Yes all of us know about many silent killers around us killing our happiness, affection and beliefs, most of which are not under our control and for most of all we know how to handle them.

But why let our ignorance affect the physical well being too?

Vision, the best and indispensible gift of god to man, needs to be safe guarded in all possible ways. But there are people who prescribe themselves eye medications, do not even have one complete eye examination in their life time, do not follow any safe practice to take care of their eyes.

This article would love to see all its readers have a good knowledge on eye care.

Glaucoma?

To understand what glaucoma is , you need to have a basic understanding of the eye and its structures. The white portion of the eye seen from outside is called the sclera. The round structure is the cornea which is actually colourless but looks black, brown or blue because of the underlying pigmented layer, the iris. The opening of the iris is the pupil. we all know there is a lens inside the eye ( behind the pupil held by ligaments from another sructure) to focus an object clearly. In front of the lens there is a small chamber called anterior chamber.

Here we come to the crucial aspect of this article. Aqueous humor is the name of the liquid in the anterior chamber. Like all liquids, aqueous humor (hereafter called as AH) does have a pressure which normally ranges from 10-21 mm of HG measured by an instrument called Applanation tonometer. If the pressure of this liquid increases beyond this value, it is said to be Glaucoma.

So what if the pressure increases?

Glaucoma can cause damage to the nerve which runs from the eye to the brain and make vision worse. Vision loss will start from the periphery and extend to the centre and result in what is called as Tunnel vision in an advanced stage.(only a central tunnel vision will be spared and all the side vision will be lost).Imagine looking through a closed fist with a small central opening and nothing left to be seen in the sides.But this again occurs only in the end stage. In early stages of glaucoma there are typically no symptoms.Thats why it is called the silent killer of vision.

Be careful if you are

-above 40 years of age.

-Diabetic/Hypertensive.

if you have a

-family history of glaucoma

-if you had a injury to your eyes.

Glaucoma needs careful periodic monitoring. It can be treated by medicines(eye drops/oral drugs), Laser treatment or surgery.

Glaucoma cannot be cured, it can only be controlled.

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