Understanding the Different Types of Glaucoma
Glaucoma is an insidious eye disease that can destroy your vision without first presenting symptoms. Here’s what you need to know about the different types of the disease and what we can do about them.
Why You Should Schedule Your Next Comprehensive Eye Exam ASAP
You may consider getting a comprehensive eye exam somewhat low on your list of priorities, but you should see an ophthalmologist at least once a year. Doing so ensures that we can address any changes in your visual acuity and allows us to catch any diseases in their earliest stages, when we can treat them most successfully.
At Omphroy Eye Care, the office of Luis C. Omphroy, MD, you can expect your eye exam to be comprehensive. We test your visual acuity (whether you need glasses or contact lenses) and examine your eyes for a number of serious eye diseases that can rob you of your sight.
If you haven’t had your eyes tested in a while, now is the time to correct that.
What happens during an eye exam?
We start by dilating your pupils, which allows us to see the internal structures better. Since the dilating drops last for a few hours and make you light-sensitive, you should come prepared with sunglasses, but you will be able to drive yourself home.
A comprehensive eye exam includes a number of tests.
Visual acuity
Also called a refraction, this test measures your near and distance vision. It tells us if you need corrective lenses and, if so, how much correction you require.
Dr. Omphroy covers one of your eyes at a time and has you read the letters on the Snellen eye chart from a distance. You also read the letters through a phoropter device, which allows the doctor to test different lenses to see if any make your vision clearer.
If you need glasses or contacts, he writes a prescription for you.
Visual field
This test measures your peripheral vision, the 98% of vision that doesn’t lie in the clear, central region. Dr. Omphroy holds up a finger or an object and moves it slowly side to side and up and down. You follow the object with your eyes only.
If he finds that you can’t see the object in certain areas of your peripheral vision, he schedules you for a computer version of the test, the Octopus visual field analyzer, which provides more sophisticated results.
Ophthalmoscopy (fundoscopy)
After he dilates your eyes, Dr. Omphroy uses a Haag-Streit slit lamp to view the inside of your eyes. You rest your chin and forehead against the machine, and the lamp shines a bright light into each eye.
It illuminates the various structures, including the cornea, lens, retina (and macula, the retina’s central region), optic nerve, and surrounding blood vessels, all under high magnification.
This way, Dr. Omphroy can detect the earliest signs of disease (e.g., cataracts, macula degeneration, blood vessel leakage), increasing his chances of treating it successfully.
Tonometry
This test measures the internal pressure of the eye. Increased pressure can lead to glaucoma, a disease that destroys the optic nerve, robbing you of your sight. It may not present with symptoms in its early stages, making regular testing critical for your eye health.
We put numbing drops in your eyes first, so you don’t feel a thing. Then, Dr. Omphroy uses a tonometer to blow a small puff of air onto the cornea, which registers the internal pressure.
Alternatively, he may use applanation tonometry, gently resting a flat-tipped cone against your cornea and measuring the amount of pressure needed to flatten a portion of it.
Optical coherence tomography
Dr. Omphroy uses Maestro optical coherence tomography to determine the health of the retina, cornea, and optic nerve.
The tomography may come from a digital camera or a computerized low-power imaging scanning system, which is able to obtain thousands of images in a few seconds. The patterns it reveals indicate the health of the various structures.
Dr. Omphroy also uses the iTrace™ topographer to diagnose corneal problems.
Discussing the results
Once he’s finished with the exam, Dr. Omphroy discusses his findings with you. If everything checks out and you don’t need a change of prescription, you come back in a year for your next comprehensive eye exam.
If he discovers indications of eye disease, such as the beginnings of glaucoma, a retinal tear, a problem with the cornea, or a cloudy lens (cataract), he schedules follow-up tests to determine the extent of the problem. Then he recommends treatment options.
If you think a comprehensive eye exam each year is just a nuisance, think again. At Omphroy Eye Care in Aiea, Hawaii, we can ensure your eyes are healthy and your vision is good. To schedule your eye exam, give our office a call at 808-491-6512 today. Don’t wait.
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