20yr.possible glaucoma?

[JA2008]

In each eye i have a circle shaped spot. The circle has a ring around it that is greyish/black. Inside the ring it has this odd pattern. To best describe the pattern it is like a swirl. It looks somewhat simular to a thumb finger print. It is clear, and i think i can see through it. I have it in each eye in the exact same location.  If im looking straight into my field of vision i don't see them. The only time i see them is when i do sharp, head/eye turns. Or if im turning my head while my eyes turned to the side as i turn my head.  It fades/disappears as my eyes turn to the center direction. That is the only way i see them. I am concerned if this is possible glaucoma blind spots developing? I started seeing these in November of 2007.

I just turned 20 years old 5 months. In January of this year i went to the ophthalmologist. Who did a visual field test, put these yellowish/brown drops to check my cornea's. Dilated my pupils to examine my optic nerve. He said everything was fine, cornea's were good, optic nerve looked healthy. Except that he said the iop on my left eye was 26. Told me that it was elevated. Asked me if i had a family history of glaucoma. My family does not have a family history of glaucoma. He told me that he wasn't concerned about it. My next appointment is next month. But need an opinion on this. I can't seem to get my mind off of it. I struggle to focus on school work.

How common is it for a 20 year old to develop glaucoma?

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS]

It is unusual for a 20 year old to get glaucoma but it does happen (pigmentary gluacoma, PXE glaucoma, traumatic glaucoma, etc).  26 IOP needs to be watched carefully. In my practice Iwould do a baseline glaucoma evaluation: Visual field, optic nerve photos, gonioscopy, corneal thickness measurements, optic nerve OCT.

I am concerned because of the positional nature of your spots (when you turn your head) in rare cases this can be caused by disease of the carotid arteries. If this is definitely new and always happens when your turn your head then I would consider seeing a neuro-ophthalmologist.  

Find one at www.aao.org

JCH III MD

[Van_Diemen]

Could you perhaps describe the location of your spot more clearly? Is it in the center of your vision, thus when you look at an object it appears "spot on" or is it more temporal or nasal? I think you are "seeing" your natural blind spot by making rapid eye movements (the brain will not have enough time to fill in the gap). Try test yourself by some black spot indicators (google for it). If indeed the dot on the picture disappears then you are noticing your real natural blind spot there. Then you should determine whether or not this is in the same location as you experienced your spot earlier. If this is true then I'm pretty sure you can notice your natural blind spot and have nothing to worry about. Seeing your Dr regularly, like John C Hagan III said, is of course necessary (it is routine in case of glaucoma like symptoms).

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS]

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