Glaucoma as we all know is the leading cause of irreversible Blindness world wide and the second leading cause of blindness.
Glaucoma is usually asymptomatic in it’s early stage. Hence it requires an optometric Examination to diagnose.
To say for a fact that an individual has or does not have glaucoma, the following tests will have to be conducted.
VISUAL ACUITY: Both at 6M and at 40cm. Visual acuity tells us how well the eyes can see. Usually a low visual acuity is usually a sign of glaucoma.
OPHTHALMOSCOPY: Opthalmoscopy examines the fundus i.e the back of the eye with emphasis on the optic nerve head. Usually a high C/D ratio calls for concern.
TONOMETRY: Tonometry Is a measure of the intraocular pressure of the eye. A high Intraocular pressure is a risk factor for concern.
VISUAL FIELD ANALYSIS: This is an estimate of how well the individual can see side objects while looking straight ahead. A narrow visual field usually conotes glaucomatous damage
OCULAR COHERENCE TOMOGRAPHY: This is an imaging of the retinal nerve fibre layer
GONIOSCOPY: This is measure of the anterior chamber angle. It helps gives an insight as to if the anterior chamber angle is wide or narrow. Individuals with narrow angle are at risk of having glaucoma.
PACHYMETRY; This is a measure of the central Cornea thickness. Pachymetry is important because it helps reduces the incidence of false positive and false negatives.
