Does fluid builds up in the front part of your eye? It can be Glaucoma

Glaucoma is one of the diseases of the eye that damages the eye's optic nerve. It usually happens when fluid builds up in the front part of the eye and this extra fluid which builds up in the front part of the eye, increases the pressure in the eye, damaging the optic nerve.

The optic nerve is connected to the retina — a layer of light-sensitive tissue lining the inside of the eye — and is made up of many nerve fibers, like an electric cable is made up of many wires. The optic nerve sends signals from retina to the brain, where these signals are interpreted as the images we see.

In the healthy eye, a clear fluid called aqueous humor circulates inside the front portion of the eye. To maintain a constant healthy eye pressure, eye continually produces a small amount of aqueous humor while an equal amount of this fluid flows out of the eye. If a person is suffering from glaucoma, the aqueous humor does not flow out of the eye properly. Fluid pressure in the eye builds up and, over time, causes damage to the optic nerve fibers.

Glaucoma can often be caused by another eye condition or disease. It can be caused due to eye injury, inflammation of the eye, abnormal blood vessel formation from diabetes or retinal blood vessel blockage, use of steroid-containing medications.

There are several types of glaucoma like

• Open-angle glaucoma
• Normal-tension glaucoma
• Angle-closure glaucoma (also called "closed-angle glaucoma" or "narrow-angle glaucoma")
• Congenital glaucoma
• Secondary glaucoma
• Glaucoma suspect

But the most common type of glaucoma is open-angled glaucoma while congenital glaucoma is a rare type of glaucoma that develops in infants and young children. It can be hereditary, and it happens when the eye’s drainage system doesn’t develop fully or correctly before birth.

Symptoms of an acute attack include:

• Vision is suddenly blurry
• Severe eye pain
• Headache
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Rainbow-colored rings or halos around lights.

Glaucoma can be treated with eye drops, pills, laser surgery, traditional surgery or a combination of these methods. The goal of any treatment is to prevent loss of vision, as vision loss from glaucoma is irreversible.