Puja Eye Hospital

Secondary Glaucoma

Conditions

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Conditions

Secondary Glaucoma

Glaucoma that develops as a result of another eye condition, an injury, or a medical treatment, rather than occurring on its own. Common causes include eye trauma, prolonged steroid use (sometimes called steroid-induced glaucoma), and complications following previous eye surgery.

What it is

Glaucoma that develops as a result of another eye condition, an injury, or a medical treatment, rather than occurring on its own. Common causes include eye trauma, prolonged steroid use (sometimes called steroid-induced glaucoma), and complications following previous eye surgery.

Symptoms and warning signs

Varies by cause, but often mirrors primary glaucoma — gradual, painless vision loss that's easy to miss without testing. Trauma-related cases may involve more immediate pain or visible changes to the eye.

Causes / risk factors

Blunt or penetrating eye injury, steroid medications (oral, topical, or eye drops), previous intraocular surgery, and certain other eye diseases.

How it's diagnosed

Standard glaucoma testing (pressure, OCT, visual field), alongside a review of the underlying cause — surgical history, medication use, or history of injury.

Treatment approach

Where possible, treatment addresses the underlying cause alongside standard pressure-lowering treatment — drops, laser, or surgery depending on severity.

Frequently asked questions

Yes — in some people, steroids raise eye pressure significantly, whether taken as drops, orally, or another way. This is one reason regular eye checks matter during long-term steroid treatment.

The available treatments are largely the same as other forms of glaucoma, though the underlying cause can affect which approach makes the most sense.

Not inherently — severity depends on the individual case, not the category. What matters is how advanced secondary glaucoma is at diagnosis and how well secondary glaucoma responds to treatment.
Related conditions & treatments
Uveitic glaucoma Neovascular glaucoma Comprehensive glaucoma evaluation Trabeculectomy Primary open-angle glaucoma Laser trabeculoplasty Minimally invasive glaucoma surgery (MIGS) Pigmentary glaucoma Pseudoexfoliation glaucoma Secondary glaucoma Glaucoma drainage device (tube shunt) Glaucoma suspect and ocular hypertension Normal-tension glaucoma Angle-closure glaucoma
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