One of the most common eye infections is conjunctivitis, also known as pink eye, and characterized by redness, irritation and discharge. There are many different causes, some can have serious consequences. As eye MDs, we have the knowledge to distinquish between a mild infection and one that could potentially lead to a loss of good vision.
Dry eye is probably the most frequently seen problem in eye clinics.
Your eye is moistened by spreading tears over its surface by blinking. This keeps the eye comfortable and lets you move through your day without “noticing” your eyes at all. If your eyes are dry, you begin to feel a scratchy or dry feeling and “notice” that they are there. The dry eye can lead to more serious problems such as infection or damage to the eye’s surface if not treated adequately but, most commonly, it is just an annoyance.
Dry eye can be treated in several different ways, from artificial tears to minor surgery to close the system which drains the tears away from the eyes. The causes of dry eye can be anything from environmental issues (low humidity or dust) to serious diseases such as Rheumatoid arthritis or Sjogren’s syndrome.
At the Eye Clinic we can help determine the cause and treatment of your dry eye and help you get back to moving through your day without discomfort.
What are cataracts?
If your vision has become cloudy or things you see are not as bright as they used to be, a cataract may have developed in one or both of your eyes. A cataract is a clouding of your eye’s naturally clear lens. Your eye becomes like a window that is frosted or tinted.
The amount and pattern of cloudiness within the lens may vary. If the cloudiness is not near the center of the lens, you may not be aware that a cataract is present.
There are common misconceptions about cataracts. Many people believe a cataract is a film that grows over the surface of the eye that is scraped off or removed at the time of surgery, or that it is a result of overusing the eye, and that the loss of vision is irreversible. As you can see from the earlier description these misconceptions are not correct.
Your ophthalmologist (eye MD) can determine if your decreased vision is caused by a cataract and help you decide if surgery is the best treatment.
Glaucoma is a disease that damages the eye’s optic nerve. The optic nerve is connected to the retina — the tissue lining the back of the eye. The optic nerve is made up of many nerve fibers, similar to an electric cable made up of many wires. The optic nerve sends signals from your retina to your brain, where these signals are interpreted as the images you see.
Glaucoma causes damage to the optic nerve and therefore the signals which are sent to the brain. The most common form of glaucoma is chronic open angle glaucoma and is completely painless. You cannot tell you have this type of glaucoma until you lose much of your vision, and unlike vision lost with cataract, it is irreversible. . . the vision lost can never be regained. The only way to determine if you have glaucoma is through an eye examination. Measuring eye pressure is not enough as almost 40% of people with glaucoma don’t have elevated eye pressure.
The incidence of glaucoma increases as you age and if you have a family history of glaucoma. It is important to have eye examinations more frequently as you enter middle age or if someone in your family has had the disease.
There are several tests which can be used to determine if you have glaucoma and, if you have it, to determine if it is progressing. One of the newest methods of following the disease is the OCT scanner of the thickness of the retina’s nerve fiber layer. The picture below shows a scan of a patient’s optic nerve who has glaucoma.
Macular degeneration (AMD) is a deterioration of the center of the retina of the eye called the Macula. It occurs most commonly in patients over the age of 55. There are two types of macular degeneration, wet and dry. They both affect the central vision resulting in blurring and distortion or an absence of fine detail in the central visual field.
There is no know treatment for dry macular degeneration, however, there are several things that can be done to help prevent it. Not smoking is one of the best ways to help prevent the disease. Exercise and diet are also helpful. The Age Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) showed that a combination of certain vitamins in supplement form can help prevent the progression of dry macular degeneration which is already present by 25%.
The treatment of wet macular degeneration may involve laser, anti-VEGF therapy, and Photodynamic Therapy. All of these therapies are administered by an eye MD (ophthalmologist).
There are many new ways to evaluate a patient with AMD including Fourier-Domain OCT. This is a very exquisite way to see the retina using laser directed ultrasound to produce a microscopic cross sectional and three dimensional view of the retina and macula. At the Chippewa Valley Eye Clinic, Chippewa Falls, we have the most up to date OCT instrument available.
What are retinal tears and retinal detachment? The American Academy of Ophthalmology describes it in the following way on their website:
The retina is the light-sensitive tissue lining the back of our eye. Light rays are focused onto the retina through our cornea, pupil and lens. The retina converts the light rays into impulses that travel through the optic nerve to our brain, where they are interpreted as the images we see.
The middle of our eye is filled with a clear gel called vitreous (vit-ree-us) that is attached to the retina.
Sometimes tiny clumps of gel or cells inside the vitreous will cast shadows on the retina, and you may sometimes see small dots, specks, strings or clouds moving in your field of vision. These are called floaters. You can often see them when looking at a plain, light background, like a blank wall or blue sky.
As we get older, the vitreous may shrink and pull on the retina. When this happens, you may notice what look like flashing lights, lightning streaks or the sensation of seeing “stars.” These are called flashes.
Usually the vitreous moves away from the retina without causing problems. But sometimes the vitreous pulls hard enough to tear the retina in one or more places. Fluid may pass through a retinal tear, lifting the retina off the back of the eye — much as wallpaper can peel off a wall. When the retina is pulled away from the back of the eye like this, it is called a retinal detachment.
The retina does not work when it is detached and vision is blurry. A retinal detachment is a very serious problem that almost always causes blindness unless it is treated.
Diabetic retinopathy is a change in the retina’s blood vessels caused by diabetes. There are two types of diabetic retinopathy, non-proliferative and proliferative.
Non-proliferative retinopathy is less serious than proliferative, but demands attention and sometimes laser treatment. By controlling blood sugar a patient can help this form of retinopathy from progressing rapidly.
Proliferative retinopathy demands treatment with laser and possibly, anti-VEGF therapy.
The best way to treat these diabetic related eye problems is to control diabetes through diet and exercise. Controlling blood pressure and not smoking will also slow the appearance of these diseases.
Learn more about the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
Learn anything and everything about eye health. From diseases & conditions, to drugs, systems, & eye anatomy. From glasses & contacts, to treatments & surgeries. It is your eye health encyclopedia.
Learn more about normal vision development in children.
What are contact lenses?
Contact lenses are thin, clear plastic disks you wear in your eye to improve your vision. Contacts float on the tear film that covers your cornea.
Wearing eyeglasses is an easy way to correct refractive errors. Improving your vision with eyeglasses offers the opportunity to select from different types of lens options, frame designs and even lens coatings for various purposes.
What is LASIK?
LASIK is a type of refractive surgery. This kind of surgery uses a laser to treat vision problems caused by refractive errors. You have a refractive error when your eye does not refract (bend) light properly.