Edinburgh Eye Consultant - Dr Pankaj Agarwal

28/08/2023

A chronic condition impacting on work is a common worry with . Reassuring that there are lots of good support networks and support for access to work is important - this may be very difficult for individuals to voice!

21/08/2023

Lots of patients report struggling with their eye drop insertion which can impact on compliance. There are different methods and supports available to help with this. Referring to is a good first step - they have details on drop aids available for different bottles.

16/08/2023

Knowing the signs and symptoms of bleb leakage could help to save a patient's sight - reports of any of these 4 recent changes and or a positive seidel test in those who have a bleb should raise red flags.

14/08/2023

No age group is immune from . Congenital glaucoma, Ocular hypertension and glaucoma can be picked up at any age and can be due to a number of different factors.

13/08/2023

Lots of great resources are available online if you know where to look!

“Hello and , have you heard of the AAO OKAP Review website? https://t.co/GwCIymblwN It's free. No registration is required, and there are no ads. (I have no financial interest in the site.) ”

11/08/2023

Contact lenses (CL) can be helpful in monitoring for glaucoma but also take some special considerations:
✔️ Wearing a CL while performing visual fields helps to ensure no edge defects, especially with a high rx
✔️ New technology is being developed to allow for IOP monitoring via CL
❗ Patients should be reminded about the risk of toxicity with use of glaucoma drops and CL
❗CL may act as a reservoir for medication if adequate time is not given between drop and insertion
❗If a patient has a bleb surgery, it's essential to ensure no compression of the bleb & make patients aware of the increased infection risk via their CL and bleb.

07/08/2023

Many patients worry that sitting too close to the TV or experiencing eye strain will cause their IOP to raise or negatively impact on their . It's important to give reassurance that this isn't the case; however, promoting healthy eye habits can help with compliance.

02/08/2023

Reminder - Patients do not need to wait until they reach a certain level of vision to be referred for consideration of cataract surgery. They should be:
☑️ Wanting of a referral, after discussion of risks and benefits of surgery
☑️ Symptomatic of their cataracts

Symptoms of cataracts include: glare, decreased/blurred vision, reduced contrast sensitivity, night vision difficulties, halos around lights, monocular diplopia, frequent shifts in refractive error.

31/07/2023

If patients report systemic , it's important to pass these details along to the prescriber or encourage the patient to get in touch themselves. Some new treatments can cause side effects that are short lasting, other times these may not go away and can not be tolerated - in these cases a treatment change would be explored.

28/07/2023

Encouraging patients to build routines around eye drop insertion can help improve the effectiveness of medication in drops.

24/07/2023

Some individuals believe massaging their eyes may help to lower IOP. Although this may be recommended by some individuals following some surgeries, this can transiently raise the pressure of the eyes & raises the risk of complication post-operatively to the eye if done incorrectly.

23/07/2023

Consistency is key - checking to see how patients are instilling their eye drops is just as important as checking their schedule. Patients with may feel doubling of eye drops helps lower pressure further - this frequently isn't the case.

Additional eye drop use can:
Cause local and systemic side effects or toxicity.
Expediate intolerance.
Increase the cost of medication.
Risk running out of drops before the next re-fill.