Lasik Eye Treatment

As recent as in the last few years, laser eye surgery has become a very popular alternative to people who has been dependent on their eye glasses or contact lenses all their lives.

Lasik Eye Treatment

In a rush to leave their glasses and contact lenses behind people are rushing for this new treatment. Likewise wee see lasik eye surgery treatment centers and private clinics mushrooming in every cities.

What many people are unaware of is that there is risk involved in the surgery procedures. A laser surgery is not for everyone.

The procedure is not suitable to some people due to their health and medical condition. The eye surgeon would normally advise the patient during consultation if they are the right candidate for the surgery.

Laser eye surgery complications does exist to a certain degrees. Although the percentage is very very small and almost negligible.

May be most people might have thought of complications in terms of serious consequences such as blindness or serious infections.

The fact is that the most common complications or rather side effects is called regression. Regression is simply your eye sight vision turns back to the state before the surgery.

This includes blurred vision again or your eyes might become very sensitive to lights and also another problem is dry eyes that could become painful at times.

So mistakes do happen sometimes due to eye doctors misjudgment or patients willingness to take risk despite chances of higher risk in some people.

The bottom line is to get yourself educated with all the fact and figures before jumping into the surgery room. Find the eye doctor with the right credential and experience to work with.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions and clear any doubt that you have during the screening process. This is very important in order to determine the right surgery procedures that you need.

Laser Eye Surgery Complications – What is Behind the Truth?

Presbyopia is one of the most common conditions affecting senior citizens nowadays. Presbyopia is caused by the eye’s inability to focus in old age, especially with near objects. Thus, blurring of vision occurs, more prominently in the dark. Presbyopia typically presents with blurring of vision when looking at near objects, requiring patients to hold objects far away to be able to see or read. Some people who are nearsighted before they are 40 years old find that their nearsightedness is actually surprisingly advantageous, allowing them to see more clearly when presbyopia starts to set in.

Lasik Eye Treatment

Previously, presbyopia was treated with corrective lenses that are able to compensate for the loss of the eye’s ability to focus effectively. If the patient has an additional refractive error, convex lenses can be used. If corrective lenses aren’t enough, senior citizens can be given a prescription for bifocals or multifocals. The downside to the use of these lenses is that they can occasionally distort the images that you see. Also, the prescription of the glasses changes constantly, as presbyopia progresses.

Senior citizens who would rather not use eyeglasses or contact lenses can opt to undergo laser eye surgery in order to correct presbyopia. Typically, LASIK eye surgery is used in correcting presbyopia. Conventional LASIK eye surgery, however, can further aggravate the senior citizen’s inability to see things up close. Thus, instead of employing the typical LASIK eye surgery, a specific approach, known as monovision, is used.

The monovision approach was initially employed using contact lenses. One contact lens corrects near vision in one eye while the other contact lens corrects distance vision in the other. In time, a more permanent form of monovision was developed. Instead of using contact lenses, laser can be used to permanently change the vision of the eye. One eye can be permanently corrected for near vision while the other eye is permanently corrected for distance vision.

Some people find it very hard to adjust to monovision. Before undergoing monovision laser eye surgery, it is a good idea to first try with contact lenses. This will help you determine whether you can handle permanent monovision or not. If you can’t, laser eye surgery may not be for you. You may want to consider other forms of treatment for presbyopia. These treatments include the use of intraocular lenses and novel techniques, such as the use of scleral expansion bands and the surgical reversal of presbyopia, or SRP.

Senior Citizen Laser Eye Surgery

Although LASIK eye surgery has been able to help numerous people, not everybody can qualify to undergo the said procedure. Here are some of the common reasons why you may not be allowed to undergo:

Lasik Eye Treatment

AGE BELOW 18 YEARS

In general, patients who are younger than 18 years old are not allowed to undergo this procedure. This is because the eye is still growing. The patient’s vision can still change through this period. Predictability of the surgery cannot be assured. Thus, if the patient undergoes the procedure before reaching 18 years, the results of the surgery may still change. Occasionally, there are exceptions to this, such as children who have a significant refractive error in one eye that might lead to the development of amblyopia or lazy eye.

