About Glaucoma

With January being Glaucoma Awareness Month it is an especially good time to schedule glaucoma eye exams and testing if you have not already done so. Glaucoma is a disease that damages your optic nerve usually as a result of the fluid building up in the front part of your eye and creating a high pressure-intraocular pressure (IOP). This is the most common type of glaucoma called Primary Open Angle Glaucoma and is painless and causes no vision changes at first so it is important to have regular eye exams and testing-especially if you are over 40 or someone in your family has glaucoma!

The only sure way to diagnose glaucoma is with a complete eye exam. A glaucoma screening that only checks eye pressure is not enough to find glaucoma. During a glaucoma exam, your eye will:

  • Measure your eye pressure-called tonometry.
  • Inspect your eye’s drainage angle-called gonioscopy.
  • Examine your optic nerve for damage with a special lens
  • Test your peripheral (side) vision-called visual field testing.
  • Take a computer measurement of your optic nerve-called OCT.
  • Measure the thickness of your cornea-called pachymetry.

These tests are part of your complete eye exam with glaucoma testing and give your doctor the necessary information to provide early detection and diagnose glaucoma. With early detection, diagnosis and treatment vision loss from glaucoma can be prevented.

If you or someone you know has not had recent eye exam with glaucoma testing please schedule one at Outlook Eyecare, Monroe Township, 609-409-2777 or Outlook Eyecare, Princeton, NJ, 609-419-1920, or visit Outlook Eyecare or Facebook.

Outlook Eyecare is a comprehensive eye care practice staffed by NJ ophthalmologists, optometrists and eye specialists located at 5 Centre Drive, Suite 1B, Monroe Township, NJ 08831 (P) 609-409-2777 and 100 Canal Pointe Boulevard, Suite #100, Princeton, NJ 08831 (P) 609-419-1920-an affiliate of Prism Vision Group.