Quick Answer: Yes, if a parent, sibling or child has glaucoma, get a full glaucoma exam, even if your vision is fine. Doctors advise repeat exams every 1 to 3 years between ages 40 and 54 if glaucoma runs in your family.
A parent, brother, sister or child of yours has glaucoma. You are wondering about your own eyes, which is a good question to ask. Many relatives never do.
A close relative with glaucoma puts you in a higher-risk group. Glaucoma usually gives no warning. There is no pain, and your vision stays sharp. Meanwhile the optic nerve slowly loses fibres, and they do not grow back. By the time most people notice a problem, a good deal of damage is done.
That is the reason to be tested before anything feels wrong. The numbers on this page follow guidelines from the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO). I explain them the way I would in my consulting room.
Please read Do I Need Glaucoma Screening in Gurgaon?
How much does family history raise your risk?
Depending on the study, a close relative with glaucoma makes you two to nine times more likely to have it. The risk is higher with an affected brother or sister, at over three times. With two affected siblings it reaches about five times. Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma Preferred Practice Pattern® P71 +2
These are ranges, not a forecast for you. Many people with an affected relative never develop glaucoma.
At a tertiary eye hospital in India, about 13 of every 100 relatives who came for screening had glaucoma. Relatives who agree to come may not represent everyone, so this is not your personal risk. It does show how often the disease turns up in families. nih
Doctors do not screen everyone for glaucoma. They focus on people at higher risk, and a close relative with glaucoma puts you in that group.
Your own risk also depends on other things. Raised eye pressure, age, diabetes, short-sightedness and a thin cornea all add to it. Angle closure glaucoma is common in India and can run in families too.
Do not wait for 40
Many people think glaucoma checks begin at 40. With a family history, it is better not to wait. Studies of relatives have found glaucoma in people in their thirties, and the schedule below starts before 40. nih
If you have never had a full exam, having one now sets your baseline. Later exams are compared against it.
How often should you be screened?
The AAO sets out how often adults should have a complete eye exam. A family history shortens the interval. The intervals run from every 2 to 5 years below age 40, to every 1 to 2 years from 55 onward. In my practice, I usually recommend an annual evaluation, for most people with a family history of glaucoma.
| Age | No risk factors | Family history of glaucoma |
|---|---|---|
| Under 40 | Every 5 to 10 years | Every 2 to 5 years |
| 40 to 54 | Every 2 to 4 years | Every 1 to 3 years |
| 55 to 64 | Every 1 to 3 years | Every 1 to 2 years |
| 65 and older | Every 1 to 2 years | Every 1 to 2 years |
These intervals are for people whose results are normal. If I find anything borderline, I will see you sooner.
After 40, ask for your eye pressure and optic nerve to be checked at every eye visit, even if you only went in for glasses or a cataract.
What a glaucoma screening involves
A glasses check at an optical shop cannot rule out glaucoma. It measures your prescription and nothing else. A proper screening is an exam with an ophthalmologist, plus a few extra tests.
- Eye pressure. I measure it, but a normal reading does not rule out glaucoma.
- Optic nerve exam. After dilating your pupils, I look at the nerve for thinning and changes in shape or colour.
- Gonioscopy. A special lens shows me the drainage angle, where the iris meets the cornea.
- OCT scan. It maps the nerve fibre layer and can show thinning before you lose any vision.
- Visual field test. It checks for blind spots in your side vision that you may not have noticed.
- Corneal thickness. It affects how I read your pressure.
At my clinic in Gurgaon, plan for about an hour if I dilate your pupils. You may not need every test on each visit.
What to find out about your relative’s glaucoma
Ask what type of glaucoma they have, how old they were at diagnosis, whether they needed laser or surgery, and whether they lost vision. Guidelines ask doctors to record this at the first visit. It helps me decide how closely to follow you.
What can you notice, and when should you worry?
| Symptom | Cause | When to Worry |
|---|---|---|
| None at all | Open-angle glaucoma damages the nerve without pain or blurring | Do not wait. Book now if a close relative has glaucoma. |
| Missing things at the edge of vision, bumping into objects | Loss of side vision from nerve damage | Book within a week. |
| Halos around lights, evening headaches | A narrow drainage angle with brief pressure rises | Book within days. You need gonioscopy. |
| Sudden eye pain, red eye, blurred vision, nausea | Acute angle closure | Emergency. Get care the same day. |
What doctors often miss
Many people have a glasses check and hear that their eyes are fine. That visit says nothing about the optic nerve.
A normal eye pressure does not clear you either. Some people develop glaucoma with pressures in the normal range, and pressure changes through the day.
