What is glaucoma? Glaucoma is a group of eye conditions where the eye pressure is too high for your eyes and can cause nerve damage and over a longer-term period visual loss which is irreversible. Don’t worry, glaucoma is generally picked up early by your optometrists and treated by a doctor, so significant visual loss is unusual. How do we investigate glaucoma? There are several tests that help us diagnose glaucoma. Even then, the results may not be able to 100% diagnose glaucoma. The core tests are: A visual acuity test. A measure of the thickness of your cornea, called a pachymetry. After the test, what happens? Generally, the eye tests are undertaken by an optician or technician/nurse and these are then available for the doctor to review. You will be informed of the outcome of the tests within the next week or will be seen by the doctor at appointments. Can I drive to my appointments? As for any eye appointments, we would recommend that you do not drive. It may be that the doctor decides not to put in dilating drops but we often can’t decide that until the day of the consultation. How long will I have glaucoma? Glaucoma is a lifelong condition and, as such, you will be treated and monitored for life. This is often not too intrusive other than eye drops daily and then appointments every 6 to 12 months.