Posts Tagged ‘eye’

Advice For Treating Cataracts

Tuesday, May 12th, 2009

What is a cataract? A cataract is the result when the lens of an eye becomes damaged. A tell-tale sign of a cataract is a “cloudiness” of vision, which is due to the proteins in the eye become changed. If you suffer with a cataract, it is wise to gather as much information as possible about how to treat a cataract.

Cataract laser surgery is the best treatment option to go with, as it is the only way to completely restore vision to the eye. The basic idea is that an incision is made in the eye (the size of cut depends on the severity of the cataract), and if the lens damage is not too severe, it will be removed in pieces. If the damaged lens is significant, the lens is removed completely intact. After the damaged lens is removed, the surgeon implants an artificial lens which will remain permanently in the eye. One does not have to wait until the cataract becomes severe to have the surgery.

The best thing about having cataract surgery is that your eyesight will improve immediately once the operation is complete. Although it can take some months to be completely restored, you may need to wear some glasses until then. You may need a new prescription for the glasses because your eyesight has been altered.

Your doctor may require you to administer eye drops for a course of eight weeks, just to make sure that your eye does not sustain any infection as a result of the surgery. It is imperative that you keep your eye as clean as possible, which means avoiding eye make-up and, whenever possible, making sure that soap does not get in your eye (although that’s not very fun even without having had surgery!).

As with any surgery, there will always be some risks to an operation. However, keep in mind the fact that very few patients have had serious complications from cataract surgery, and it has become a very routine operation. Choosing to go through with surgery is a simple case of weighing the odds. Make sure you understand the risks and ask yourself if vision restoration is worth it.

Who Can Qualify for a LASIK Procedure

Sunday, January 11th, 2009

LASIK are becoming popular and there are plenty of eye patients interested, and want to know the benefits, the risks, and how the Lasik procedure works. The first LASIK operation consideration are the requirements to meet for each candidate. Before you undergo with the procedure, you must talk about your case with your doctor; here are some tips you can follow first hand.

First, the eye should be properly matured. Individuals 18-years old and younger cannot undergo LASIK, for it is likely that the shape of their eye will continue to shift for several years. If the eye shape change after the Lasik operation is done, the clarity of vision will be affected. Some Lasik doctors recommend waiting until age 25 in some cases.

For LASIK to succeed, not only is the age limit be followed closely, the grade of the eye should be steady for a year or more also. The reason being that LASIK procedure can only be successful if the eye stops changing its shape.

One comment about age cutoffs should be made with regard to Lasik surgery. There is no maximum age, a lot of patients in their 50s and 80s have seen dramatic sight improvment after LASIK. The important consideration in these cases is sufficient tear production for successful healing and lubrication after the Lasik sight correction.

The eyes of the Lasik candidate should be healthy. That is to say the patient should not have suffered any eye injury or infection a year before the operation. In addition, they must not have any recurring eye problem, such as a history of herpes infection in the eyes.

The medical history of a prospective Lasik client also plays an important part. Some long-term conditions, like an autoimmune diseases like Lupus, will prevent some people from being considered by the LASIK doctors surgery procedure. Be on the lookout for current eye conditions you might which you do not know, or even to those past conditions too. Moreover, pregnant or lactating mommies should postpone LASIK operation scheduled.

Patients with dry eye condition are prohibited to take LASIK, mainly because LASIK dry eyes is a serious concern for many doctors. The tear production is crucial for a successful LASIK, although this can be remedied using artificial tear drops. LASIK surgery is also not recommended to people whose eyes can dilate widely.

If you do not meet the above criteria for a good LASIK patient, you should look for another alternative. Otherwise, if you are healty and your eye meet the criteria, a LASIK procedure should be the best for you by a qualified, professional Lasik physician. Visit the nearest respected LASIK center in your area and ask the full implication of the operation now.

My First LASIK Surgery

Thursday, December 11th, 2008

Today I want to tell you about my personal experience with LASIK procedure and how LASIK in fact changed my life.

The doctor and I talked about the surgery; he was persuading at the same time realistic. He stated that one of my eyes would be a good candidate for total vision correction, but the other eye would likely see only some (though possibly major) improvement. He stated that about one of his Lasik procedures per month are with clients with the same level of poor vision of my worst eye.  So that made me feel good!  

