An ophthalmologist can offer you an overall look at your eye health. They can detect eye disease before a blood sugar test or other medical test shows it, saving you from permanent vision loss.
Your doctor may use a variety of tests to check your eyes, including reading from a big chart with lines of letters or covering one eye and following your finger around a circle for a visual field test. They might also check for color blindness. Contact Eye Doctor Ellicott City MD now!
Refractive errors occur when light doesn’t focus properly on the retina, the eye’s light-sensitive layer. This can cause vision to be blurry, especially when looking at distant objects. Refractive errors are common and affect many people worldwide. Slight variations in the shape of your eyeball or cornea usually cause them. Your eye may be too long or short or not curved at the right angle to refract light correctly. Other causes include:
- Astigmatism, which is usually due to a misshapen cornea or lens and can happen at any age.
- Myopia, which often happens in childhood.
- Presbyopia, which develops in most adults over the age of 40.
Blurry vision can happen at any distance and is the most common symptom of refractive error. Children often experience a change in their eyesight early on and might visit an eye care specialist. Adults might notice that their vision has become blurrier or they might struggle with certain activities like driving, working on a computer or reading. Other symptoms can include squinting, headaches and seeing halos or glare around lights.
Refractive errors are easily corrected with eyeglasses, contact lenses or surgery. Eye doctors can use subjective methods to measure your visual acuity by asking you to read a series of letters or numbers. They can also use objective tests to measure your refractive error, such as an autorefractor or handheld device with trial lenses. The expert team at Vitreous Retina Macula Consultants of New York offers comprehensive refractive error care for patients from Manhattan, Brooklyn and Westchester. They work with you to achieve the best possible results. To learn more about how to keep your eyes healthy and see clearer, visit our website or call us today.
Dry Eye Disease
Dry eye is a condition that occurs when your eyes don’t produce enough tears or the natural oil component of your tears (the meibomian glands in your eyelid) evaporates too quickly, leaving your eyes feeling sore and gritty and your vision blurry. It can be caused by many things, including ageing, hormonal changes, environmental factors such as windy or dry climates or obnoxious fumes, prolonged near tasks leading to decreased blink rates, certain medications such as antihistamines or antidepressants and autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and Sjogren’s syndrome.
A customized evaluation of the underlying cause of your symptoms is key to a successful treatment plan for dry eye disease. We’ll ask about your symptoms, history and lifestyle and conduct an eye exam to check the health of your tear film. In some cases, your eye doctor may recommend specific tests to confirm the diagnosis of dry eye disease such as a tear break-up test or an imaging technique called LipiView.
The most common treatment for dry eye is ocular lubricants, either over-the-counter artificial tears or prescription drops that can increase the amount of tears produced and/or reduce inflammation on the surface of the eye. We’ll also advise you on making lifestyle changes such as avoiding direct high airflow from fans or heaters, increasing the amount of water consumed, reducing screen time and implementing good eyelid hygiene and a diet that’s rich in omega-3 fatty acids. Occasionally, more advanced treatments such as oral secretagogues, autologous serum eye drops (made from components of your own blood), scleral contact lenses and surgical punctal occlusion or tarsorrhaphy may be required to manage severe dry eye conditions.
Glaucoma
Many types of glaucoma affect the eye, causing a buildup of pressure that damages the optic nerve. Damage to the optic nerve can lead to permanent vision loss and blindness. It is caused by slow or blocked fluid flow and can affect people of all ages, though it is more common in older adults. It can be triggered by eye injuries, severe eye infections, inflammatory conditions or following cataract surgery. It can also run in families.
Your eye doctor will diagnose glaucoma by checking your eye pressure, called tonometry. He or she may dilate your pupils and use a lens to look at the area where the iris and cornea meet (gonioscopy) and to see if the drainage angle is open or closed (pachymetry). You will probably be given eye drops to help control your eye pressure. The drops work by lowering the amount of fluid your eye makes or improving the way fluid drains from the eye. Your eye doctor may also perform laser or surgical procedures, such as a trabeculoplasty to clear clogged channels in the eye’s trabecular meshwork or a trabeculectomy to remove part of the filtering system.
The most effective treatment for glaucoma is regular checkups and taking the medications prescribed by your eye doctor. Help your aging parent follow through on this and remember to put in their eyedrops at the right time of day. Offer to remind them or help with transportation to their appointments if necessary. It is important to catch glaucoma early so that vision can be saved. If you notice your loved one’s vision is declining, contact their eye doctor immediately. Acute angle-closure glaucoma is a medical emergency and needs prompt treatment to reduce eye pressure.
Cataracts
Cataracts occur when the lens of your eye becomes progressively cloudier. This is a normal part of aging, but you should get regular checkups to catch this condition early. At first, the cataract may affect only a small area of your lens, and it may not be noticeable. As the cataract grows larger, however, it clouds more of your lens and changes the way light passes through your eyes. This is when you’ll start to notice symptoms like blurry vision, halos around lights and difficulty seeing at night or with bright sunlight.
Most cataracts develop when proteins and fibers in the eye’s natural lens break down. This can happen due to a variety of reasons, including age, genetic disorders passed down through family history and medical conditions like diabetes. Other risk factors include long-term exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet rays and past eye surgeries.
The most common symptom is that things look blurry or foggy. People with a cataract may also have glares or see a whitish film over their eye. Other symptoms include needing more light to read, having double vision, and a decrease in the brightness of colors. The good news is that these symptoms don’t usually cause pain. You’ll know it’s time to visit your eye doctor if you begin to have trouble performing everyday tasks.
Your eye doctor will diagnose cataracts with a visual acuity test and a slit lamp examination. Eye drops will be used to dilate the pupil, allowing your eye doctor to examine the back of your eyes and the lens more closely. Then, your eye doctor will discuss your treatment options. The best way to slow the progression of cataracts is to protect your eyes from UV rays. Wearing sunglasses with an anti-UV coating and a hat with a wide brim will help to prevent cataracts from developing.
Diabetic Eyes
Those with diabetes must be especially careful to schedule and attend regular eye exams. Chronically high blood sugar levels can damage tiny blood vessels in the retina, leading to diabetic retinopathy. These blood vessels leak fluid or bleed and distort vision, sometimes causing a patient to see floaters. They may also swell, and this is known as macular edema.
Diabetes can also lead to the development of cataracts. An eye doctor will perform a comprehensive dilated eye exam to look at the internal structures of the eye, including the retina and vitreous. This exam will include a visual acuity test (reading an eye chart), pupillary dilation and a fundus examination. An optical coherence tomography (OCT) test will provide highly detailed cross-sectional images of the retina, allowing the doctor to identify and measure fluid buildup within the retinal tissue.
Patients with diabetes can often have no symptoms in the early stages of this disease, making it important to get an annual eye exam. It’s also important to maintain good control of blood sugar levels and to stop smoking, which can worsen the condition.
People with diabetes can slow the progression of retinopathy and macular edema by controlling their blood glucose level, quitting smoking, exercising regularly, eating a well-balanced diet, using UV protective sunglasses and washing their hands frequently. They should also follow their provider’s recommendations on how to lower cholesterol and blood pressure because these can help prevent the disease from getting worse. In addition, those with diabetes should get a dilated eye exam every 1 to 2 years. This allows them to catch any problems early and receive treatment before they cause permanent damage.