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It is a condition that instantly makes the majority of people relate to an eye disease of some kind. Glaucoma is also a condition that many, if not most, associate as an inconvenience rather than a potentially blinding eye illness. It is this simple ignorance that can cause many unknowing sufferers to ignore symptoms through a lack of awareness and which, if left untreated, can lead to significant vision loss. Without knowing you have the disease, there is very little reason to be checked out and so as a result, it is thoroughly recommended that all people regardless of age or vision quality visit their local opticians to get checked out every 1-2 years.
So What Are Some Of The Symptoms Of Glaucoma, And How Are They Being Missed?
- Gradual deterioration in your periphery vision
When objects begin begin to disappear from the sides of your vision, and you begin to get a tunneling of sight, this could be a sign of primary open angle glaucoma, the most common type of the disease. As this area of vision is not as sensitive as your central sight which you use for reading and focusing etc, it is a common symptom to miss as you generally may not notice it until it becomes more severe. - Rainbow rings around lights when you look directly at them
When looking at white lights, you may see rainbow coloured rings surrounding them. Very easy to miss and pass off as lights being too bright. This could be a sign of acute angle closure glaucoma, a much rarer type than POAG but just as likely to cause serious vision disorders. - Painful eyes, with a feeling of pressure
Unfortunately, this is something many put down to simply being tired, exhausted, and generally run down after a hard days work or recent long hours on the job. It can also lead to blackouts and the eye ball reddening, again, symptoms commonly associated with stress and are missed. - Misty vision and nausea
Again, easy to confuse with stress and tiredness, the sufferers vision becomes misty as if unable to focus properly. Nausea could be an impending sign of emergency treatment being required.
What Else Causes People To Ignore Symptoms?
In a word, age. Once a person passes the age of being 40 years old, risks are greatly increased along with the chances of it occurring. On the flip side, people simply recognise a decline in visual abilities as one of those things that happen as you grow older. While that is true, simple ageing and the onset of glaucoma are two distinctly different things. Unfortunately, common perception provides this answer and leads to many sufferers not wanting to bother a specialist when their sight might actually depend on early diagnosis.