Glaucoma
Glaucoma is the name given to a group of eye diseases in
which the optic nerve at the back of the eye is slowly destroyed.
Everyones eyes produce a fluid like water which then flows
around inside the eye to a front chamber. From this front chamber, the fluid
leaves the eye by entering a drainage network that then enters the bloodstream.
In the most common type of glaucoma, this drainage network
can become blocked, causing the fluid to trap in the eye, resulting in the
pressure inside the eye increasing too much.
The pressurised fluid reduces the blood flow in the tiny
blood vessels in the optic nerve, at the back of the eye, where the nerve may
become damaged, and eventually the sight may be affected.