Eyes.com

Eye Care and Eye Surgery Blog

Archive for the ‘Eye Safety’ Category

Contact Lens Over Wear Syndrome (OWS)

Tuesday, January 31st, 2012

If you wear your contact lenses longer than the appropriate timeframe every day, you are at risk of developing a condition called contact lens over wear syndrome (OWS). Over wear syndrome often leads to eye pain, tearing, redness, and a decreased overall vision quality. Typically, OWS is the result of patients wearing their contacts to bed at night, or failing to replace them with new contact lenses when necessary. OWS is often painful and can result in serious vision problems.

If over wear syndrome is left unaddressed, it can lead to:

Eye infections
Decreased vision
Growth of vessels in the cornea
Permanent loss of your best corrected vision

When you wear your contact lenses for too long, you essentially starve your corneas of oxygen. Your body’s reaction to this deprivation is to produce new blood vessels in your cornea that help provide the oxygen your eyes lack. Unfortunately, these new blood vessels often alter the shape of your cornea, and they can leak, leaving deposits.

If you are not cautious, wearing your contacts for too long can threaten your vision. LASIK eye surgery is a valuable solution for patients who want to be freed from their daily dependence on contacts. However, if you have OWS, you will need to stop wearing your contacts for a certain period of time and let your eyes heal before LASIK can be performed.

If you have further questions about contacts, OWS, or LASIK, please contact an experienced ophthalmologist in your area today.

Posted in Contact Lenses, Eye Safety, LASIK, Laser Vision Correction | Comments Off

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

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

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.

Posted in Contact Lenses, Eye Safety | Comments Off

Does LASIK Make Your Pupils Dilate More?

Wednesday, November 30th, 2011

LASIK eye surgery will not increase your pupil size. However, since your vision improves a great deal after LASIK, you might be more attentive to the size of your pupils than you were before. Near vision and bright light can cause your pupils to contract, while far distance and low light will make them dilate.

Each patient’s pupil size tends to be unique. Several different factors can affect the dilation of your pupils, including:

Caffeine
Lighting
Alertness
Medicines
Alcohol

If you already have large pupils and undergo LASIK eye surgery, it is possible that your eyes will dilate beyond than the LASIK treatment zone in darkness. This can cause issues with night vision, such as glare, halos, and starbursts. Having large pupils will not disqualify you from LASIK surgery, but it will be weighed against other factors when an ophthalmologist is determining your LASIK candidacy.

Fortunately, modern LASIK technology has lessened the odds of patients experiencing night vision problems and other LASIK side effects. In fact, studies show that 85% patients who have received treatment from the VISX CustomVue laser have experienced a significant decrease in their amount of night-time glare after surgery when compared to before.

If you have further questions about LASIK surgery and pupil size, please contact an experienced ophthalmologist in your area today to schedule an initial consultation.

Posted in Eye Safety, LASIK, Laser Vision Correction | Comments Off

Happy Halloween; Don’t Go Blind

Monday, October 31st, 2011

Once again, ophthalmologists are warning people who are deciding to dress up for Halloween this year to be careful with decorative contact lenses. All of these lenses may look great with scary costumes (vampires are a very popular choice with these lenses), but it’s what might happen to your eyes as a result of wearing them that’s truly frightening.

Contact lenses are prescription only, fitted by a trained ophthalmologist. Sticking ill fitting, over-the-counter lenses into your eyes may cause pain and inflammation. Redness, tearing, and serious pain are not uncommon. These risks can lead to corneal abrasions and blindness.

Goopy, pus-filled eyes, and deep red around the pupils is truly a terrifying site to behold. For you, those around you, and your eye doctor eye infections can be very difficult to deal with. Prescription eye drops, sitting in the dark to avoid light sensitivity (sort of like vampires), and more is not worth it.

Although some of these lenses have been banned for several years, and contacts in general have been classified as medical devices by the FDA since 2005, it is still very easy to get them from costume shops, pop-up Halloween stores, and even beauty supply stores. Know that you risk blindness for one or two days of looking scary.

Eye health is important to remember all year long. When Halloween comes around, if your perfect costume requires you to put these decorative lenses into your eyes, you may want to speak with an eye doctor before, and not after, the big Halloween party.

If you are suffering any of the side effects of placing decorative contacts into your eyes, please find an experienced eye doctor in your area immediately to avoid serious injury or blindness.

Posted in Contact Lenses, Diseases and Conditions, Eye Safety | Comments Off

Is LASIK Safer Than Contacts?

Friday, October 28th, 2011

Many people are drawn to the benefits of LASIK eye surgery, but fearful of its potential complications. However, when the risks of LASIK are compared to the risks of contact lenses, LASIK actually comes out on top as the safer option.

