We are frequently asked if it’s wise to have cataract surgery if you have Macular Degeneration.

Let’s start with some background.

1. Cataracts and Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) are both leading causes of visual impairment in the elderly population.
2. Cataracts develop when the normal clear lens gets cloudy with age. This is correctable with cataract surgery, which involves replacing the cloudy lens with a clear, artificial lens.
3. While cataracts affect the front part of the eye, AMD causes damage to the retina, which is the inner back lining of the eye.

There have been concerns about cataract surgery causing progression of AMD. It has been thought that there was an inflammatory component to AMD and the normal inflammatory response after cataract surgery may lead to AMD progression.

But studies have looked at patients who underwent cataract surgery compared to patients who didn't have cataract surgery and the progression of AMD was not significantly different between the two groups. However, those patients with AMD who underwent cataract surgery had a significant improvement in vision.

AMD patients […]

Hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil) was originally used to treat malaria and is now commonly used to treat rheumatological and dermatological diseases. It is frequently used for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and Lupus and is often very effective in mitigating the joint and arthritic symptoms these diseases can cause.

One of the most significant side effects of the drug is its possibility of causing eye problems resulting in blurred or decreased vision. The most common issue is damage to the retina. It can impair  color vision or damage the retinal cells, particularly in the area right around the central vision.

In your retina, the area that you use to look straight at an object is called the fovea. The fovea is the area that provides you with the most definition when looking at an object. The area just around the fovea is called the macula and it has the ability to see objects with slightly less definition than the fovea but significantly better than the rest of your retina, which accounts for your peripheral vision. The most common place for […]

Mark your Calendars!!! On Monday, April 8, a solar eclipse will be visible across the entire continental United States and most of Canada.

A solar eclipse occurs when the moon blocks any part of the sun, and with this one, the vast majority of North America will experience at least a partial eclipse.

A lucky few million people along a path from Texas to Kentucy to Ohio to Maine and eastern Canada will experience a brief total eclipse when the moon completely blocks the sun for up to 4 minutes. During this time, it will look like dusk along that path.

This total eclipse will make the solar corona visible, and stars and the planets may also be visible during this time.

But looking directly at the sun before it is completely covered is unsafe. Although there is a limited chance of eye damage if you are in the proper area during the total eclipse it is not worth the risk of retinal damage to even take a quick look at the eclipse if it is […]

In honor of St. Patrick’s Day and the “wearin’ of the green,” we thought it would be fun and fitting to share some interesting facts about green…eyes!

#1

Green is the rarest eye color. If your sparklers are truly green, you are something of a unicorn… only about 2% of the world’s population sport this hue.  

#2

Green-eyed people can be found all around the globe. There is a Chinese village, Liqian, where a high percentage of the population sports green eyes and lighter hair.

#3

There isn’t any actual green pigment in a green eye. Melanin, a natural pigment that helps determine our skin, hair, and eye color, is found in all eyes. Brown eyes have quite a lot and blue eyes have relatively little. Green eyes are also low on melanin, but in addition they contain lipochrome, a yellowish, fat-soluble pigment. Lipochrome is also found in things like butter, eggs, and corn. So a little melanin, some lipochrome, and a cool light dispersing […]

Now that you have picked up your new pair of prescription eyeglasses, your focus becomes taking care of them. This is a task many disregard, but it is absolutely imperative that you make sure you are following a couple simple steps to keep the quality of your vision with your new spectacles.

We are all guilty of using a garment when in a rush to wipe away a pesky smudge on our glasses. This act is unfortunately the worst thing you can do for your lenses.

No matter how clean your clothes are, dust particles and even small bits of sand and debris cling to them. Since eyeglass lenses are not made of diamonds, these tiny little particles can do tremendous amounts of damage to your new lenses. The smallest little crumb can grind a scratch directly in your line of vision, which in turn can render your glasses almost useless.

Most of us know what it feels like trying to concentrate on the world in front of you when there is a little scratch distorting […]

As an eye doctor, diagnosing a red eye can be challenging. Are we dealing with an infection, allergy, inflammation, or dryness?

