We all know that people with glaucoma often come to the clinic for prescriptions and tests. The following scenarios may be familiar to you, so what should we do if we encounter a similar situation? Scene 1: We often see patients coming to the clinic for prescriptions, coming and leaving in a hurry. When asked about their condition, they just say that it is enough to prescribe the medicine the doctor said. The correct approach: You can come to the hospital to prescribe medication due to lack of medication. But please don’t forget to review your IOP regularly, because medication is only a means to an end; stable control of IOP is your goal. In fact there are many glaucoma medications that become less effective after long term use and you may have to change the type of medication. So, if you have time, please have your IOP measured regularly. Scenario 2: When you notice an increase in eye pressure and problems with your visual field, you assume it is glaucoma. The right approach: In fact, this problem is not only seen in patients, but is also a problem that many non-glaucoma specialists often overlook. That is that the examination of the visual field is very difficult for elderly patients and friends to do accurately at one time. In a survey of outpatients, it was found that when visual field abnormalities appeared on the first examination, a month later a re-examination revealed that nearly half of the patients had false positive results because they did not know how to cooperate with the examination. A second reexamination can rule out false abnormalities. The issue of elevated IOP is a bit more complicated, as IOP measurements are actually influenced by many factors, including corneal thickness, level of cooperation, and normal fluctuations. Therefore, a single abnormal IOP result is only a reminder that further testing is needed, not evidence of a glaucoma diagnosis. Glaucoma is a lifelong condition, and diagnosis needs to be very rigorous. Putting on the glaucoma label easily will bring a great psychological and financial burden to the patients and their families. We hope that our patients and friends, as well as medical professionals, will pay attention to this point. Scenario 3: Worrying that your doctor will forget your condition at each review The right thing to do: When you have a large number of test results over the years, you may want to organize them into a chart. Mark trends in key indicators, such as intraocular pressure, visual field, optic nerve, etc. This makes it easier for your doctor to review your condition and for you to check yourself. I have some patients who do this very professionally, and they even trace the different curves in a visual way. Here I also express my gratitude to these attentive patient friends! Scenario 4: It is confusing to hear different patients talk about different conditions and treatment encounters. The right approach: Glaucoma is a very complex group of disorders. There are various types of glaucoma, and each glaucoma has different periods. For each type of glaucoma and at different times, the treatment and prognosis are different. This is what we usually call individualized treatment. So, of course, you can learn from the experience of other patients. But don’t forget that you are only you. Once you have established a mature and trusting relationship with your doctor in charge, you and your doctor should discuss your experience together. You and your doctor should discuss and take on the task of treating glaucoma together. And confidence and cheerfulness have a very important impact on the prognosis of glaucoma patients. Scenario 5: Doubting the accuracy of IOP measurements and wondering which method gets reliable IOP results Correct: There is a consensus among glaucoma doctors worldwide about IOP measurements. That is that pressure leveling IOP measurement (ordering eye medication) is by far the most formal and relatively accurate method of measurement. However, just as there is no perfection in this world, dialectically speaking, every method of measuring IOP has its shortcomings. For example, the thickness of the cornea and the size of the patient’s eye fissure can affect the result of the measurement, and this deviation can sometimes be quite large. For example, one of my patients often measures 30 mmHg because of his small eye fissure, while his IOP is actually only 18 mmHg. Is there no way to know the true IOP? Here I would like to ask my fellow glaucoma patients to learn to measure their own IOP. This method is certainly crude, but it has tremendous benefits. Patients are able to know the status of their IOP and know whether they should come to the hospital immediately or add IOP-lowering medication. This is done by allowing yourself to look down at the ground with both eyes relaxed. At the same time, press your eyeballs with the index fingers of both hands. Feel if the bulging is the same in both eyes (assuming one eye has relatively normal pressure). If there is a problem in both eyes, then you can compare it to the pressure at the tip of your own nose. Normal eye pressure (the degree of fullness of the eye) is similar to the pressure at the tip of your own nose. I hope this method will help you all.