Diagnosing and Treating Glaucoma

Glaucoma is detected through a comprehensive eye exam that includes:

• Eye Chart. This eye chart test measures how well you see at various distances. A tonometer measures pressure inside the eye to detect glaucoma.
• Visual field test. This test measures your side (peripheral) vision. It helps your eye care professional tell if you have lost side vision, a sign of glaucoma.
• Dilated eye exam. Drops are placed in your eyes to widen, or dilate, the pupils. Your eye care professional uses a special magnifying lens to examine your retina and optic nerve for signs of damage and other eye problems. After the exam, your close-up vision may remain blurred for several hours.
• Tonometry. An instrument measures the pressure inside the eye. Numbing drops may be applied to your eye for this test.
• Pachymetry. A numbing drop is applied to your eye. Your eye care professional uses an ultrasonic wave instrument to measure the thickness of your cornea.

Treatments

There is no cure for glaucoma and vision lost from the disease cannot be restored.
Immediate treatment for early stage, open-angle glaucoma can delay progression of the disease. That's why early diagnosis is very important.

Glaucoma treatments include medicines, laser trabeculoplasty, conventional surgery, or a combination of any of these. While these treatments may save remaining vision, they do not improve sight already lost from glaucoma.

Medications 

Medicines, in the form of eyedrops or pills, are the most common early treatment for glaucoma. Some medicines cause the eye to make less fluid. Others lower pressure by helping fluid drain from the eye.

Before you begin glaucoma treatment, tell your eye care professional about other medicines you may be taking. Sometimes the drops can interfere with the way other medicines work.
Glaucoma medicines may be taken several times a day. Most people have no problems.

owever, some medicines can cause headaches or other side effects. For example, drops may cause stinging, burning, and redness in the eyes.

Many drugs are available to treat glaucoma. If you have problems with one medicine, tell your eye care professional. Treatment with a different dose or a new drug may be possible.

Because glaucoma often has no symptoms, people may be tempted to stop taking, or may forget to take, their medicine. You need to use the drops or pills as long as they help control your eye pressure. Regular use is very important.

Make sure your eye care professional shows you how to put the drops into your eye.