{"id":1317,"date":"2026-04-18T14:43:43","date_gmt":"2026-04-18T14:43:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theme-dev.cmsmasters.net\/medical\/?p=1317"},"modified":"2026-07-07T06:40:25","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T06:40:25","slug":"what-is-glaucoma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drserhatimamoglu.com\/en\/what-is-glaucoma\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is Glaucoma? Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment Methods"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGlaucoma, commonly known as \u201ceye pressure,\u201d is an important eye disease that can cause progressive damage to the optic nerve. The optic nerve is the main structure that transmits visual information from the eye to the brain. If damage to this nerve is not detected early, narrowing of the visual field and, in advanced stages, permanent vision loss may develop.<\/span> One of the most important features of glaucoma is that it often does not cause obvious complaints in the early stages. For this reason, glaucoma can progress unnoticed for a long time if regular eye examinations are not performed. By the time the patient notices decreased vision, optic nerve damage may already have become significant.<\/span>

What Causes Glaucoma?<\/span><\/h2> There is a fluid inside the eye that is continuously produced and drained. When this balance is disrupted, intraocular pressure may increase. High intraocular pressure can damage the optic nerve over time. However, glaucoma cannot be explained only by elevated eye pressure. In some patients, glaucoma may develop even when eye pressure is within normal limits, because the optic nerve is more vulnerable.<\/span> Therefore, glaucoma evaluation should not be based only on eye-pressure measurement. The optic nerve structure, corneal thickness, OCT examination, visual field test and the patient\u2019s risk factors should be evaluated together.<\/span>

What Are the Symptoms of Glaucoma?<\/span><\/h2> Open-angle glaucoma, the most common type of glaucoma, usually progresses slowly and silently. In the early stages, there may be no pain, redness or obvious decrease in vision. As the disease progresses, narrowing of peripheral visual field may occur. This is often noticed late by the patient.<\/span> In some types of glaucoma, the clinical picture may be more sudden and apparent. Severe eye pain, redness, blurred vision, colored halos around lights, headache, nausea and vomiting may occur. These symptoms require urgent eye examination.<\/span>

Who Is at Risk for Glaucoma?<\/span><\/h2> Although glaucoma may occur at any age, some people are at higher risk. Those with a family history of glaucoma, older individuals, people with high myopia or hyperopia, long-term corticosteroid users, patients with previous eye trauma and those who have undergone eye surgery should be evaluated more carefully.<\/span> Diabetes, vascular diseases and some systemic conditions may also affect optic nerve circulation and should be considered during glaucoma follow-up.<\/span>

How Is Glaucoma Diagnosed?<\/span><\/h2> Glaucoma is diagnosed through a detailed eye examination. During the examination, intraocular pressure is measured, the optic nerve is evaluated and additional tests are performed when necessary.<\/span> Main tests used in the diagnosis and follow-up of glaucoma include:<\/span>
  • Intraocular pressure measurement<\/span><\/li>
  • Optic nerve examination<\/span><\/li>
  • Corneal thickness measurement<\/span><\/li>
  • OCT analysis of the optic nerve and nerve fiber layer<\/span><\/li>
  • Visual field testing<\/span><\/li>
  • Eye-angle evaluation<\/span><\/li> <\/ul> Each of these tests shows a different aspect of the disease. Therefore, glaucoma should not be diagnosed based on a single measurement, but by evaluating all findings together.<\/span>

    How Is Glaucoma Treatment Planned?<\/span><\/h2> The main goal of glaucoma treatment is to preserve existing vision and slow disease progression. Optic nerve damage caused by glaucoma is irreversible; therefore, early diagnosis and regular follow-up are very important.<\/span> Treatment options include eye drops that reduce intraocular pressure, laser treatments and surgical methods. The appropriate treatment is determined according to glaucoma type, disease stage, intraocular pressure level, optic nerve damage, visual field findings and the patient\u2019s general condition.<\/span> Glaucoma does not progress in the same way in every patient. Some patients can be followed for many years with eye-drop treatment alone, whereas others may require laser or surgical treatment. Therefore, treatment planning should be individualized.<\/span>

    Why Is Regular Follow-Up Important?<\/span><\/h2> Glaucoma is a chronic disease and requires regular follow-up. After treatment begins, whether eye pressure has reached the target level, whether new optic nerve damage has occurred and whether visual field progression is present should be evaluated at regular intervals.<\/span> The purpose of glaucoma follow-up is not only to measure eye pressure. The main issue is to monitor whether the disease is progressing over time. For this reason, examinations, OCT and visual field tests may be repeated at certain intervals.<\/span>

    When Should an Ophthalmologist Be Consulted?<\/span><\/h2> People with a family history of glaucoma, individuals over 40 years of age and patients with risk factors should have regular eye examinations. People with decreased vision, eye pain, halos around lights, sudden blurred vision or a sensation of narrowing visual field should consult an ophthalmologist without delay.<\/span> In glaucoma, early diagnosis is one of the most important steps in preventing vision loss. Even without symptoms, regular eye examination may allow the disease to be detected at an early stage.<\/span> This content is intended for general informational purposes only. Diagnosis, follow-up and treatment planning for glaucoma should be performed by an ophthalmologist after detailed eye examination and evaluation of the necessary tests.<\/span>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Glaucoma is an important eye disease that may damage the optic nerve
    \nand may not cause symptoms in the early stages. Learn about glaucoma symptoms,
    \ndiagnosis and treatment options.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9715,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[104,103,105,106,51,107,108],"class_list":["post-1317","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general-eye-health","tag-eye-pressure","tag-glaucoma","tag-glaucoma-symptoms","tag-glaucoma-treatment","tag-oct","tag-optic-nerve","tag-visual-field-test"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/drserhatimamoglu.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1317","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/drserhatimamoglu.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/drserhatimamoglu.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drserhatimamoglu.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drserhatimamoglu.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1317"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/drserhatimamoglu.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1317\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10209,"href":"https:\/\/drserhatimamoglu.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1317\/revisions\/10209"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drserhatimamoglu.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9715"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/drserhatimamoglu.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1317"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drserhatimamoglu.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1317"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drserhatimamoglu.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1317"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}