Can you check your own eye pressure?

If you’ve ever had a comprehensive eye exam, chances are your eye doctor checked your eye pressure. This part of the exam allows your doctor to look for signs of optic nerve damage, which could ultimately have an effect on your eyesight.

Your eyes are naturally filled with fluid, and eye pressure can change throughout the day. Eye pressure also differs from person to person. In eyes with “normal” pressure, the fluids drain freely to keep the pressure steady.

What does eye pressure tell you?

Having too high or too low eye pressure is a warning sign that you may have vision problems. High pressure is commonly referred to as “ocular hypertension,” which can lead to glaucoma.

Glaucoma is a disease that damages the optic nerve, leading to progressive and irreversible vision loss. This disease is one of the most common causes of blindness.

Checking your eye pressure during your routine exam is essential to your overall eye health. It can show warning signs and detect damage.

How to check your eye pressure

Typically, checking eye pressure can be done multiple ways by your eye doctor, sometimes including numbing drops and a quick puff of air onto the eye. However, if you are someone who frequently needs to monitor their eye pressure—say, a person with glaucoma—you can do so from the comfort of your own home.

This is possible by purchasing the correct products, such as a home tonometer device, which measures and calculates your eye pressure. There are different options you can look into to monitor your eye pressure from home safely.

If you have concerns about your eye pressure, contact your eye doctor sooner rather than later to avoid further damage. We at Oklahoma City Vision have the proper tools and expertise to perform a comprehensive eye exam, check your eye pressure, and make an informed decision on the next steps to take.