Eye twitching is a very common complaint voiced by my patients at our West Los Angeles office. Patients report irregular and random twitching of the upper and lower eyelids. Typically, the patient feels the twitch and looks in the mirror and cannot see that much movement in the eyelids. So, why is this happening and what are the causes and the treatment???
The technical description for this is "myokymia". In most cases it is due to a muscle fiber in the eyelid just randomly firing. This creates the twitch. This is the same phenomenon that occurs when you are sitting down and notice a twitch in a muscle of the legs. There are these twitches ongoing all over your body most of the time, but they are usually not noticed. When this happens in your eyelid it is more noticeable.
The causes of this condition have been attributed to stress, need for a new eyeglasses prescription, eyestrain, not getting enough sleep, drinking too much coffee and on and on. What can you do to stop the twitching? Most of the time the twitching stops after a period of time. I remember having the problem and having it last almost a month before it stopped. This is quite common. There were some reports that using a topical antihistamine eyedrop was helpful, but I have not seen this documented lately. The most important thing is to not worry about an eyelid twitch, but to have your eyes examined to make sure that your eyeglasses prescription is correct and to rule out any more serious causes.
The eyelid twitch is not to be confused with a blepharospasm. In the blepharospasm, there is a forced closure of the eyelids. This is a more serious and more troublesome event. The bottom line: Get checked out by your eye doctor if you have any of these symptoms.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Myopia Treatment & Bifocals for Children
There was an article in the Los Angeles Times today reporting about a new study that was just completed that will be published in the Archives of Ophthalmology. The article discusses the increase recently noted in myopia and a possible treatment for myopia.
There are several theories about the cause of the increases in myopia, but most of them hint at a causal relationship between all close work children are doing and the myopia increase. Kids are playing video games, watching television, using a computer and looking at their telephone displays. On top of that they have their homework and whatever pleasure reading they may do. This all amounts to lots of close work.
The article reported on the treatment of myopia with bifocals. The theory is that the bifocals allow the children to read through a lesser powered part of the lenses....basically this is what happens in a bifocal design...and thereby they are not having to focus as much when they do their close work. The kids that used the bifocal eyeglasses had a 38% decrease in their myopia compared to the group that used traditional single vision distance only eyeglasses.
In addition to the usage of bifocal eyeglasses, it should be mentioned that it is possible to treat children that are myopic with contact lenses that are bifocals as well. I have done so in my practice and found that myopia changes have been less in children that use their contacts in this manner. This can be done with soft lenses as well as rigid gas permeable contact lenses.
There is also a technique, known as orthokeratology, in which special contact lenses are fitted to the corneas to be worn at night. This technique causes the cornea to flatten overnight. When the lenses are removed the nearsightedness improves significantly.
While all of this is still relatively controversial, there is increasing evidence that points to the fact that these different approaches can help retard the deveolpment of myopia. Make sure that you discuss all this when you next bring your children in for their yearly eye exams.
There are several theories about the cause of the increases in myopia, but most of them hint at a causal relationship between all close work children are doing and the myopia increase. Kids are playing video games, watching television, using a computer and looking at their telephone displays. On top of that they have their homework and whatever pleasure reading they may do. This all amounts to lots of close work.
The article reported on the treatment of myopia with bifocals. The theory is that the bifocals allow the children to read through a lesser powered part of the lenses....basically this is what happens in a bifocal design...and thereby they are not having to focus as much when they do their close work. The kids that used the bifocal eyeglasses had a 38% decrease in their myopia compared to the group that used traditional single vision distance only eyeglasses.
In addition to the usage of bifocal eyeglasses, it should be mentioned that it is possible to treat children that are myopic with contact lenses that are bifocals as well. I have done so in my practice and found that myopia changes have been less in children that use their contacts in this manner. This can be done with soft lenses as well as rigid gas permeable contact lenses.
There is also a technique, known as orthokeratology, in which special contact lenses are fitted to the corneas to be worn at night. This technique causes the cornea to flatten overnight. When the lenses are removed the nearsightedness improves significantly.