I would also like to encourage those people with some problems to go ahead and visit their local Lasik center (in my case I went to the Denver Lasik Eye Surgery clinic and I can’t complain!) to talk to the professionals there. As I mentioned earlier, I have had some occasional problems with dry eyes. I also have problems with my pupil; it dilates fast. These conditions that I have with my eyes can be a possible cause of complication, but the doctor said that the conditions are not that severe to defer the procedure. Do go and discuss your individual case.

I cannot say that the information I was given made me totally relaxed about the whole procedure. I did talk myself into and out of the Lasik procedure several times during the weeks before it was done.  I followed all what the Lasik doctors told me to do  after the procedure, and I am so happy with the results! I could see much better even directly after the operation was over, and things have continued to improve. I personally do not have any of the problems that are often mentioned as effects, such as halos around lights, etc. I would strongly encourage anyone to be brave enough to go down to your Lasik center and at least talk about the Lasik procedure with a knowledgeable professional.

Some Complications with LASIK

Monday, December 8th, 2008

Though rare, there are still LASIK surgery patients that complain about post surgical problems. However, if you have an experienced surgeon by your side, the rate of surgical complications is greatly reduced. Common sense aside, one should base their decisions on the actual facts reported by their treatment provider. Overall, the number of complications are generally reported to be less than 1%. Most of the reported problems are handled through laser re-treatments or enhancements.

In order to understand the kind of complications people have, you should understand what a LASIK treatment is all about. During LASIK surgery a laser beam is used to cut a very thin, hinged flap into the front of the eye. The flap is then lifted and the laser is applied to re-shape the eye, and then the flap is replaced to heal.

Some of the more common types of LASIK complications are improperly formed LASIK flaps: Sometimes after the first surgery, a patient might experience an improperly formed flap. This might create an irregular surface and cause various vision defects. In such cases, LASIK surgery needs to be repeated one or more times to make the eye surface smooth. That’s why you really need to speak to LASIK doctors about these sort of issues to understand the risks involved here.

Inflamation – The area where the flap touches the eye can sometimes swell post LASIK surdery. Such a condition, is called diffuse lamellar keratitis (DLK). It may create symptoms such as sensitivity towards light and loss of Vision .

Epithelial In growth – If there is any kind of initial swelling in the eye it might create a common LASIK complication called Epithelial in growth. This condition can be best described as a type of scarring which leads to an irregular eye surface and other vision distortions. In such a condition the surgeon lifts the flap and scrapes out the epithelial growth from inside. This is certainly not a full proof method. It has been noticed that in many cases the epithelial in growth reoccurs.

Some other common types of Lasik Eye Surgery complications include dry eye, infections, and night vision problems such as glaring around the lights.

Seasoned LASIK surgeons know that with improvements in technology, the complications can be greatly reduced. People who have had a history of eye complications or infections are not advised to go for these surgeries.

LASIK Procedure to Correct Eye Problems

Monday, December 8th, 2008

The term LASIK stands for Laser-Assisted in Situ Keratomileuses. LASIK eye surgery is a medical procedure performed on a patient who has eye problems. These eye problems can be any of the following: being farsighted or nearsighted, and astigmatism. Furthermore, LASIK eye surgery is performed so that a person with any of the aforementioned eye problems would not have to wear eyeglasses or contact lenses. Nowadays, LASIK eye surgery is one of the most common medical procedures that an eye doctor performs on a patient.

Obviously there are still a lot of people with concerns regarding Lasik and these is based on the larged amount of LASIK doctors available now a day. Once a patient decides to undergo this kind of surgery, the shape of the cornea will be permanently changed. This is because a rounded “flap” is created on the cornea. Afterwards, with the use of laser or an instrument called the ‘microkeratome’, there is a part of the eye which will be vaporized to correct the eye problem.

LASIK eye surgery has become quite popular in the medical circle because of its painless-free operation. One more advantage that it has over other medical procedures to correct an imperfect vision is that the results are instantaneous. Right after the operation, you just need to let a day or two pass and you will see a definite improvement with your vision. However, there are some disadvantages to this type of medical procedure. First concern is with the cost of the procedure – it’s one of the most expensice medical procedure these days.

No medical procedure is devoid of complications; LASIK is not exempted and there are reports of unwanted results after LASIK surgery also. Third, some job types will not allow an employee to undergo any form of eye surgery. If you decide to go for LASIK eye surgery, you need to do your part and research so that you will know everything about the procedure. Also, have a thorough talk with your doctor so that you would know what to do before the operation. Finally, you can ask about the results and improvements with your vision problem right after your LASIK eye surgery.