Eye Disease | → Eye Doctor In Miami | Miami Optometrist

Posts Tagged Eye disease

Make a New Year’s Resolution to Schedule an Eye Exam

CHICAGO (Dec. 21, 2010) – As 2011 nears, many will be making New Year’s resolutions to improve their health. However, many may not be aware that an eye exam cannot only help to protect vision, it can uncover evidence of other diseases including diabetes or hypertension.

And, for eye diseases such as glaucoma, the damaging effects may be detected through an eye exam before a patient notices any symptoms. In fact, patients in the early stages of glaucoma usually have no symptoms, no noticeable vision loss and no pain, which is why it is called the “sneak thief of sight.” By the time symptoms start to appear, some permanent damage to the eye has usually occurred.

Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness in the world and the leading cause of blindness in African American and Hispanic populations in America. According to the study “Vision Problems in the U.S.” by Prevent Blindness America and the National Eye Institute (NEI), there are nearly 2.3 million Americans ages 40 and older who have glaucoma.

Glaucoma is an eye disease that causes loss of sight by damaging a part of the eye called the optic nerve. This nerve sends information from the eyes to the brain. When the optic nerve is damaged, peripheral vision begins to diminish. If left untreated, over time, glaucoma may also damage central vision. Unfortunately, once vision is lost to glaucoma, it cannot be restored. Vision loss can be lessened, however, if glaucoma is detected and treated early.

Prevent Blindness America has joined other leading eye care groups to build awareness during January’s National Glaucoma Awareness Month to educate the public on what they can do to help save their vision.

“Our key message is that, unfortunately, there is no cure for glaucoma. But the good news is that if detected and treated early, the effects of vision loss can be diminished,” said Hugh R. Parry, president and CEO of Prevent Blindness America. “We hope everyone has a happy and healthy 2011 and that it includes a visit to the eye doctor.”

Prevent Blindness America offers a dedicated website for free information on glaucoma at preventblindness.org/glaucoma.

This information is brought to you by Clarin Eye Care, a family Optometry practice in Palmetto Bay, Florida. Please call or contact our office for more information.

Connect with us:

Tags: blindness, Eye disease, Eye examination, glaucoma, vision loss

Posted in: Uncategorized

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.

Connect with us:

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

Posted in: Uncategorized

Eye Care Is More Than Just Blurry Vision

The fear of going blind is a scary thought in most people’s minds. However, Lighthouse International conducted a new survey showing six out of seven people that are at risk for, or who currently have, eye disease do not get annual eye exams.

Some of the reasons people may forgo eye care is the cost, the fear of hearing a worst case scenario from the doctor or because they don’t experience any trouble with their vision. Of course if you wait until you experience a change in your vision, you can miss an early diagnosis of a possibly treatable or manageable disease.

For example, glaucoma and macular degeneration are two of the most common eye diseases. Both of these have almost no symptoms early on — but can cause partial blindness and a loss of function in your life. Both are also manageable, especially if they are discovered early.

These conditions are also much more likely to occur if there is a family history, so talking to your relatives and being proactive in your eye care are the two greatest things you can do. You should see an eye doctor annually if someone in your family has been diagnosed with glaucoma or macular degeneration.

Vision loss, however, isn’t the only issue. A routine eye exam can also detect many other diseases in their early stages, including diabetes, autoimmune disorders, neurofibromatosis and even brain tumors.

Routine eye exams should be performed every year for those 40 and older, not just to check for blurry vision but to make sure your eyes, and body, are healthy. Call our office today to schedule the next step in your preventative medical care.

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

Connect with us:

Tags: Blurred vision, clarin eye care, Eye care professional, Eye disease, eye doctor, eye exam, Eye examination, eyecare, glaucoma, Macular degeneration, optometrist, optometry, retina, vision, vision care, vision loss

Posted in: Uncategorized

Monday	9:00am – 6:00pm
Tuesday	9:00am – 6:30pm
Wednesday	9:00am -5:30pm
Thursday	9:00am – 6:00pm
Friday	9:00am – 6:00pm
Saturday	By Appointment