This is a good article about contact lens abuse, which is much too common among contact lens patients. If you have any questions about how your lenses are SUPPOSED to be worn, or what solution you should be using, feel free to ask. We are here to help keep your eyes healthy and seeing well.
A new study reveals that just two percent of contact lens wearers
follow all the rules when it comes to contact lens hygiene, while more
than 80 percent of people believe that they follow good practices,
America's NPR reported on Tuesday.
The biggest sins are showering, swimming, and sleeping while wearing
your contact lenses, and using contacts longer than you should before
opening a fresh pair, NPR reported.
The study was published in the December issue of the journal Optometry and Vision Science.
"This is particularly common with lenses approved for two-week use," Randall Fuerst, OD,
a spokesman for the American Optometric Association, told WebMD.
"People often use them for three weeks or even a month, which can cause
problems."
In the new study, 72 percent of the surveyed contact lens wearers said
they had experienced discomfort from their lenses and 47 percent
reported having had an infection from their lenses.
Other bad habits include "topping off" the solution in the lens case
instead of rinsing and soaking lenses in fresh solution each day and
never or rarely replacing the lens case.
Mild problems include conjunctivitis, an inflammation known as "pink
eye" that can be caused by a bacterial infection. More serious issues
are Acanthamoeba, pseudomonas and E. coli infections, which could cause
blindness.
"We see patients all the time with pseudomonas ulcers, gray green pus, they go blind," study researcher Dwight Cavanagh,
a clinical professor of ophthalmology at UT Southwestern Medical
Center, told NPR. "We see amoeba infections from people showering in
their contacts, going swimming in lakes. These infections are horrible."
A separate 2011 survey cited by NPR "found that people have turned to
beer, baby oil, Coke, petroleum jelly, lemonade, fruit juice, and butter
as oh-so-wrong alternatives to contact lens solution."
The American Academy of Ophthalmology, Contact Lens Association for
Ophthalmologists, the Cornea Society and the American Society of
Cataract and Refractive Surgery offer these tips:
- Try to avoid contact between your lenses and water (remove lenses before going swimming).
- Never rinse or store lenses in water, whether tap or sterile.
- Saline solution and rewetting drops are not meant to disinfect your contact lenses.
- Discard your old lenses and start a new pair according to the schedule given to you by your eye care professional.
- To clean your lenses, rub them with your fingers (even if the
solution is a no-rub formula) and then rinse them with solution.
- Rinse your contact lens case with solution, not water. Allow the case to air-dry.
- Replace your contact lens case every three months.
Providing top-quality eye care since 1967
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
I found this article in the NY Times this morning. It is an excellent article about recognizing the signs and symptoms of a vein blockage and/or retinal detachment. If you think you have experienced any of these, please don't hesitate to come see us. Let us help.
Act Fast to Save Sight if Signs of Danger to the Retina Appear
By JANE E. BRODY
Published: November 7, 2011
The eyes may be windows to the soul, but the retina is the brain’s window to the world. When the retina is injured, vision is seriously threatened and may be lost entirely if the problem is not quickly addressed.
The retina is a layer of tissue at the back of the eye that collects
light relayed through the lens. Special photoreceptor cells in the
retina convert light into nerve impulses, which are transmitted to the
brain. At the retina’s center is an especially critical area called the
macula, which enables you to see anything directly in front of you, like
words on a page, a person’s face, the road ahead or the image on a
screen.
When blood flow through the retina is blocked or when the retina pulls away from the wall of the eye, getting the problem properly diagnosed can be an emergency. Modern treatments can do wonders if they are begun before the damage is irreversible. But a delay in getting to a retinal specialist can diminish the ability of even the best therapy to preserve or restore normal vision.
As with all living tissue, the retina is highly dependent on a constant supply of oxygen-carrying blood. Should anything disrupt that, vision is at risk. Two retinal mishaps, retinal-vein occlusion and retinal detachment, can occur at any age, but both are more common among older people.
Recognizing a Blockage
In July, David Bronson of Stone Ridge, N.Y., an avid reader at age 82, realized that the vision in his left eye was a little cloudy. He thought a developing cataract was the cause, but when he saw an ophthalmologist two weeks later, he learned that the problem was more serious: a partial blockage in the central vein that drains blood from the retina.
The blockage caused pressure to build in the capillaries that take blood to the retina, which then leaked into the center of the eye, clouding Mr. Bronson’s vision. The blockage and its consequences are analogous to a clogged sink drain; if water keeps running into the sink, it will eventually spill over the top.
Retinal-vein occlusion is a common cause of vision loss in older people, second only to diabetic retinopathy as a blood vessel disorder of the retina, according to a report last year in The New England Journal of Medicine.
