The term glaucoma refers to an increase in intraocular pressure causing damage to the optic nerve (which sends visual information to the brain) and the visual field (vision space).
Glaucoma is an eye disease that mainly affects people over 45 years old and causes an irreparable reduction in the field of vision. It is the result of damage to the optic nerve. It is first the peripheral vision that is affected.
If left untreated, the sufferer can become blind. Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness in the world, after cataract.
In glaucoma, the increase in eye pressure is often in the foreground, but the disease affects the optic nerve and its consequences are on the visual field. The progressive atrophy of the optic nerve, causing the progressive degradation of the visual field, goes as far as blindness if left untreated.
Diagnostic criteria have changed significantly in recent years. Not everyone with ocular hypertension will develop glaucoma, and some people with pressure that was considered normal under the old criteria (i.e. between 10 and 21 mm Hg) will develop glaucoma.
