Glaucoma is often referred to as the silent eye disease as in its early stages it can be symptomless.

Glaucoma affects the optic nerve head at the back of the eye which is used to carry the visual signals through to the brain.  It is often linked to high pressure within the eye which causes damage to the nerve fibres slowly causing loss of peripheral vision. Because it is affecting the far sides of your vision people often don’t notice any changes, however with regular eye examination our optometrists can monitor changes within the eye in relation to glaucoma. 

Risk factors for glaucoma include increasing age, family history of glaucoma, high blood pressure, migraines, myopia / short-sightedness, and use of steroid medications.  With more advanced technology this is becoming easier for us to diagnose and monitor. 

A fantastic piece of technology we are thrilled to be able to offer to you as part of our continued service, is the Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) scan.

If our optometrists think you may be at risk of either having or developing certain eye diseases such as glaucomamacular degeneration, or diabetic eye disease, they'll recommend you have an OCT scan. It only takes five to 10 minutes, but is integral in helping diagnose the aforementioned eye diseases.

As the OCT scan is non-invasive and scans your eye without touching it, you'll be in and out quicker than you can say "life is short, buy the glasses".

One of our optometrists, Martina Fellmann, is now accredited to treat glaucoma using medicated eye drops where needed.  Being able to treat glaucoma directly at Canon Street Optometrists saves you time and keeps all your eye care in one place.  All of our optometrists will continue to monitor for signs of glaucoma so if you have any questions or concerns about this, ask your friendly optometrist.

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