Our eyes are designed to protect themselves naturally from irritation with tears and blinking. But our eyes can also be susceptible to conjunctivitis, an inflammation or infection of the thin layer of tissue that lines the inner surface of the eyelid and covers the white part of the eye. You might know conjunctivitis by a…
Your cornea is the clear, dome-shaped surface that covers the front of your eye, and as the outermost layer, it’s designed to withstand minor injuries and abrasions. The cornea is highly sensitive, and if scratched can cause tearing and pain. But healthy cells quickly slide over to patch the injury before infection occurs that could…
When our patients over 50 come to us complaining of headaches from doing many of their normal activities, such as reading and watching TV or working on their computers, we will perform vision tests, including one that measures their peripheral vision. That’s because as we age, our eyelid skin can become saggy to the point…
For those who aren’t familiar, diabetic eye disease is actually several serious eye conditions that affect people with diabetes, including: Diabetic retinopathy – Causes changes to retinal blood vessels which can distort vision; it is the most common cause of vision loss in diabetics Diabetic macular edema — DME is a consequence of diabetic retinopathy that causes…
It’s a sneaky disease. It puts high pressure on your eyes that can affect your sight, but the damage is so gradual, you probably won’t notice until it’s too late. And there aren’t really any signs, not even pain, to signal that you’ve got a problem. In fact, around half of the people who have…
We wear shoes to protect our feet and gloves to protect our hands. We brush our teeth. We wear seatbelts. What do all these actions have in common? We do them as part of our efforts to take good care of ourselves. That’s why it doesn’t make sense that with all the smart things we…
Macular degeneration is a debilitating vision problem that is growing as the country’s population ages. Generally, patients who suffer from AMD (age-related macular degeneration) have deterioration of their macula, the portion of the retina that is responsible for central vision (fine details in front of you). There currently isn’t a proven treatment for macular degeneration.…
Dark circles under the eyes are often associated with a lack of sleep. In reality, there are many factors that can cause them. In most cases, dark eye circles are caused by blood pooling in the vessels that lie close to the skin’s surface. The majority of the accumulated blood is deoxygenated (lacks oxygen) so…
For swimmers, eye irritation from pool chemicals is a concern. Pool chemicals such as saline and chlorine are inherently eye irritants. Pool chlorine can lead to symptoms similar to those of conjunctivitis — redness, itching, irritation, and excessive tearing. Dry eye syndrome Symptoms of dry eye syndrome are quite common among swimmers. These symptoms may…
The adage says, “Life begins at 40.” Yet for some, 40 means the time when various vision and eye health issues become more prevalent. Fortunately, the discovery of new technologies in the prevention and treatment of eye health problems have made it possible to delay their occurrence or reduce the severity of their symptoms. The…