PREGNANCY

Pregnant and nursing patients are not advised to undergo the procedure. This is because during pregnancy and lactation, their hormone levels fluctuate, making it hard to measure the correct refraction of their eye. Also, a pregnant patient may note an increase in her nearsightedness or astigmatism during pregnancy because of these hormone changes. Also, you will have to apply different medications to your eye during and after the surgery, which may be harmful to your child.

DRY EYE SYNDROME

A common complication of the operation is dry eye syndrome. If you already have dry eye syndrome, it may be a good idea to consider other forms of corrective eye surgery. Dry eyes can delay tissue healing and results in prolonged discomfort for the patient. However, it is still possible for patients with dry eye syndrome to undergo LASIK eye surgery if their condition is not severe.

MEDICAL DISEASES AND DRUG INTAKE

Some diseases can disqualify a patient from undergoing the operation. Patients who have diabetes mellitus, glaucoma, rheumatoid arthritis and lupus are discouraged from undergoing the operation. These conditions can lead to delay in healing and have a higher risk for the development of infections. Also, some medications may have detrimental effects on the eye. Steroids can lead to a delay in healing, while some drugs for acne can cause dry eye syndrome.

UNSTABLE VISION

Prior to surgery, your eyes will first be tested. It is important that your refraction is already stable for at least a year before surgery can be performed. Since LASIK eye surgery is a permanent procedure, it is important that your vision does not fluctuate in order to get the best results.

Before undergoing the procedure, discuss your other options with your ophthalmologist. Your ophthalmologist can guide you on whether you should undergo it or not.

Why You Should Get Lasik Eye Surgery

Contact lenses can be a nightmare for people with dry eyes. In a healthy eye, a thin layer of tears always forms under a contact lens. If this layer dries out, the lens starts feeling like sand. Is this the inevitable price you have to pay for the convenience of contact lenses, or is there a better alternative?

Lasik Eye Treatment

Do contact lenses cause my eyes to dry?

There are several causes for eye dryness. First of all, some people simply produce less tears than others, or their chemical composition of their tears is not adequate. The amount of tears produced usually decreases with age.

Another cause is environmental – if you work in an overheated or air-conditioned room, of if you are exposed to smoke, dust or wind, your eyes will feel dry. Dry eyes are also a problem for most computer users. People tend to blink less when working on the computer and blinking is essential for wetting your eyes.

Finally, some contact lenses can also contribute to dry eye syndrome. Most soft contact lenses are made from polymers and water – sometimes up to 70% water. While it’s this moist, the lens feels comfortable in your eye; but the water evaporates from the lens as the day progresses. So the lens absorbs water from your tears, leaving you with dry-feeling eyes. Generally speaking, the more water the lens contains, the more prone it is to lose its moisture.

Soft contacts that can help with dry eyes

Since dry eyes is a serious problem for many contact lens wearers, lens manufacturers are constantly working to produce contacts that will be comfortable for people with dry eyes.

One way is to reduce the water content of the lens. Modern silicon hydrogel lenses are only about 30% water – much less than the 50-60% of traditional lenses. Also, the new polymers used in contact lenses help the lens to stay moist.

Out of all the lenses formulated for people with dry eyes, Acuvue Oasis and Proclear Compatibles receive the most favorable reviews from wearers.

Acuvue Oasis, by Johnson and Johnson, is specifically formulated for people who work or live in dry environments. It is made of high-quality polymer senofilcon A and contains a special rewetting agent – Hydraclear Plus – that makes the lens feel moist even if your eyes don’t produce enough tears. Acuvue Oasis is a daily wear contact lens (you should take it off at night), and it should be replaced every two weeks.

Proclear Compatibles, by Cooper Vision, is made from omafilcon A, which has demonstrated very high on-eye water retention, during clinical studies. Also, Proclear uses the revolutionary technology of biocompability. The lens contains PC (phosphorylcholine) – a substance that occurs naturally in human cells. It prevents your body from perceiving contact lens as a foreign object in your eye and trying to reject it. As a result, Proclear Compatibles feel moist and silky in your eye and don’t cause dehydration. Proclear are monthly disposable contact lenses.

RGP lenses for people with dry eyes

Some doctors recommend their patients with dry eyes to switch to Rigid Gas Permeable (RGP) contact lenses. The reason is that an RGP lens is made from polymeric materials and don’t contain any water. So water won’t evaporate from the surface of the lens, as with soft lenses. Thus one cause for dry eyes is illuminated.

