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Friday, October 19, 2012

How Eye Glasses Can Meet Your Needs Best


If an eye exam shows that you need to take steps to correct your vision, your eye doctor may suggest eye glasses.
Although many people are now choosing options such as contact lenses and laser treatment, eye glasses remain popular and have many benefits.
During the test, your eye doctor will identify what type of lenses you need to correct the problems with your vision.
You will then have to decide what type of glasses you want to suit your needs and tastes best.
You may even choose different glasses for different needs such as driving, reading, watching TV and playing sports and hobbies.
The way eye glasses work is that they change the direction of light entering the eyes so that it focuses properly on the back of the eye – the part known as the retina.
There are various types of lenses, including:
·         Unifocal: This makes onevision correction for all distances
·         Multifocal: This makes correction for both near and distant vision and can include bifocals, trifocals, and progressive correction
You can also make choices about the lens coating, such as:
·         Ultraviolet light protection to block damaging rays from the sun
·         Antireflective coating to reducing daytime glare or the "starburst" effect at night.
Other options you can add to enhance the lenses include “photochromatic” lenses which act as regular eyeglasses in normal light but automatically darken in brighter light where you might otherwise wear sunglasses.
You can also add scratch protection to your lenses or tints – perhaps for cosmetic reasons or because you are particularly sensitive to light.
The frame style you choose for your eye glasses depends partly on your fashion choice and partly on any specific needs you have.
Frames may be plastic, standard metal, a combination of plastic and metal or special metals such as titanium and carbon graphite.
While it’s naturally vital to have the correct prescription, it’s also important that your eyeglasses should feel comfortable on your face. You should almost feel like you are not wearing them.
You may have special needs that lead to your eye doctor recommending eyeglasses for a specific purpose such as extensive computer work or regular night driving.
Special eye protection – and eyesight correction – is also important for certain sports and hobbies. It’s often not practical to wear regular eye glasses but you may still need the visual correction as well as protection for your eyes.
Many people have special “reading glasses” especially as they get older. These glasses are often available without a prescription. Be careful not to buy these glasses as a replacement for a proper checkup with your eye doctor.
Regular eye exams are an important part of protecting your general health as well as testing your eyesight and visual health.

Contact your Optometrist Charlottesville VA quickly and they will help you take actions to make improvements.





Why Regular Visits to Your Eye Doctor Are Crucial to Your Overall Health


Although many people think they only need an eye exam when they have eyesight problems, regular appointments with your eye doctor are a vital part of caring for your overall health and avoiding future problems.
Adults should see an eye doctor at least every two years and then at least once a year after age 60. You may need to see them more often if you have specific issues or a family history of eye problems.
You may need more regular checks if you have other medical problems that can affect eyesight such as high blood pressure or you take medications that might affect your eyesight.In addition, if you have a job or hobby that can increase your risk of eyesight problems, more regular appointments may be recommended.
When you go for an eye appointment, make sure you explain clearly to your eye doctor any problems you are having with your vision. You should also be ready to discuss any other symptoms.
Tell them about any history of eye problems in your family and, when visiting a new eye doctor, make sure to bring them fully up to date with your own history.
The actual eye exam may take between 30 minutes and one hour to check out your vision and the general health of your eyes. It includes many different tests that help identify issues with your visual or general health.
For example, to test muscle strength and control, the doctor will ask you to track the movement of a target in various directions while they observe your eye movements.They will also check for how well your eyes work together by covering and uncovering each eye while you stare at a fixed object.
The most familiar part of the exam is where they test your vision by having you read down an eye chart where the letters get smaller in each line. You will read the letters with each eye covered in turn until you can't read them any longer.
The doctor may get an approximate idea of the lens prescription you need by shining a light in your eyes and measuring the reaction as they try various lenses. This can also be done with an automated device.
They may then use these results to help work out your exact prescription or by asking you to identify which one is best while alternating various lenses.
Among the other tests are using a "puff of air" to indicate the pressure in the eye.
The doctor will also examine the outside of your eye and will use various lights and instruments to look inside. This helps to identify signs of any issues.
In addition to the eyesight tests, your doctor will be looking for signs of serious problems such as glaucoma or cataracts. They can also spot signs of specific health problems such as diabetes.
Eye examinations include checking many different aspects of your visual and general health and that’s why it’s so important to have them regularly.

Contact your Optometrist Charlottesville VA quickly and they will help you take actions to make improvements.


Wednesday, October 3, 2012

What’s the Difference Between an Optometrist and an Ophthalmologist?

The words optometrist and ophthalmologist are thrown around often as they are very similar words with pretty similar meanings. Many people tend to get confused as to which does what. It’s even possible for optometrists and ophthalmologists to work in the same building and even co-manage patients they receive. We hope this article can explain the differences between the two to you.

