Time for Glaucoma Testing!

Glaucoma is a disease that damages your eye’s optic nerve. It usually happens when fluid builds up in the front part of your eye. That extra fluid increases the pressure in your eye, damaging the optic nerve. This is the most common type of glaucoma called Primary Open Angle Glaucoma. This type of glaucoma 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 Northwest Indiana Eye & Laser Center at 219-464-8223, or visit Northwest Indiana Eye & Laser Center, or Facebook.

Northwest Indiana Eye & Laser Center offices are located at 851 Eastport Center Drive, Valparaiso, Indiana 46383 and 1003 South Edgewood Drive, Knox, Indiana 46354.