Dear all,
May I check if there is anyone buying his/her own tonometer for monitoring IOP at home?
I am considering this, and would be grateful for any experience sharing. For examples, recommendation of models, related accuracy, ease of use, cost.
Does it require to have a prescription from doctor to buy a tonometer?
I am not sure if NHS has any related support for that (I suppose the patient need to bear the cost of such device, but just wonder if there is any rental service available).
Did a bit of research and there is recommendation to the product of ICARE HOME and Reichert 7CR (appears ICARE is more for portable use, while Reichert is easier and more convenient in the measurement).
I also notice a UK product from KEELER.
keeler.co.uk/tonocare-wirel...
Would be grateful for any sharing of usage experience. Thanks a lot.
Hello lswk. When someone considers buying a home tonometer there are a few things to be considered and that isn't just the cost. You need to remember that to use a tonometer properly you will need to be shown how to use is by someone in the eye clinic. If not used correctly the measurements would not be accurate. I have spoken to a few callers over the years who have considered getting an iCare but have decided against it. mainly due to the cost which is normally over £1000 and they were worried that it would be too addictive and would end up measuring their eye pressure too much and then panicking when the readings were different. I would recommend speaking to your consultant/eye doctor before going ahead with a purchase. I have attached a link to the iCare website for more info for yourself and any other forum members who want to find out more about the device after reading your post.
icaretonometer.com/products...
Hi Trish, thanks for your feedback.
Yes I understand your points and will definitely talk to my consultant.
I am aware some model (like the iCare one) will need ongoing consumables (probes, supposed to be replaced after every measurement).
And yes when looking for a model it should aim for those for home use only, i.e. a non medical professional can learn how to operate it accurately.
To allow the IOP measurement at home can make one being too nervous, so it is necessary to understand IOP does fluctuate throughout the day, and the monitoring should serve to track the big trend, rather than focusing on individual up & down snapshot. I believe, if use properly, it can enable a glaucoma patient to know what can have impact to the IOP and regulate his/her living accordingly. This can provide a more comprehensive picture then just having a measurement once a few months at the eye clinic.
There is a site/forum
called Fiteyes.com with lots of useful information.
There has been a research project on patient use of tonometers. I would try and track that down and see what their conclusions were. Quite frankly in present times when appts are so delayed, if you know what you are doing and you are not going to send yourself batty doing it every 5 minutes I think it would be really useful. We don't have one but bullied partner into private glaucoma assessment when hosp appt was 3 months overdue ...double the time in which he should have been see...that private appt (50.00) for fields and pressures showed that there was something wrong. Unfortunately lockdown then hit but he sent his results in and got called in for an appt and change of medication. Although pressures were as expected and it was the fields that rang alarm bells. If technicians can be trained to do AMD injections then patients can be trained to use tonometers is my humble opinion.
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