Glaucoma Screening & Monitoring

Glaucoma takes peripheral vision first, and takes it silently

Glaucoma damages the optic nerve, usually before you notice anything is wrong. It begins at the edges of your vision, where the brain fills in the gaps so effectively that most people lose a meaningful amount of sight before they sense a problem. Vision lost to glaucoma does not come back.

That is the whole case for screening. Detected early, glaucoma is usually manageable for life. Detected late, the damage already done is permanent.

Who should book: Everyone over 40 as part of a regular eye exam, and sooner if you have a family history of glaucoma, are of African or Asian descent, have diabetes, are very nearsighted, or have had an eye injury or long-term steroid use.

What we measure

Glaucoma is not diagnosed from a single number. We build a picture from several measurements and, more importantly, watch how they change over time.

1. Intraocular pressure: measured with non-contact tonometry, no numbing drops needed. Elevated pressure is the main modifiable risk factor, though glaucoma can occur at normal pressure
2. Optic nerve assessment: a dilated look at the nerve head for the cupping and thinning that glaucoma produces
3. OCT (Optical Coherence Tomography): cross-sectional imaging that measures the retinal nerve fibre layer directly, and can detect thinning before it shows up in your vision
4. Humphrey Visual Field Analyzer: maps your central and peripheral vision to find the specific gaps glaucoma creates
5. Digital retinal photography: baseline images so that next year's optic nerve can be compared against this year's, not against a memory

Why monitoring matters more than any single visit

A first appointment tells us where you are. It cannot, on its own, tell us whether anything is changing. Glaucoma is diagnosed and managed on trend: the same measurements repeated on a schedule, compared against your own baseline.

This is why we keep your imaging and visual fields on file and compare them year over year. A pressure reading that is normal for one person can be too high for another, and a small change in the nerve fibre layer means much more than a single reading in isolation.

If we find something

Not every finding is glaucoma. Elevated pressure without nerve damage is called ocular hypertension, and it is often monitored rather than treated. Some optic nerves simply look unusual and are stable for life.

Where treatment is needed, it is aimed at lowering eye pressure to slow or stop further damage. Most cases are managed with prescription drops. When laser or surgical treatment is appropriate, we refer you to an ophthalmologist and continue to co-manage your monitoring between their visits, so your long-term record stays in one place.

Glaucoma and diabetes

Diabetes raises your risk of glaucoma, and the two conditions are often screened at the same visit using the same equipment. If you are living with diabetes, see our diabetic eye exams page for the full retinal assessment we recommend annually.

How often should I be seen?

Coverage & pricing

Alberta Health Care covers eye exams for children under 19 and adults 65 and older, and covers medically necessary visits for a diagnosed condition such as glaucoma at any age. Adults aged 19-64 without a diagnosis are typically covered for routine exams through extended health benefits. Call us to confirm your coverage before your appointment.