Who can forget the news of the capturing of Osama Bin Laden by our US Special forces? An interesting fact was that the Navy Seal unit that made the capture attributes much of their military success to NVGs (night vision goggles). The capture of Bin Laden, along with numerous captures of Al-Qaeda members in Desert Storm, came from night vision capabilities that were provided by this ocular technology.

The top of the line NVG has a sophisticated four tube version of an earlier model, and costs upwards of $60,000 to $65,000 per pair. They have superb capabilities to see into enemy lines for our military.

So what exactly are NVGs and what is the technology behind them? What other visual expectations do our military troops use to give us the edge in a battle?

Expertly made night vision goggles can spot a target close to 200 years away. NVG use infrared and thermal detection technology to capture the image in the darkest of circumstances. The electronic information that comes from the NVG has no color. but […]

Diabetic retinopathy is an eye condition that affects the retina in people who have diabetes.

The retina is the light-sensitive tissue that lines the back of the eye, and detects light that is then processed as an image by the brain. Chronically high blood sugar or large fluctuations in blood sugar can damage the blood vessels in the retina. This can result in bleeding in the retina or leakage of fluid.

Diabetic retinopathy can be divided into non-proliferative or proliferative diabetic retinopathy.

Non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy: In the early stage of the disease, there is weakening of the blood vessels in the retina that causes out-pouching called microaneurysms. These microaneurysms can leak fluid into the retina. There can also be yellow deposits called hard exudates present in the retina from leaky vessels.

Diabetic macula edema is when the fluid leaks into the region of the retina called the macula. The macula is important for sharp, central vision needed for reading and driving. The accumulation of fluid in the macula causes blurry vision.

Proliferative diabetic retinopathy: As diabetic […]

Visual Field

The visual field test is designed to see how well you see outside of the center part of your vision (peripheral vision).

When we test your vision on the basic eye chart it is only testing how well you see right in the center and gives us no idea if you can see out away from the center. Your peripheral vision is very important because it gives you the ability to move around your environment without running into things.

There are several diseases that can severely impact your peripheral vision while leaving central vision unaffected. Some people can have perfectly normal 20/20 central visual acuity and have almost complete loss of their peripheral vision.

The main culprits that can have a big impact on your peripheral vision long before your central vision are glaucoma, some retinal diseases such as retinal detachments or retinitis pigmentosa, and some neurological problems like brain tumors, strokes, pseudotumor cerebri and multiple sclerosis.  

Most visual field tests are now done on an automated machine that flashes lights in your […]

Fall brings a lot of fun, with Halloween bringing loads of it.

But did you know that some Halloween practices could harm your vision? Take Halloween contacts for instance. They are wildly fun with everything to monster eyes, goblin eyes, cat eyes, sci-fi or a glamour look. If properly fit by an eye care professional, they can be just the added touch you need for that perfect costume. However, some people do not realize that the FDA classifies contact lenses as a medical device that can alter cells of the eye and that damage can occur if they are not fit properly.

Infection, redness, corneal ulcers, hypoxia (lack of oxygen to the eye) and permanent blindness can occur if the proper fit is not ensured. Another concern that ICE, FTC, and FDA have are the illegal black market contacts that come into the country unchecked. Proper safety regulations are strictly adhered to by conventional contact lens companies to insure that the contact lenses are sterile and packaged properly and accurately.

Health concerns arise whenever black market, unregulated […]

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. This I know from personal experience as 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 and the floater can be very central and almost constantly annoying, […]

If you are seeing the 3 F’s, you might have a retinal tear or detachment and you should have an eye exam quickly.

The 3 F’s are:

• Flashes – flashing lights.
• Floaters – dozens of dark spots that persist in the center of your vision.
• Field cut – a curtain or shadow that usually starts in peripheral vision that may move to involve the center of vision.

The retina is the nerve tissue that lines the inside back wall of the eye and if there is a break in the retina, fluid can track underneath the retina and separate it from the eye wall. Depending on the location and degree of retinal detachment, there can be very serious vision loss.

If you have a new onset of any of the three symptoms above, you need to get in for an appointment fairly quickly (very quickly if there are two or more symptoms).

If you have just new flashes or new floaters you should be seen in the next few days. If you have both […]

Getting your eyes dilated can be inconvenient – including making the eyes light sensitive and having difficulty reading for a couple of hours.

So wouldn’t it be great to have another drop to reverse the effects of dilation?

On Dec. 31, 1990, Dapiprazole, under the trade name Rev-Eyes, was approved by the FDA and thought to be the answer to all the post-dilation problems. It was marketed for treatment of medically induced dilation by stimulating pupillary constriction and restoration of accommodative function for reading.

In clinical practice, Dapiprazole took between one to two hours to return pupils to pre-dilation size.

Side effects such as stinging upon instillation, conjunctival hyperemia (redness of eye), headache, and a few instances of ptosis (lid drooping), with a possible additional dollar cost to patients, appear to lessen Dapiprazole’s overall clinical benefit.

Reading ability returned in approximately 43 minutes with dapiprazole vs 66 minutes without dapiprazole (Optom Vis Sci 1994 May; 71(5):319-22). The main complaint that people had after using dapiprazole was the conjunctival hyperemia, which lasted more than three hours. The […]

Will reading glasses make your eyes worse? The short answer is ‘No.’

Although we don’t know the exact mechanism by which humans have a decreased ability to focus up close as we age (a process called presbyopia), the fact remains that it will happen to all of us.

The leading theory of how this occurs is that the lenses in our eyes get stiffer and thicker as we age such that one of the muscles in the eye that contracts to change the shape of the lens does so less and less effectively because the lens itself gets less pliable.

The process of changing the focus of the lens from far away objects to up-close objects is called accommodation. If you have normal distance vision without glasses, then your eyes’ natural focus spot is far off in the distance. In order to focus on an object close to you, the lens in your eye has to alter its shape. The ability of your lens to do that is at its best when you are born and […]

One of the most commonly asked questions in an eye exam comes right after the refraction, or glasses prescription check: “What is my vision?”

Almost invariably, people know the term “20/20”. In fact, it’s a measure of pride for many people. “My doctor says I have 20/20 vision.” Or, on the other side of that same coin, having vision that is less than 20/20, say 20/400, can be a cause of great concern and anxiety. In this discussion I will describe what these terms actually mean.

To lay the foundation, let’s discuss some common terms. Visual acuity (VA) is clarity or sharpness of vision. Vision can be measured both corrected (with glasses or contact lenses) and uncorrected (without glasses or contact lenses) during the course of an eye exam. The result of an eye exam boils down to two different but related sets of numbers: your VA and your actual glasses prescription.

The notation that doctors use to measure VA is based off of a 20-foot distance. This is where the first 20 in 20/20 comes […]

There is a common misconception that any adverse reaction to a drug is an allergy. That is definitely not the case.

Reporting to your doctors that you have an allergy to a medication when what you really had was a side effect could potentially create a substantial alteration to your medical care in the future. And this could mean a physician may avoid using a drug that could possibly save your life because of the fear of an allergic reaction.

An anaphylactic allergic reaction generally produces a very specific set of symptoms, including difficulty breathing due to constriction of windpipe, swelling of your tongue and/or a rash and hives that break out over your entire body. While an allergic reaction can present in other ways, these are the most frequent reactions that occur when you have a true allergy to something.

If that is not the type of reaction you had then it probably isn’t an allergy. If you are uncertain if your reaction to a medication is an allergy or not, testing by an allergist […]