Sep
ok im freaking out a bit i went to the opticians yesterday for a eye exam because iv been suffering from headaches for a while and i thought it was because i maybe needed glasses ,,, he checked the pressure behind my right eye which was higher than normal and when it came to reading the chart i could read past the 4th from bottom line in my right eye which is were i get the pain he has referd me to my gp and sent a letter saying i need to be sent to a specialist iv got a physicians apt on wednesday but im really worried it could be something serious please help any advice would be great xxx
Answer:
DO NOT BE ALARMED
Optometrist are doctors that only deal with vision. They also do basic screening of the health of the eye. If they see anything suspicious they will refer you to an ophthalmologist. If your health insurance is an HMO then you have to go to your gp first.
Pressure in your eye usually has no correlation to headaches. You’re going to have an exam to rule out glaucoma. Glaucoma is a disease of the eye that damages the optic nerve and can lead to total blindness if left untreated. Around the color portion of the eye there is a sponge like material that filters the liquid inside the eye. Sometimes for various reasons a person can have high eye pressure and never get glaucoma, and there are others who have pressures in the “normal” range who have terrible glaucoma.
Glaucoma has many signs to it and very difficult to diagnose in most cases. Diagnosis usually take 3 years of checking for damages. They’ll take photos of the optice nerve. They’ll conduct a field of vision test and take your interocular pressure. Your optometrist is just double checking by sending you to an ophthalmologist. So good luck to you and I hope I helped.