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Closing kata glaucoma is a condition in which the outflow of the aqueous humor is impeded by the closure of the tidal angle through the peripheral part of the iris. The disease affects 1 in 1000 people over 40, more often women. Glaucoma occurs in people with a specific eye structure, which is characterized by an enlargement of the axial dimension of the lens and a shorter axial length of the eye. An acute attack of glaucoma occurs when the tearing angle closes.
Angle-closure glaucoma – symptoms
A patient suffering from angle-closure glaucoma feels very severe pain in the eye and orbit, radiating to the jaw, forehead and temples. Pain is sometimes accompanied by vomiting and even an increase in body temperature. After a short time, it comes to:
- severe visual impairment,
- tearing
- photophobia and the vision of rainbow circles around a light source such as a light bulb or candle
- the eye sometimes becomes hard as stone – this is felt when the eyelid touches the eyeball,
- there may also be severe redness of the eye,
- dilating the pupil,
- corneal haze.
These symptoms may be short-lived and may resolve spontaneously. It then returns to its normal appearance and normal eye function. Soon, however, the attack repeats itself and usually lasts longer, even several days. The pains are sometimes so strong that they cannot be relieved with any medications.
If a glaucoma attack occurs for the first time, the patient often confuses the symptoms with food poisoning or migraine. The very high intraocular pressure occurring during an attack of glaucoma may lead to the atrophy of the optic nerve and irreversible loss of vision after a short time (even after several hours).
Even if the first attack of glaucoma does not cause damage to the eye, the next ones cause increasing disability of the optic nerve, characterized by: a narrowed field of vision, reduced eyesight, and the appearance of scotomas in front of the eyes. That is why acute glaucoma requires fast and specialized ophthalmic treatment. The patient should immediately consult an ophthalmologist or even an emergency ophthalmologist.
How To Treat Angle Closure Glaucoma?
The treatment of glaucoma involves the application of miotics and intraocular pressure reducing agents directly to the eye. Preparations lowering intraocular pressure are also used orally or in the form of injections (intravenously). In a situation where conservative treatment does not alleviate or inhibit an acute attack of glaucoma, surgery is necessary to save eyesight.
Read also: Glaucoma