Unlike Mr. Bronson’s experience, retinal-vein occlusion most often involves a branch vein, which is less serious and in half of cases resolves on its own within six months. If treatment is needed, most, though not all, patients respond well to laser therapy, the journal authors reported.
Central retinal-vein occlusion can cause swelling of the macula and loss of central vision. So Mr. Bronson is being treated with monthly injections into his eye of Lucentis, a drug recently licensed for this condition. Injections of steroids into the eye are also often effective.
The article authors, Dr. Tien Y. Wong of the National University of Singapore and Dr. Ingrid U. Scott of Penn State Hershey Eye Center, noted that retinal-vein occlusion occurs in one or two people in 100 older than 40, most often because of a clot and atherosclerosis, a hardening of retinal arteries that puts pressure on a retinal vein.
High blood pressure, Mr. Bronson’s only other health problem, is the leading risk factor for this disorder, but retinal-vein occlusion is also associated with diabetes, elevated blood lipids, smoking, kidney disease and glaucoma.
Typically, patients develop sudden painless vision loss in one eye. The extent of vision loss depends on how much of the retina is affected and whether the macula is involved. Most of the time, the diagnosis can be made based on a clinical exam, although a test called fluorescein angiography is often performed to assess the severity.
Detachment
Retinal detachment, which occurs in about 18 out of 100,000 people a year, is much less common than retinal-vein occlusion but more likely to cause permanent vision loss if not promptly treated. The longer the retina remains detached, the less likely vision can be restored, so it is vital to recognize the symptoms and seek an ophthalmologist’s care without delay.
Retinal detachment is painless but nearly always causes symptoms, often before the detachment starts: a sudden appearance of many “floaters” — spots, hairs or strings — in your vision; sudden brief flashes of light even when your eyes are closed; or a shadow over part of your visual field.
Donald Distasio of Syracuse was 61 when, he said, “I started seeing floaters and blurriness in the inner corner of my right eye.” His optometrist correctly suspected a retinal detachment and immediately sent Mr. Distasio to a retinal surgeon, who explained that the vitreous gel in the center of his eye had pulled on the retina, causing it to tear.
Retinal holes or tears can also result from thinning of the retina with advancing age or from other eye diseases. Once the retina tears, vitreous fluid can leak behind it and push it away from the wall of the eye, preventing images from reaching photoreceptor cells and, ultimately, the brain. The result is a vision blackout of the affected part of the retina.
In addition to age, risk factors for retinal detachment include extreme nearsightedness, a family history of the problem, a prior detachment in one eye, cataract surgery and a severe eye injury, as can occur in an auto accident or from a paint ball, a BB gun or a bungee cord, said Dr. Donald J. D’Amico, chief of ophthalmology at Weill Cornell Medical College and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.
In an interview, he outlined the usual treatments. The simplest, called pneumatic retinopexy, can be done in the doctor’s office under local anesthesia. A gas bubble is injected into the vitreous cavity. As the gas expands, it presses the retina against the wall of the eye and closes the break. The patient must remain face down for most of several days to weeks to keep the bubble in the right place. The retinal break is often permanently sealed with a freezing probe or laser.
Another common treatment is scleral buckling, done in a hospital under anesthesia but usually on an outpatient basis. A permanent silicone band is sewn to the outside wall of the eyeball, creating an indentation that presses the retina back in place.
A third technique, vitrectomy, is also done in a hospital. The vitreous gel that is pulling on the retina is removed and replaced with gas or liquids that reattach the retina. The procedure is sometimes combined with scleral buckling.
After treatment, it can take many months for vision to improve. The treatment itself may also cause a cataract, requiring further surgery.
When blood flow through the retina is blocked or when the retina pulls away from the wall of the eye, getting the problem properly diagnosed can be an emergency. Modern treatments can do wonders if they are begun before the damage is irreversible. But a delay in getting to a retinal specialist can diminish the ability of even the best therapy to preserve or restore normal vision.
As with all living tissue, the retina is highly dependent on a constant supply of oxygen-carrying blood. Should anything disrupt that, vision is at risk. Two retinal mishaps, retinal-vein occlusion and retinal detachment, can occur at any age, but both are more common among older people.
Recognizing a Blockage
In July, David Bronson of Stone Ridge, N.Y., an avid reader at age 82, realized that the vision in his left eye was a little cloudy. He thought a developing cataract was the cause, but when he saw an ophthalmologist two weeks later, he learned that the problem was more serious: a partial blockage in the central vein that drains blood from the retina.
The blockage caused pressure to build in the capillaries that take blood to the retina, which then leaked into the center of the eye, clouding Mr. Bronson’s vision. The blockage and its consequences are analogous to a clogged sink drain; if water keeps running into the sink, it will eventually spill over the top.
Retinal-vein occlusion is a common cause of vision loss in older people, second only to diabetic retinopathy as a blood vessel disorder of the retina, according to a report last year in The New England Journal of Medicine.