A common question we get is, “Doc, my eyes are red, burning, itchy, and tearing. Is this dry eye or from allergies?” The short answer is it could be one, both, or neither. We'll outline various ways these conditions present clinically and the treatments for them.

The hallmark symptom of allergy – meaning if you have this symptom you almost definitely have the condition – is itching. Red, watery, ITCHY eyes are almost invariably due to an allergen, whether environmental or medicinal. It is one of the most common ocular conditions that we, as eye doctors, treat — especially when plants are filling the air with pollen as they bloom in the Spring and then die off in the Fall.

The itching occurs because an immune cell called a mast cell releases histamine, causing the itching sensation. It can be quite unbearable for the sufferer, causing them to rub their eyes constantly, which actually increases […]

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." These famous words by Charles Dickens are playing out today in the area of technology.

We are living in the best of times when it comes to obtaining knowledge at the push of a button. But smartphones, laptops, video games, tablets, etc., can really increase our daily total screen time.

What are the symptoms of too much screen time for the eye, and how can you combat these symptoms?  Research shows that screen time can adversely affect your eyes, focus, moods, and ability to sleep and relax.

Doctors are also seeing an increase in dry eye syndrome because patients do not blink often enough while they are staring at the screen for a prolonged period of time. The lack of blinking can cause burning or watery eyes, rubbing of the eyes, and frequent headaches.

The key to combatting these symptoms is to consciously blink more, use rewetting eye drops, and take frequent breaks. Make it a priority to practice the 20-20-20 rule. For every […]

Do you have floaters in your vision?

Floaters are caused by thick areas in the gel-like fluid that fills the back cavity of your eye, called the vitreous.

Many people, especially highly near-sighted people, often see some degree of floaters for a good portion of their lives. Often, these floaters are in the periphery of your vision and may only be visible in certain lighting conditions. The most frequent conditions are when you are in bright sunlight and are looking toward the clear blue sky. I know this from personal experience since I have a floater in my left eye that I most often see when swimming outdoors. Every time I turn my head to the left to breathe I see this floater moving in my peripheral vision.

This is totally harmless other than when I’m swimming in the ocean and swear that sudden object in my peripheral vision is a shark bearing down on me. Some people who have floaters are not as lucky– the floater might be in their central vision and almost constantly […]

Eye doctors typically pride themselves on being able to improve someone’s vision through glasses or contact lens prescriptions. Whether it’s a first-time glasses wearer, or someone having either a small or large change in their prescription, we like to aim for that goal of 20/20 vision.

Despite our best efforts, however, correcting vision to 20/20 is not always a positive outcome for the patient. Whether someone will be able to tolerate their new prescription is based on something called neuroplasticity, which is what allows our brains to adapt to changes in our vision.

You or someone you know may have had this happen: Your vision is blurry, so you go to the eye doctor. The doctor gives you a new prescription, but when you get your new glasses, things seem “off.”

Common complaints are that the prescription feels too strong (or even too clear!) or that the wearer feels dizzy or faint. This is especially true with older patients who have had large changes in prescription, since neuroplasticity decreases with age. It is also more likely […]

Transition lenses in eyeglasses have been around for many years now. The mechanics behind transition lenses is that certain chemicals in the lens interact with UV light from the sun and turn the lenses dark when you go outside and back to clear when you go inside.

This is a great accompaniment to sunglasses, as it is not always convenient to be carrying around multiple pairs of glasses with you, especially when going from inside to outside frequently. However, there are some drawbacks to transitions, including the fact that they don’t get as dark as sunglasses, have some difficulty turning dark in the car, and have a tendency to keep a slight constant tint even in dark conditions.

Vistakon, the optical wing of Johnson & Johnson, came out with the first transition contact lens a few years ago.  They work well for some people, and don't seem to do a lot for others.

Just a couple personal thoughts: It can look a little strange, depending on the person and the eye color. The material itself turns […]