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Archive for December, 2011

Lidocaine May Reduce LASIK Pain

Thursday, December 29th, 2011

A recent study has found that using a 2% lidocaine gel as a supplementary anesthetic may give patients a more comfortable LASIK experience. According to researchers, the use of the supplementary lidocaine gel reduced the pain experienced during the LASIK procedure as well as immediately following surgery.

The study compared the pain scores of 51 patients. Each patient had one eye which received the supplementary lidocaine anesthetic, while the other eye received a placebo carbomer gel as a control. Pain scores were then measured during the procedure as well as 15 minutes, 30 minutes, and 45 minutes after LASIK was completed.

The pain scores recorded were substantially lower for the eye treated with the supplemental lidocaine gel during the corneal flap creation and laser ablation. Patients also experienced less pain in the lidocaine eye 30 and 45 minutes after the procedure.

If you are considering getting LASIK in the near future, you may want to ask your LASIK surgeon about receiving a supplemental anesthetic. It may make your procedure a much more pleasant experience.

Please contact eyes.com today to find an experienced LASIK surgeon near you.

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Protecting Your Vision

Friday, December 23rd, 2011

While it is impossible to ensure you’ll have perfect vision for the rest of your life, there are many steps you can take to minimize your risk for developing certain vision disorders. A few simple lifestyle changes are often all it takes to dramatically improve the quality and longevity of your vision into the future.

Some of the most effective ways of protecting your eyesight are:

Not smoking – Learn more about how smoking affects your eyes.
Eat a balanced diet – Fruits and vegetables are healthy for your vision; avoid sugary, fatty foods.
Eat leaner meat – Reduce your consumption of fatty red meats.
Exercise – At least two hours of exercise on a weekly basis can help maintain your vision quality.
Wear sunglasses – Whenever you are outside in the sunlight, wear polarized sunglasses to protect your eyes and the skin surrounding them.
Visit your eye doctor – Regular yearly exams with your eye doctor will ensure that any abnormalities in your vision are quickly addressed.

If you would like more information about protecting your eyesight while you age, please contact an experienced ophthalmologist in your area today to schedule an initial consultation.

Posted in Eye Safety, Smoking and Eyes | Comments Off

Presbyopia

Tuesday, December 20th, 2011

Having 20/20 vision is nice. It’s the way your vision should be. Millions of people need corrective lenses to see 20/20 because of myopia. However, these individuals, as well as those who have natural 20/20 vision may find when they hit their early 40s that things that were once so crystal clear up close have begun to get fuzzy. This blurred vision may be more than a passing thing, it may be presbyopia.

Presbyopia is part of aging, and unavoidable for nearly everyone after they’ve reached 40. It’s the reason your grandparents all wear reading glasses, and it’s the reason your parents hold their books and magazines as far away from them as they can. Presbyopia is, for all intents and purposes, age-related farsightedness.

Why people develop presbyopia is not fully understood, and there are a couple theories. One is that the lens begins to become hard due to proteins. This makes the lens less flexible to focal changes. Another theory is that the ciliary muscle begins to weaken. This makes it harder for the lens curvature to steepen to see things near. A third, and newest, theory is that the lens continues to grow, and by age 40 it has grown so much that the ciliary muscle does not have enough space to contract and steepen the lens. However, this last theory is not held by many eye doctors right now.

Whatever causes presbyopia can only be fixed by the old standbys: corrective lenses, LASIK, and conductive keratoplasty (CK).

If you are 40 or older and have noticed your near vision beginning to blur, find an experienced eye doctor in your area to test you for presbyopia today.

Posted in Contact Lenses, LASIK, Laser Vision Correction, Presbyopia, Visual Acuity | Comments Off

Treating Macular Degeneration

Monday, December 12th, 2011

There are several approaches that can be used to treat age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Your ophthalmologist will work closely with you to help you determine the solution most suited to meet your needs. Understanding first how AMD is treated can help you better understand what to expect during your appointment.

