IOP Concerns

Hello,

I am in my early 20's . I just went to see an Eye MD today. Checked my corneas and dilated my pupils. Said everything including my optic nerve looked healthy. He told me the only thing he saw as an adnormality was  that my eye pressure on my left eye was a little high. He said it was at 26. Normal is 20 i believe right? He said he wasn't concerned or didn't give me any treatment for it. I am concerned of this. There is no family history of glaucoma. So i have a few questions.

1. Can your eye pressure be that high and still have healthy eyes and not develope glaucoma?

2. Does elevated eye pressure always means glaucoma or optic nerve damage?

3. How high of a risk am i from getting it?

I am very concerned of this. Any opinions would be helpful.

Thank you.

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

1. Yes but a pressure that high makes you a glaucoma suspect. Doesn't mean you'll get it but it needs to be watched carefully.
2. No
3. Can't quantitate

What I would do If I were taking care of you and your IOP was 26 is tell you that you are a glaucoma suspect and schedule to return 1-3 months for a baseline glaucoma evaluation: visual field, central corneal thickness measurement, gonioscopy, optic nerve photographs posssibly an optic nerve OCT. Since you have a medical diagnosis "glaucoma suspect" these tests and future visits to an ophthalmologist should be covered by you health insurance.

Depending on what the tests showed (most likely they will be normal) you would need to be followed somewhere between once or twice/year.

JCH III MD

[James08]

I have had a visual field test in january of 07. Everything was fine then.  He did set me up with another appointment in 6 months. Is that too long?  I am concerned of getting glaucoma. And don't want to wait too long for the pressure to cause damage on my optic nerve. I heard that pressure in the eye fluctuates throughout the day. But is it possible to go that high? In most cases do most glaucoma suspects end up getting it? Sorry for all the  questions. I have read about glaucoma and causes. IOP elevation being the number one cause for glaucoma.  But still clueless in what the percentage or outcome for must glaucoma suspects. How high is 26 considered? And at that level should it be treated?

Thanks again doctor.

[carol380]

I am worried i have high blood pressure and am on diovan160-25 and simviatatin 20mg . I had an eye exam for new glasses and was  told my eye pressure is 23 and 25. I am going to my primary care doctor today what can he do.Im 43 years old.

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

HPB and high IOP are not related and one does not cause the other. For the high IOP be sure you are under the care of an ophthalmologist. Find one at www.aao.org

JCH MD

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

No 6 months is not too long. I see most of my glaucoma suspects every 6 months. Yes the IOP varies from hour to hour. In most people it varies 6-8 points but in glaucoma and glaucoma suspect patients it may vary by more than 20 points.

You cannot assign risk from the IOP alone. Risk depends on many factors: age, thickness of cornea, family history of glaucoma, damage to visual fields, OCT or cup/disk ratio and thickness of cornea.

Discuss with your Eye MD next time you're in.

JCH MD