Unlike Mr. Bronson’s experience, retinal-vein occlusion most often involves a branch vein, which is less serious and in half of cases resolves on its own within six months. If treatment is needed, most, though not all, patients respond well to laser therapy, the journal authors reported.
Central retinal-vein occlusion can cause swelling of the macula and loss of central vision. So Mr. Bronson is being treated with monthly injections into his eye of Lucentis, a drug recently licensed for this condition. Injections of steroids into the eye are also often effective.
The article authors, Dr. Tien Y. Wong of the National University of Singapore and Dr. Ingrid U. Scott of Penn State Hershey Eye Center, noted that retinal-vein occlusion occurs in one or two people in 100 older than 40, most often because of a clot and atherosclerosis, a hardening of retinal arteries that puts pressure on a retinal vein.
High blood pressure, Mr. Bronson’s only other health problem, is the leading risk factor for this disorder, but retinal-vein occlusion is also associated with diabetes, elevated blood lipids, smoking, kidney disease and glaucoma.
Typically, patients develop sudden painless vision loss in one eye. The extent of vision loss depends on how much of the retina is affected and whether the macula is involved. Most of the time, the diagnosis can be made based on a clinical exam, although a test called fluorescein angiography is often performed to assess the severity.
Detachment
Retinal detachment, which occurs in about 18 out of 100,000 people a year, is much less common than retinal-vein occlusion but more likely to cause permanent vision loss if not promptly treated. The longer the retina remains detached, the less likely vision can be restored, so it is vital to recognize the symptoms and seek an ophthalmologist’s care without delay.
Retinal detachment is painless but nearly always causes symptoms, often before the detachment starts: a sudden appearance of many “floaters” — spots, hairs or strings — in your vision; sudden brief flashes of light even when your eyes are closed; or a shadow over part of your visual field.
Donald Distasio of Syracuse was 61 when, he said, “I started seeing floaters and blurriness in the inner corner of my right eye.” His optometrist correctly suspected a retinal detachment and immediately sent Mr. Distasio to a retinal surgeon, who explained that the vitreous gel in the center of his eye had pulled on the retina, causing it to tear.
Retinal holes or tears can also result from thinning of the retina with advancing age or from other eye diseases. Once the retina tears, vitreous fluid can leak behind it and push it away from the wall of the eye, preventing images from reaching photoreceptor cells and, ultimately, the brain. The result is a vision blackout of the affected part of the retina.
In addition to age, risk factors for retinal detachment include extreme nearsightedness, a family history of the problem, a prior detachment in one eye, cataract surgery and a severe eye injury, as can occur in an auto accident or from a paint ball, a BB gun or a bungee cord, said Dr. Donald J. D’Amico, chief of ophthalmology at Weill Cornell Medical College and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.
In an interview, he outlined the usual treatments. The simplest, called pneumatic retinopexy, can be done in the doctor’s office under local anesthesia. A gas bubble is injected into the vitreous cavity. As the gas expands, it presses the retina against the wall of the eye and closes the break. The patient must remain face down for most of several days to weeks to keep the bubble in the right place. The retinal break is often permanently sealed with a freezing probe or laser.
Another common treatment is scleral buckling, done in a hospital under anesthesia but usually on an outpatient basis. A permanent silicone band is sewn to the outside wall of the eyeball, creating an indentation that presses the retina back in place.
A third technique, vitrectomy, is also done in a hospital. The vitreous gel that is pulling on the retina is removed and replaced with gas or liquids that reattach the retina. The procedure is sometimes combined with scleral buckling.
After treatment, it can take many months for vision to improve. The treatment itself may also cause a cataract, requiring further surgery.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
ASTIGMATISM, basketballs, and footballs... How are they related?
It's all about curvature! An eyeglass lens gets it's power or prescription, from the curvature that is produced on the front and back surfaces of the lens.
The front surface of the eye (called the cornea) is just like an eyeglass lens. It's curvature determines it's power. If it's curved too much, it produces a point focus in front of the retina, if it's not curved enough, the point focus falls behind the retina (refer to our previous post about Nearsightedness VS Farsightedness for more info).
So far, we have only talked about one point of focus. If the cornea is spherical, like a BASKETBALL, it will only produce one focal point. This is due to the fact that no matter where light hits on a spherical object, it will encounter the same curvature, so all points on a spherical cornea will focus to the same point, either in front of, right on, or behind the retina.
The other side of the proverbial coin is a non-spherical cornea, much like a FOOTBALL. A football is not spherical. So if an eye is shaped more like a football than it is a basketball, it will form 2 points of focus. One for each curve. The curvature from tip to tip (the ends of the football) will form one focal point, and the sharper curve (the one your hand wraps around when throwing a football) will form another point.
