What are the symptoms of a glaucoma attack?

Written by Peng Xi Feng
Ophthalmology
Updated on September 05, 2024
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Typical acute angle-closure glaucoma has several different clinical stages, divided into the preclinical stage, prodromal stage, acute attack stage, intermittent stage, chronic stage, and absolute stage. The acute attack stage is mainly characterized by severe headache, eye pain, photophobia, tearing, and significant deterioration of vision, often reduced to counting fingers or hand motion, and may be accompanied by systemic symptoms such as nausea and vomiting. Physical signs include eyelid edema, mixed congestion, corneal epithelial edema, and the appearance of small droplets under the slit lamp. Patients may complain of rainbow vision, which primarily occurs due to the large number of small vesicles in the swollen corneal epithelium and the spaces between epithelial cells.

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Written by Wang Hui Zhen
Ophthalmology
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Early symptoms of glaucoma

There are many types of glaucoma, and the symptoms vary between different types. Some patients with glaucoma might not have noticeable symptoms in the early stages; others may only experience mild eye soreness and occasional blurred vision, which can improve with rest; some present with insidious vision decline and field defects. Glaucoma refers to a group of progressive optic nerve damage that eventually impairs vision, mainly associated with pathological elevation of intraocular pressure. Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness worldwide, and it is the top irreversible blinding eye disease. Common symptoms of glaucoma include blurry vision, vision decline, field defects, and acute attacks, often accompanied by eye pain, headache, nausea, vomiting, and more. If glaucoma symptoms occur, or there is a suspicion of glaucoma, it is advised to visit an ophthalmology clinic for comprehensive examinations like visual acuity, intraocular pressure, fundus examinations, etc., to determine the cause and provide targeted treatment, actively reduce intraocular pressure, and protect the optic nerve.

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Written by Peng Xi Feng
Ophthalmology
54sec home-news-image

What are the symptoms of a glaucoma attack?

Typical acute angle-closure glaucoma has several different clinical stages, divided into the preclinical stage, prodromal stage, acute attack stage, intermittent stage, chronic stage, and absolute stage. The acute attack stage is mainly characterized by severe headache, eye pain, photophobia, tearing, and significant deterioration of vision, often reduced to counting fingers or hand motion, and may be accompanied by systemic symptoms such as nausea and vomiting. Physical signs include eyelid edema, mixed congestion, corneal epithelial edema, and the appearance of small droplets under the slit lamp. Patients may complain of rainbow vision, which primarily occurs due to the large number of small vesicles in the swollen corneal epithelium and the spaces between epithelial cells.

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Written by Zheng Xin
Ophthalmology
31sec home-news-image

Must glaucoma undergo surgery?

Glaucoma is a group of diseases characterized by pathological increase in intraocular pressure that causes damage to the optic nerve and visual field defects. The treatment for glaucoma can include conservative management and surgical interventions. The primary goal of treatment is to control intraocular pressure and delay the progression of optic nerve damage. Generally, intraocular pressure can be controlled with medication; if medication fails to control the pressure, surgery may be necessary to manage it.

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Written by Zheng Xin
Ophthalmology
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Is high intraocular pressure always glaucoma?

Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases characterized by typical optic nerve atrophy and visual field defects, with high intraocular pressure and visual field loss as features. Clinically, some patients have long-term high intraocular pressure but do not exhibit optic nerve and visual field damage. This condition is not called glaucoma, but is referred to as ocular hypertension. Meanwhile, some patients may have normal eye pressure but still exhibit typical glaucoma optic nerve damage and visual field defects; this condition is called normal-tension glaucoma. Therefore, high intraocular pressure does not necessarily indicate glaucoma, and normal intraocular pressure can also potentially be glaucoma.

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Written by Zheng Xin
Ophthalmology
28sec home-news-image

What are the symptoms of glaucoma?

Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases characterized by characteristic optic nerve atrophy and visual field defects, with pathological elevated intraocular pressure as its main risk factor. The main symptoms of glaucoma include blurry vision and blocked vision. Due to different types, it is also accompanied by other eye symptoms such as eye pain, eye bulging, foggy vision, as well as pain in the nasal root and head, and even nausea and vomiting.