Glaucoma
Glaucoma is a slowly progressive, non-reversible disease that involves atrophy (death) of the optic nerve. There are many different types of glaucoma. As glaucoma progresses, peripheral (side) vision is generally the first thing affected. Glaucoma is normally associated with high eye pressure but even those with normal eye pressure can get glaucoma. With glaucoma, there are no recognizable symptoms until the nerve damage is quite advanced; it is commonly referred to as the “silent thief of sight”. Therefore, an annual dilated eye exam and pressure measurement is the only way to screen for signs of glaucoma.
At Valley Vision Clinic we use advanced visual field testing strategies to detect early field loss (link to VF special testing) and laser scanning techniques that can detect optic nerve loss before vision is affected (link to HRT). There are treatment options for controlling glaucoma that work to lower your eye pressure to prevent further progression of the disease.
The web is full of educational materials about glaucoma, here are a couple of our favorites.
http://www.allaboutvision.com/conditions/glaucoma.htm
http://www.glaucoma.org