People who need to use contact lenses should make sure they have an eye test at least once every two years so they use the correct prescription.
However, your eye test isn’t just for making sure you are wearing the correct types of contacts, but also for making sure that you don’t have any other eye problems including some eye diseases.
Once of those eye diseases is glaucoma, which if left untreated can lead to blindness. It is caused by a high pressure in the eye, which can damage the nerves. There is a degree of genetic inheritance for people with this condition, so if you have a relative with it you should consider annual eye tests once you reach the age of 40.
It is a disease that generally affects older people, though it has been known for a long time that the earlier treatment is started the more successful it is, as treatment only slows down progression and cannot reverse damage that has already happened.
A new test could revolutionise the prognosis for people with glaucoma as it picks up on the first signs of the disease up to ten years earlier than current diagnostic tools. This earlier diagnosis could help with prognosis, as the earlier treatment is started, the less damage will be done to the eye. This could mean the end of blindness caused by glaucoma.
The optician would inject a florescent dye, and then look for damage on the nerves, which could be an early sign of glaucoma.