While all of this is still relatively controversial, there is increasing evidence that points to the fact that these different approaches can help retard the deveolpment of myopia. Make sure that you discuss all this when you next bring your children in for their yearly eye exams.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Eye Exams for Children
As a parent, you may wonder whether your pre-schooler has a vision problem or when a first eye exam should be scheduled.
Eye exams for children are extremely important. Experts say 5 percent-10 percent of pre-schoolers and 25 percent of school-aged children have vision problems. Early identification of a child's vision problem is crucial because, if left untreated, some childhood vision problems can cause permanent vision loss.
When should kids have their eyes examined?
According to the American Optometric Association (AOA), infants should have their first comprehensive eye exam at 6 months of age. Children then should receive additional eye exams at 3 years of age, and just before they enter kindergarten or the first grade at about age 5 or 6.
For school-aged children, the AOA recommends an eye exam every two years if no vision correction is required. Children who need eyeglasses or contact lenses should be examined annually or according to their eye doctor’s recommendations.
Early eye exams also are important because children need the following basic visual skills for learning:
Near vision
Distance vision
Eye teaming (binocularity) skills
Eye movement skills
Focusing skills
Peripheral awareness
Eye/hand coordination
Because of the importance of good vision for learning, some states require an eye exam for all children entering school for the first time.
Scheduling your child’s eye exam:
Your family doctor or pediatrician likely will be the first medical professional to examine your child's eyes. If eye problems are suspected during routine physical examinations, a referral might be made to an ophthalmologist or optometrist for further evaluation. Eye doctors have specific equipment and training to help them detect and diagnose potential vision problems.
When scheduling an eye exam, choose a time when your child is usually alert and happy. Specifics of how eye exams are conducted depend on your child's age, but an exam generally will involve a case history, vision testing, determination of whether eyeglasses are needed, testing of eye alignment, an eye health examination and a consultation with you regarding the findings.
After you’ve made the appointment, you may be sent a case history form by mail, or you may be given one when you check in at the doctor's office. The case history form will ask about your child's birth history (also called perinatal history), such as birth weight and whether or not the child was full-term. Your eye doctor also may ask whether complications occurred during the pregnancy or delivery. The form will also inquire about your child's medical history, including current medications and past or present allergies.
Be sure to tell your eye doctor if your child has a history of prematurity, has delayed motor development, engages in frequent eye rubbing, blinks excessively, fails to maintain eye contact, cannot seem to maintain a gaze (fixation) while looking at objects, has poor eye tracking skills or has failed a pediatrician or pre-school vision screening.
Your eye doctor will also want to know about previous ocular diagnoses and treatments involving your child, such as possible surgeries and glasses or contact lens wear. Be sure you inform your eye doctor if there is a family history of eye problems requiring vision correction, such as nearsightedness or farsightedness, misaligned eyes (strabismus) or amblyopia (“lazy eye”).
Eye testing for infants:
It takes some time for a baby’s vision skills to develop. To assess whether your infant's eyes are developing normally, your eye doctor may use one or more of the following tests:
Tests of pupil responses evaluate whether the eye's pupil opens and closes properly in the presence or absence of light.
“Fixate and follow” testing determines whether your baby can fixate on an object (such as a light) and follow it as it moves. Infants should be able to perform this task quite well by the time they are 3 months old.
Preferential looking involves using cards that are blank on one side with stripes on the other side to attract the gaze of an infant to the stripes. In this way, vision capabilities can be assessed.
Eye testing for pre-school children
Pre-school children can have their eyes thoroughly tested even if they don’t yet know the alphabet or are too young or too shy to answer the doctor’s questions. Some common eye tests used specifically for young children include:
LEA Symbols for young children are similar to regular eye tests using charts with letters, except that special symbols in these tests include an apple, house, square and circle.
Retinoscopy is a test that involves shining a light into the eye to observing how it reflects from the retina (the light-sensitive inner lining of the back of the eye). This test helps eye doctors determine the child's eyeglass prescription.
Random Dot Stereopsis uses dot patterns to determine how well the two eyes work as a team.
