Symptoms of Glaucoma

Are you concerned about glaucoma? Is there a history of glaucoma in your family? Dr. Wilmarth can evaluate your eyes and answer your questions.

There are various types of glaucoma, the most common being open-angle. Angle-closure glaucoma is a very serious form of glaucoma that can potentially blind an eye in a few hours. Fortunately, it is not very common however Dr. Wilmarth screens for this potential problem with each and every patient.

Typically, the only indication of primary open-angle glaucoma is a gradual loss of your peripheral vision eventually creating tunnel vision and finally blindness. Routine eye exams easily detect this disease and treatment can be started quickly. Open angle glaucoma is usually a very slowly progressive disorder over many years. Yearly eye exams are suffient to detect this problem. Family history is important. If you have a family member with a history of open angle glaucoma, you are more likely to have the same problem.

Angle-closure glaucoma may have some of the following symptoms:

• Eye pain

• Sudden vision problems

• Blurry vision

• Eye redness

• Halos around light sources

• Eye pain accompanied by nausea and vomiting

These symptoms usually occur suddenly and then go away. They'll most likely return later and cause vision loss.

If you are experiencing any of these symptoms or others, you should schedule an appointment with our eye surgeon right away. If you are not experiencing symptoms but are age 60 or older, or have risk factors for glaucoma, you should schedule regular eye exams. This eye disease rarely has early symptoms, and we can detect it before it worsens.

If you live in Sacramento, Folsom, Rocklin or Roseville, it’s a short drive to visit Dr. Wilmarth. We look forward to meeting you and answering your questions.