How AMD is Treated

Common treatments for AMD include:

Laser treatments to seal leaky blood vessels
Injections such as Lucentis and Macugen
Combinations therapy such as Visudyne/PDT

Injections may be made in the eye or through the arm. With combination therapy, injections are received in the arm and non-thermal laser treatment is applied to the eye.

Your treatment may also include lifestyle changes. Certain nutrients have been shown to slow the progression of AMD. Your ophthalmologist may recommend you supplement your diet or change your eating habits to include a wider variety of fruits, vegetables, nuts, and grains. In addition, quitting smoking can slow the progression of AMD. Your ophthalmologist will discuss all of this with you during your initial consultation.

If you are suffering from the symptoms of AMD, please use the doctor locator at eyes.com to find an experienced ophthalmologist in your area to discuss your treatment options today.

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Understanding Visual Acuity

Monday, December 12th, 2011

20/20 vision does not mean perfect vision. What it does mean is that you can see at 20 feet what a majority of other people can see at 20 feet. Visual acuity tests are designed to determine at what range you can see. With visual acuity tests, the top number is fixed, but the bottom number is a variable. For example, if you can see at 20 feet what most people can see at 40 feet, your vision is 20/40. The bottom number can go up or down in either direction from 20 and is used to determine if you are nearsighted or farsighted.

Correcting Refractive Errors

If you do not have 20/20 vision, you may require assistance from prescription eyewear such as glasses or contact lenses to help you see objects at a range of distances. Several alternatives to prescription eyewear such as LASIK and PRK can also be used to correct refractive errors and help provide clear sight. In fact, eyewear is not a fix so much as a Band-Aid. Only a refractive error correction surgery can truly provide you with lasting eyesight of 20/20 or better.

If you are experiencing any vision difficulties and would like to learn more about your options, please use the doctor locator at eyes.com to find an experienced ophthalmologist in your area today.

Posted in LASIK, Visual Acuity | Comments Off

Sunglasses in the Winter?

Monday, December 12th, 2011

Many people associate sunglasses with summer. Time spent outdoors when the sun is closer seems like an ideal time to wear sunglasses to reduce glare, strain, and other discomforts. While it is important to wear sunglasses in the summertime, preventing sun damaged eyes requires diligent use of sunglasses in the winter as well.

UV Rays

In the summer, your eyes are affected by UV rays from above. In the winter, due to glare off of snow, your eyes are affected by UV rays both from above and below. In fact, it is highly possible that up to 85 percent of the UV rays hitting your eyes come from below in the winter. This makes it particularly important for outdoor enthusiasts to wear a high quality and protective pair of sunglasses at all time.

Unprotected eye can get sunburnt. Not only is this painful, it can lead to irreversible damage. In addition, sun damage has been linked to age related eye disorders such as macular degeneration and cataracts, making it important for your long-term visual health that you wear sunglasses at all times when you are outdoors.

If you would like more information on keeping your eyes as healthy as possible, please use the doctor locator at eyes.com to find an experienced ophthalmologist in your area today.

Posted in Eye Safety, Eyes and Sun Damage, Macular Degeneration, Uncategorized | Comments Off

2009 LASIK Statistics

Monday, December 12th, 2011

The American Academy of Ophthalmology compiles yearly statistics on LASIK surgery. In their 2009 report entitled “Eye Health Statistics at a Glance,” it was found that 700,000 people received LASIK that year, a number slightly down from previous years.

This study reports that 55.3 percent of LASIK patients achieved visual acuity of 20/20 or better, while 92.6 percent of patients achieved visual acuity of 20/40 or better. 20/40 vision is considered good enough to pass a driving test without glasses. However, it may still be necessary to wear glasses for some tasks following LASIK surgery.

LASIK Risks

This study found that serious complications occurred in only 5 percent of all LASIK recipients. These complications included:

Halos around lights in 3.5 percent of patients
Visual fluctuations in 2.7 percent of patients
Glare and sensitivity to light in 1.7 percent of patients

Around three percent of patients reported that their eyesight got worse following LASIK surgery.

While there is never a guarantee with any surgery, the percentage of LASIK recipients who achieve better vision is substantially higher than those who experience complications. Working with an experienced LASIK surgeon in your area can further reduce your risks and help provide you with freedom from the burdens of prescription eyewear.

