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eye care

Scratched Eye - Symptoms & Treatment

Do your eyes hurt long after you accidentally poked your eyes, or something gets trapped in them? There are good chances that you got a scratch on the cornea of your eyes, the black circle in the middle of your eye. This condition is known as a scratched eye or corneal abrasion.

This post elaborates the symptoms and treatment options of the scratched eye. You will also get information on what to do and not to do for a scratched eye. Let’s get started!

Continue reading Poked in the Eye? Scratched Eye – Symptoms, Do’s-Don’ts & Treatment

Astigmatism in Children

What is Astigmatism?

Astigmatism is the imperfection of the cornea’s curvature or lens. The cornea is the transparent layer on the outside of the eye that transmits and focuses the entry of the light into the eye.

Continue reading Astigmatism in Children: Causes, Symptoms & Treatment

Nearsightedness vs. Farsightedness Causes, Symptoms & Prevention

Are you struggling to read books? Or the road signs? Or the posters in your room? Is your vision appearing blurry? If yes, then you might be suffering from eye conditions like nearsightedness or farsightedness.

How do your eyes work?

While your eyes are the ones to give you vision, your brain does the work of seeing for you. Let us explain to you the complex connection of your eyes with your brain.
Continue reading Nearsightedness vs. Farsightedness: Causes, Symptoms & Prevention

halloween contact lenses

Halloween contact lenses, are a must-have for a spook-tacular Halloween look! While you are spoilt for choice with a plethora of options available in the market, there are a few important things to keep in mind before choosing that perfect pair of Halloween contacts to complete your spooky look.

Continue reading Halloween Contacts

contact-lenses-care

You can wear contact lenses for either vision correction or aesthetic purposes. Either way, you should take proper advice from your eye care professional. Also, it’s crucial to keep your contact lenses clean and take good care of them. This is because unclean contact lenses can lead to serious eye infections and long-term vision problems. Also, with proper contact lenses care and hygiene, your lenses last long.

Continue reading Contact Lenses Care: Ways to Keep Your Lenses Clean & Safe

Ocular-hypertension

Ocular hypertension or Intraocular pressure (IOP) is a condition in which your eye pressure gets higher than the average level. If left untreated, IOP can lead to glaucoma and permanent loss of vision. 3 to 6 million Americans are at risk of suffering from glaucoma due to high Eye pressure. Therefore you need to be well-informed about its causes, diagnosis and treatment.

Continue reading Ocular Hypertension: Causes, Diagnosis & Treatment

Macular Degeneration

Your central vision depends upon the macula in your retina. When fluid or blood is leaked by abnormal blood vessels into the macula, you get the eye disorder known as wet macular degeneration or wet AMD. This disorder makes your central vision weak. This condition is curable through proper treatment. But if left untreated, it can lead to serious eye-health issues.

Possible Wet Macular Degeneration Symptoms

  • Blind spot or Blurry Vision
  • Weak Central Vision in Either or Both Eyes
  • Colors Appearing Less Bright
  • Words Appearing Blurred
  • Altered Vision
  • Not Able to Recognize Faces
  • Poor Vision in Dim Light

The symptoms get worse in a short time. Therefore don’t delay in contacting your eye doctor the moment you spot any of them.

Causes of Wet AMD

Aging and genes seem to play a significant role in causing wet macular degeneration. Smoking and obesity also contribute to worsening this eye disorder. It starts as dry AMD then progresses to wet AMD. If you get wet AMD in one eye, you will mostly get it in the other eye as well.

Risk Factors

Following factors can increase the chances of your dry AMD progressing into wet AMD:-

  • Being above the Age of 60 – Wet Age-related Macular Degeneration
  • Wet AMD in Hereditary
  • Protein Deposits Under the Macula
  • Being of Caucasians Race
  • More Than 5 Drusen
  • Smoking Regularly
  • Having Cardiovascular Disease or High Blood Pressure
  • Pigment Clumping
  • Being Obese

Prevention

Following are the tips to reduce your risk of getting wet AMD:-

  • Have routine eye exams.
  • Be extra careful if you have cardiovascular disease, obesity, or high blood pressure.
  • Stop smoking.
  • Exercise regularly to maintain a healthy weight.
  • Eat healthy food full of antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids like fish, nuts, vegetables, and fruits.
  • Ask your doctor for dietary supplements which can reduce the risk of wet AMD.

