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What Does Glaucoma Look Like

This audio article is from VisualFieldTest.com (https://visualfieldtest.com) . Read the full article here: https://visualfieldtest.com/en/what-d... Test your visual field online: https://visualfieldtest.com Support the show so new episodes keep coming: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2563091/su... Excerpt: What Does Glaucoma Look LikeGlaucoma is often called the “silent thief of sight” because it slowly steals vision with few obvious symptoms () (). In the United States it is the second leading cause of permanent blindness (). But what does glaucoma look like – to the patient, and to the eye doctor? In early stages, most people notice nothing at all. Over time, glaucoma chips away at peripheral vision (the edges of the field of view) one tiny blind spot at a time (). Because these “dots” in the side vision come on slowly and the brain fills in gaps, many patients don’t realize anything is wrong until more serious loss occurs (). By the time glaucoma is advanced, however, the remaining sight can narrow to a small central tunnel or even total blackness.Patient’s Experience: How Vision ChangesEarly stage. In early glaucoma, most vision—especially central vision—is normal, so patients usually feel fine. The earliest signs are subtle blind spots at the edges of vision, often near the nose (nasal visual field). These spots are so small that people rarely notice them. For example, a patient information article explains that early glaucoma “creates blind spots in the outer edges of the visual field,” which usually go unnoticed (). People may only start to notice trouble when the blind spots grow or come closer to central vision. Mid stage (tunnel vision). As glaucoma progresses, the vision gradually constricts inward. Side vision gets cut off first, producing what patients call “tunnel vision.” Imagine looking through a narrow tunnel: objects at the very edges begin to disappear. Many patients describe this stage as if they can only see through a pipe or a small keyhole. One study of glaucoma patients found that as visual field loss worsened, people reported that objects to one or both sides became hard to see, “as if looking through dirty glasses,” and that they had trouble distinguishing edges and colors (). At this point you may bump into things at your side or have trouble watching traffic from the periphery.Advanced stage. In very advanced glaucoma, little – or no – vision may remain. The visual field can shrink to tiny islands of sight or go completely dark. For example, one overview notes that if left untreated, glaucoma can “eventually cause blindness” by wiping out nearly all side and central vision (). People who are blind from glaucoma usually have almost zero field of vision. They might only perceive light versus dark, but no clear images.Brain compensation (filling-in). One reason glaucoma often goes undetected is that the brain “fills in” missing visual information. Even if the eye has an actual blind spot, the brain may use surrounding patterns and context to cover it up. This same filling-in happens for everyone’s natural blind spot (at the optic nerve) and for small scotomas (vision gaps) in any eye condition. So when glaucoma causes a blank in the side vision, the brain usually ignores it. The result is that a person with mild or moderate glaucoma often sees a surprisingly normal world, because subtle deficits are automatically hidden. Only when the blind areas are large or start encroach on central sight do most people finally notice. This is why routine screening exams are crucial – patients often remain unaware of significant vision loss until it is irreversible ().Wh Support the show (https://www.buzzsprout.com/2563091/su...)