Ophthalmologists

Ophthalmologists are a type of physician, which means they are doctors of osteopathy (DOs) or doctors of medicine (MDs). Each of these complete at least four or more years of college premedical education, four years of college medical school, and then have at least one year of internship before getting their doctorate degrees. After licensed physician status is achieved, a residency of three or more years is then completed, which trains them more specifically in medical and surgical aspects of the eye.

An ophthalmologist will provide a complete range of services related to eye care. These may include:

Vision care and services, such as eye exams
Surgical eye care – treatment for glaucoma, trauma, tumors, crossed eyes, cataracts, etc
Medical eye care – treatment for chemical burns, orbital cellulites, glaucomes, iritis, etc
Plastic Surgery – some may offer these services for skin tumors, droopy eyelids, or for improving skin tone and smoothing out wrinkles near the eyes.
Diagnosis and treatment for eye conditions that relate to other diseases, such as diabetes

Optometrist

Optometrists are specifically trained to treat and diagnose eye conditions such as astigmatism, nearsightedness, and farsightedness. They are also the doctors who will prescribe you eyeglasses, contact lenses, low vision aids, eye exercises, and therapy for your vision. Along with this training they know how to identify eye conditions such as glaucoma, cataracts, or retinal disease, and in some cases will prescribe medicine to treat these conditions.
An optometrist will not attend medical school, and most will receive an undergraduate degree then begin four years of training for an optometry degree (OD). Some will complete a one year post graduate clinical residency to gain certification as a specialist.

Services provided by an optometrist will generally include:

Eye disease and injury preventing services
Diagnosing conditions of the eye such as conjunctivitis, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, and macular degeneration
Prescribing contact lenses or glasses
Eye care services like eye exams
Prescribing medication for eye diseases and conditions (only in some states)

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Laser Corrective Surgery – would it work for you?

Laser Vision Correction (LVC) has advanced significantly because the first experimental methods were done on human eyes a long time ago. “Would laser surgery work with me?” has become probably the most common questions our doctors get requested. LVC involves surgically changing the form from the cornea utilizing a laser device. The cornea may be the obvious window around the front from the eye that can help to concentrate light. Altering the form from the cornea changes the way in which light focuses, therefore reducing or getting rid of the requirement for glasses.

Permanently candidates, our doctors regularly recommend LVC. The important thing real question is – what defines a great candidate? Take this 2 minute online test thanks to world wide web.allaboutvision.com to obtain more info on regardless if you are a great candidate. Your answers are computer – bring them directly into the next eye exam for any more in-depth discussion together with your optometrist.

Another question generally requested is which kind of laser corrective surgery is the greatest? You might get different reactions from different doctors on that one, but generally many people receive either Laser eye surgery, PRK, or among the variants of those two methods. Laser eye surgery involves developing a thin flap on the top of cornea, moving it aside, and operating around the tissue underneath, then changing the flap. Advantages include faster time to recover and fewer discomfort throughout the recovery process. With PRK, the laser can be used to reshape the cornea without developing a flap. Benefits of this process are that it is possible on thinner corneas, and in some cases a far more precise vision result’s achievable within the Laser eye surgery procedure.

Using the more recent personalized LVC methods, a few of the previous problems for example haloes or starbursts around lights, or poor vision at nighttime or low contrast situations, happen to be reduced. Other issues for example dry eye and regression (inclination for that eyes to drift in the direction of nearsightedness or farsightedness) persist in some instances.

Take time to request us questions throughout the next visit if you are thinking about a choice of laser vision correction. It isn’t for everybody, but we’re here that will help you take advantage informed decision.

Monday, August 20, 2012

What is Optometrist?


Optometrist, also called doctors of optometry, or ODs, provide most primary vision care. They examine people’s eyes to identify vision problems and eye illnesses, plus they test patients’ visual skill, depth and color perception, and talent to concentrate and coordinate your eyes. Optometrist prescribe eyeglasses and phone contacts and supply vision therapy and low-vision rehab.

Optometrist evaluate test results and create a plan for treatment.They administer drugs to patients to assist in detecting vision problems and prescribe drugs to deal with some eye illnesses.

Optometrist frequently provide preoperative and postoperative choose to cataract patients, in addition to patients who may have had laser vision correction or any other eye surgery. Additionally they identify conditions triggered by systemic illnesses for example diabetes and bloodstream pressure, mentioning patients with other health professionals when needed.

Most Optometrist have been in general practice. Some focus on use the seniors, children, or partly sighted persons who require specialized visual products. Others develop and implement methods to safeguard workers’ eyes from on-the-job strain or injuries. Some focus on contact contacts, sports vision, or vision therapy. A couple of train optometry, perform research, or consult.

Optometrist shouldn’t be wrongly identified as eye specialists or meting out optometrist. Eye specialists are doctors who perform eye surgery, in addition to identify and treat eye illnesses and injuries. Like optometrist, additionally they examine eyes and prescribe eyeglasses and phone contacts.

Meting out optometrist fit and adjust eyeglasses and, in certain States, may fit contact contacts based on medications compiled by eye specialists or optometrist.