However, RGP lenses may present other problems for people with dry eyes. Since the lens is rigid, it can irritate your eye if there are not enough tears under it. A rigid lens in a dry eye feels much worse than a soft one.

If you have dry eyes and your current contact lenses don’t feel too comfortable, you don’t have to live with the discomfort. Ask your doctor if the lenses we recommended would work for you.

Contact Lenses for Dry Eyes – Your Options

It will take a very comprehensive article begin to show realistically the promise of laser eye surgery and other refractive surgery treatments – the power of these highly-technical, life-changing procedures to correct focusing errors such as common nearsightedness. Unfortunately, many people are learning about the popular state-of-the-art LASIK operation through mass advertising campaigns. Some marketing methods can be misleading. Although “sound-bite” commercials help make people aware of this innovative technology, they are unable to tell the whole story.

Lasik Eye Treatment

For example, TV and radio advertisements seldom explain refractive surgery’s effect on age-related presbyopia (a condition causing blurry near vision that affects middle-aged and older people). Nor can short commercials present details about potential complications.

Many LASIK eye surgery newspaper articles begin with a happy story about a thrilled patient praising their new miracle vision and end with a sad case about a different person with a poor result. While most people get excellent results, problems absolutely do occur.

Complication rates can vary considerably among doctors, depending upon their surgical skill, their training, and their understanding of their laser. A corneal surgeon – an ophthalmologist specially trained to operate within the cornea’s multiple layers – may have an advantage performing LASIK. The newer flying-spot lasers may decrease the chance of problems.

Statistics can be confusing. You may wonder what is covered in the “complication rate.”

Does it include “undercorrections” where the patient’s eyesight after surgery remains a little near- or far- sighted?
What is the rate of rare serious infections that must be treated immediately with antibiotics?
Are the complications temporary or permanent?
Can they be surgically corrected?
Some complications can be managed immediately during the surgery, some are temporary, and some can be permanent.

You need to be able to select a doctor with the lowest possible complication rates for the procedure that you are considering.

Keep in mind that a physician may have a distinguished career in general ophthalmology, yet still be inexperienced at performing LASIK. LASIK eye surgery looks deceptively easy to perform, but it requires great technical finesse. The surgeon’s learning-curve is steep and endless. LASIK has the potential to help millions of people, but the reputation of a procedure is only as good as its worst results. As much as humanly possible, doctors and their informed patients must reduce surgical risks to a minimum.

You may be fascinated with the idea of improving your vision, but you probably fear an operation on your eyes – especially after reading about a poor outcome in the popular press. Knowing the right questions to ask can help you achieve your goals and reduce your anxiety. Of course, caution is always prudent. But I believe that patient education is the key to managing the fear of refractive laser eye surgery.

Such knowledge should enable you to use this sophisticated medical technology to your benefit.

After researching your options you should begin to think more as an expert does. You will gain a better understanding of how your remarkable eyes work. You will have more insight into the benefits and risks of the operations mentioned above. You will know key questions to ask your doctor to see if you are a good candidate for refractive laser eye surgery. My goal is to help you make an informed decision about your eyes. Only then can you decide if the benefits are worth the risks, considering your lifestyle.

Do you want to have refractive surgery? Which kind? Are you a good candidate? If so, which procedure is right for you? And of paramount importance to your future vision, who should be your doctor?

Laser Eye Treatment – What You Need to Know

Knowing whether or not you need glasses may sound like a very simple thing to figure out, but it could be a bit more difficult than you might think. Your eyesight may be degenerating very slowly, so slowly that you grow accustomed to how you view things and never even know that any change has taken place. Some common symptoms that will let you know that you may need glasses are: your sensitivity to light, unexplainable headaches and overly “tired eyes”.

Lasik Eye Treatment

If you go from a room that is dark into an area of light and you find that it takes your vision an exceedingly long period to recover from the change, or if you see “halos” or have other inconsistencies in your vision while it’s adjusting it may be a sign that your vision needs some correction.

If you seem to be suffering from frequent headaches or migraines that don’t seem to have any association with allergies, illness any other form of injury or ailment it could mean that you need to have corrective lenses to help your vision. Extended periods of over exertion by the eyes, trying to compensate for weakened vision can lead to frequent headaches.

