Closed Angle Glaucoma | Types, Symptoms & Treatment

What is closed-angle glaucoma?

The illness known as closed-angle glaucoma occurs when the pressure inside of your eye rises too much. The term "glaucoma" is used to describe a variety of illnesses. Around 90% of all cases of glaucoma are caused by the most prevalent type of the disease, open-angle glaucoma. Much less frequently occurs closed-angle glaucoma.

All forms of glaucoma have the potential to harm your optic nerve, which carries visual data to your brain, leading to blindness if untreated. Pressure increases if you have closed-angle glaucoma because fluid isn't leaving your eye as it should be.

Behind the iris, in the back chamber of your eye, fluid is created. Normally, this liquid enters the front chamber of your eyeball through your pupil. The fluid then enters the sclera's veins via the trabecular meshwork, a system of channels (the white of your eye).

The difference between open-angle glaucoma and closed-angle glaucoma affects the treatment strategy since we may need to perform more procedures to treat angle closure glaucoma patients than open-angle glaucoma instances.

What are the symptoms of closed-angle glaucoma?

Due to the quick rise in ocular pressure, closed-angle glaucoma patients typically have symptoms as opposed to those with open-angle glaucoma.

They typically experience impaired vision, halos, and a red, sore eye. Headaches, nausea, and even vomiting are possible side effects of intense discomfort. The patient's pupil might appear distorted as well. Anyone displaying these signs ought to get help from a doctor right away.

Types of closed-angle glaucoma

There are two basic categories of narrow-angle glaucoma: primary and secondary. These categories are based on whether the patient's eye has a closed angle by nature or whether a secondary factor contributes to it.

Primary closed-angle glaucoma

The patient was born with an anatomically restricted drainage angle, which is the etiology of primary closed-angle glaucoma. High eye pressure may result from this restricting the aqueous fluid's ability to exit the eye.

Although narrow angles are by definition a risk factor for primary closed angle glaucoma, not everyone with narrow angles gets the disease. Acute angle closure glaucoma, which can occur from it, causes an abrupt increase in ocular pressure. This is a medical emergency, and you should get help right away.

Secondary closed-angle glaucoma

Additional closed angle The three main types of glaucoma are paedomorphic (enlarged natural lens or cataract), iatrogenic (medical closed angle glaucoma treatment-related), and trauma-related. paedomorphic glaucoma is caused by a developing cataract that reduces the drainage angle and raises eye pressure.

A change in drainage angle brought on by a medical procedure. This may involve taking specific oral medications or having surgery. Glaucoma may also result from trauma to the eye if the lens shifts and obstructs the drainage angle or if blood clots the angle.

Who is at risk for angle closure glaucoma?

Angle-closure glaucoma is more likely to develop in persons as a result of the following factors:

• Angle-closure glaucoma runs in families

• Chinese or Inuit ancestry in older people

• Hyperopia (farsightedness) (farsightedness)

• gender

Treatment for Closed-Angle Glaucoma

Eye Drops

Ocular drops are used to reduce eye pressure in both the open-angle and closed-angle forms of glaucoma and can be useful in managing both types of glaucoma.

Laser Treatment

When it comes to laser therapies, laser trabeculoplasty is often ineffective for treating closed-angle glaucoma even if it can be utilized to treat open-angle glaucoma. For the treatment of primary angle-closure suspected, primary angle-closure, and primary angle-closure glaucoma, a particular kind of laser procedure known as laser iridotomy is employed. It is crucial to realize that preventing an acute angle-closure glaucoma attack is one of the main goals of laser iridotomy.

Surgery

Both open-angle and closed-angle glaucoma can be successfully treated with surgery in addition to medication and laser therapy. Trabeculectomy, glaucoma drainage devices (tube shunts), and cyclophotocoagulation are a few of these procedures. Depending on your particular type of glaucoma, your Glaucoma Doctor may process a type of operation.