Glaucoma Treatment at CritiCare Asia Hospitals, Kurla, Mumbai
Glaucoma is a group of eye conditions that damage the optic nerve, the cable that carries what the eye sees to the brain. CritiCare Asia Hospitals in Kurla is an eye hospital in Mumbai where glaucoma is diagnosed, treated and followed over the long term. The damage is usually linked to raised pressure inside the eye, though some people develop it even when their readings look normal. It is rarely noticeable at the start, and sight lost to it does not come back. Regular checks and timely glaucoma treatment therefore matter more than waiting for symptoms. Patients are told in plain terms what each test and visit involves, including how billing and insurance work.
How Glaucoma Affects the Eyes
The eye constantly makes a clear fluid called aqueous humour, which drains through a fine mesh near the edge of the cornea. If drainage slows or blocks, the fluid builds up, and pressure inside the eye climbs. Over months or years, that pressure wears down the optic nerve fibres until they die off.
Vision fades from the edges inward, while central sight often stays sharp until late. That is how the loss goes unnoticed. In normal-tension glaucoma, the nerve is damaged although pressure stays in the usual range, which points to other factors such as reduced blood flow or an unusually sensitive nerve.
Symptoms of Glaucoma
The chronic forms are quiet, and open-angle glaucoma often causes nothing in the early stages. When signs do appear, they tend to be:
- Gradual loss of side vision, noticed as bumping into things or missing objects at the edge of view
- Narrow, tunnel-like vision in advanced disease
- Glasses prescriptions that seem to need changing again and again
An acute angle-closure attack looks very different. Severe eye pain, a pounding headache, a red eye, blurred vision, halos around lights, and nausea or vomiting can arrive together. This needs same-day attention, not the next available appointment.
Types of Glaucoma
The type decides how fast the disease moves and how it is treated.
- Primary open-angle glaucoma
the most widespread form. The drainage angle looks open but drains poorly, and vision slips away slowly and painlessly. - Angle-closure glaucoma
the angle narrows or shuts, sometimes abruptly, and pressure spikes. This is an emergency. - Normal-tension glaucoma
nerve damage with pressure in the normal range. - Secondary glaucoma
follows another problem such as an eye injury, inflammation, long-term steroid use, or diabetes-related changes in the eye. - Congenital glaucoma
present from birth or early infancy because the drainage structures did not develop fully.
Causes and Risk Factors
Anyone can develop glaucoma, but the odds rise with:
- Age above 40
- A parent or sibling with glaucoma
- Diabetes or high blood pressure
- Marked short-sightedness or long-sightedness
- Long-term steroid use in any form
- A past eye injury or eye surgery
- A thinner-than-average cornea
Several of these together are a good reason to book a baseline examination with a glaucoma specialist in Kurla, Mumbai before symptoms ever start.
How Is Glaucoma Diagnosed?
The assessment is painless and mostly a matter of measuring and mapping.
- Tonometry
measures the pressure inside the eye. - Ophthalmoscopy
examines the optic nerve, usually with the pupil dilated, for changes in shape and colour. - Gonioscopy
views the drainage angle to tell open-angle from angle-closure disease. - Visual field testing
maps peripheral vision and picks up gaps the patient has not noticed. - OCT scan
measures the thickness of the nerve fibre layer. - Pachymetry
measures corneal thickness, which affects how pressure readings are interpreted.
No single test settles it. The picture comes from combining several and repeating them over time to see whether anything is changing.
Treatment Options for Glaucoma
Treatment aims to lower eye pressure and protect the vision that remains. It cannot reverse damage already done, and it usually starts with the least invasive option.
- Eye drops
the first step for most patients. They reduce fluid production or help it drain, and are used daily, often for life. - Laser treatment
improves drainage in open-angle glaucoma, or makes a tiny opening in the iris to ease angle-closure risk. - Glaucoma surgery
considered when drops and laser cannot hold pressure at a safe level. It creates a new drainage route or places a small drainage device.
Tablets or intravenous medication may be given briefly to bring down a sudden spike. An angle-closure attack is an emergency, with pressure lowered first and laser used afterwards to prevent a repeat.
Success in glaucoma is measured by stability, not by feeling better. Most patients notice no change, because treatment protects vision rather than restoring it. Pressure is compared against a target set for that person, while repeat field tests and OCT scans show whether nerve damage is holding steady. Skipped follow-ups let slow progression pass unseen.
Glaucoma Treatment at CritiCare Asia Hospitals, Kurla, Mumbai
Care starts by working out which type of glaucoma a patient has and how far it has progressed, since those two answers shape everything after. The ophthalmology team examines the optic nerve, checks pressure and the drainage angle, and maps the visual field where needed, then sets a target pressure for that individual. Medication comes first where it is likely to work. Laser or surgery is discussed only when drops alone are unlikely to protect vision, and the reasons are explained before any decision. Because glaucoma is lifelong, follow-up is planned from the beginning, and patients know in advance what each review will involve and what it is likely to cost. If you are over 40, have a family history of glaucoma, or have noticed changes in your side vision, book a consultation with eye specialists in Kurla at CritiCare Asia Hospitals.