Reasons Why a Yearly Eye Exam Are a Good Idea?

Most people think nothing of scheduling regular visits with the medical doctor or their dentist in order to make sure that they are physically fit and healthy and that their teeth stay white, bright, and cavity free. When it comes to eye care however they tend only to seek the services of an optometrist when they have concerns regarding their vision. The truth though is that everyone should have a yearly eye exam.

Eye Exams Are Important

A comprehensive eye exam is more than simply checking your vision to see if you need glasses or not. During a comprehensive eye exam your optometrist will check your eye pressure, your eye muscle coordination and both the internal and external health of your eye. A comprehensive eye exam is especially important if there is a family history of eye problems such as high blood pressure, diabetes, or other health issues that could be affecting your vision. Yearly exams are especially important for those suffering from diabetes as catching diabetes-related eye problems in their earliest stages may help to save your vision.

Your optometrist can also spot problems caused by your eyes being exposed to too much ultraviolet light from the sun, from pollution, or dust particles in your work environment. They are trained to give you tips on eye care and things you can do to help protect your vision.

In some cases, a yearly exam may not be enough. If there are specific eye problems that can cause a rapid deterioration of your vision your optometrist may want you to have your vision checked every four to six months to keep a check and make sure that your vision is remaining stable.

When you consider how important your vision is to you and all the things you would miss if you lost your sight then you will realize how important proper eye care and those yearly eye checkups are to you and every member of your family.

Exams For Your Children

When it comes to children proper eye care is also important and you should have your infant have an eye exam at about six months of age, again at three, and then starting when they are school age they too should have a yearly exam unless there is some reason why checkups should occur more often.

Children who suffer from undiagnosed vision problems often not only have more severe vision problems later in life but also tend to do poorly in school. By getting yearly eye exams for your child from the time they are young you will be protecting their eyesight both now and in the future.

Make Sure to Do Exams Annually

If you have not had an eye exam lately you should call your optometrist now and set up an eye appointment. Follow through with eye exams each and every year. Your eyesight is important to you and the only way to protect your eyesight is with proper eye care.

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What Is There To Know About Cataract Surgery?

As we get older our eyes go through a process of aging. You may first start to notice your near vision getting a bit worse and that you need to hold things a little closer. Then you may need to start wearing reading glasses; this is called presbyopia. This is where the lens within the eye cannot flex as well as when we are young and unable to bend into focus and the lens starts to get cloudy.

How Cataracts Can Affect You

As our eyes age further the lens becomes stiff, rigid, and very cloudy, this is called cataracts. If not detected early, cataracts can get so bad you may not be able to see through them and you lose the ability to see clearly, navigate, distinguish between colors and lose contrast.

Ideally, before it gets that bad we would recommend performing cataract surgery to restore your vision. The main aim of cataract surgery is to remove the old lens and replace it with a new artificial intraocular lens (IOL) to improve your vision. A lot of people know about cataracts but aren’t clear on what the surgery actually involves.

Cataract Surgery

The initial stage of cataract surgery is for the eye surgeon to clean and numb the eye and to also dilate the pupil; this is to help the eye surgeon see the cataract clearly. The eye is held open throughout the procedure with a speculum.

Most people are awake during surgery and anesthetic is usually given via eye drops that take seconds to work. You shouldn’t be in any discomfort but may feel pressure and will see a bright light. The surgeon will then make a minute incision, which can be less than 2.2 mm.

A substance called viscoelastic is introduced to stabilize the eye and maintain pressure. The lens capsule is where your natural lens sits, the surgeon will open up a small portion of this to be able to remove the old lens and insert a new lens. Depending on how bad the cataract is, the surgeon may first need to segment the cataract prior to removal.

The removal of the lens is called phacoemulsification (phaco), this is where the eye surgeon will use a machine with an ultrasonic hand piece. The tip of the hand piece vibrates at an ultrasonic frequency which makes the lens substance emulsify which is then irrigated and aspirated out. If needed, the surgeon may then polish the capsule prior to inserting the new intraocular lens. The new lens is usually folded within an injector.

