High Eye Pressure

What is Glaucoma?

There are four primary types of glaucoma:

1. Chronic Open-Angle Glaucoma: Chronic open-angle glaucoma is a common type of the disease that develops when the drainage system in your eye that usually keeps excess fluid out doesn’t work correctly. As a result, fluid pressure builds up in your eye and damages the optic nerve.

2. Acute Angle-Closure Glaucoma: With acute angle-closure glaucoma, your eye’s drainage system doesn’t just malfunction, it’s completely blocked. This type of glaucoma requires immediate medical attention. Long-lasting pressure buildups can lead to blurred vision, halo sightings, and nausea

3. Secondary Glaucoma: Secondary glaucoma occurs as a consequence of another eye condition that causes pressure to build in the drainage system. In this case, your optometrist can quickly identify the cause of your glaucoma. In other cases, determining the cause of glaucoma can be much more difficult.

4. Normal-Tension Glaucoma: Normal-tension glaucoma is an unusual type of glaucoma in which normal levels of pressure in the eye cause sensitivity.

How is Glaucoma Diagnosed?

The two most commonly used machines in the diagnosis of glaucoma are:

• Visual Field Machine: The visual field machine allows your optometrist to look at your central and peripheral vision. During this process, your optometrist at Bronx Eye Associates can determine whether there’s been any damage to the visual pathways of the brain and optic nerve, and tell you whether you’re at risk of vision loss.

• Optomap Machine: The Optomap® machine painlessly and quickly creates ultrawide digital scans of your retina. These scans allow your optometrist to detect the presence of glaucoma.

If you have high eye pressure, you may be at a higher risk for glaucoma. This is why it’s important to visit your eye doctor often for routine exams, where they can measure and monitor the pressure of your eye. 

How is Glaucoma Treated?

There are no known cures for glaucoma. However, the team at Bronx Eye Associates can both recommend effective symptom management regimens to slow down its progression and regularly check on the pressure levels in your eyes.  

Your optometrist can recommend:

• Prescription eyedrops to increase or decrease the flow of fluid

• Oral medication

• Surgery to insert tiny drains

If you have a family history of glaucoma or merely want to make sure you don’t have it, call or go online today to book an appointment with an optometrist at Bronx Eye Associates.