Glaucoma is detected through a comprehensive eye exam. A typical eye exam inclued the testing procedure listed below.
- Eye Chart Test
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
The tonometry test measures the inner pressure of the eye. Usually drops are used to numb the eye. Then the doctor or technician will use a special device that measures the eye’s pressure. - Ophthalmoscopy
This test is used to examine the inside of the eye, especially the optic nerve. In a darkened room, the doctor will magnify your eye by using an ophthalmoscope (an instrument with a small light on the end). This helps the doctor look at the shape and color of the optic nerve.
If the pressure in the eye is not in the normal range, or if the optic nerve looks unusual, then one or two specialized glaucoma tests will be done.
- Perimetry
The perimetry test is also called a visual field test. During this test, you will be asked to look straight ahead and then indicate when a moving light passes your peripheral (or side) vision. This helps draw a “map” of your vision. - Gonioscopy
Gonioscopy is a painless eye test that checks if the angle where the iris meets the cornea is open or closed, showing if either open-angle or closed angle glaucoma is present.
Treatments for Glaucoma
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. However, some medicines can cause headaches or other side effects. For example, drops may cause stinging, burning, and redness in the eyes.
Laser Trabeculoplasty
Laser trabeculoplasty helps fluid drain out of the eye. Your doctor may suggest this step at any time. In many cases, you need to keep taking glaucoma drugs after this procedure.Laser trabeculoplasty is performed in your doctor's office or eye clinic.
Before the surgery, numbing drops will be applied to your eye. As you sit facing the laser machine, your doctor will hold a special lens to your eye. A high-intensity beam of light is aimed at the lens and reflected onto the meshwork inside your eye. You may see flashes of bright green or red light. The laser makes several evenly spaced burns that stretch the drainage holes in the meshwork. This procedure allows the fluid to drain better. Like any surgery, laser surgery can cause side effects, such as inflammation. Your doctor may give you some drops to take home for any soreness or inflammation inside the eye. You will need to make several follow-up visits to have your eye pressure monitored.
If you have glaucoma in both eyes, only one eye will be treated at a time. Laser treatments for each eye will be scheduled several days to several weeks apart.
Conventional Surgery
Conventional surgery makes a new opening for the fluid to leave the eye. Your doctor may suggest this treatment at any time. Conventional surgery is often done after medicines and laser surgery have failed to control pressure.
Conventional surgery is performed in an eye clinic or hospital. Before the surgery, you will be given medicine to help you relax. Your doctor will make small injections around the eye to numb it. A small piece of tissue is removed to create a new channel for the fluid to drain from the eye.
For several weeks after the surgery, you must put drops in the eye to fight infection and inflammation. These drops will be different from those you may have been using before surgery.
As with laser surgery, conventional surgery is performed on one eye at a time. Usually the operations are four to six weeks apart. Conventional surgery is about 60 to 80 percent effective at lowering eye pressure. If the new drainage opening narrows, a second operation may be needed.
Conventional surgery works best if you have not had previous eye surgery, such as a cataract operation. In some instances, your vision may not be as good as it was before conventional surgery. Conventional surgery can cause side effects, including cataract, problems with the cornea, and inflammation or infection inside the eye. The buildup of fluid in the back of the eye may cause some people to see shadows in their vision. If you have any of these problems, tell your doctor so a treatment plan can be developed.
Information provided by the National Eye Institute, a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that is the Federal government's lead agency for vision research.