Glaucoma - Outlook

Symptoms

Symptoms of Open-Angle Glaucoma

Open-angle glaucoma is a chronic condition that slowly progresses over many years. In its earliest stages, it produces no pain, visual changes, or other symptoms. As the condition progresses and the optic nerve becomes damaged, the following symptoms appear in one or both eyes:

• Peripheral vision (vision from the side of the eyes) gradually decreases. Patients develop “tunnel vision,” the ability to only see straight ahead.
• Eventually, straight-ahead vision decreases.

If left untreated, blindness results.

Symptoms of Closed-Angle Glaucoma

In acute closed-angle glaucoma, the pressure inside the eye increases quickly, and the symptoms are dramatic. Intense pain in the eyebrow area and blurred vision develop usually in one eye, and the patient often feels like the eye will burst (although it won't). The eye usually reddens. A person may see rainbow-like halos around lights. Sometimes nausea and vomiting occur. These symptoms may occur on and off and not appear as a full attack. In either case, they indicate a medical emergency. In chronic closed-angle glaucoma, the process is gradual and painless.

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Symptoms of Congenital Glaucoma

Although congenital glaucoma is usually present at birth, symptoms generally don’t develop in the infant for a few months. If parents notice that an infant’s eyes are enlarging, becoming cloudy, often watering, or tending to close in the presence of light, they should have an ophthalmologist examine the child’s eyes. Port-wine stains on an infant’s face could indicate Sturge-Weber syndrome, a disorder that occasionally causes glaucoma.

Review Date: 06/23/2010
Reviewed By: Harvey Simon, MD, Editor-in-Chief, Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Physician, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org).