Glaucoma Symptoms

Symptoms of glaucoma vary according to the type of glaucoma you have.

Open-angle glaucoma (OAG)

Most people with OAG have no symptoms when they are diagnosed. You may have some side vision loss, but you may not notice it until the vision loss becomes severe. This is because the less affected eye makes up for your vision loss. You may not notice the loss of sharpness of vision (visual acuity) until late in the disease. By that time, significant vision loss has occurred.

Closed-angle glaucoma (CAG)

CAG may cause no symptoms. Or symptoms may range from mild to severe. They usually affect only one eye at a time.

Severe symptoms may include:

• Sudden, severe blurring of vision.
• Severe pain. The pain may be in or around the eye.
• Colored halos around lights.
• Redness of the eye.
• Nausea and vomiting.

You may have short episodes of symptoms that usually occur in the evening and are over by morning. This is called subacute closed-angle glaucoma. CAG can also happen suddenly and require medical attention right away.

Congenital glaucoma

Symptoms of glaucoma that a baby is born with (congenital glaucoma) and glaucoma that develops in the first few years of life (infantile glaucoma) may include:

• Watery eyes. The baby may also appear to be sensitive to light.
• An eye or eyes that look cloudy. This is a sign that the clear front surface of the eye (cornea) has been damaged.
• Eyes that look larger than normal because the eyeballs have become enlarged as a result of high pressure.

Your baby may rub his or her eyes, squint, or keep the eyes closed much of the time.