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Your Sight is Our Vision - A Guide to Healthy Vision
Did you know that one quarter of the human brain is devoted to sight? Your vision is the most important of the five senses, so why not protect it? Pacific Eye Associates is pleased to offer this reference guide to help you. Use it to make sure you are current with your eye wellness exams.
What are eye emergencies?
Be sure to contact your ophthalmologist immediately if any of the following happens:
Chemical contact with your eyes
Foreign body in your eye
Severe eye injury
Recent onset of pain in or around the eye
Sudden loss or partial loss of vision
Recent onset of flashing lights, floaters, curtains, or veils across your vision
Recent onset of double vision or crossing of your eyes
Recent change in the size of your pupil
Recent bulging of the eye
Recent drooping of the eye
How often should you have an eye exam?
Your primary care physician may suggest when it is a good idea for you to have an eye exam. Or you may have a problem such as diabetes, significant near-sightedness, glaucoma, macular degeneration, or cataract that your ophthalmologist will advise following at specific intervals. Contact lens patients should be seen at least once a year. Many patients with health problems such as thyroid disease, HIV infections, or arthritis may need to be seen more frequently based on their specific circumstances.
Needless to say, when you have an eye problem, such as change in vision or eye irritation, you should be seen when the need arises.
If a person is in excellent health, has good vision, no eye symptoms, and no risk factors for eye disease (such as glaucoma), the American Academy of Ophthalmology recommends comprehensive eye evaluations at the following intervals:
Age Frequency of Evaluation
65 and over: Every 1-2 years
40-64: Every 2-4 years
20-39: At least once during these years of age
Record the date of your last eye examination and the recommended date for your next one.
Examination Date Recommended Follow Up Intervals:
3 months / 6 months / 1 year / 2 years
What are some of the more serious eye diseases?
Cataracts are any clouding of the normally clear lens inside the eye. Cataracts are common in people over 60, and of little importance unless they reduce the vision to an extent that a person has difficulty seeing well enough to do the tasks that are important in their life. When cataracts significantly interfere with a person's sight they can be treated with surgery, usually with excellent results.
Glaucoma is a common potentially blinding disease that results in permanent damage to the optic nerve, partially because there is too much pressure inside the eye. The most frequent form of glaucoma causes no symptoms and must be detected by periodic screening examinations that are recommended for everyone and more frequently for anyone with any risk factors for glaucoma (for example: African decent, family history of glaucoma).
A patient with Chronic Open Angle Glaucoma, the most frequent form, will need to use eye drops everyday to control the pressure in the eye, and in some cases may need laser therapy or other surgery. A less frequent form of glaucoma called Angle Closure Glaucoma results in a sudden severe attack of high eye pressure with pain, redness, and blurred vision. This is an emergency that may cause significant permanent loss of vision in hours or days.
Sometimes patients at risk of Angle Closure Glaucoma can be identified in advance and the risk of a sudden attack greatly reduced by a laser surgery procedure. For more info look under "Learn About Glaucoma" on our home page.
Diabetic Retinopathy is caused by abnormal blood sugar levels which damage the blood vessels in the retina, the delicate layer of nerve tissue at the back of the eye that senses light and helps send images to the brain. The damaged blood vessels leak fluid and sometimes new fragile vessels grow that may bleed. Both of these problems can be reduced with appropriate laser surgery treatments. For this reason, patients with diabetes need to be followed on a regular basis, and at least once a year. For more info click here.
Age-Related Macular Degeneration (ARMD) is a deterioration of the retina that occurs in patients usually well after the age of 50 and may result in loss of central or reading vision, but does not damage side vision or "walk around vision". In early stages when there is no change in vision, the ophthalmologist may detect yellow spots under the retina and recommend self-testing of vision using an Amsler grid.
For many patients this is the only symptom that ever happens. However, some cases do advance and a patient may detect distorted vision. In certain cases a laser surgery will be recommended to help preserve vision.
Retinal Detachment is usually caused by a retinal tear which allows fluid to accumulate under the retina moving it away from its normal position against the back of the eye. The result may be permanent blindness unless the retina is repaired with surgery. Fortunately surgery usually offers an excellent chance of restoring and preserving vision. Warning signs of a possible break in the retina or retinal detachment are recent onset of flashing lights, floaters, curtains or veils across your vision and sudden loss or partial loss of vision.
Patients with these symptoms should be seen promptly. Patients at high risk of retinal detachment are patients that have previously had a detachment in either eye, patients that have had intraocular surgery, patients that are significantly near-sighted, and patients with a family history of retinal detachments.
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PACIFIC EYE ASSOCIATES : When to see an EYE MD?
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