Many people are familiar with "air puff test" that measures the eye pressure. A more reliable method to measure eye pressure is with a tonometer. A tonometer is applied to the surface of the eye after the doctor administers an anesthetic drop. The doctor will also check for optic nerve damage by looking carefully at the health of the optic nerve. Usually this is done after dilating your eyes as part of a comprehensive exam. It is also very important to check for subtle vision loss in the peripheral (or side) vision by testing the visual field through a simple, easy-to-take test.

I strongly recommend a regular annual exam with your local eye doctor. We know that the best way to treat glaucoma is to prevent it. In this case, the old cliche of "A pound of prevention..." is really true. It is much easier to to find the risk of glaucoma early and prevent its progression or development. Ideally, that means to identify the risk before significant damage happens. We don't know of any way to reverse glaucoma, but prevention is getting better and easier.