Eye and vision problems that affect children
Besides looking for nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism (refractive errors), your eye doctor will be examining your child’s eyes for signs of these eye and vision problems commonly found in young children:
Amblyopia. Also commonly called “lazy eye,” this is decreased vision in one or both eyes despite the absence of any eye health problem or damage. Common causes of amblyopia include strabismus (see below) and a significant difference in the refractive errors of the two eyes. Treatment of amblyopia may include patching the dominant eye to strengthen the weaker eye.
Strabismus. This is misalignment of the eyes, often caused by a congenital defect in the positioning or strength of muscles that are attached to the eye and which control eye positioning and movement. Left untreated, strabismus can cause amblyopia in the misaligned eye. Depending on its cause and severity, surgery may be required to treat strabismus.
Convergence insufficiency. This is the inability to keep the eye comfortably aligned for reading and other near tasks. Convergence insufficiency can often be successfully treated with vision therapy, a specific program of eye exercises.
Focusing problems. Children with focusing problems (also called accommodation problems) may have trouble changing focus from distance to near and back again (accommodative infacility) or have problems maintaining adequate focus for reading (accommodative insufficiency). These problems often can be successfully treated with vision therapy.
Eye teaming problems. Many eye teaming (binocularity) problems are more subtle than strabismus. Deficiencies in eye teaming skills can cause problems with depth perception and coordination.
Vision and learning:
Experts say that 80% of what your child learns in school is presented visually. Undetected vision problems can put them at a significant disadvantage. Be sure to schedule a complete eye exam for your child prior to the start of school.
The above article is credited to "All About Vision". The link to their web site is: www.allaboutvision.com.
Eye exams for children are extremely important. Experts say 5 percent-10 percent of pre-schoolers and 25 percent of school-aged children have vision problems. Early identification of a child's vision problem is crucial because, if left untreated, some childhood vision problems can cause permanent vision loss.
When should kids have their eyes examined?
According to the American Optometric Association (AOA), infants should have their first comprehensive eye exam at 6 months of age. Children then should receive additional eye exams at 3 years of age, and just before they enter kindergarten or the first grade at about age 5 or 6.
For school-aged children, the AOA recommends an eye exam every two years if no vision correction is required. Children who need eyeglasses or contact lenses should be examined annually or according to their eye doctor’s recommendations.
Early eye exams also are important because children need the following basic visual skills for learning:
Near vision
Distance vision
Eye teaming (binocularity) skills
Eye movement skills
Focusing skills
Peripheral awareness
Eye/hand coordination
Because of the importance of good vision for learning, some states require an eye exam for all children entering school for the first time.
Scheduling your child’s eye exam:
Your family doctor or pediatrician likely will be the first medical professional to examine your child's eyes. If eye problems are suspected during routine physical examinations, a referral might be made to an ophthalmologist or optometrist for further evaluation. Eye doctors have specific equipment and training to help them detect and diagnose potential vision problems.
When scheduling an eye exam, choose a time when your child is usually alert and happy. Specifics of how eye exams are conducted depend on your child's age, but an exam generally will involve a case history, vision testing, determination of whether eyeglasses are needed, testing of eye alignment, an eye health examination and a consultation with you regarding the findings.
After you’ve made the appointment, you may be sent a case history form by mail, or you may be given one when you check in at the doctor's office. The case history form will ask about your child's birth history (also called perinatal history), such as birth weight and whether or not the child was full-term. Your eye doctor also may ask whether complications occurred during the pregnancy or delivery. The form will also inquire about your child's medical history, including current medications and past or present allergies.
Be sure to tell your eye doctor if your child has a history of prematurity, has delayed motor development, engages in frequent eye rubbing, blinks excessively, fails to maintain eye contact, cannot seem to maintain a gaze (fixation) while looking at objects, has poor eye tracking skills or has failed a pediatrician or pre-school vision screening.