If your eyes themselves feel weak and tired in what seems to be a shorter time period after participating in things like reading or viewing a computer screen, it could be time to have your eyes examined to see if corrective lenses might be the answer to your problem.

Most people don’t follow the prerequisite suggestion of having their eyes examined by a professional at least once every two years. Visiting a qualified optometrist is really the only accurate way to determine if you need any level of vision correction and what course of action may be necessary in order to get you seeing properly again. Many people wait until it’s difficult for them to see something that is directly in front of their face before they bother making an appointment with a qualified eye care profession, and then they seems surprised by just how bad their vision is.

The truth of the matter is that far more people walking around need glasses or sometime of correction than actually have any. For some it’s the desire to remain free from the shackles of glasses and contacts for others it’s the fact that they’ve lived with their vision problems for so long that they truly believe that how they are seeing is normal and don’t feel that they need vision correction.

There are a number of reasons that visiting your eye care professional is of the utmost importance. Firstly, knowing that you have a vision problem and taking the steps to have it corrected could be crucial to your survival – be able to see clearly and be able to react promptly while doing one of life’s most common activities, driving, could literally spell the difference between life and death – you need to be able to quickly identify all traffic signs and signals while traveling in order to be the safest driver that you can be, and it’s very difficult to do that with poor vision.

Having your vision problems corrected could also do wonders for your health. Not having to labor to see every little thing will result in less headaches, less migraines, less back and neck aches plus have you feeling more alert and awake overall. Your performance will most likely improve at work as well as is any hobbies you enjoy that require fine detail.

Properly identifying vision problems on your own is impossible, in order to really know if you need glasses it’s necessary to have an exam at the office of an eye care professional. Even if you had no problems when you visited the optician at an appointment three years ago, that doesn’t necessarily mean that your eyes are problem free today, regardless of how well you believe that you see if it’s been more than two years since your last eye exam you should schedule one soon to be safe.

How Do You Know If You Need Glasses?

There are many potential candidates out there who would love to have LASIK surgery performed on them. However, certain things can prevent them from getting the surgery they so desire, such as not having enough money to pay for the surgery, being turned off by the expensive costs of LASIK surgery, being unsure about the surgery and also being afraid of the complications after the surgery. In this article, I will outline 5 top reasons why people are reluctant to be free from wearing glasses or contact lenses.

Lasik Eye Treatment

Top 5 Reasons Why People Are Too Afraid To Have LASIK Surgery

1. LASIK causes dry eyes – It is true that the most common complaint by patients after LASIK surgery dry eyes. Sometimes, it can can even stay with them for even years, but this is very rare. Symptoms of dry eye typically involve, itching, burning, stinging, foreign body sensation and the feeling of the eyelid sticking to the eyeball.

2. LASIK causes a loss of visual acuity – This only occurs in the minority of cases, usually because of the lack of experience of the eye surgeon. This complication results in finding it more difficult to see detail in dim lighting and also seeing distortions, such as starbusts, haloes and double vision.

3. LASIK permanently weakens the cornea – This is also a true fact, but it is an inevitable consequence of wanting to achieve clear vision without glasses or contact lenses. As the collagen layers are severed by the microkeratome or laser, it causes the resulting cornea to be thinner and thus make it more susceptible to keratectasia or bulging of the cornea.

Just keep in mind that any kind of surgery, not just corrective eye surgery, will weaken a specific part of your body.

4. LASIK has long term consequences – These long term consequences could be due to the faults of the eye surgeon or the fact that LASIK surgery permanently changes the way light rays enter the eye, such that the rest of the eye may find it difficult to adapt. Intraocular pressure measurements may be underestimated due to LASIK, which results in under diagnosis of glaucoma. Those requiring cataract surgery may receive an inappropriate intraocular lens that does not focus on the retina properly, causing blurred vision.

5. Safer alternatives to LASIK exist – This is also something to keep in mind, as LASIK surgery isn’t the be all end all. Other alternatives, such as orthokeratology lenses (also known as Ortho-K) can correct a reasonable range of prescriptions from -4.50D to +1.50D sphere and up to -1.00D of astigmatism, and simply wearing glasses or contact lenses as these will not permanently damage your eyes.

These are the top 5 reasons why people decide not to have LASIK surgery. Many are afraid of the complications of such an invasive procedure, and have every right to be afraid. Nevertheless, with proper research and planning, it is more than humanly possible to achieve crystal clear vision without the need of glasses or contact lenses and with minimal side effects and complications.