Oxygen is essential in order for your eyes to function properly. Unfortunately, daily contact wear prevents your eyes from naturally receiving oxygen from the air around you. This can lead to problems like irritation, redness, and “ghost vessels” – blood vessels that appear in your eyes in order to re-route oxygen from other areas of your body.

Additionally, the risk of infection from wearing contact lenses is far greater than the risk of infection after LASIK surgery. Even a careful cleaning routine might not wholly prevent infection from contact lenses. In the past few years, many different contact lens solutions have been recalled for providing a higher risk of infection, or else for simply being ineffective.

If you are considering LASIK eye surgery, schedule a consultation with an experienced ophthalmologist in your area today to find out if you are a candidate.

Posted in Eye Safety, Eye Surgery, LASIK, Laser Vision Correction | Comments Off

Does Natural Vision Correction Work?

Friday, October 7th, 2011

If exercising makes your body stronger, wouldn’t eye exercises make your eyes
stronger? And if they make your eyes stronger, is it possible that eye
exercises can correct common vision disorders such as myopia and hyperopia?
These are questions that have been posited for at least 90 years, dating back
to the book Perfect Sight Without Glasses
by William H. Bates, MD.

The Truth about Eye
Health

While it is exciting to think that simple exercises can
correct vision disorders, there remains no proof to this claim. Eye exercises
can reduce strain, increase flexibility in your eye muscles, and may slow the
progression of high myopia. However, eye exercises alone cannot replace vision
correction with glasses, contacts, or surgical procedures such as LASIK.

In addition to eye exercises, getting proper nutrition for the eyes
is an important part of maintaining visual health. Antioxidants and several
minerals including selenium and zinc have been shown to reduce risks for age
related macular degeneration and cataracts.

The bottom line is that taking care of your body, including
your eyes, will provide long-term benefits. However, only an ophthalmologist
can treat vision disorders, and help you achieve the clear, unobstructed vision
you deserve.

For more information on eye exercises and proper eye
nutrition, find an experienced
eye doctor in your area through eyes.com today.

Posted in Eye Exercises, Nutrition for the Eyes | Comments Off

LASIK and Corneal Scars

Thursday, September 29th, 2011

A corneal scar is an injury to your eye’s cornea. Having a corneal scar doesn’t necessarily disqualify you from LASIK eye surgery, but certain types of scars can have a negative effect on the results of surgery. You ophthalmologist should carefully examine your corneal scar to consider the following factors:

The depth of the scar – If your scar is superficial, it is possible to remove it during LASIK surgery. A deeper scar can be reduced and improved with a different laser treatment (such as PRK), but it still might not be completely eliminated.
The location of the scar – Unless your scar is close to the center of your eye, you are probably still a candidate for LASIK. However, if it is too close to your visual axis and has an effect on your vision, your ophthalmologist may recommend an alternative laser treatment.
The cause of the scar – If the scar was the result of an infection, the exact type of infection may affect your LASIK candidacy. For example, if viral keratitis caused your scar, there is a slight risk that LASIK surgery would re-activate the virus.

LASIK surgery should only be performed on patients who are ideal candidates. In some situations, corneal scars can be reduced or eliminated by Laser Vision Correction. But if your ophthalmologist believes your corneal scar would pose an undue risk, he or she can work with you to find an alternative solution.

If you would like more information about LASIK and scarred eyes, contact an experienced LASIK eye surgeon in your area today.

Posted in Eye Anatomy, Eye Safety, Eye Surgery | Comments Off

Treating Strabismus (Crossed Eyes)

Thursday, August 25th, 2011

If both of your eyes have difficulty focusing on a single object at the same time, you may have a condition called strabismus – more commonly referred to as crossed eyes. People with strabismus can look directly at an object, but one of their eyes will always be pointing in a different direction: out, in, up, or down. This disorder is generally caused by a paralysis of your eye muscles, or by muscles that unequally pull on your eyes.

Crossed eyes are most common in babies who have not yet developed appropriate control over their eye muscles. However, true strabismus doesn’t go away as a child ages. If left untreated, crossed eyes can eventually lead to “lazy eye” (amblyopia), permanently decreasing a person’s vision capacity.

The sooner strabismus is treated, the lower your risk will be of developing amblyopia. Depending on the severity of the condition, treatment can be as simple as eye exercises, eye patches, or other types of vision therapy to help strengthen your eye muscles.

If vision therapy alone does not effect change, other treatments can include:

Eye drops that help your ability to focus
BOTOX® Cosmetic injections that relax your eye muscles
Prescription prism or bifocal glasses that provide better focus
Eye surgery to properly realign your eyes

Unlike other disorders, strabismus can be easily identified without a vision exam. If you or your child has crossed eyes, be sure you seek treatment as soon as possible to prevent future vision problems. Contact an experienced ophthalmologist in your area today to schedule an initial consultation.

Posted in Diseases and Conditions, Eye Safety | Comments Off