Can you have glaucoma in only one eye

The incidence of glaucoma increases with age, rising from two percent in people over age 40, to five percent in those over 65 and ten percent in people over As glaucoma is an asymptomatic disease, the importance of regular eye examinations by an optometrist cannot be overemphasized, especially if you are over 40 and have one or more risk factors.

The Canadian Ophthalmological Society recommends that anyone at risk of glaucoma with a family history of glaucoma, for example have an eye examination at least every three years over age 40, at least every two years over age 50 and at least every year over age As the name suggests, a glaucoma suspect is a patient who may be at risk of developing glaucoma because he or she shows signs of glaucoma or has one or more glaucoma risk factors.

Only a doctor can determine if you are a glaucoma suspect. The genes and mechanisms responsible for glaucoma have not all been identified.

As a result, we do not yet know the exact causes of glaucoma. However, several risk factors elevated eye pressure being the most common whose presence promotes the onset of glaucoma have been identified. Glaucoma is not caused by an infection, so there is no risk that you might catch it from someone else.

However, several people in the same family may have glaucoma due to a family predisposition to the disease. Glaucoma that is not treated, no matter what the form of the disease, may end in blindness. It is only a matter of time several years before eyesight is lost if glaucoma is left untreated. An acute angle-closure glaucoma attack can cause loss of sight within days. Such attacks are an ophthalmological emergency and are fortunately rare. Not all cases of glaucoma are accompanied by elevated intraocular pressure IOP.

There are people who have elevated intraocular pressure for many years yet never develop glaucoma. Conversely, there are people with normal or even low intraocular pressure who have glaucoma. In other words, intraocular pressure is not the only factor in the development of glaucoma. While glaucoma is most common in people over age 60, it can affect anyone at any age. A number of other factors may put you at a higher risk of developing glaucoma, including a family history of glaucoma and being of African-American descent.

Other risk factors include diabetes, myopia short-sightedness , hypertension high blood pressure and ocular hypertension raised eye pressure. If you have one or more risk factors, you should schedule an eye exam every at least once every two years. Glaucoma has very few symptoms in the early stages. When symptoms do occur, they may come and go or become steadily worse.

You may notice hazy vision, eye pain or rainbow-colored halos around bright lights. By the time you notice these symptoms, you may have already lost some of your vision. Open-angle glaucoma Normally, fluid aqueous humor in the eye flows freely through the anterior chamber and exits through the drainage system trabecular meshwork.

Request an Appointment at Mayo Clinic. Share on: Facebook Twitter. Show references What is glaucoma? American Academy of Ophthalmology.

Accessed Sept. Facts about glaucoma. National Eye Institute. What is glaucoma? Glaucoma Research Foundation. American Optometric Association. Overview of glaucoma. Merck Manual Professional Version.

Ferri FF. Glaucoma, open angle. In: Ferri's Clinical Advisor Elsevier; Glaucoma adult. Mayo Clinic; Without treatment, glaucoma can eventually lead to blindness. The most common is called primary open angle glaucoma.

This tends to develop slowly over many years. It's caused by the drainage channels in the eye becoming gradually clogged over time. Most cases are caused by a build-up of pressure in the eye when fluid is unable to drain properly. This increase in pressure then damages the nerve that connects the eye to the brain optic nerve. It's often unclear why this happens, although certain things can increase the risk, including:.

It's not clear whether you can do anything to prevent glaucoma, but having regular eye tests should pick it up as early as possible. Glaucoma can usually be detected during a routine eye test at an opticians, often before it causes any noticeable symptoms.

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