Diagnosis

After reviewing your medical and family history, the doctor will conduct the following tests to diagnose wet AMD:-

  • Dilated Eye Exam: The doctor uses eye drops to dilate your eyes. Then they will examine the back of your eyes with their instrument to trace blood, fluid, or multiple drusen.
  • Amsler Grid Test: This test detects a defect in central vision. The straight line on the grid looks distorted if there is an issue in the central vision.
  • Fluorescein Angiography: A colored dye is injected through your arms which travels to your eye. A camera follows the dye to examine any leaking blood vessels.
  • Indocyanine Green Angiography: It is also done through a dye to confirm fluorescein angiography findings or check any deeper abnormal vessel in the retina.
  • Optical Coherence Tomography: It is a non-invasive imaging test to observe the cross-section of the retina and any thickening, thinning, or swelling.

Treatment

There are two main methods of wet macular degeneration treatment:-

    1. Medication

Your body sends growth signals for new vessels to develop. Some medicines can stop those signals from reaching the abnormal blood vessels in your macula. Injecting those medicines in the affected eye is the first-line treatment for wet AMD. Prominent drugs for wet macular degeneration treatment are Bevacizumab, Ranibizumab, Aflibercept, and Brolucizumab.

  1. Therapy
  • Photodynamic Therapy: Verteporfin drug is injected into your arms which travels to your eye blood vessels. Laser and lights are used from outside to aid verteporfin in curing the abnormal vessels.
  • Photocoagulation: It is only done for patients with a specific stage of wet AMD. A high-energy laser beam is used to seal your abnormal blood vessels underneath the macula.
  • Low Vision Rehabilitation: It is a therapy that helps you to adapt to your changed vision. You might need multiple visits to the doctor to fix your condition. You can be cured entirely, or some of your wet macular degeneration symptoms will go away partially.

Time to Visit a Doctor

If you notice any wet AMD symptoms, you should visit your doctor for an eye check-up. It becomes more crucial if you are older than 65.

Eye herpes, also known as ocular herpes, is a viral condition of the eye caused by the herpes simplex virus (HSV). In most cases, eye herpes affects the cornea of the eye when it is called herpes keratitis. Herpes around the eye can affect the superficial cells of the cornea or the main body of the cornea. Eye herpes is usually transmitted when a person touches a cold sore on their lip and then their eye, oral contacts such as kissing or sharing food, eating utensils or a toothbrush.

Types of eye herpes: 

There are two main types of eye herpes including:

  • Epithelial keratitis– is one of the most commonly occurring herpes of the eye wherein the virus is active in the thin outermost layer of the cornea, known as the epithelium.
  • Stromal keratitis– is a more serious condition because over time and repeated outbreaks cause enough damage to your cornea to cause blindness.

Symptoms of Eye Herpes:

An ocular herpes outbreak is diagnosed with various signs and symptoms associated with it. Experiencing inflammation of the cornea giving rise to irritation or sudden and severe ocular pain, or a supremely cloudy cornea leading to blurry vision are some of the indications.

Other symptoms of eye herpes include:

  • The feeling of something being in the eye
  • Light sensitivity
  • Redness
  • Blurred vision
  • Swelling around the eyes
  • Inflamed eyelids (blepharitis)

What causes eye herpes?

