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Glaucoma Testing
February 4, 2008 |
Jean Hamilton is 80 years old and has been wearing glasses since she was 50. Like
many patients Jean wants to make sure that her eyes are healthy. That’s why she
visits her ophthalmologist regularly. “I just wouldn’t neglect them for anything
because without them it would be very difficult,” she says. Tracey Crow is the practice
manager with Collins Vision. She says, “It’s very important to keep
an eye on the
health of your eye just like your heart or any other vital organ. Your eyes are
very important.” Tracey says diseases like glaucoma can sneak up on a patient if
they do not get regular eye exams. “Glaucoma’s known as like a silent disease because
you really don’t
know it’s happening until it’s too late. Because as that pressure
is put on the optic nerve it starts to deteriorate and can cause blind spots in
the vision.” But there are ways to check for those first signs of glaucoma before
it’s too late. “What we do is a pressure check which checks the pressure within
the eye and then we do a complete visual field which tells us if there are any blind
spots in their vision. As we’ve advanced we’ve got machines that are less invasive
and easier to use,” says Tracey. Jean says glaucoma testing is painless, easy, and
even fun. “They blink things around the screen and you just have a little button
and just press it every time you see something. It was fun.” If you have a family history of glaucoma physicians say to start regular eye exams and glaucoma testing
as early as possible. Treatments for glaucoma include everything from eye drops
to laser surgery. |
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