5 Reasons Not To Have LASIK Surgery

I woke up yesterday morning with that familiar pain sensation on the upper eyelid of my left eye. I commonly get eye styes in that same spot, probably due to genetics since I regularly use an eyelid scrub to prevent them from forming. I have also been stressed out the past couple days so that could have caused it as well. Anyway, I ran into the bathroom and just as I predicted, there was a small stye beginning to form at the base of my eyelashes. Since I had caught this stye early I knew that I needed to start some form of eye stye treatment soon, with the hope of possibly preventing the stye from forming completely.

Lasik Eye Treatment

With that said, there are many forms of eye stye treatment that can be accomplished right in your own home. These treatments should be done as soon as possible, since they can often prevent the stye from forming completely, which was my goal in the first place. My favorite at home eye stye treatment, and probably the easiest to do, is to use a warm compress directly on the stye. The easiest way to do this is to get a small washcloth or towel and run it under warm or hot water. You can also get the washcloth wet and put it in the microwave for a few seconds to get it hot. Although this is common sense, it is important to mention that the washcloth should be at a temperature that is hot, but not hot enough to burn you or your eye, as this would do more harm then good. After the washcloth is warm, place it directly on the stye for 10 minutes. The heat will cause the stye to open up naturally and also helps to soothe the area, freeing you from pain. I like to do this technique for about 10 minutes 3-4 times a day until the stye starts to heal.

As stated above, the use of a warm compress as an eye stye treatment is not only easy to do, but is also extremely effective. Getting back to my story, I did just that. The next day, the stye was still there but it hadn’t gotten any bigger. I continued to apply the warm compresses and also used some stye ointment which provided relief. Overall, the stye never got any bigger and actually went away in a few days. The greatest thing was that my eye never swelled up like it used to and no one else even knew that I had a stye on my eye in the first place.

There are a few other things I want to mention that are important when dealing with eye stye treatment. First of all, the stye is not a pimple and NEVER EVER TRY TO POP THE STYE! This is a very important fact to remember since it can actually cause more damage and prevent the skin from healing. Also, there are lot of bacteria in the stye and this can be easily transmitted to other parts of your body. It is also important to wash your hands thoroughly before and after touching the stye and the washcloth.

So the next time you have an eye stye feel free to try using a warm compress as your initial line of eye stye treatment. As always, if the stye gets worse or isn’t getting better after a few days, get it examined by a doctor.

At-Home Eye Stye Treatment Using Warm Compresses

The causes of red eyes can often be a mystery. Patients have reported dry eye problems induced by CPAP machines. Obstructive Sleep Apnea Disorder causes interruption of breathing at night in short repeated intervals. The resulting low levels of blood oxygen saturation cause daytime sleepiness and fatigue. It is often accompanied by very loud snoring and the affected person may awake with “air starvation” several times in a night. Sleep Apnea can result in serious health problems and mortality if untreated over time. Continuous Positive Airway Pressure, or CPAP, is used as the standard of care treatment. A CPAP keeps the upper airway open by providing a constant flow of air delivered through a face mask or “nasal pillows worn while sleeping. Compliance is frequently reported to be low with CPAP machine due to various problems. Resolving these issues is critical to your well being and continued use of a CPAP machine.

Lasik Eye Treatment

Eye problems reported with CPAP therapy include dry eyes, red eyes, swollen eyes (skin around the eyes), and redness of the eyelids and face around the eyes. Any of these symptoms should be discussed with your Doctor who prescribed CPAP therapy and if needed you can request further help from your Optometrist.

You may be inclined to believe the origin of your dry eye, eye inflammation, pinkeye appearance, or swollen eye is caused by an allergy to the mask. Most masks today are latex free and made of silicone polymers. The incidence of true silicone allergy is almost negligible. Eye symptoms may be caused by a number of factors.

- A mask may be too tight exerting pressure on your face

- A mask may be too loose causing air to flow across your eye at night causing a dry eye and simulate Dry Eye Syndrome. The primary difference is CPAP induced dry eye will be worse upon awakening and improve as the day progresses while Dry Eye Syndrome usually worsens as the day progresses.

- A worn or defective mask may leak.

