self-tonometry

Deciding whether to monitor your own Eye Pressures

Therefore, for one with glaucoma or OHT, the decision to begin the process of self tonometry can be one of the most important, challenging, and rewarding decisions that a person can make. If a person is still undecided whether self tonometry is a worthwhile decision for them, a review of the Fiteyes home page article Why you should Monitor you IOP is highly suggested because it delves into many of these questions, and expounds on some of the pitfalls, objections and concerns which either a doctor or patient may have with the practice of home monitoring of pressures.

The current trend in health care is for the patient to be as educated and involved in the treatment and monitoring of their health issues as is possible. There are dozens of new innovations which allow a patient to participate in collecting data relevant to their diseases, and self monitoring of Intraocular eye pressures using a portable or air puff tonometer for those with glaucoma, is one such area in which Fiteyes leads the way!

All of us benefit from knowing that we have a sense of power in managing our health and fortunately, “patient empowerment” is an increasing trend when it comes to management of diseases. It was not long ago that it was felt that the medical community alone could provide necessary solutions towards our health and diseases. For example, it has only been within the last several years that home blood pressure monitoring has become common place, and there is probably not a medical professional alive that would discourage this practice. In fact, in many cases a wise doctor today will even request ambulatory BP monitoring throughout the day (with an accurate device) before commencing pharmaceutical hypertension treatment. It is recognized that blood pressure varies considerably based on diurnal patterns, medication side effects, and mental states - especially so called “white coat hypertension.”