What this means to you as a patient... both curves need to coincide on the retina to form a clear image. We can only do this by using glasses, or contact lenses (called toric lenses when correcting for astigmatism).
Next time your Optometrist brings up how your eye is shaped like a football, you will know exactly what he/she is talking about. :)
Please feel free to contact us about any of your eye-related questions. We would love to help you out.
The front surface of the eye (called the cornea) is just like an eyeglass lens. It's curvature determines it's power. If it's curved too much, it produces a point focus in front of the retina, if it's not curved enough, the point focus falls behind the retina (refer to our previous post about Nearsightedness VS Farsightedness for more info).
So far, we have only talked about one point of focus. If the cornea is spherical, like a BASKETBALL, it will only produce one focal point. This is due to the fact that no matter where light hits on a spherical object, it will encounter the same curvature, so all points on a spherical cornea will focus to the same point, either in front of, right on, or behind the retina.
The other side of the proverbial coin is a non-spherical cornea, much like a FOOTBALL. A football is not spherical. So if an eye is shaped more like a football than it is a basketball, it will form 2 points of focus. One for each curve. The curvature from tip to tip (the ends of the football) will form one focal point, and the sharper curve (the one your hand wraps around when throwing a football) will form another point.
What this means to you as a patient... both curves need to coincide on the retina to form a clear image. We can only do this by using glasses, or contact lenses (called toric lenses when correcting for astigmatism).
Next time your Optometrist brings up how your eye is shaped like a football, you will know exactly what he/she is talking about. :)
Please feel free to contact us about any of your eye-related questions. We would love to help you out.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Nearsighted vs Farsighted: What does it mean?
Most people have some degree of nearsightedness, farsightedness, or astigmatism. Here, we will explain what they mean. That way you can impress your optometrist with your vast knowledge the next time you go in for an eye exam. :)
Some people are fortunate enough to not fall in one of the previously mentioned categories. They are called emmetropes. For them, when viewing objects at a distance (optically a "distant" object is considered to be 20 feet or farther) the image forms a nice, clear, point of focus on the retina without the eye having to do any work at all.
Nearsightedness or myopia is when the image of a distant object comes to a point focus in front of the retina. Consequently, a person with myopia sees a blurry image.
In order to see a clear image, the point focus must be pushed back farther in order to fall on the retina. The eye cannot focus light BACKWARDS towards the retina, so the only way to accomplish this is by bringing the object closer to the eye (which is why myopic people can usually see clearly up close with no glasses or contacts), or by wearing glasses or contact lenses to move the point focus back for us.
Farsightedness or hyperopia is when the image of a distant object comes to a point focus beyond the retina.Our eyes do have the ability to focus light FORWARD to the retina. Because of this, many farsighted individuals see clearly without glasses or contact lenses, but the eye has to be constantly working and focusing in order to provide this clear image. This constant focusing can lead to fatigue and discomfort, especially when reading. As we move objects closer to our eyes, the point focus shifts backward toward the retina accordingly. So if an individual is having to focus for a distant object, they have to really focus and work hard to see clearly at near. Typically, when an Optometrist prescribes glasses for a farsighted individual, it is not to improve clarity, but to relax the visual system.
If you ever have questions about your eyes or glasses/contacts, please feel free to ask. We would love to help!
Some people are fortunate enough to not fall in one of the previously mentioned categories. They are called emmetropes. For them, when viewing objects at a distance (optically a "distant" object is considered to be 20 feet or farther) the image forms a nice, clear, point of focus on the retina without the eye having to do any work at all.
Nearsightedness or myopia is when the image of a distant object comes to a point focus in front of the retina. Consequently, a person with myopia sees a blurry image.
Farsightedness or hyperopia is when the image of a distant object comes to a point focus beyond the retina.Our eyes do have the ability to focus light FORWARD to the retina. Because of this, many farsighted individuals see clearly without glasses or contact lenses, but the eye has to be constantly working and focusing in order to provide this clear image. This constant focusing can lead to fatigue and discomfort, especially when reading. As we move objects closer to our eyes, the point focus shifts backward toward the retina accordingly. So if an individual is having to focus for a distant object, they have to really focus and work hard to see clearly at near. Typically, when an Optometrist prescribes glasses for a farsighted individual, it is not to improve clarity, but to relax the visual system.
If you ever have questions about your eyes or glasses/contacts, please feel free to ask. We would love to help!
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
FVCB's new Blog!
Family Vision Care of Bountiful (FVCB) is happy to announce our new Blog! We want this to be a place for all to come in order to learn about their eyes and vision.
We will post about common ocular conditions to be aware of, what some of the "eye care" terminology means, what new technologies are available in eye care, and what we can offer to you. Feel free to check out our website at www.drpacevisioncare.com
Check back often so that we can keep in touch. Feel free to comment or email with any questions or concerns you may have about your eyes. We would love to help.
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