Glaucoma Is Not The Disease You Think It is

Glaucoma is a common eye disease that has no signs or symptoms until a significant amount of vision is lost. Although we think of glaucoma as a disease of high eye pressure half the patients with glaucoma will never have high eye pressure. Perhaps not surprisingly then half the patients with the disease remain undiagnosed. Therefore, eye pressure alone is not reliable for glaucoma screening. Early detection is critical to prevent permanent and irreversible vision loss.

Even with the best technology diagnosis can be challenging and take several visits. In my office we use the most advanced OCT scanner in the world : a third generation swept source OCT. It scans faster, with greater accuracy and detail then its predecessors.

We also have an HRT, we do visual field testing and retinal photography along with ultrasound and conventional testing like gonioscopy and fundoscopy. We also treat a lot of dry eye patients some who are also glaucoma patients but others who are young and otherwise healthy. Dry eye is becoming extremely common in part due to our constant use of electronic devices.

I really enjoy explaining the disease to patients and answering their questions. I find the fear of the unknown a lot of the time is worse than the diseases. The good news is glaucoma is generally very treatable if found early and most patients do not lose vision if they follow the recommended treatment.