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Glaucoma
Glaucoma damages the optic nerve at the point where it leaves the eye. It affects between 1 - 2% of people over the age of 40 years in Caucasian populations, and is the most common cause of registered blindness that could be potentially prevented in the UK.
The danger with chronic glaucoma is that there is no pain and your eyesight will seem to be unaffected, but your retina is being damaged.
Glaucoma is caused by increased pressure within the eye. Although this condition normally develops quite slowly, by the time it has been diagnosed, it may have had a significant impact on a person's life, causing blurred or double vision, and sometimes loss of sight.
As the disease progresses and nerve fibres in the eye are lost, peripheral vision is gradually lost.
