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Your Questions about Ocular Allergies Answered

Ocular (or eye) allergies are allergic reactions that affect the eyelid. The eyelid is a thin layer of skin that covers the eye. The eyelid is connected to the eye directly via the conjunctiva. The thin skin of the eyelid is prone to irritants including cosmetics, pollen and detergents. When exposed to these irritants, an allergic reaction occurs. The symptoms of these allergic reactions can last for a long period after exposure.

What are the symptoms of ocular allergies?

Ocular allergies can present themselves in various ways. However, the primary symptoms for these allergies include itching, eye fatigue, a burning sensation, swelling of the eyelids, eye redness, sensitivity to light, a gritty feeling in the eyes and swollen eyes.  

What is dry eye?

Dry eye is a condition that occurs when you are unable to produce adequate tears to lubricate the eyes. The eyes dry out too quickly and become swollen, red and irritated. The condition occurs due to various factors including age, medications, gender and exposure to irritants.

Are eye allergies common?

Eye allergies are quite common. In America, more than 60 million people suffer from some sort of allergy. 24 million of these people develop ocular allergies. Allergies can be a nuisance to deal with. Many of them can result in the development of even more serious conditions such as Dry Eye. It is therefore advisable to have your eyes examined regularly and seek treatment for any allergies identified.

How can eye allergies be treated?

The treatment for eye allergies varies depending on the cause of the allergy and the effects. Preventative care is the first and foremost goal of any eye health care professional. Health care professionals advise patients on preventative care, which includes ocular hygiene, avoiding allergens e.g. avoiding pets and eating foods that improve eye health.

Regular eye exams ensure that any conditions are detected early. This will help your doctor administer treatment to relieve the symptoms of eye allergies such as itching. This may include the administration of medications such as Cromolyn. It may also include the use of a cold compress or discontinuing the use of contact lenses for a period.

If your eyes have reddened as a result of the allergic reaction, your doctor may suggest cosmetic relief for the redness.

Avoiding the allergens in the first place will help to promote eye health and prevent painful allergies.

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Your Questions on Cataract Surgery Answered

The eye is like a camera. It has a lens that refracts light. The lens lies in the middle of the eye. When the proteins in the lens begin to degrade, they form a white cloudy substance as they clump together. This is what is known as a cataract.

Cataracts obscure vision. If they remain untreated, they can cause blindness.

Are cataracts only found in elderly people?

Cataracts often form as a result of the natural aging process. The proteins in the lens of the eyes degrade just as in other parts of the body as the body ages. However, cataracts can also occur as a result of other factors.

Cataracts can result from trauma to the eyes. They can also occur as a result of other medical conditions that cause degeneration, such as diabetes. Exposure to radiation can also result in the development of cataracts. Some people are born with cataracts (i.e. congenital cataracts).

In all cases of cataracts, treatment is necessary as they can result in blindness.

How are cataracts treated?

The only truly effective way to treat cataracts is through cataract surgery. Cataract surgery allows your doctor to remove the cataract.

How are cataracts removed?

Cataract surgery is fast and simple. The surgeon makes a small incision on the front of the eye using a surgical instrument or a laser. An ultrasonic device or laser is then used to break down the lens of the eye. The small pieces of the lens are removed and replaced with an intraocular lens implant. This lens implant will restore the vision of the patient.

Do I need to have cataract surgery right away?

It depends on how advanced your cataracts are. Your doctor may advise against cataract surgery if the cataracts are still small. Many doctors will prefer to wait until the cataracts have grown to the point that they interfere with your lifestyle or work.

Is the surgery safe?

Like with any other surgery, cataract surgery has risks. However, the success rates are very high (99%). It is the most common surgery performed in the US. Many ophthalmologists perform cataract surgery procedures regularly and have extensive experience. Having an experienced surgeon significantly reduces the risks associated with the procedure.

Will I be awake during the surgery?

Most surgeons choose to sedate their patients for the procedure. However, sedation is only light and some patients remain awake during the procedure. Even if you are only lightly sedated, however, you will not remember what happened during the procedure. In most cases, patients are in and out of surgery center within a few hours.

How do I find a cataract eye care specialist?

The best way to find a cataract eye care specialist, is to do research. It’s likely that you found this article doing just that. Keep digging. The more you know, the greater your chance for finding the help help for you.  Take some time today to learn more about cataract surgery. Or start searching your area for a cataract specialist.

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Your Questions on Diabetic Retinopathy Answered

Diabetic retinopathy is a complication of diabetes. It occurs when the blood vessels that supply the retina are damaged as a result of high blood sugar levels that are a symptom of diabetes. This results in damage to the retina, which in turn affects vision.

