Cause: Sometimes genetic, sometimes triggered by disease, age, or pressure inside the eye.

Useful Supplements: Alpha Lipoic Acid, Vitamin C.

Further information: Glaucoma is the name for a group of diseases that can lead to optic nerve damage, ultimately resulting in blindness if not treated. More than three million Americans suffer from glaucoma. In many cases, pressure inside the eye causes glaucoma. Fluid build-up at the front of the eye causes this pressure.
Age and family history of glaucoma are major risk factors, as is African-American ethnic background.
Often, glaucoma has progressed dramatically before it is noticed. The best way to detect early glaucoma symptoms is through regular eye exams and a test to determine how much pressure is being exerted on the eye.
The first noticeable symptom of glaucoma is usually "tunnel vision" – a lack of vision of items that are not directly in front of the eyes. Gradually, the "tunnel" that can be seen gets narrower and narrower, and can ultimately end in blindness if not treated.
While not curable, glaucoma can be treated via daily medication which helps lower pressure in the eye, laser surgery to drain built-up fluid, or conventional surgery creating a new opening from which fluid can drain.
It is possible that allergies can make glaucoma more severe.¹ If conventional treatments are not helping, a test for food and environmental allergies may be helpful.

The following supplements have been shown effective in the treatment of glaucoma:

Alpha lipoic acid, taken in a dose of 150 mg daily for 30 days, has been shown to improve vision in patients with glaucoma.²

Vitamin C reduces elevated pressure in the eye.³ It must be taken in large doses – often up to 20 grams daily – and is not a cure; if Vitamin C therapy is stopped, glaucoma will continue to develop at its previous pace.

References:

¹Raymond LF. Allergy and chronic simple glaucoma. Ann Allerg 1996;22:146.
²Filina AA, Davydova NG, Endrikhovskii SN, et al. Lipoic acid as a means of metabolic therapy of open-angle glaucoma. Vestn Oftalmol 1995;111:6–8.
³Ringsdorf WM Jr, Cheraskin E. Ascorbic acid and glaucoma: a review. J Holistic Med 1981;3:167–72.