the.com/glaucoma
Glaucoma damages the optic nerve and can quietly destroy vision, starting at the edges, if untreated.
means An eye disease in which rising pressure damages the optic nerve, gradually stealing peripheral vision and, if untreated, central vision too.
from From Greek glaukoma, from glaukos, meaning 'gleaming' or 'bluish-gray' — the word the ancient Greeks used for a clouded, grayish look in the eye. Hippocrates and other early physicians used glaukos to describe eyes gone pale or filmy, lumping together conditions we'd now separate into glaucoma and cataracts. Over centuries the term narrowed to its current, more precise medical meaning, but the root sense of a cloudy, sea-gray gaze is still sitting right there in the name.
- culprit
- pressure inside the eye damaging the optic nerve
- stealth factor
- no symptoms until vision loss is permanent
- global toll
- leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide
- defense
- regular eye pressure checks, not waiting for pain