The virus enters the body due to the nasal secretions or spit of a person with the infection. Upon entering, it travels through the body’s nerves including the ones in your eye. The virus could initially be dormant but certain triggers like fever, major surgical or dental procedures, stress, sunburn, trauma or severe injury can facilitate its reproduction causing eye irritation. Some causes include:

  • Major surgical or dental procedures
  • Trauma

Diagnosing eye herpes

Ophthalmologists, or eye doctors, begin diagnosing your herpetic eye disease by asking in-detail questions about the symptoms. That is followed by an eye exam to evaluate your vision, sensitivity to light, and eye movements using a special microscope (slit lamp) to visualize the eye’s surface and the eyelid.

As part of the diagnosis, you may be asked to give a small cell sample from a blistered area for lab testing to check the presence of HSV. Another option is a fluorescein eye stain test to look at the dye stains in your eye and identify any problems with your cornea, such as scarring.

Eye herpes treatment

There is no cure for herpetic eye disease currently. Your doctor will prescribe antiviral medications to reduce the effects and symptoms of the condition. It could be medicated eye drops, ointments or oral medications, depending on the location and severity of your eye herpes. Your treatment will also differ depending on whether you have epithelial keratitis (the milder form) or stromal keratitis (the more damaging form):

  • Epithelial keratitis treatment – take antiviral medication to minimize cornea damage and vision loss. A common treatment is the oral medication acyclovir (Zovirax) because it doesn’t come with some of the potential side effects of eye drops. Your doctor may also perform debridement to remove diseased cells wherein they gently brush the surface of your cornea with a cotton swab after applying numbing drops.
  • Stromal keratitis treatment – In this case, prefer antiviral therapy and take steroid (anti-inflammatory) eye drops to reduce swelling in the stroma.

Although eye herpes is not curable, you can minimize the eyesight damage during sudden outbreaks at the first sign of the symptoms. Contact your doctor to schedule an eye check-up today. That is because the sooner your treatment begins, the lesser significant damages your cornea will face.

Chalazion, The Lump in Eyes

There is a meibomian gland at the edge of your eyelid. The job of this gland is to produce lubricating oil for the eye surface. But when this gland gets blocked, minor swelling or a lump on your eyelid appears. This lump is known as chalazion and chalazia if you have multiple lumps over your eyelid. This condition is pretty common.

Let’s look at the symptoms, causes, diagnosis of chalazion, and chalazion treatment as well.

Signs & Symptoms of Chalazion

You might have chalazion if you are facing the following prevalent signs and symptoms of chalazion:-

  • The inflamed, small, and red area mostly over your upper eyelid in the beginning stage.
  • Your eyes are feeling watery, along with irritation, discomfort, or pain.
  • Blurry vision in case of an enormous lump on the eyelid.
  • The skin surrounding your eyelid might also appear red.
  • When the inflammation increases, the lump on your eyelid feels firm and hard when touched.

Chalazion Causes & Possible Risk Factors

As mentioned earlier, chalazion happens when the oil-generating gland in your eyes gets blocked. It happens due to various reasons like:-

  • Underlying Inflammatory Conditions
  • Chronic Blepharitis
  • Seborrheic Dermatitis
  • Acne Rosacea
  • Viral Conjunctivitis

Here are the possible risk factors associated with chalazion in your future which you should watch out for:-

  • Diabetes
  • Viral Infections
  • Skin Cancer
  • Tuberculosis
  • Return of Chalazion

Diagnosis of Chalazion

An Eye doctor can diagnose chalazion through performing a physical examination. They might also ask for your detailed medical history. In the physical examination, they will test the vision of both the eyes individually. The eye doctor will also check the eyelid, face, and eyes closed for any symptoms.

If you are repeatedly suffering from chalazion, your eye doctors may refer you to an ophthalmologist. They will test you for other serious eye infections as well. In case of repetitive chalazion, your health care provider might also suspect underlying severe illnesses like diabetes. They might prescribe a blood test to conclude.

Home Chalazion Treatments

You can try these simple home chalazion treatments, which are effective according to the doctors also.

