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Why Our Office Won't Puff Air in Your Eyes

Our office has always believed in the “gold standard” method to measure our patient’s eye pressure. Now a study has come out proving we’ve been doing it right from the beginning.

Inside of your eye, you’re constantly producing fluid to nourish the internal structures and, at the same time, your eye is draining this fluid. This production and removal of fluid causes your eye to have its own intraocular pressure, which is unrelated to your blood pressure but can have serious effects on your health.

When the pressure is too high, it causes damage to the optic nerve in the back of your eye, which can lead to loss of vision. That is called glaucoma – a common and very serious eye disease.

Glaucoma is a multifactorial disease that involves much more than just your eye pressure. Your family history, age, corneal thickness and many other factors also play an important part. Historically, the eye pressure alone has been used to screen for glaucoma. This is the only factor we can manipulate, which we do through eye drops that lower eye pressure.

There are many ways to measure the pressure in your eyes, with the most common being that puff of air everyone seems to dislike. The other is by using a yellow drop and bringing a blue light close to your eye. It has always been known that the ‘blue light’ test, called Goldman Applaonation Tonometry (GAT), is the “gold standard” in measuring eye pressure. The air-puff has not been shown to be reliable or repeatable.

A new study showed that using the air-puff alone led to 66% of over referrals, meaning many more people were falsely told they were at an increased risk of glaucoma. This costs the patient extra time and money only to find out everything is healthy and normal, which would have been known ealier by using the more effective way to measure eye pressure.

Our office has always believed in the most effective way of measuring eye pressure, even if it isn’t the fastest. We wouldn’t want to perform any test that isn’t reliable or accurate. At Clarin Eye Care we take your eye health seriously. We want to be your eye doctors for a long time and care for your eyes the best, and only way, we know how.

This information is brought to you by Clarin Eye Care Center. Please call or contact our office for more information.

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Tags: clarin eye care, clarineyecare, eye care, Eye disease, Eye drop, eye exam, eyecare, glaucoma, optometrist, optometry, Tonometry, vision, vision care, vision loss

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Anorexia May Cause Potentially Serious Eye Damage

The eating disorder anorexia nervosa causes potentially serious eye damage, according to a study published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology.

Anorexia nervosa affects up to 3% of affluent women, and is the third most common chronic disease among teenage women, up to one in 10 of whom will die from it.

Researchers have now analyzed the thickness of the macula and its electrical activity in the eyes of 13 women with anorexia nervosa and in 20 healthy women of the same age. The average age of the women was 28. Those with anorexia had had their condition for an average of 10 years.

The macula lies in the center of the retina, at the back of the eye, and is responsible for fine detailed central vision and the processing of light. Tests were done to determine how well the eyes picked up fine detail.

The analysis showed that the macula and the nerve layers feeding it were significantly thinner in the eyes of the women with anorexia nervosa. There was also significantly less firing of the neurotransmitter dopamine, a key element of the brain’s ability to process visual images.

There even seemed to be differences between women with different patterns of anorexia. The fovea, the center of the macula that is rich in light sensitive cone cells, was thinner in those women who binged and purged compared to those who simply restricted their calorie intake.

The authors conclude that it is not yet clear whether macular thinning and decreased neurotransmitter activity are the initial stages of progressive blindness or whether these signs will revert back to normal once normal eating patterns are resumed.

This information is brought to you by Clarin Eye Care Center. Please call or contact our office for more information.

Tags: anorexia, clarin, clarin eye care, clarineyecare, eye, eye care, eye doctor, eye exam, eyecare, optometrist, optometry, vision, vision care, vision loss

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Navigating the Insurance Maze

As an Optometrist, dealing with different medical insurance and vision plans can be very confusing. I can only imagine what it must be like from the consumer’s point of view – being that you may only use your benefits once or twice per year.

Often times a patient will come to our office with both a vision plan and a medical plan, and not know which insurance carrier will be responsible for the exam. In theory, it’s very simple. If your reason for coming to our office is for a routine check such as for glasses or contact lenses, then a vision plan is responsible. If you came in for a medical reason, such as dry eyes, a red eye or to follow your eyes for diabetic changes, then your medical coverage would be billed for the visit.

There is often a misconception that because we are Optometrists that we only file claims through vision plans. That is simply incorrect. We are contracted providers with most major medical plans and our training has allowed us to treat and manage complex medical conditions. We file your medical insurance just as a local Ophthalmologist or urgent care center would.

The problem with filing a medical visit through a vision plan is that they only reimburse for routine diagnoses (such as myopia, astigmatism, etc.) and will not pay us if you have a medical condition such as a red eye or an advanced cataract. Of course, even if we file your exam through your medical insurance, you can still use your vision benefits for glasses or contact lenses.

Our office does not make these rules– they are defined by the insurance carriers and vision plans themselves. We will do everything to work with our patients to help navigate through the maze the insurance system has set up. I hope this cleared up a little confusion regarding medical versus vision plans.

This information is brought to you by Clarin Eye Care Center. Please call or contact our office for more information.

Tags: clarin, clarin eye care, clarineyecare, dr. clarin, eye, eye care, eye doctor, eye exam, eyecare, insurance, medical, medical billing, medical insurance, optometrist, vision, vision insurance, vision plan

Posted in: Optometry

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