Glaucoma: What It Is, How It Affects Vision, and What You Can Do

When you hear glaucoma, a group of eye conditions that damage the optic nerve, often due to high fluid pressure inside the eye. Also known as the silent thief of sight, it doesn’t hurt, it doesn’t blur vision right away, and by the time you notice, you’ve already lost peripheral vision—sometimes permanently. This isn’t just an older person’s problem. It can start quietly in your 40s or even earlier, especially if you have family history, diabetes, or high blood pressure.

What’s really going on inside your eye? The fluid that keeps your eyeball shaped, called aqueous humor, isn’t draining properly. That buildup creates intraocular pressure, the force exerted by fluid inside the eye, which slowly crushes the delicate optic nerve fibers. Over time, those fibers die, and your brain loses the signals from the edges of your vision. You might not notice until you bump into things or fail a driver’s test. That’s why regular eye exams aren’t optional—they’re your only early warning system. And yes, eye pressure, the key measurable factor in glaucoma risk can be normal in some people and still cause damage. That’s called normal-tension glaucoma, and it’s just as dangerous.

There’s no cure, but there’s plenty you can do to stop it from getting worse. Medications, lasers, and sometimes surgery can lower pressure and protect your remaining vision. Lifestyle matters too. That cup of coffee you drink in the morning? It can raise eye pressure temporarily. So can lying flat for long periods or doing head-down yoga poses. Managing blood pressure and avoiding smoking also helps. The real power isn’t in the treatment—it’s in catching it early. If you’re over 40, or have any risk factors, get your eyes checked every year. Don’t wait for symptoms. Glaucoma doesn’t ask for permission before it steals your sight.

Below, you’ll find real, practical guides that connect glaucoma to the medications, habits, and health factors that actually matter—from how caffeine affects your eye pressure to what other conditions like diabetes or high blood pressure do to your risk. These aren’t theory pieces. They’re tools you can use today to protect what you see tomorrow.