Medical history for glaucoma

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Medical history for glaucoma

The medical history for glaucoma includes questions about:

• Whether your family has a history of glaucoma. The health professional will want to know how severe the glaucoma was in a family member and how much eyesight was lost.
• Whether you have other eye diseases, have had eye surgery, or have had a recent injury to your eye.
• Whether you have other diseases (such as diabetes) that increase your risk for glaucoma.
• What medications you are taking, especially eye and steroid medications. The health professional will also want to know whether there are any medications (including eye medications) that you have not been able to take because of allergies or side effects.

Symptoms are usually rare in glaucoma except in closed-angle glaucoma or very severe open-angle glaucoma. The health professional will want to know:

• What symptoms you have noticed and how long you have had them, including whether you had symptoms in the past that have gone away on their own.
• Whether you have noticed blind spots in your vision.
• What you have done to relieve the symptoms (if anything).
• How the symptoms have affected your activities of daily living.
• Whether you have had side effects from glaucoma medications (if you already have been treated for glaucoma), and when you took your last dose of glaucoma medication.

Credits

Last updated:	July 07, 2006
Author:	Robin Parks, MS
Reviewed By:	Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine, Carol L. Karp, MD - Ophthalmology
Editors:	Kathe Gallagher, MSW, Pat Truman