  • Warm compress is a traditional remedy for many ailments. It is effective for chalazion also. Apply and hold a warm compress on the affected eyelid for 15 minutes. Do that at least 3-4 times a day.
  • Give a gentle massage on the impacted eyelid and eyes after the warm compress. Massage and compress combined will unblock the gland.
  • Practice more patience because sometimes the lump on your eyelid might take weeks or months to disappear.
  • Don’t make any desperate attempts like poking, stabbing, popping, or trying to pinch the lump out. You might get scratches and inflammation on your gland. As a result, it may reclog.

Signs That You Should Call Your Doctor

The above home remedies should be enough to minimize the impact of chalazion. And the lump should also be gone in few days. However, if it doesn’t happen, your degree of infection might need advance medical treatment. So you should call your physician or ophthalmologist at the earliest.

Some other warning signs which call for immediate action are fever, headache, protruded eyes, blurry or double vision, eye pain, and redness. If a child is facing these symptoms, you must soon get an appointment with the doctor.

Key Takeaway!

A chalazion is a common eye problem, and mostly it goes away in some time. But you should not take your eye health for granted. Keep a watch on the symptoms explained in this article. If the lump on your eyelid doesn’t go away after trying all the home chalazion treatments, you should not delay contacting your doctor to schedule an eye exam. And remember to be extra careful if a child is affected with chalazion.

eye care tips for summer

Summer is finally here, which means you’re going to be putting away your sweaters, boots and winter cream and replacing them with sunscreen and summer clothing. Summer also means that you’re going to be spending a lot more time outdoors now that there’s no snow. Along with summer skincare, you need to make sure you take care of your eyes too.

Here are some essential eye-care tips for summer:

1) Wear sunglasses when you’re outdoors.

Just as going out without sunscreen can give you sunburn, going out on a sunny day without sunglasses can give you photokeratitis — which is sunburn of the cornea. This condition is caused when the cornea is exposed to harmful UV rays of the sun. Symptoms include dryness, discomfort and tearing up. It’s best to wear sunglasses if you’re going to be outdoors more often in the summer.

2) You need to wear sunglasses even if you are wearing contact lenses.

While several contact lens brands are made with UV protection, they only cover the centre of the eye and not the area around the cornea, which means you might still be susceptible to sun damage if you’re wearing contact lenses but are planning on going outdoors. In addition to this, the sun might cause dryness and irritation if you’re wearing contact lenses without sunglasses.

3) Wear hats to protect your eyes and skin.

Sunglasses don’t offer protection from UV light on their own, so minimize your risk with a hat with a brim that is at least 3 inches wide. This mandatory protection can reduce the risk of getting harmful UV radiation on your eyes and will help save you grave eye problems in the long run.

4) It is important to wear sunglasses and a hat.

Long-term sun exposure can cause debilitating eye issues in the long run, like cataracts and macular degeneration.

Symptoms of macular degeneration include not being able to see properly.

Additionally, the skin around your eyes is extremely sensitive and can be prone to skin cancer if you don’t take proper care and protect your eyes from the sun’s harmful UV light. Sunscreen can be very helpful in protecting your skin from sun damage. Wearing sunglasses and a hat can save your eye health in the long run.

5) Wear goggles if you’re going to take a swim.

If you’re planning on spending time in the pool, don’t forget to take your goggles. The pool’s chlorinated water, which also might be full of germs, can be dangerous to your eyes in the long run. On the plus side, goggles will enhance your vision for underwater swimming.

6) Protect your eyes while doing outdoor activities.

Wearing eye protection is not only important to avoid sun exposure. You should also wear eye protection when you’re doing outdoor activities like mowing the lawn or woodwork outside, where there’s a risk of something going into your eye and causing long-term injury. Always make sure to wear protection like glasses, goggles or other protective equipment to shield your eyes and face from potential damage.

Wearing protective eye gear is also a good idea if you’re going to be playing sports like baseball or basketball, where there’s a risk of an eye injury.

Taking a proactive approach to eye care can go a long way in keeping vision problems at bay. If you are looking for an expert for a general eye check-up, call Insight Vision Center to get your eyes tested and treated, if needed.

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