Your eye doctor will also want to know about previous ocular diagnoses and treatments involving your child, such as possible surgeries and glasses or contact lens wear. Be sure you inform your eye doctor if there is a family history of eye problems requiring vision correction, such as nearsightedness or farsightedness, misaligned eyes (strabismus) or amblyopia (“lazy eye”).
Eye testing for infants:
It takes some time for a baby’s vision skills to develop. To assess whether your infant's eyes are developing normally, your eye doctor may use one or more of the following tests:
Tests of pupil responses evaluate whether the eye's pupil opens and closes properly in the presence or absence of light.
“Fixate and follow” testing determines whether your baby can fixate on an object (such as a light) and follow it as it moves. Infants should be able to perform this task quite well by the time they are 3 months old.
Preferential looking involves using cards that are blank on one side with stripes on the other side to attract the gaze of an infant to the stripes. In this way, vision capabilities can be assessed.
Eye testing for pre-school children
Pre-school children can have their eyes thoroughly tested even if they don’t yet know the alphabet or are too young or too shy to answer the doctor’s questions. Some common eye tests used specifically for young children include:
LEA Symbols for young children are similar to regular eye tests using charts with letters, except that special symbols in these tests include an apple, house, square and circle.
Retinoscopy is a test that involves shining a light into the eye to observing how it reflects from the retina (the light-sensitive inner lining of the back of the eye). This test helps eye doctors determine the child's eyeglass prescription.
Random Dot Stereopsis uses dot patterns to determine how well the two eyes work as a team.
Eye and vision problems that affect children
Besides looking for nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism (refractive errors), your eye doctor will be examining your child’s eyes for signs of these eye and vision problems commonly found in young children:
Amblyopia. Also commonly called “lazy eye,” this is decreased vision in one or both eyes despite the absence of any eye health problem or damage. Common causes of amblyopia include strabismus (see below) and a significant difference in the refractive errors of the two eyes. Treatment of amblyopia may include patching the dominant eye to strengthen the weaker eye.
Strabismus. This is misalignment of the eyes, often caused by a congenital defect in the positioning or strength of muscles that are attached to the eye and which control eye positioning and movement. Left untreated, strabismus can cause amblyopia in the misaligned eye. Depending on its cause and severity, surgery may be required to treat strabismus.
Convergence insufficiency. This is the inability to keep the eye comfortably aligned for reading and other near tasks. Convergence insufficiency can often be successfully treated with vision therapy, a specific program of eye exercises.
Focusing problems. Children with focusing problems (also called accommodation problems) may have trouble changing focus from distance to near and back again (accommodative infacility) or have problems maintaining adequate focus for reading (accommodative insufficiency). These problems often can be successfully treated with vision therapy.
Eye teaming problems. Many eye teaming (binocularity) problems are more subtle than strabismus. Deficiencies in eye teaming skills can cause problems with depth perception and coordination.
Vision and learning:
Experts say that 80% of what your child learns in school is presented visually. Undetected vision problems can put them at a significant disadvantage. Be sure to schedule a complete eye exam for your child prior to the start of school.
The above article is credited to "All About Vision". The link to their web site is: www.allaboutvision.com.
Friday, January 1, 2010
Dry Eyes: Causes and How to Treat
Dry eyes can be a very challenging and uncomfortable problem for those patients that suffer with this condition. Dry eyes can sometimes be a mild problem that only causes inconsistent discomfort. On the other extreme it can be severly debiltating causing blurred vision, constant discomfort, and even eye pain. Dry eyes can even make the patient more susceptible to eye infections.
The causes of dry eye can be physical as well as environmental. Some patients just do not make enough tears. Tears are primarily created in a gland that sits just above the outside part of the eye and behind the bone that sits above the eye. This gland is called the "lacrimal gland". With age this gland produces fewer tears. There are other sources of tearing, called accessory lacrimal sources, but the majority of tearing comes from the lacrimal gland. It is confusing for patients to be told by their eye doctors that their eyes are dry when the primary complaint that is often offered to their eye doctor is that their eyes often tear or "water" at the end of the day or in the morning or during certain tasks. Here's what's happening: There are two types of tearing that patients encounter. The first is the normal slow and constant tearing from the lacrimal gland that keeps the tissues of the eye lubricated. If this mechanism is working there is normally not an issue with dry eyes. If there is not sufficient lacrimation from the lacrimal gland this causes the tissues of the eye to dry out. This results in dry and irritated eye tissues which causes the eyes to produce a reflexive amount of tearing in response to the irritation which yields a great deal of tears in response to the irritation. A similar abundance of tears occurs when we respond to something that makes us cry because we are saddened or are extremely happy. This excessive tearing is what causes the watery eyes that often bother patients when working on a computer at the end of the day.
