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A patient with established glaucoma has already some visual field
loss, usually in the periphery. This loss is called a
scotoma.
It must be emphasized that the
scotoma resulting from glaucoma is
not easily perceived
. Even if -for academic reasons- we record it as
a black area, in the real world this area ceases to exist for our brain.
This visual field loss doesn’t really bother us, as it doesn’t bother us
the fact that we cannot see behind us for example.
As the damage becomes more extensive, active people begin to
have serious problems as they realize that they can’t see objects that
they are certain that they are in front of them (as a part of a page
from a book they are reading).
This is truly a serious disability with serious consequence in ones’
quality of life.
Self-examination for glaucoma is practically impossible and the
only accurate method is to visit an ophthalmologist.
He will take
into consideration all the predisposing factors, record the intraocular
pressure, and take advantage of the most up-to-date equipment to
simultaneously investigate the morphology of the optic nerve head,
and recognize early signs of glaucoma.
How does a patient see with
glaucoma?
Arc scotoma
