Medically reviewed by Dr. Kevin Cohenmehr, OD Last reviewed
Ocular Hypertension: Symptoms, Causes & Treatment
High pressure, healthy nerve — a watchlist, not a diagnosis of loss.
Ocular hypertension means the pressure inside the eye runs high while the optic nerve still looks and tests healthy. It is glaucoma’s waiting room: most people in it never develop damage, and the job is making sure you are not the exception.
- The finding
- Pressure above the typical range
- The nerve
- Healthy — that is the distinction
- The risk
- A head start toward glaucoma
- The response
- Structured monitoring, sometimes drops
The watch
Monitoring that would catch the turn early.
- Baseline everything
Pressure at different visits, corneal thickness (it calibrates the pressure reading), OCT of the nerve fiber layer, and visual fields.
- Compare, not guess
Each visit stacks against baseline; genuine change in nerve structure or field is the signal that treatment starts.
- Treat selectively
When risk stacks up (pressures, thin corneas, family history), pressure-lowering drops begin before damage does, co-managed with specialists when warranted.
Why it matters here
Glaucoma is quiet. The watchlist is how you beat quiet.
- Dr. Kevin Cohenmehr leads glaucoma and pressure monitoring
- OCT, fields, pachymetry and photography under one roof
- Family history? Say so; it changes the cadence
Ocular hypertension near you
12222 Wilshire Blvd, on the Santa Monica border.
Also consider
Next step
Been told your pressure runs high?
Bring the old numbers if you have them — the baseline visit with an eye doctor in Los Angeles turns a worry into a plan.