There are various subtypes of glaucoma, but the final common pathway of all of them is damage to the main nerve for visual function (the optic nerve), leading to reduced vision and in some cases blindness.
If you are diagnosed with glaucoma,you will need treatment to control the pressure inside your eye (intraocular pressure) and regular monitoring of your eye to check that there is no progression of glaucoma.
These tests usually involve a visual field test in which each eye is tested separately, a series of lights are presented in your visual field which you must identify correctly and press a button. This tests the area of your visual field that is healthy.
Also the Optic disc (the Optic nerve seen inside the eye) is photographed and the thickness of the nerve fibres entering the Optic disc are measured with OCT (an optical imaging test), in glaucoma the thickness of the nerve fibre layer decreases with progression, and the doctor uses OCT to make sure this is not happening.
The commonest treatment used for glaucoma are eyedrops to lower the pressure inside your eye.
Other surgical treatments are available
Treatments available
Trabeculectomy
Selective Laser Trabeculoplasty (SLT)
Trabecular stent (iStent)
Minimally Invasive Glaucoma Surgery (MIGS)
Glaucoma drainage devices (Ahmed valve)