As a patient with glaucoma, it is important to make a connection between how you work with your physician in your daily life and how you treat it. (1) Treating glaucoma with the right attitude It goes without saying that any person with glaucoma will have a different reaction to having glaucoma. In fact, only a small percentage of people are concerned and relaxed about the news; most others first feel scared and hopeless, unable to accept that they have glaucoma, followed by fears about blindness and medical costs; others feel that there will be some major changes in their personality and work life. Many of us know little about glaucoma and mistakenly believe that our eyes will definitely go blind if we have glaucoma, but this is not true. We need to change our mindset and learn to live with glaucoma. This is demonstrated by the fact that in the months or years following a diagnosis of glaucoma, we have to begin to adjust to the perception of glaucoma and we can still continue most of our daily lives and long-term plans without having to make a drastic change in our lives. We may still worry about losing our eyesight, but we need to learn later in life how to make glaucoma a manageable problem rather than being overly worried and intimidated. Another part of adaptation is getting used to frequent eye exams, to daily medications, and to eye surgery that may be required. (2) Approaching glaucoma with a good habit In the process of adapting to glaucoma, we also have the opportunity to teach friends and relatives something about glaucoma. Many people do not understand how glaucoma progresses or how to treat it. For example, they may think that glaucoma has certain early warning signs, or that glaucoma can be cured with medication or surgery, or that a person with glaucoma can have their vision restored or corrected with glasses. Once our friends and relatives know more about glaucoma, they can help us deal with it when we have physical and emotional problems during treatment, and can comfort us and enlighten us. Also, as glaucoma patients, we should encourage our relatives and friends to visit the eye doctor frequently so that the eye doctor can check their eye pressure and optic nerve. Although, it takes some time to learn to live with glaucoma and we are at different stages of understanding and acceptance as glaucoma patients, we would do well to do the following six things in order to better cooperate with our doctors in our daily lives: First, communicate with other people. Especially if you have just been diagnosed with glaucoma, it will be helpful for you to talk to other people. Sometimes when you talk to someone you trust, your worries will be lessened. You may be willing to talk to other people with glaucoma. It is important to note that each case of glaucoma will be slightly different, so comparing treatment options to other patients can be misleading. But it may be helpful to talk to others about their feelings and opinions about the chronic disease. Second, don’t let glaucoma limit your life. When you have glaucoma, people often limit what they can or cannot do. Until glaucoma is diagnosed, you can continue what you are doing. After you are diagnosed, you can make new plans and start a new life. You also need to have faith that medical professionals are continuing to find better ways to treat glaucoma. So all you have to do is to cooperate with your doctor to take care of yourself as well as your eyes and continue to enjoy life. Third, get routine checkups in a timely manner. Routine checkups are most likely to be forgotten when your eye pressure is under control, or when you are busy at work or have too much personal activity. When you are ready to leave after a specialist’s visit, set up your next checkup with your doctor and record it on your calendar or memo; have a checkup before you prepare for an extended trip or undertake a long-term project; have a change in medication when you need or want to, such as when the medication used is very inconvenient or uncomfortable, or when the medication is too expensive, or when your daily habits change, you should Let your specialist know so that your doctor may be able to solve these problems by changing the type of medication or the timing of the medication; pay attention to the feeling and appearance of your eyes and ask your doctor about them before you see him or her, and make a note of his or her answers to the above questions so that you will not have to go back to your doctor later; report any abnormal changes in your eyes to your eye doctor; changes in your eyes do not Changes in the eye do not always mean something bad, but you need to let your doctor know of any unusual changes that occur, such as: a feeling of excessive irritation, tearing, blurred or itchy vision, discharge from the corner of the eye, temporary hazy vision, persistent headaches, flashes of light or dark shadows in the visual field, iridescence around lights at night, etc. These symptoms may indicate that medication is not working well, or that there is a minor eye infection, or that you need to simply switch to a more comfortable medication. Any of these symptoms should be checked by a doctor. Fourth, remember to apply your medication regularly. For most people with glaucoma, it is likely that they will need medication for a long time or even for life, so be sure to get used to making medication a part of your daily life. In order to remember to take your eye medication, it is best to work with your doctor to decide on a time when you are less likely to forget to take your medication, perhaps when you wake up, when you eat, or when you go to sleep; for patients who take their medication too often, use an alarm clock or cell phone at home to remind you when it is time to take your medication; keep your medication in a special, readily accessible, fixed place at home and remember to take it with you when you leave home; if you forget to take your medication, take it with you when you leave home. If you forget to take your eye medication, take it as soon as you remember and don’t wait until the next medication time; it is especially easy to forget to take your medication when your eye pressure is under control or when your daily routine changes, such as when you have special business or are on vacation, so be sure to prepare well in advance so that you don’t forget to take your medication regularly at any time, and always remember to bring It is important to remember to bring back-up medication in case it is lost. Fifth, it is important to know your systemic disease and drug allergy history, and it is best to know what medication you are using and how to best apply it. Tell all your doctors that you have glaucoma and what medication you are using, and explain the situation to your doctor before using the medication so that your doctor can choose the medication to avoid the side effects of some anti-glaucoma medications. If you have bradycardia, bronchial asthma and obstructive respiratory disease, it is best not to use it, but if you must use it, you should closely guard against side effects; acetazolamide should be used with caution in patients with ureteral stones, not for those with sulfonamide allergy, and because the drug has a potassium excretion effect, take the drug should be supplemented with potassium; hypertonic agents in the cardiovascular system and poor renal function. The oral or intramuscular injection of atropine drugs can dilate the pupil, resulting in a sharp increase in intraocular pressure in patients with closed-angle glaucoma, so such patients, especially those who have not undergone any anti-glaucoma surgery, should inform the doctor of their history of glaucoma when they visit the doctor with gastrointestinal disorders, in order to avoid the use of atropine drugs. Sixth, glaucoma patients had better learn to use their own fingers to finger test the IOP gradually, and when they feel that the IOP is suspiciously high, they should see the doctor in time so that the treatment plan can be adjusted and the high IOP can be controlled; after glaucoma filtration surgery, finger massage of the eye is good for keeping the drainage port open, so it is better to learn to massage the eye under the guidance of the doctor. And stick to it in your own daily life. We have to understand that glaucoma is like an enemy, as glaucoma patients, we have to cooperate with the physician and do persistent struggle with the “enemy” of glaucoma during our lifetime, to defy the enemy strategically and pay attention to the enemy tactically, neither to give up pessimistically, nor to take it lightly, because taking the disease lightly will delay the treatment of the disease. treatment, while glaucoma is treatable. Therefore, glaucoma patients should not be pessimistic, but have an optimistic and positive attitude, keep a good mood, and do a lasting struggle with glaucoma with a strong will.