You Can’t Prevent Glaucoma, But Here Are 6 Steps to Keep It From Damaging Your Vision

Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that cause damage to the optic nerve, the part of the eye that sends light signals to the brain. People who develop glaucoma can develop permanent vision loss and low vision. In fact, glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness worldwide.

There’s no cure for glaucoma. And there’s no way to reverse glaucoma or prevent it from starting. But the good news is that there are ways to keep glaucoma from progressing and causing vision loss. If you have glaucoma, here are six things you can do to protect your vision. 

1. Get regular eye exams

Getting regular eye exams is the most important thing you can do to protect your vision if you have glaucoma.

Glaucoma doesn’t usually cause any symptoms. By the time you start noticing vision changes, glaucoma has already started to permanently damage your optic nerve. So you can’t rely on vision changes or other symptoms to tell you if your glaucoma is getting worse. 

Make sure you follow up with your ophthalmologist for regular eye exams. During these exams, your ophthalmologist will check your:

• Eye pressure

• Visual fields

• Visual acuity (seeing shapes at a distance)

• Retina health 

• Corneal thickness

• Drainage angle (where the fluid in the inner eye drains)

Each of these items gives important information on how your glaucoma is progressing. With this information, your ophthalmologist can develop a plan to keep your glaucoma from getting worse and damaging your vision. Regular eye exams can be time consuming, but they can also save your vision. Most people with glaucoma need eye exams every 3 months. But you may need more frequent eye exams until your glaucoma is under control.

2. Stick with your glaucoma eye drops

If you have glaucoma, you will need to use eye drops every day, possibly several times a day, for the rest of your life. This can be daunting and discourage people from using their eye drops. Many people stop using their glaucoma eye drops because the drops don’t make them feel different or improve their vision. 

Eye drops aren’t the easiest medications to use, and they can’t cure or reverse glaucoma. But glaucoma eye drops can save your vision. It’s clear from decades of research that glaucoma eye drops stop glaucoma from getting worse and causing vision loss. 

Treating glaucoma with several types of drops slows glaucoma more than treatment with only one type of glaucoma eye drop. This is why most people need combination therapy for their glaucoma. 

So, don’t give up on your glaucoma eye drops. Keep using them every day, because they are working and keeping your vision safe. 

3. Stop smoking

If you smoke and you have glaucoma, consider quitting. 

Studies show that people who smoke are more likely to develop glaucoma. But what if you already have glaucoma? 

People with glaucoma who continue to smoke are twice as likely to have their glaucoma progress, even with treatment. Also, the more you smoke, the faster your glaucoma is likely to progress. 

Smoking also increases your risk of developing other eye conditions that can lead to vision loss like macular degeneration and cataracts. 

4. Tell your ophthalmologist about all your medications

Some medications can worsen glaucoma, so it’s important to tell your ophthalmologist about all the medications you take. Make sure to tell them about any over-the-counter (OTC) medications you take, such as cough and cold medications. Also, tell them about cosmetic medications, such as Botox. This is true even if you only take these medications sometimes. Some of these medications can worsen glaucoma too. 

Some medications that can worsen glaucoma include:

• Allergy medications including diphenhydramine (Benadryl), loratadine (Claritin), fexofenadine (Allegra), and cetirizine (Zyrtec) 

• Asthma / Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) medications like ipratropium bromide (Atrovent) and tiotropium bromide (Spiriva) 

• Depression and anxiety medications like fluoxetine (Prozac), paroxetine (Paxil), and duloxetine (Cymbalta)

• Heartburn / Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) medications like cimetidine (Tagamet) and ranitidine (Zantac)

• Migraine medications like botulinum toxin (Botox) injections, sumatriptan (Imitrex), amitriptyline, and topiramate (Topamax)

• Steroids like prednisone, prednisolone, and dexamethasone. Nasal sprays and inhalers that contain steroids can also worsen glaucoma.

5. Choose glaucoma-friendly activities

Regular exercise and staying active is great for your physical and mental health. But some exercises and activities can worsen glaucoma. Some activities can lead to rapid changes in eye pressure and worsen glaucoma like:

• Bungee jumping

• Skydiving

• Scuba diving

It’s not just adrenaline-releasing activities that can worsen glaucoma. Other activities that can worsen glaucoma include:

• Weight lifting, including bench pressing and squat maneuvers

• Certain yoga positions where your head is below the level of your heart 

• Breathing exercises that involve holding your breath

• Handstands, gymnastic moves, or other activities where you might be upside down

• Playing woodwind or brass instruments

Talk with your ophthalmologist about your exercise and activity routines. They can make suggestions on how to adjust your routines so you can keep doing the things you love while keeping your eyes safe. 

6. Wear eye protection

Protecting your eyes from injury is obviously important for your vision. But if you have glaucoma, eye protection offers you an added layer of protection. 

Eye injuries can lead to a specific type of glaucoma called traumatic glaucoma. One type of glaucoma can already be tough to treat. Adding on another type can make getting glaucoma under control even more difficult. 

Make sure to wear eye protection if you’re doing activities that put you at risk for eye injuries. Most eye injuries are sports related. If you’re playing a sport that involves a ball, wear eye protection, especially if that ball is small and traveling at high speed. 

Some jobs also increase your chances of getting an eye injury. Always wear eye protection if your job requires, encourages, or recommends it. 

It’s not just flying debris, chemicals, and projectiles that can cause eye injury. Ultraviolet (UV) light can also worsen glaucoma. Wear sunglasses with UV-blocking lenses when you’re outdoors. This can also lower your risk of developing cataracts. 

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Written by:

Nishika Reddy, MD

Nishika Reddy, MD, is an attending physician at the University of Utah. She provides comprehensive and cornea medical care at the Moran Eye Center and serves as clinical assistant professor.

Edited by:

Patricia Pinto-Garcia, MD, MPH

Patricia Pinto-Garcia, MD, MPH, is a medical editor at GoodRx. She is a licensed, board-certified pediatrician with more than a decade of experience in academic medicine.

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