The key to keeping the eyes comfortable and normally hydrated is to make sure that the slow constant tearing from the lacrimal gland is maximized. This can present as a real challenge due to many factors. Certain medications cause the eyes to be drier than normal. Certain activities increase eye dryness....especially using a computer...because our blink rate is significantly reduced. Climate can play a role as well. Working indoors in an air conditioned environment can contribute to eye dryness as the air conditioning system pulls water from the air. Not drinking enough water can also contribute to eye dryness.
In addition to the amount of tears that our eyes produce it is important that the quality of the tears is proper. It is important for the eye doctor to not only work to increase the amount of tears that are produced, but to make sure that the quality of the tears is such that there are no inflammatory components in the tear film.
Luckily there are a number of things that can be done to improve tear quantity and tear quality. Sometimes all that is needed is a simple eye drop. If using eye drops on a consistent basis it is important for the drops to be of the "non-preserved" variety. The preservative that is often included in over the counter eyedrops can often cause irritation if used on a long term basis.
Other techniques involve the use of "puntal plugs". These are tiny plugs that are easily inserted into the inside areas of the eye lids. These plugs "dam up" the eye and capture your tears before they can drain away. We have all had the experience of crying and then having to "blow our noses" in response to the tearing. The excess tearing causes some of the tears to spill over onto our face. In addition, some of the tears drain away into an area in the back of our nose through passages that connect this area with the openings in our eyelids that I have mentioned above. It is these openings in the inside area of our eyelids that are "plugged" to "dam up" the eyes. The plugs can be inserted in a simple painless procedure that takes about ten minutes per eye. It is important that the tear quality be good before plugs are inserted. If the plugs are inserted and the tear quality is not good, this can lead to further inflammation and irritation. There is also a medication that can be used to increase tear production. The product is called "Restasis". It consists of topically applied cyclosporin and it is dosed twice a day. This product can be used in conjunction with contact lens wear.
Please contact your eye doctor if you have any issues with dry eyes. Several treatment options exist and your eye doctor can determine the best treatment options for you. Solving dry eye problems can lead to greater eye comfort, healthier eyes, and to more successful contact lens wear.
The causes of dry eye can be physical as well as environmental. Some patients just do not make enough tears. Tears are primarily created in a gland that sits just above the outside part of the eye and behind the bone that sits above the eye. This gland is called the "lacrimal gland". With age this gland produces fewer tears. There are other sources of tearing, called accessory lacrimal sources, but the majority of tearing comes from the lacrimal gland. It is confusing for patients to be told by their eye doctors that their eyes are dry when the primary complaint that is often offered to their eye doctor is that their eyes often tear or "water" at the end of the day or in the morning or during certain tasks. Here's what's happening: There are two types of tearing that patients encounter. The first is the normal slow and constant tearing from the lacrimal gland that keeps the tissues of the eye lubricated. If this mechanism is working there is normally not an issue with dry eyes. If there is not sufficient lacrimation from the lacrimal gland this causes the tissues of the eye to dry out. This results in dry and irritated eye tissues which causes the eyes to produce a reflexive amount of tearing in response to the irritation which yields a great deal of tears in response to the irritation. A similar abundance of tears occurs when we respond to something that makes us cry because we are saddened or are extremely happy. This excessive tearing is what causes the watery eyes that often bother patients when working on a computer at the end of the day.
