The majority of the cases of glaucoma are asymptomatic. That means, even when the pressure inside the eye is high and the nerve damage is happening, the patients do not realize it until it’s too late. That is why glaucoma is nick-named “the silent thief of vision”.
What is a Visual field?
Close one eye, look straight and concentrate on one object. The area of vision around that object that you are concentrating, is the rough definition of the visual field of that eye.
What happens to the visual field in Glaucoma?
When the nerve damage starts, the peripheral field of vision is affected first. As we look forward most of the time, we ignore our peripheral visual field. We start to realize its loss only when it is affected majorly.
That is why Glaucoma screening is important for early diagnosis of the disease.
Some cases of glaucoma like acute angle closure glaucoma, present with sudden onset painful loss of vision, color halos, eye pain, redness, severe headache, nausea, vomiting, etc.