Relatives rarely hear about it. The person with glaucoma often does not mention it, and their doctor may not suggest that brothers, sisters and grown children get tested.
One normal result lasts until your next scheduled exam. Glaucoma can start later, which is why the exams repeat.
When to see a doctor
See a Doctor Urgently
Go to an eye emergency the same day for:
- Severe eye pain with redness
- Sudden blurred vision with halos, nausea or vomiting
- Sudden loss of vision
See a Doctor
Book a glaucoma exam if:
- A parent, sibling or child has glaucoma and you have not had a full exam recently
- Your last exam was longer ago than the interval in the table
- Someone told you your eye pressure is borderline
- You are missing things at the edge of your vision
- You have diabetes or are very short-sighted
What this means for you
A relative’s glaucoma raises your risk of disease, but that does not mean you have glaucoma, or will always get glaucoma. If you have not had a full eye exam recently, book one to set your baseline. Then repeat it on the schedule above.
If you have glaucoma yourself, tell your brothers, sisters and grown children. Also, make sure you ask them to always tell their eye doctor about their family history of glaucoma.
Other Eye Diseases With Family Risk
Glaucoma is the most important silent disease which runs in families. But it is not the only one.
Family history may increase risk of:
• Macular degeneration
• Retinal detachment in high myopia families
• Keratoconus in siblings
• Childhood high refractive error
• Rare inherited optic nerve diseases
These conditions need awareness and timely screening. But glaucoma remains the most commonly missed because it is silent.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does glaucoma run in families?
Yes. Family history is one of the established risk factors for glaucoma. Depending on the study, a close relative with glaucoma makes you two to nine times more likely to have it. Many people with an affected relative never develop it.
How much higher is my risk if my brother or sister has glaucoma?
In studies, the risk is over three times higher with one affected sibling. With two affected siblings it reaches about five times. Your age, eye pressure and other risk factors also count, and a full exam tells you where you stand.
At what age should I start glaucoma screening if it runs in my family?
Do not wait for 40. The AAO schedule for people with risk factors starts below 40, with an exam every 2 to 5 years. Some studies of relatives have found glaucoma in people in their thirties.
How often should I be screened for glaucoma?
From 40 to 54, every 1 to 3 years. From 55 onward, every 1 to 2 years. If your first exam shows anything borderline, I will see you sooner.
If my screening is normal, do I still need follow-up?
Yes. A normal result means you have no glaucoma today. Glaucoma can develop later, so repeat the exam on the schedule for your age.
Book a family-risk glaucoma check in Gurgaon with Dr Shibal Bhartiya
Bring any reports from your relative, plus your own past eye records. I see patients At my clinic in Gurgaon.
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References: AAO Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma guideline | AAO Comprehensive Adult Medical Eye Evaluation guideline | Screening relatives of glaucoma patients in India | Family screening in glaucoma: a scoping review | Diagnosing glaucoma, Community Eye Health Journal
This page is a part of the Glaucoma Hub. you may want to read about Glaucoma Progression, and Risk Stratification in Glaucoma. You may want to read more about OCT and Visual Field, Glaucoma Tests Explained, Normal OCT but Vision Symptoms and How to Understand Your OCT Better. Also of help could be Why Do I Need a Visual Field Test? Glaucoma Diagnosis in Gurgaon, Get a Glaucoma Second Opinion in Gurgaon and Get an Online Glaucoma Consult.
About the Author
This article was written by Dr Shibal Bhartiya, fellowship-trained glaucoma specialist and Mayo Clinic Research Collaborator, Clinical Director at Marengo Asia Hospitals, Gurugram, known for ethical, patient-centred glaucoma care and independent glaucoma second opinions. She is also the Program Director for Community Outreach & Wellness; and for the Marengo Asia International Institute of Neuro and Spine.
Dr Bhartiya has published peer-reviewed research onglaucoma management, examining how treatment decisions should balance medical evidence, patient preferences, and long-term vision outcomes. She is also a committed patient advocate and mainstream medical columnist, translating complex ophthalmic evidence into actionable public health insights across leading national platforms including NDTV and OnlyMyHealth
As Editor-in-Chief of Clinical and Experimental Vision and Eye Research and Executive Editor of the Journal of Current Glaucoma Practice (Pubmed Indexed, official journal of the International Society of Glaucoma Surgery). Her 200+ publications, including 90+ PubMed-indexed publications and 28 edited textbooks span glaucoma biology, surgical outcomes, health equity, and emerging diagnostics.
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Last Reviewed: October 2026