LaVale Tonometry

Keeping an Eye on Your Pet’s Vision

Tonometry allows our veterinary team to measure the pressure inside your pet’s eye. This helps us diagnose diseases like glaucoma, which causes increased fluid pressure in your pet’s eyes. Like many diseases, early detection is key to treating this disease before it progresses and causes permanent changes to your pet’s vision. At LaVale Veterinary Hospital, we may recommend tonometry for your pet depending on a variety of risk factors. Tonometry is a non-invasive, pain-free procedure that does not require sedation.

If your pet presents with any of the following risk factors, our veterinary team may recommend tonometry:

• Aging or senior pets
• High-risk breeds
• Diabetes
• Eye injuries
• Hypothyroidism

Schedule your pet’s next appointment at LaVale Veterinary Hospital by calling (301) 273-1385 or by contacting us online.

Glaucoma & Your Pet

Glaucoma is a disease that affects the eyes in which fluid builds up in the eyes. It is caused by a problem with the drainage of the fluid in the eye rather than overproduction of this fluid. A buildup of this fluid can cause damage to the optic nerve, which is responsible for carrying information from the eye to the brain. When the nerve is damaged in glaucoma cases, it can result in permanent changes to your pet’s vision or even blindness.

As soon as we observe the signs of glaucoma in your pet, we will begin treatment so we can prevent your pet from experiencing changes to their vision. Our veterinary team can prescribe medications that can both decrease fluid production and promote the drainage of this fluid. We may also provide painkillers for your pet to keep them comfortable. In severe or advanced cases, our veterinarians may recommend surgery to reduce the pressure in the eye.

Signs to watch for:

• Dilated pupils
• Clouding of the cornea
• Red or bloodshot eyes
• One eye appearing larger than the other eye
• Squinting
• Tearing

Glaucoma is painful for your pets, if your pet seems to be acting differently or is continuously pawing or rubbing at their eyes, it’s important that you seek medical attention quickly. LaVale Veterinary Hospital is here to help you and your pet!

What to Expect from a Tonometry Procedure

Your veterinarian can perform a tonometry reading in LaVale without any invasive measures or sedation. We use a handheld device to measure your pet’s eye pressure. The divide uses a small probe to touch the surface of your pet’s cornea. If your pet’s eye is soft or regularly pressurized, the temporary indentation caused by the probe is deeper. Eyes with higher pressure experience a smaller indentation.

It’s important to know that this is not a painful procedure for your pet. We will apply a local anesthetic eye drop to your pet’s eye to numb the eye before we perform the tonometry reading. This will keep your pet calm during the examination.

Call (301) 273-1385 to schedule an eye examination today!