Glaucoma

What causes glaucoma?

Glaucoma is usually caused by fluid pressure in the eyeball that is too high for the optic nerve to tolerate. The optic nerve carries visual impulses from your eye to the brain. This pressure build-up occurs because of an imbalance between the production and drainage of fluid within the eyeball.

What are the risk factors for glaucoma?

Risk factors for glaucoma include:

• Age: Your risk increases when you are over 80 years old
• Chronic diseases: You are at increased risk if you have diabetes or high blood pressure
• Ethnicity: Asians are more susceptible to angle-closure glaucoma than Caucasians
• Eye injuries
  
• Family history
  
• Use of corticosteroid
• Inherently high pressure inside the eye
• Refractive error (short-sightedness or myopia is a risk factor for open-angle glaucoma; long-sightedness or hyperopia is a risk factor for closed-angle glaucoma)