Dry eye is a common condition that occurs when your tears do not produce adequate lubrication for your eyes, whether that means you don't produce enough tears or if you produce poor-quality tears.
If after a comprehensive eye exam your doctor concludes that further dry eye tests are need, your doctor may measure the volume of your tears as well as test their quality.
If diagnosed with dry eye, treatment may include taking medication for inflammation, using artificial tears, applying warm compresses, incorporating an eye hygiene routine, or even surgery to insert punctal plugs that keep tears from draining away and helps artificial tears last longer.
Floaters & Flashes
FLOATERS
To see the world clearly, light must enter the front of your eye, pass through the vitreous (the clear gel like fluid inside of the eye), and focus on the retina (the light sensitive tissue lining the back of the eye). Frequently, tiny clumps of cells form inside the gel-like vitreous. The shadows these clumps cast on the retina are what we perceive as floaters. They can appear as dots, circles, lines, clouds, or cobwebs in the field of vision.
Floaters are more common as we reach middle age when the vitreous gel can start to thicken and shrink forming clumps or strands. Sometimes the shrinking of the vitreous can create tiny tears in the retina as it pulls away from the wall of the eye. If these tears bleed, new floaters may appear.
FLASHES
With flashes, the vitreous gel is rubbing or pulling at the retina, moving it slightly from its normal position lining the back of the eye. Flashes are flashes of light that appear in your vision intermittently as a result of this subtle retinal displacement. It may be noticeable off and on for several weeks or months.
CAUSES OF FLOATERS & FLASHES
Trauma to the eye, migraine headaches, and a serious condition called retinal detachment can cause floaters and flashes.
Presbyopia
Over time, the eye’s lens gradually loses its elasticity and its ability to change shape to see close objects. Bifocals or reading glasses are the traditional prescription for remedying this presbyopic loss of accommodation, but recent technology makes it possible to exchange the inflexible lens for one designed to compensate for changes in the eye and improve functional vision at all distances.
DO YOU HAVE PRESBYOPIA AND CATARACTS?
Ask about premium lifestyle replacement lens implants that may greatly improve both problems at the same time.
What is diabetic retinopathy?
Diabetes affects the blood vessels throughout the body, particularly in the kidney and in the eye. Diabetic retinopathy is the name we give to diabetes’ adverse affects on the blood vessels in the eye. In the United States, diabetic retinopathy is one of the leading causes of blindness among adults. Risk of developing diabetic retinopathy increases over time. An adult who has had diabetes for 15 years or longer stands an 80 percent chance of experiencing damage to retinal blood vessels.
The retina, the multiple layers of tissue located at the back of the eye, detects visual stimuli and transmits signals to the brain. When diabetes affects the ocular blood vessels, they may develop leaks or contribute to the formation of scar tissue; these problems reduce the retina’s ability to detect and transmit images.
There are two main types of diabetic retinopathy: background (BDR) and proliferative (PDR). Treatment is available for both of these problems.
LASER TREATMENT OF DIABETIC RETINOPATHY
When diabetes results in new blood vessels in the retina that leak blood, a laser procedure may be used to painlessly destroy the new growth and seal the blood vessels.
Farsightedness (hyperopia)
When the eyeball is too short, light rays entering the eye focus behind the retina. Distant objects are seen clearly but near objects are not.