Glaucoma Management | Brampton & Mississauga-Oakville

What Is Glaucoma?

Glaucoma is a chronic, progressive group of eye diseases causing optic nerve damage. It’s a leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide. Symptoms often develop slowly, and you may not notice a change in vision until the disease is advanced.

Regular comprehensive eye exams and glaucoma screenings are crucial for diagnosing signs early to prevent vision loss. Evaluating the health of your eyes and how they change over time allows us to act as soon as possible.

Schedule your regular eye exam with your current optometrist, or reach out to Prism Eye Institute for more information about glaucoma management.

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What Causes Glaucoma?

Glaucoma can develop at any age, but advanced aging is the most common risk factor. The disease has multiple forms and many potential causes, but open-angle glaucoma is the most common. It’s caused by increased pressure in the eye.

Other risk factors for glaucoma include:

Diabetes
Family history of glaucoma
High blood pressure
High fluid pressure in eye
Myopia
Thin corneas

Screening & Treatment for Glaucoma

Screening for glaucoma is an important part of a regular eye exam. Your doctor will test your eye’s inner pressure and peripheral vision and examine your optic nerve for damage.

Open-angle glaucoma, the most common form, is treated by lowering eye pressure. Treatment usually begins with medicated eye drops. Other forms of glaucoma can develop rapidly and are, therefore, a medical emergency. Advanced open-angle or other glaucoma forms often require surgery, including laser treatments or implants, to improve fluid drainage.

Technology for Diagnosing Glaucoma

Tonometry

Tonometry measures the amount of force needed to temporarily flatten your cornea, indicating intraocular pressure (IOP). There are two methods used at Prism Eye Institute:

Applanation tonometry uses a flat-tipped probe to gently tap the eye’s surface (cornea). Your doctor may administer anesthetic eye drops for your comfort and a fluorescein dye to make it easier to see.

Noncontact tonometry uses a puff of air to flatten the cornea instead of a probe. A device measures how much air pressure was needed to estimate IOP.

Pachymetry

Pachymetry uses sound waves to measure corneal thickness. Thin corneas can mask eye pressure readings, making it seem like the pressure is low. Evaluating thickness helps us customize our examination and treatment for your individual eye health.

First, an anesthetic eye drop is used to improve comfort. Then, a small probe is placed on the cornea. Finally, a device uses sound waves to take measurements within seconds.

Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT)

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) uses light waves to quickly provide a detailed analysis of eye tissue. It can capture cross-sectional images (like peering inside the layers of a cake), allowing your eye doctor to observe the back of the eye (including the optic nerve) in depth.

Retinal Nerve Fibre Analysis with OCT

A retinal nerve fibre analysis (RNFA) uses a laser to measure the thickness of nerve fibres. By combining this with an OCT scan (which captures 3D images), we can gather more in-depth information about the health of eye tissue.

Glaucoma causes progressive optic nerve deterioration, so understanding the thickness of the nerve fibres can help determine how the disease is progressing. RNFA and OCT can allow us to detect changes before patients begin experiencing symptoms.

Be Proactive About Your Sight

We want to help you protect your eyes today so that you can preserve your vision tomorrow. Glaucoma can steal sight, but there are ways we can reduce your risk and protect your vision. Schedule regular eye exams with your current eye doctor, or request an appointment at Prism Eye Institute for glaucoma management.