THREE WAYS TO TELL IF YOU HAVE GLAUCOMA
My title was a little misleading! Because really, there is no way at all for YOU to know if you have Glaucoma! But there are lots of ways your optometrist can tell.
There are many types of Glaucoma but the most common type is called Open Angle Glaucoma. Open Angle Glaucoma doesn’t hurt (Oh how I wish it did! – not because I’m a meanie, but because pain would bring patient in to me much earlier so that I could diagnose and treat their Glaucoma sooner!).
Open angle glaucoma involves a slow increase in the pressure of the eye over many years. This increase in pressure can happen for many reasons but the result is that it can damage the optic nerve at the back of the eye. If the optic nerve gets damaged, a patient will lose their side vision. Unfortunately, patients rarely notice this loss of peripheral vision until it is quite advanced. By this stage the damage to the optic nerve is irreversible.
So, if there AREN’T ANY WAYS that you can tell if you have Glaucoma then what should you do? This is where your optometrist comes in! An optometrist can tell if you have Glaucoma in three ways;
1. Measuring the pressure in your eye
2. Measuring the thickness of your optic nerve
3. Measuring your peripheral vision
If you are over the age of 50 or if you have a family history of Glaucoma, then visit Wodonga Eyecare today and we will help you discover more about your eye health and help you avoid unnecessary Glaucomatous vision loss!
“See” you later!
Kelly