Diabetic retinopathy is a condition that usually affects both eyes. It can result in retinal detachment, which can only be corrected with surgery. It can also result in the eventual loss of vision.

Am I at risk of developing diabetic retinopathy?

If you have been diagnosed with either type 1 or 2 diabetes, your risk of developing diabetic retinopathy is high. This is because of the fluctuating blood sugar levels. However, most people suffering from diabetes don’t develop the condition until they have had diabetes for at least 10 years.

Can diabetic retinopathy be prevented?

The primary cause in the development of diabetic retinopathy is high and fluctuating blood sugar levels. Therefore, keeping your blood sugar levels even can go a long way in helping to prevent the development of the condition.

However, even with even blood sugar levels, it is still possible to develop diabetic retinopathy. It is therefore important to have regular eye exams. This will help your doctor identify the condition in the early stages of development and allow her to provide treatment for it as soon as possible.

What signs and symptoms should I look out for?

Unfortunately, diabetic retinopathy often creeps in silently. The early stages of development of the disease can be difficult to detect. You may not have any symptoms except blurred vision.

Later stages of the disease include more obvious symptoms including blind spots, cloudy vision and floaters.

Regular eye exams are the best way to ensure that the condition is identified early.

Is there a cure for diabetic retinopathy?

Unfortunately, there is no cure for diabetic retinopathy. However, various treatments can be applied in the early stages of the development of the condition in order to slow down its progression. Unfortunately, these treatments will not reverse the loss of vision.

What treatments are there for diabetic retinopathy?

The best treatment for the condition is prevention – ensure that your blood sugar levels and blood pressure levels are kept under control.

Laser photocoagulation may be recommended to slow down the progression of the condition by reducing leaking from the blood vessels and preventing the growth of new blood vessels.

For more information, talk to an eye care specialist.

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What Are Cataracts?

The eyes are enormously complex and delicate, but basically they function like an analog camera. Clear vision depends on light being able to enter the eyes and travel unobstructed through to the back inside surface – the retina, which is like the camera film.

The incoming light passes first through the cornea, the clear front eye covering. Then it passes through the pupil, that black opening in the iris, the colored part. Next it passes through the lens, then the clear fluid which fills most of the eyeball. Behind this fluid is the retina. Both the cornea and lens bend the light to focus it on the retina, and that gives you clear vision.

Cataracts interrupt the flow of light and prevent some of it from reaching the retina. They are tiny clumps of protein in the lens. The lens consists mostly of water and proteins but as we age and the body becomes drier, the protein begins to stick together. At first cataracts are tiny but they grow and increase in number. Left untreated they will eventually cause blindness.

There are three ways that cataracts can form and spread in the lens:

From the center outwards
From the periphery inwards
On the back surface of the lens

You can read more on our Cataracts page. Cataracts cannot be removed from the lens, so surgery must be done to remove the lens from the eye and replace it with an intraocular lens (IOL).

If you are concerned that you may be developing cataracts, or if you would like to learn more about them and how they affect your vision, please contact an experienced cataract ophthalmologist in your area.

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Charities Bringing Quality Cataract Care to Bangladesh and other Countries

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 87% of the worlds visually impaired live in developing countries, where they lack access to the basic health care that can prevent or treat their visual impairment. According to WHO, 85% of blindness is avoidable, either by proper nutrition and eye care or through surgical correction. Cataracts remain the worlds leading cause of blindness globally, but simple refractive errors like myopia and hyperopia impair millions of children worldwide. While visual care for individuals seem to be a very low priority for governments, especially those strapped for cash during the recession, private charities are taking up the challenge.

One such charity is ORBIS International, which works to save sight and avoid blindness in many countries, including Bangladesh, China, Ethiopia, India, Vietnam, and Jamaica. ORBIS works by bringing in skilled vision care practitioners, but also by working to increase the capacity of countries to deal with vision impairment on their own. They do this by:

  • Training doctors and nurses in-country
  • Supplying technology
  • Helping to build eye care institutions
  • Educating community members about eye health
  • Encouraging changes of behaviors that threaten eye health
  • Helping to reform local health care systems

This is by far the most important part of their mission, because it means that after the ORBIS doctors go home, doctors in-country can continue to provide the continuous eye care necessary to continue preventing and treating blindness.

Remember, 85% of blindness is avoidable. To learn about how you can treat your cataracts before they become blinding, please contact a local cataract surgeon today to discuss your treatment options.