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About your eyes
Annual eye
health examinations are recommended in order to ensure your
continued excellent vision. We provide comprehensive eye
examinations for both adults and children. We check your eyes for
all eye diseases including glaucoma, cataracts, and retinal
detachments. We are also able to see systemic diseases and
complications when looking at the eye, such as diabetes, high blood
pressure, high cholesterol, etc. Below are listed a few common eye
diseases and conditions along with brief descriptions for your
general knowledge.
Vision: Why do I need glasses?
Many
people are lucky enough to have perfect vision, where all of the
structures of the eye work together to bring the world into the
sharpest possible focus at all distances.
But
the eye can also have imperfections and some of us would face a
fuzzy existence if not for the availability of glasses and contact
lenses.
The
above diagram is Myopia, or Nearsightedness, one of the most common
refractive errors. Light focuses in front of the retina instead of
on it, resulting in good vision at very close range but blurred
vision at distances.
Above is Hyperopia, or Farsightedness, the opposite of Myopia, where
you can see more easily at distance than you can up close. Light
focuses behind the retina in this case. Many people that are
Farsighted do not notice blurry vision because they are able to
strain their eye muscles in order to focus. This can cause frequent
headaches and eyestrain. With larger amounts of Hyperopia, distance
vision is blurred as well as near vision. Presbyopia is similar to
Farsightedness, when the muscle in the eye weakens and can no longer
help the eye to focus at close ranges. This usually happens around
the age of 40.
Astigmatism means there is no one point of focus regardless of
whether you are focused at distance or close-up. This is usually
resultant from a non-spherical cornea. Unless corrected with
glasses or contact lenses, Astigmatism can result in blurred vision
, eyestrain, and headaches.
Macular Degeneration
Macular
degeneration can be a devastating disease where the patient loses
their central vision. Imagine looking directly at a flash bulb when
the camera goes off. All you can see for a couple minutes is that
flash in the center of your vision. With macular degeneration, that
central blur is permanent. Laser surgery treatments are only
appropriate for a small percentage of patients, and even when laser
is performed, it can only slow or halt further progression of vision
loss. It cannot restore areas of vision that are already lost.
Risk factors for macular degeneration include: family history, fair
skin and light eye color, smoking, UV exposure and age.
The best way to protect against this disease is to quit smoking,
wear UV protection when outdoors (such as sunglasses and a hat), eat
green leafy vegetables and/or take a multi-vitamin supplement that
contains lutein. (Always consult your Primary Care doctor
before beginning any vitamin supplements, as some vitamins can
interfere with certain medications).
Glaucoma
Glaucoma
is a disease where the optic nerve is damaged, usually as a result
from high intra-ocular pressure. When left untreated, this disease
can cause total blindness. Once diagnosed with glaucoma, the
disease progression can be slowed or halted with the use of
prescription eye drops or, sometimes, with surgery. Glaucoma is a
silent disease that usually has no symptoms. Loss of vision is only
apparent to the patient after extensive optic nerve damage has taken
place. For this reason, regular eye examinations are imperative in
order to discover the disease before irreversible vision loss has
occurred.
Cataracts
A clouding
of the lens inside the eye is called a cataract. Exposure to UV
light, which is exceedingly common in Florida, can hasten the
formation and progression of cataracts. Many cataracts are
age-related and unavoidable, whereas some cataracts can be caused by
the use of certain medications (i.e. steroids). When a cataract
begins to reduce the quality of vision, it may be considered “ripe”
enough for surgery. During surgery, the cloudy lens is removed and
a new, clear lens is implanted. In most instances, the surgery can
be done using a very small incision so that no stitches are required
and healing time is very quick.
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