Agreed, if it's not one thing, it's 3 others.

CA POPPY wrote:
I'd be curious, how did the vet diagnose the glaucoma? I've never seen one of our vets do anything but a cursory exam of a dog's eyes, except once when there was a foreign body in an eye. I have glaucoma myself and it was diagnosed by a pressure reading during a routine exam. Do vets do pressure readings if the dog isn't displaying symptoms of vision problems? I'll bet it is commonly missed until the pet is walking into walls. And yes, when diagnosed, a strict drops regimen is crucial.

We do measure pressure. Until several years ago, measuring pressure required a scale like device to be pressed on the cornea (not real easy to do on an uncooperative dog or cat). Newer devices require a series of three taps on the cornea and it gives a digital reading.

Minor increases in pressure can easily be missed, but even without vision loss, changes in the appearance of the eye and comparisons between the eyes can give a clue. I've found that a high percentage to dogs with glaucoma also have injected sclera.

If your vet sees a change in the eyeball's appearance, a pressure reading is indicated as part of a complete workup.

Pops, acute glaucoma can happen overnight (read real rapidly). This is a condition NOT to be messed with. It is an emergency situation and only rapid treatment (often times by an ophthalmologist) is required to prevent total vision loss.

Doug, DVM