Understanding Glaucoma: The Silent Thief of Sight

Have you caught yourself squinting more often? Noticing halos around lights? Or maybe your peripheral vision feels a little off—but you’re not quite sure why? Glaucoma could be the quiet culprit, subtly altering your eyesight without you even realizing it.

Often called the “silent thief of sight,” glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that causes damage to the optic nerve, typically due to increased eye pressure. The scariest part? It can sneak up without noticeable symptoms until vision loss is permanent. Unlike cataracts, where surgery can restore your sight, glaucoma-related vision loss cannot be reversed, which is why early detection is everything.

So, how do you know if you have glaucoma? A comprehensive eye exam is your best defense. At Pennachio Eye, we use a variety of painless, quick tests to detect glaucoma in its earliest stages:

Tonometry: measures intraocular pressure (you may know this as the air puff test)

Ophthalmoscopy: allows us to inspect the optic nerve directly

Perimetry: checks your peripheral (side) vision, where glaucoma often strikes first

Gonioscopy: shows us the angle where your iris meets your cornea, key to diagnosing different types of glaucoma

Pachymetry: measures corneal thickness, which can affect pressure readings and your risk

The most common form of glaucoma is open-angle glaucoma, where drainage channels slowly become clogged over time. This type progresses gradually, often with zero warning signs until it is well advanced. Then there’s angle-closure glaucoma, which is rare but serious. It comes on suddenly, with symptoms like severe eye pain, blurred vision, nausea and seeing rainbow halos. This is a true medical emergency, and you should seek immediate help.

Risk factors that are not to be ignored include being age 60 and older, family history of glaucoma, diabetes or high blood pressure, nearsightedness or farsightedness, long-term steroid use and previous eye injuries or surgeries.

While there’s no cure yet, glaucoma can be managed. Prescription eye drops, laser treatments and minimally invasive surgeries are all powerful tools to keep your eye pressure stable and your vision intact.

Bottom line: you can’t feel high eye pressure, but your doctor can. That’s why scheduling regular exams is vitally important.

Ready to protect your vision? Contact Pennachio Eye at 325-227-1999 or WEBSITE.