 babies.

Secondary Glaucoma

On another note, secondary glaucomaiscaused by other diseases. The secondary types are as follows:

• Neovascular: This type of glaucoma is typically caused by diseases such as diabetes or high blood pressure. The symptoms are vision loss and pain or redness in the eyes.
• Pigmentary: This type of glaucoma involves the flaking off of the pigment of your eye. This type typically affects young, white near-sighted men and is accompanied by symptoms such as blurry vision and seeing rainbow-colored rings around lights.
• Exfoliation: This is a type of open-angle glaucoma that typically affects those suffering from exfoliation syndrome. This is more likely to affect those who are genetically predisposed to it.
• Uveitic: This type of glaucoma is most likely to affect those who have a preexisting condition, known as uveitis, which is a condition that inflammation of the eye. Approximately two out of ten people with uveitis develop glaucoma.

Overall, there are various types of glaucoma to beware of. If you have been told that you are at risk for developing glaucoma for any reason, be sure to visit an optometrist to request tests for glaucoma detection.