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Who is at risk for glaucoma? |
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Your ophthalmologist considers many kinds
of information to determine your risk
for developing the disease. |
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The most important risk factors include: |
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age;
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elevated eye pressure;
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family history of glaucoma;
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farsightedness or nearsightedness of high
powers;
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past eye injuries;
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thinner central corneal thickness;
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long term use of steroid medications;
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systemic health problems, such as diabetes
and migraine headaches.
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Your ophthalmologist will weight all of
these factors before deciding whether
you need treatment for glaucoma, or
whether you should be monitored closely
as a glaucoma suspect. This means your
risk of developing glaucoma is higher
than normal, and you need to have
regular examinations to detect the early
signs of damage to the optic nerve. |
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How is glaucoma detected? |
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Regular eye examinations by your
ophthalmologist is the best way to
detect glaucoma. A glaucoma screening
that checks only the pressure of the eye
is not sufficient to determine if you
have glaucoma. The only sure way to
detect glaucoma is to have a complete
eye examination. |
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During your glaucoma evaluation, your
ophthalmologist will: |
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measure your intraocular pressure (tonometry);
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inspect the drainage angle of your eye (gonioscopy);
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evaluate whether or not there is any optic
nerve damage (ophthalmoscopy);
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test the peripheral vision of each eye
(visual field testing or perimetry);
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measure the thickness of the retinal nerve
fibre layer (RNFL) (optical
coherence tomography);
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Some of these tests may not be necessary
for everyone. These tests may need to be
repeated on a regular basis to monitor
any changes in your condition. |
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...back
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Treatment |