If you are interested in learning more about LASIK, please use the doctor locator at eyes.com to find an experienced ophthalmologist in your area today.

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Contact Lens Risks – Lens Solution

Monday, December 12th, 2011

There can be several contact lens riskscaused by prolonged usage and improper cleaning. However, even proper cleaning may not protect you from the potential risks of contact lens usage.

According to the FDA, Complete MoisturePlus Multipurpose Contact Lens Solution was recalled in May due to a potential contamination of a deadly infectionknown as acanthamoeba keratitis. Over 20 cases of infection linked to this lens solution have been reported to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, but the FDA fears many consumers may be unaware of the recall. If you have a bottle of Complete MoisturePlus Multipurpose Contact Lens Solution, discontinue using it immediately.

Avoiding Contact Lens Risks

The best way to avoid the risks of contact lenses is through a refractive surgical procedure such as LASIK. With a LASIK procedure, you can free yourself both from the hassles and risks associated with contact lenses. Talk to your ophthalmologist today about your many options for LASIK surgery and get on your way to preventing these types of unnecessary risks.

If you are interested in learning more about the benefits of LASIK, please use the doctor locator at eyes.com to find an experienced ophthalmologist in your area today.

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Drug May Help Prevent the Spread of Eye Cancer

Monday, December 12th, 2011

Researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri have just released a study showing that histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors, common in anti-seizure medications, prevent the spread of uveal melanoma, the most common type of eye cancer. According to principal investigator, J. William Harbour, MD, “Melanoma in general, and uveal melanoma in particular, is notoriously difficult to treat once it has metastasized and grown in a distant organ.” This means that eye cancer can easily become deadly without prompt and proper treatment.

Slowing Tumor Growth

According to the study, HDAC inhibitors are capable of reversing the molecular signature of uveal melanoma, changing the way key genes are expressed and rendering the tumor less aggressive. While these findings are preliminary, the prospect of slowing the progression of eye cancer is certainly exciting news to ophthalmologists and oncologists alike.

Clinical trials are set to begin within the next 12 months. Because HDAC inhibitors are already on the market and are known to have relatively few, mild side effects, the lead researchers do not expect much trouble getting FDA approval for this new use.

If you are suffering from any vision disorders, please use the eye doctor locator at eyes.com to find an experienced ophthalmologist in your area today.

Posted in Diseases and Conditions, Eye Cancer | Comments Off

Giants Star Sandoval Latest Pro Athlete to Undergo LASIK

Friday, December 2nd, 2011

Popular San Francisco Giants player Pablo “Kung Fu Panda” Sandoval recently joined the growing list of professional athletes to undergo LASIK surgery.

According to a Dec. 1 post on the Extra Baggs blog of the San Jose Mercury News, the hard-hitting third baseman underwent LASIK to correct 20/40 vision in his left eye. Sandoval hit .330 in 2009, his first full season in the major leagues, but his batting average dropped to .268 in 2010.

Although he tried using various contacts and prescription goggles over the 2010 and 2011 seasons, his vision remained an issue.

“He was relying on one eye,” said Sandoval’s agent, Ryan Morgan, in the Dec. 1 Extra Baggs post. “I think it would be wrong not to admit there’s a correlation there. It’s a combination of not picking up the ball as well and how that can play into your confidence.”

Morgan added that Sandoval’s vision had not been retested since the LASIK procedure, but that Sandoval believed his sight was improved.

Sandoval is the latest in a long list of pro athletes to choose laser vision correction surgery to correct a vision problem. Brian McCann, the All-Star catcher for the Atlanta Braves, has had LASIK, as have Miami Heat teammates LeBron James and Dwyane Wade.

Other noteworthy athletes to undergo LASIK include golfer Tiger Woods, former Chicago Cubs and Atlanta Braves pitcher Greg Maddux, former New York Giants running back Tiki Barber and Detroit Pistons guard Richard Hamilton.

If you would like to learn more about LASIK, please contact eyes.com to locate an ophthalmologist near you.

Tags: LASIK
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