Glaucoma Testing: Why My Eyes Feel Fine Isn't Enough
Glaucoma can be frustrating because your eyes may feel completely normal and your central vision may still be sharp while changes are occurring in the optic nerve.
The optic nerve connects your eye to your brain. Glaucoma refers to a group of conditions that progressively damage this nerve. Vision already lost from glaucoma generally cannot simply be restored with stronger glasses, which is why early detection matters.
Eye pressure is important, but glaucoma and high eye pressure are not exactly the same thing. Some people have higher pressure without glaucoma, while others develop glaucomatous damage even though their measured pressure is not particularly high.
Testing may include eye pressure measurement, optic nerve examination, OCT, visual field testing, corneal thickness measurement, and Gonioscope. One test by itself does not always tell the whole story.
You can have glaucoma and still see 20/20. Early glaucoma often affects peripheral vision rather than the central vision used to read an eye chart. Regular Glaucoma testing allow suspicious findings to be identified and monitored over time.
