Vision Tips from your local eye experts. We feel it is important to give you tips and insight into your eye health. These tips relate to your Eyes, Eye Procedures, Eye Surgery Options and Tips for Healthy Eyes.
Vision Tip #1. Tearing. Excess tearing can often be a sign that your eyes are dry! It is a good idea to try and lubricate your eyes more because this may actually reduce the amount of tearing you have!
Vision Tip #2. Artificial Tears. There are tons of artificial tears available. But the 2 broadest categories are “preserved” and “preservative-free” (non preserved) tears. Preserved tears come in a bottle and are multi-use. Preservative-free tears come in a clear vial and are designed to be for one-time use. For most patients, the preserved tears work really well. Preservative-free tears are good if you use a lot of other eye drops with preservatives or if you are sensitive to preservatives! #visiontips
Vision Tip #3. Does cataract surgery worsen your dry eye? For a majority of patients, cataract removal actually improves your dry eye symptoms. If you are straining to see because of your cataracts then the strain of trying to see can actually worsen your dryness! We frequently see patients whose dry eye symptoms are better after surgery!
Vision Tip #4. Today we are talking about astigmatism. We have talked about this before but not as a tip! To recap, astigmatism is when your eye (most commonly your cornea) isn’t spherical. When this happens it takes a special type of lens to optimally focus the light. It is important because if you don’t correct your astigmatism then your vision isn’t as clear, you may have more glare and you may find yourself squinting to see better!
Vision Tip #5. Light sensitivity is a broad topic. Mild light sensitivity can have a lot of causes, from dry eye to cataracts to migraine headaches. In fact, some people with very light-colored eyes have mild light sensitivity in general. When light sensitivity is severe and sudden in onset it can be more concerning and often related to inflammation in or around the eye. This could be from a scratch, an infection, or even an autoimmune condition. If you have light sensitivity that is bothersome you should see you, eye doctor, to get it checked out!
Vision Tip #6. Eye Drops. Whether it’s is after LASIK or Cataract surgery, eye drops can be difficult for patients’ use because they all seem the same and the medication names are unfamiliar. One of the tricks has to do with the tops of the drops. They are often color-coded. So if you aren’t sure what drops you are taking, it can be helpful to know the colors. This trick works most of the time, but if the cap happens to be white, then it could be anything so you will have to read the label to be sure! And don’t mix up your drop tops either!
Vision Tip #7. Eye pressure. We measure eye pressure a lot in my office. In addition to vision, it is one of the “vital signs” of the eye. Measuring eye pressure is kind of like measuring how inflated a basketball is. It can be a little confusing though because eye pressure has a wide range for what is considered normal. But, if the eye pressure is too high, then it is a problem because it can damage other parts of the eye. We think of eye pressure most commonly when talking about glaucoma. Glaucoma is high pressure in the eye associated with damage to the optic nerve. So, checking eye pressure is one way of testing for glaucoma.
Vision Tip #8. Monovision! One eye distance, one eye near…For some patients, monovision is a great option for near vision after cataract surgery or LASIK. Sometimes it takes a little getting used to but many patients love it. If you have tried monovision and it’s not for you, then multifocal lenses are another option. The latest generation of multifocals is the best yet and they are definitely something to consider.
Vision Tip # 9. Are you awake during cataract surgery? Yes! Most patients are awake during surgery! But they are also very comfortable! In fact, some people fall asleep during the procedure. We use either oral or IV sedation to make the patients comfortable. If you are really anxious or claustrophobic then we can give you more as needed! So don’t be nervous, it will go smoothly and you might even forget it happened!
Vision Tip #10. Presbyopia. As we get older, our natural lens becomes less flexible and we lose the ability to see up-close. This is called “presbyopia” and it is a normal process that occurs as we age. It can be very frustrating because we start to need bifocals or readers. There are a lot of different near vision options though, including monovision (Tip #8), bifocal contacts, corneal inlays and multifocal lenses to help with your reading. There is not one perfect solution though, so it helps to investigate different options!
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