The eyes can tell you a lot about your general health

I’m a “House” fan, hopefully some of you reading this are too, if you watch this show regularly you might’ve noticed that eye health signs and symptoms are a recurring theme.  This is because the eyes can tell us a lot about a person’s general health.  Many people are aware of this but most people aren’t sure what we are looking for.

Lets break this down from the front of the eye to the back…

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Teri Hines
Red or Irritated Eyes

Ever woken up to find your eye swollen and red? Chances are you probably made a beeline straight to your doctor’s office or even the hospital! Many people visit the emergency room or their general practitioner if they have an irritated or red eye.  What they don’t know is that most ER and GP offices are not fully equipped to determine what type of eye problem you are having and going to either location is probably only going to result in a sore derrière from waiting around just to get in. An eye specialist, such as your local optometrist, is the best initial person to diagnose and determine treatment for your eye condition.

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Teri Hines
Dry Eyes

Everyday we see at least one patient with dry eyes.  There are steps you can take to alleviate some of the symptoms.

Most people think that tears are just water, this is not true.  Tears are complex structures with three layers: a mucus layer to help keep the tears on the eye, a water layer, and an outer lipid layer to prevent tears from evaporating.  Treatment will depend on which layer you are deficient in.

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Teri Hines
"I see spots in my vision"

We really only like to see the spots on Dalmatian dogs or even cheetahs, however seeing spots in your vision is not something that we’d like to experience. A common patient concern that comes to my office regularly is “I see spots in my vision”.  Some important things for you to note are…

  1. Which eye do you see the spots in?
  2. How many spots are there?
  3. When did you first start noticing the spots?
  4. Are the spots getting worse or better?
  5. Do you or did you see flashes of light? –> more urgency if you answered yes
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Teri Hines
Why do eye exams range in cost? Aren't they all the same?

Not all eye exams are created equally.  At our office we provide the latest technology for all our patients and spend an ample amount of time explaining our findings to our patients.  If another office offers a lowered rate then someone else it may be because you have to pay extra to get a retinal photo done or they have 15 minute eye exams while others have 30 minutes. 

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Teri Hines
I can't see my cellphone anymore

Everyone hates to hear that they are now at an age where they can benefit from reading glasses or progressive lenses.  Have no fear, this is a natural process… all your friends will need glasses for near soon too!  The medical term for this is presbyopia.

As our eyes age the lens inside the eye continues to grow, eventually the lens starts to get too dense and loses the flexibility that it once had.  That flexibility is what allows us to focus at different distances.  The lens eventually gets stuck in the distance position and we need reading glasses to make up the power difference that is required to see things clearly that are closer than arms length.

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Teri Hines
Laser Eye Surgery

I was considering getting laser eye surgery for many years and in January 2016 I finally did it.  In this blog I will share some information about laser eye surgery and some tips based on my experience.

There are two types of procedures you will have to choose between when getting laser eye surgery; LASIK (Laser Assisted In-Situ Keratomileusis) or PRK (Photorefractive Keratectomy).  I chose to do PRK.

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Teri Hines