The key to keeping the eyes comfortable and normally hydrated is to make sure that the slow constant tearing from the lacrimal gland is maximized. This can present as a real challenge due to many factors. Certain medications cause the eyes to be drier than normal. Certain activities increase eye dryness....especially using a computer...because our blink rate is significantly reduced. Climate can play a role as well. Working indoors in an air conditioned environment can contribute to eye dryness as the air conditioning system pulls water from the air. Not drinking enough water can also contribute to eye dryness.
In addition to the amount of tears that our eyes produce it is important that the quality of the tears is proper. It is important for the eye doctor to not only work to increase the amount of tears that are produced, but to make sure that the quality of the tears is such that there are no inflammatory components in the tear film.
Luckily there are a number of things that can be done to improve tear quantity and tear quality. Sometimes all that is needed is a simple eye drop. If using eye drops on a consistent basis it is important for the drops to be of the "non-preserved" variety. The preservative that is often included in over the counter eyedrops can often cause irritation if used on a long term basis.
Other techniques involve the use of "puntal plugs". These are tiny plugs that are easily inserted into the inside areas of the eye lids. These plugs "dam up" the eye and capture your tears before they can drain away. We have all had the experience of crying and then having to "blow our noses" in response to the tearing. The excess tearing causes some of the tears to spill over onto our face. In addition, some of the tears drain away into an area in the back of our nose through passages that connect this area with the openings in our eyelids that I have mentioned above. It is these openings in the inside area of our eyelids that are "plugged" to "dam up" the eyes. The plugs can be inserted in a simple painless procedure that takes about ten minutes per eye. It is important that the tear quality be good before plugs are inserted. If the plugs are inserted and the tear quality is not good, this can lead to further inflammation and irritation. There is also a medication that can be used to increase tear production. The product is called "Restasis". It consists of topically applied cyclosporin and it is dosed twice a day. This product can be used in conjunction with contact lens wear.
Please contact your eye doctor if you have any issues with dry eyes. Several treatment options exist and your eye doctor can determine the best treatment options for you. Solving dry eye problems can lead to greater eye comfort, healthier eyes, and to more successful contact lens wear.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Eye Infections & Conjunctivitis
We all have heard the term "pink eye" or "red eyes" being used to describe a condition in which the eye or eyes turn a more pinkish or reddish color in response to irritation or infection. This color change is due to dilation of the blood vessels in the conjunctiva, and can also be described as conjunctivitis. The dilation of the blood vessels is the eye's way of bringing more oxygen to the area that is affected. The cause of "pink eye" can be varied. It can be due to any type of condition that can irritate the eyes. In other words, it can be due to an infection of either bacterial or viral origin. It can also be due to allergies or exposure to something in the environment that irritates the eyes, such as smoke or smog. Too much sun can cause the eyes to turn pink or red. The treatment of "pink eye" is based upon the cause of the problem. If the eyes are making lots of mucous the cause is usually bacterial. The treatment here is an antibiotic. If the discharge from the eyes is more of a watery consistency than a mucous consistency the cause can be viral or allergic in nature. If the cause is allergic in nature there are many excellent treatments available. The treatment can range from an antihistamine eye drop to a steroid. With eye allergies there is typically a certain amount of itching associated with the condition. If the cause is viral the treatments are limited. Like a cold, there is no recognized treatment for a viral infection although there are some that are being investigated. Eye infections usually start in one eye and then progress to the other eye. It is important to realize that the bacterial and viral causes of "pink eye" are contageous. It is very easy to spread these conditions to family, friends and associates. Seek the advice of an eye care professional as soon as possible and wash your hands or use a hand sanitizer regularly. Keep your fingers and hands out of your eyes and away from your face. Use a separate towel or washcloth and be careful with the use of anything that could come into contact with your eyes. Makeup products that has come into contact with the eyes should be discarded. (This always makes me very popular with my female patients when I recommend this!)
The good news is that these conditions respond well to therapy in most cases with the exception of viral conjunctivitis. In the case of viral conjunctivitis the patient must wait out the condition and treat the symptoms....much in the way we treat a "cold". Eventually, our immune system learns how to fight the virus and we get over the condition.