- Worn nasal pillows could start to blow air towards the eyes.

- It is postulated the air pressure could induce dry eye by forcing air though the tear puncta openings. Punctal plug occlusion by an Eye Doctor can be tried with temporary collagen punctual plugs to rule out this possibility.

-Sleep apnea patients also have an increased frequency of floppy eyelid syndrome. Floppy eyelid syndrome is a lax upper eyelid that will evert (flip inside out) easily. Patients with untreated sleep apnea often sleep on their side face down on a pillow in an unconscious effort to keep their airway open. Due to a loose eyelid the lid flips up exposing the conjunctival tissue lining. This constantly rubs on the pillow case causing mechanical irritation and exposes the tissue to any allergens that are on the pillowcase. The conjunctival tissue can become chronically inflamed with papillary conjunctivitis and a red eye upon awakening. Treatment of the sleep apnea will help resolve the problem since there will be a reduction in rolling face down. There is no longer hypoxia (oxygen deprivation) and the mask itself provides behavioral changes in sleep posture since it protrudes from the face. Treatment of any remaining dry eye symptoms is still essential.

- Occasionally an individual will have dry eyes already or sleep with partially opened eyes which will make leaky masks more symptomatic. Treating the primary Dry Eye Syndrome is essential in this case and should be done in consultation with your Eye Doctor.

- Some people may be more sensitive to the pressure of the mask under the eyelids on a repetitive basis and could benefit by using different shaped masks on subsequent nights. The fit of a mask is so important this may not be an option and your Doctor may need to use prescription ointments (usually after removing the mask).

- Supplemental treatment by your Eye Doctor may be needed for the Eye dryness, artificial tears such as Thera Tears, some prescription eye drops.

- Your Optometrist may also prescribe eye treatment for the mask induced red eye conjunctivitis with eye medications like Patanol.

Discuss your problems with your Doctor. Simple measures may be all you need. Readjustment of the mask straps, replacement of a mask, or changing the mask type could completely resolve your eye symptoms. If you can’t resolve your problems after your visit an eye exam with your Optometrist should be the next step.

Dry Eye Symptoms and CPAP Therapy – An Eye Doctor’s Perspective

Can everyone who has a problem with their eyesight

apply to have LASIK? Clearly LASIK has got great

potential and benefits but just like with any new

procedure there are risks associated.

Lasik Eye Treatment

The risk of complications or impaired eyesight after

LASIK vision correction can be greatly reduced if you

make an effort to establish if you are a good prospect

to have LASIK surgery. Not everyone who wants their

vision corrected is necessarily a good candidate to

have LASIK surgery. Here are a few things to consider

before you decide on LASIK:

o If you are risk averse, you probably shouldn’t have

LASIK laser surgery. There are possible complications

that can come about as a result of LASIK that you

should consider before having the procedure done.

o Does your insurance cover LASIK vision correction?

How would LASIK laser surgery or possible

complications affect your career? If having this

procedure would impact your life negatively you might

consider another alternative.

o Although the cost of having LASIK done is getting

cheaper, it is still quite expensive and you’ll want

to make sure it isn’t prohibited by your employer.

o A requirement for LASIK vision correction is that

you must be an adult with refractive stability.

Refractive instability is common among patients who

are 20 or younger with fluctuating hormones. This is

caused by several conditions including diabetes,

pregnancy or breastfeeding or taking medications that

cause fluctuation in vision.

o People who regularly engage in contact sports or

suffer from a condition or disease which may affect

the healing of a wound might have to consider an

alternative to the LASIK vision correction surgery.

There are a number of other situations one should

discuss with your doctor prior to deciding on LASIK

laser surgery. If you suffer from conditions such as

herpes or shingles that affects the area around the

eyes, you should disclose that information. Also, any

other conditions, including glaucoma, ocular

hypertension, eye diseases, eye injuries, previous eye

surgeries, or keratoconus should also be discussed

Please ask your doctor to screen you for the

following conditions prior to LASIK eye surgery:

o Blepharitis

o Large pupils

o Thin corneas

o Previous refractive surgeries

o Dry eyes

Only once you have considered and cleared all of the

above conditions or discussed them with a LASIK

surgeon, can you determine if you are an excellent

candidate for LASIK laser surgery.

Can Anyone Have LASIK Eye Surgery?