Overview
Glaucoma is damage to the eye's nerve, usually from raised pressure inside the eye, and it steals sight gradually from the edges inward — painlessly and silently. It is a leading cause of irreversible blindness in Nigeria and runs strongly in families. Sight lost cannot be recovered, but early treatment preserves what remains.
Symptoms
- Usually no symptoms until late
- Gradual loss of side (peripheral) vision
- Tunnel vision in advanced disease
- Sudden painful red eye with halos around lights (acute form — emergency)
- Frequent change of glasses without satisfaction
Causes & risk factors
- Raised pressure inside the eye
- Strong family history — common in African populations
- Age over 40
- Diabetes and long-term steroid use
- Severe short-sightedness
Treatment & self-care
Treatment lowers eye pressure with daily prescribed eye drops, laser treatment or surgery — used consistently and for life, because stopping lets damage resume. Adults, especially anyone over 40 or with a family history, should have an eye-pressure and optic-nerve check every one to two years. Early detection is the entire game.
See a doctor urgently if
- Family history of glaucoma and never screened
- Gradual loss of side vision or bumping into objects
- Sudden severe eye pain with halos and vomiting — emergency
- You use glaucoma drops but frequently miss doses