The best advice I can give is to seek the care of your eye doctor ASAP when you have any condition affecting the eyes that causes them to become redder or pinker than normal. Your eye doctor will determine the appropriate treatment and you will be well on your way to recovery.
The good news is that these conditions respond well to therapy in most cases with the exception of viral conjunctivitis. In the case of viral conjunctivitis the patient must wait out the condition and treat the symptoms....much in the way we treat a "cold". Eventually, our immune system learns how to fight the virus and we get over the condition.
The best advice I can give is to seek the care of your eye doctor ASAP when you have any condition affecting the eyes that causes them to become redder or pinker than normal. Your eye doctor will determine the appropriate treatment and you will be well on your way to recovery.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Improving Nearsightedness with Orthokeratology
There was an article in the LA Times recently showing a large increase in nearsightedness or myopia. While the cause of this is controversial, there are a lot of researchers that believe that this is due to how much time our society currently spends doing close work...especially related to the computer. So what can we do about it? Certainly glasses and contact lenses can help. Lasik surgery can correct nearsightedness as well. There is an additional procedure that can be used to treat myopia in both children and adults. It is called orthokeratology or "corneal molding". This procedure involves using special rigid contact lenses that are designed to flatten the corneal curvature and thereby reduce or eliminate myopia. These lenses can we worn at night, in a fashion similar to a retainer for the teeth. Overnight the lenses put gentle pressure upon the surface cells of the cornea and flatten the area over the front of the cornea. When the lenses are removed the nearsightedness is dramatically improved. Patients, often after just one or two days, can reverse their myopia. Using this system, patients do not need to use contact lenses or eyeglasses during the day. All they need to do is replace the lenses in the evening and repeat the process.
There is an interesting side effect that is being reported by patients and doctors that use this technique. It is often found that in addition to reversing the myopia it is being reported that there is a tendency for the myopia not to increase. In other words, using this technique not only reverses the myopia while the lenses are being used, but the tendency for the myopia to increase...especially in children.... is often controlled. There is speculation about why this occurs but it has definitely been reported.
It is also important to know that this procedure only works if the lenses are worn regularly. If a patient decides to discontinue the procedure the eyes will go back to their original myopia. The procedure is especially useful for athletes that are involved in contact sports or water sports. They can perform to their maximul level without the worry of losing a contact lens or the difficlty of attempting to wear eyeglasses while they peform their activity.
There is an interesting side effect that is being reported by patients and doctors that use this technique. It is often found that in addition to reversing the myopia it is being reported that there is a tendency for the myopia not to increase. In other words, using this technique not only reverses the myopia while the lenses are being used, but the tendency for the myopia to increase...especially in children.... is often controlled. There is speculation about why this occurs but it has definitely been reported.
It is also important to know that this procedure only works if the lenses are worn regularly. If a patient decides to discontinue the procedure the eyes will go back to their original myopia. The procedure is especially useful for athletes that are involved in contact sports or water sports. They can perform to their maximul level without the worry of losing a contact lens or the difficlty of attempting to wear eyeglasses while they peform their activity.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Surfsup!!!
The weather has turned cold and the surf is up. There were great waves this morning but I did not have enough time to take advantage of them before work. Tomorrow is my late day and I will have a go at it in the morning. Full wetsuit time. My friend told me the water, while cold, is warmer than the air. Definitely calls for booties too. This will be the first time I have been able to ride my new board in good, solid waves. I am really looking forward to it. Film at 11:00 :)
Great day at the office today. The end of the year is the busiest time of year for us due to patients taking advantage of their insurance benefits and flex dollars before the end of the year. Yea! It's nice connecting with new and old patients. Frequently I see the kids of patients that I saw when they were students at nearby UCLA. Lots of fun.
Great day at the office today. The end of the year is the busiest time of year for us due to patients taking advantage of their insurance benefits and flex dollars before the end of the year. Yea! It's nice connecting with new and old patients. Frequently I see the kids of patients that I saw when they were students at nearby UCLA. Lots of fun.
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