Basically glaucoma is divided broadly into two categories. One is the open-angle glaucoma and other is the angle-closure glaucoma. This differentiation is based on the fact that the fluid in the eye, which is called as the agueous humour is getting produced constantly from one area which we call as the ciliary body and then moves out of the eye to another area known as the trabecular meshwork. Now in certain circumstances, this trabecular meshwork which is at the corner of the eye gets blocked by a natural tissue of the eye, called as iris. When this natural tissue of the eye which is called iris, blocks the trabecular meshwork ,we call this as angle-closure glaucoma. In certain circumstances this tissue keeps the meshwork open, but that can be an inherent molecular level block of the trabecular meshwork. If there is a trauma which causes glaucoma, we call it as traumatic glaucoma. When there is glaucoma that comes from childhood , then we call it as juvenile glaucoma, when it occurs from birth we call it as congenital glaucoma. We can have glaucomas caused by various diseases in the eye especially conditions like uveitis, which is inflammatory conditions of the eye can cause glaucoma. So we can have glaucomas based which we can classify based on the type of glaucoma like open-angle and closed-angle glaucoma. Then we can have glaucoma based on the causation of glaucoma, say traumatic glaucoma or cataract induced glaucomas.
Glaucoma can definitely cause both of them. It can cause blurred vision as well as headache but what we need to know is the chances of blurred vision and headache is more common with different types of glaucoma or varies with different types of glaucoma like say for example in open-angle glaucoma the chance of blurred vision and headache is very low whereas with the type of glaucoma we call as angle – closure glaucoma, the incidence of blurred vision and headache is extremely high. This is because in angle- closure glaucoma, the pressure within the eye mounts up all of a sudden within a span of few hours. When this happens the outer layer of the eye which we call as the cornea, this is the outer layer of the eye, this becomes very cloudy and then it causes blurring of vision and then the pressure inside the eye goes up significantly high in a very short interval. This streches the nerves in the eye as a result the stretch of the nerves can result in headache. The chances of this happening in open angle glaucoma is extremely low, the reason being, in open angle glaucoma, the pressure in the eye starts going very slowly over a period of over months or years. When this happens, usually neither does it cause clouding of the cornea, so we don’t have much of blurring of vision and neither does it cause headache because it doesn’t happen suddenly. However in some cases of open – angle glaucoma we do have blurring of vision especially in very advanced glaucomas where the glaucoma has become so advanced that it has destroyed almost something like 80 to 90 percent of the of the nerve, then it can cause blurring of vision. Or supposing the patients with open-angle glaucomas had a consistent pressure of something around 20 or 22 all of a sudden, he develops a sudden increase of pressure to something like 30 – 35, he can start developing headaches even in open-angle glaucomas. However, as I said, I am repeating it is important to remember that these symptoms of blurred vision and headache are more common, are much more common with angle-closure glaucoma as compared to open-angle glaucoma.

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