Elevated eye pressure can be an extremely debilitating condition that can lead to serious problems. You will notice that you have elevated eye pressure during an exam or because your eye feels more puffy than usual.
There is no way to detect elevated eye pressure from a visual inspection, but if you already have hypertension in other parts of the body, then it is likely you also have hypertension in the eyes because the blood flow runs throughout the entire body and is interconnected by veins and arteries everywhere.
So, how do you tell when you have elevated eye pressure? There are a few ways that you can tell, and some of them can be detected by you. The rest you will have to go in for an eye exam to be sure of. Let’s take a look at the most common signs and symptoms of increased intraocular pressure.
1. Simple Elevation
Whether or not you have increased eye pressure may depend upon the simple test to your doctor does to determine exactly what the pressure of your eyes is. If you have normal hypertension, then the odds are pretty good that you are also going to have hypertension the eyes.
Eye pressure is measured in millimeters of mercury and the normal amount is anywhere from 12 to 22 mmHg. If your eye pressure is elevated above that then you might have a problem. Fortunately, your doctor has a number of tests that he or she can perform to determine exactly what the pressure is inside your eyes.
From there you can discuss treatment options and decide where you are going to go. But whether or not your pressure is elevated may be something that you need to test over time, because one result is not going to give you the whole picture.