The injector places the lens within the capsule and as it unfolds the surgeon guides it into place. The viscoelastic is them removed via aspiration. Once this is done the eye surgeon will check over the eye to ensure everything is perfect and that the incision is watertight and then apply an antibiotic and steroid eye drop. The use of stitches is not normally needed as the incision is so small and self-sealing. The surgeon will then place an eye shield/patch over the eye to protect it and the surgery is complete.

After The Surgery

If both eyes need surgery they will normally be treated on separate days to prevent the risk of infecting both eyes and to also see how the first eye heals. The surgery takes an average of twenty minutes per eye and you can expect to leave within an hour or so after the surgery. Your vision should improve gradually over the next twenty four to forty eight hours. Full visual recovery and achieving final outcomes might take up to four weeks.

The ABC’s of Cataracts

When Shakespeare’s King Lear calls on “cataracts” to spout during his “blow winds, and crack your cheeks!” speech, he’s not asking for cloudy vision. In Shakespeare’s day, a “cataract” also means a huge waterfall. This is fitting because the clouds of white foam arising from a waterfall are metaphorically like the cloudy vision caused by a cataract. Roughly half of everyone who lives to age 80 will eventually get cataracts in one or both eyes.

What exactly is a cataract? To answer that question, let’s begin by looking at the eye in more detail. A cataract is a clouding of the eye’s lens. The lens of the eye is right behind the pupil. Light enters the eye through the pupil. As the picture shows, the lens focuses light onto the retina, which is a layer of light-sensitive cells at the back of the eye.

The lens must be clear to focus light onto the retina. If the lens has become cloudy with a cataract the image that is seen will be blurry. People say that having a cataract is like looking through a dirt car windshield.

How Do Cataracts Form

The eye’s lens is composed of two substances: the first is water and the second is protein. As we age some of the protein that constitutes the eye’s lens, along with water, can clump together, causing the clouding of the lens. Although most cataracts are simply a product of aging there are other causes of cataracts, too.

Diabetics can develop cataracts and so can steroid users. Cataracts can develop after an eye injury sometimes years later. They can often develop after exposure to radiation. Babies can sometimes be born with cataracts as well. Other factors that could cause cataracts include smoking and drinking. Here are the symptoms of cataracts, in case you think you are developing one.

Cloudy or blurry vision
Faded colors
Headlight, lamps, or sunlight glare
Halos surrounding lights
Double visions
Multiple images in one eye

Frequent changes in your prescription for eyeglasses or contact lenses could also be a sign of cataracts. If you notice any of these symptoms, or if you are age 60 or older, ask your eye doctor to check your eyes for cataracts, as well as for age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, or any other vision issues during your next eye exam.

What To Do When You Have Cataracts

If you do have a cataract and it is interfering with your normal everyday activities, such as driving, reading, or watching TV, your cloudy lens can be removed in surgery and replaced with a clear artificial lens. If you need cataract surgery in both eyes, usually the doctor will do each eye a month or two apart.

However, surgery should be avoided unless it’s absolutely necessary for your vision or if a cataract interferes with getting another eye issue treated, such as age-related macular degeneration or diabetic retinopathy. Nevertheless cataract removal is one of the most common operations performed in the United States and about 90% of people who have cataracts removed have improved vision.

Prevention

Now if you don’t have cataracts and you want to forestall getting them, there are some precautions you can take, according to research done by staffers of the Mayo Clinic. Get regular eye exams, at least once every two years or more frequently if you notice changes in your vision quit smoking and drinking alcohol. Wear sunglasses and clear glasses with 100% Ultraviolet (UV) protection. Maintain a healthy weight and eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Quit smoking, decrease or eliminate drinking alcohol, decrease or eliminate eating meat, increase eating fruits and vegetables and you might live long enough to have your first cataract as a 95^th birthday present – among other goodies.

Many people who need cataract surgery will get a temporary pair of eyeglasses to use that corrects the vision of both eyes, the eye that has the cataract and the eye that does not. Then when they have had the cataract surgery in both eyes they get a new pair of glasses.