(also called “yellow water” or “green water” in Russian—in glaucoma the region of the pupil sometimes begins to gleam with a yellowish gray or bluish gray light), a disease of the eyes, the principal symptom of which is an increase in intraocular pressure with a reduction of vision.
Intraocular pressure in glaucoma sometimes reaches 80 mm of mercury, or 10.67 kilonewtons (kN)/m2. (Normal pressure is 18-27 mm of mercury, or 2.4-3.6 kN/m2.) The pressure in the eye may rise spontaneously (primary glaucoma) or as the result of a previous or current disease of the eye (secondary glaucoma). The underlying cause of the disease is a disruption of the circulation of intraocular fluid—most commonly, difficulty in its drainage. Glaucoma usually develops in the elderly, often affecting both eyes, and as a rule proceeds chronically; in the absence of systematic treatment it is progressive. Glaucomas may be defined as either congestive (narrow angle), characterized by periodic clouding of vision, rainbowed halos around a light source, and a sensation of pressure in and around the eye, simple (open angle), in which these subjective phenomena are absent. In any form of glaucoma visual acuity gradually diminishes, the field of vision becomes limited, and the optic nerve atrophies. An acute attack of glaucoma, characterized by an abrupt rise in intraocular pressure, may develop at any stage of the disease; severe pains in and around the eye develop, there is reddening of the eyes, edema and clouding of the cornea, dilatation of the pupil, and reduction of vision, sometimes to the point of blindness. There is often accompanying nausea and vomiting. Glaucoma is the most common cause of blindness. The treatment may be medical or sometimes surgical. In the USSR prevention consists of examination of persons over 40 years of age and treatment of patients with established glaucoma at out-patient prevention and treatment clinics. Prevention of blindness from glaucoma involves early diagnosis of the disease and systematic treatment.
M. L. KRASNOV