Glaucoma doesn’t just affect your vision—it can affect most of your daily activities and your overall quality of life. By managing your medication, getting and staying organized, and cultivating healthy habits, you can control your glaucoma instead of letting it control you.*

Managing medications

• Inform everyone on your health team, including doctors, specialists, and pharmacists, what type of glaucoma you have and which medications you are using to treat it. This will help prevent prescriptions that could interfere with your medications’ effectiveness. 

• Glaucoma medications can cause a variety of side effects. Educate yourself about the possible side effects of your particular medications and tell your doctor if you experience any of them. 
• Let your doctor know if your medications are not working as they’re supposed to or if any adjustments need to be made due to a change in lifestyle, routine, or health status. 
• Report any vision changes to your doctor, especially:
  • Eye irritation or wateriness
  • Blurring or scratchiness
  • Unusual discharge from the corner of your eye 
  • Temporarily cloudy vision
  • Rainbows or halos surrounding lights at night

• Make taking your medications part of your daily routine. Link them to another habitual activity, such as waking up, eating a meal, or going to bed. Alternatively, you can set alarms as reminders. 
• If you forget to take your prescribed medication, take your medication when you remember. After that, get back on your regular schedule or call your doctor for instructions on how to proceed.
• Keep extra medication handy, if possible, in case you misplace a bottle of eye drops or pills. Bring more medication than you think you’ll need when traveling in case of delays.

Getting—and staying—organized

• Keep a written record of all your medications with you at all times, including:
  • Drug name
  • Dosage
  • Frequency 

• Schedule your next visit before leaving the doctor’s office and enter it on your phone or calendar right away. 
• Get a checkup before leaving on a long trip.

• If you have any questions for your doctor about your eyes, vision, or medications:
  • Write down questions as soon as you think of them. 
  • Bring the list to your next office visit (or call if the questions are time-sensitive).
  • Write down the answers you receive.  

Cultivate healthy habits

Your lifestyle has an enormous impact on your health, and lifestyle is made up of the individual habitual actions we take and the choices we make every day. 

Here are some healthy habits that can help you effectively manage your glaucoma:

• Keep your eyes as clean and free of irritants as possible.

• Avoid rubbing your eyes, even if they feel itchy or blurry. 

• Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water both before and after putting in your eye drops.

• Wear protective eyewear when swimming, doing yard work, or playing contact sports.

• Take good care of your overall health by:
  • Eating healthy foods 
  • Getting sufficient exercise
  • Not smoking
  • Limiting your caffeine and salt intake
  • Attaining and maintaining a healthy weight 
  • Spacing out your fluid intake (to avoid water retention)
  • Finding and practicing stress management techniques that work for you
  • Making time for hobbies and other fun and relaxing activities

Consult your doctor before beginning a new exercise regimen, especially if it is strenuous.

*BrightFocus Foundation. (2020, Apr. 7). What You Can Do to Manage Your Glaucoma. https://www.glaucoma.org/treatment/what-you-can-do-to-manage-your-glaucoma.php

Any sources from outside of Prevent Blindness do not imply an endorsement from Prevent Blindness. The contents of the material used are the responsibility of the authoring organization, Responsum Health.