5. WHILE GLAUCOMA SEEMS TO BE MORE COMMON IN OLDER WOMEN, CAN IT AFFECT WOMEN IN THEIR TWENTIES OR THIRTIES, TOO?
There are two types of primary glaucoma that affect younger people: Congenital glaucoma and developmental glaucoma, which differ in age presentation, said Dr Thomas. It’s a spectrum, he added.
Congenital glaucoma is when someone has the eye disease from birth, while developmental glaucoma presents during a person’s teen years to early adulthood, and can be silent in the beginning, just like adult onset glaucoma.
6. WILL I EVENTUALLY GO BLIND IF I HAVE GLAUCOMA?
It’s a progressive eye condition that could lead to permanent vision loss, if left untreated. “Any damage to the optic nerve and consequent visual impairment or blindness cannot be reversed or cured,” said Dr Chua.
This is because “all current forms of treatment for glaucoma, be it medications or surgery, are aimed at lowering the intraocular (eye) pressure, which is a main risk factor for glaucoma,” he added.
The treatments either help to prevent the onset of glaucoma, such as nerve damage; or progression of glaucoma, which means further nerve damage. However, they cannot reverse any nerve damage, he explained.
