Some Serious Eye Problems That Require Surgical Corrections

Some people prefer to wear contact lenses than eyeglasses because they are more flexible. For one, they’re quite inconspicuous. You ma y also change the colors of your lenses as often as you'd like. You can have blue eyes one day, green the next day, or violet a week later to match the color of your clothes.

However, some eye problems can’t be corrected easily by wearing contact lenses or eyeglasses. These include cataracts and glaucoma, two of the more serious diseases that can affect your eyes. Cataracts are when cloudy areas develop within your eye lens. These hinder light from passing through, thereby obscuring your vision. They form slowly, and although may not be painful, can cause redness or tearing in the eye. Wearing glasses will not correct them, only surgery will.

Another serious eye problem is glaucoma which is a progressive deterioration of the optic nerve. It is caused by an increased pressure of the eye as a result of an injury, severe infection, blockage of eye vessels, and other conditions. It can be treated by prescription eye drops if discovered early, but it is mainly treated with surgery when the problem is serious. The best way to avoid these serious eye problems, however, is to see your eye doctor regularly. 

See Better and Look Fashionable with Quality Prescription Eyewear

Some people could barely read street signs or messages on their cell phones, and accordingly need to squint or else ask somebody else to read for them. In spite of their obvious predicament, they continue pretending that nothing’s wrong with their vision. You sometimes see them stumble on obstacles in their path, yet they still resolutely refuse to see an eye doctor.

It's certainly comforting to know that many eyesight concerns can easily be corrected. Take, for example, presbyopia or nearsightedness, which leads to the loss of one's ability to clearly see objects up close. People in their forties often complain of nearsightedness, yet quite a lot of young kids also suffer from this problem. Luckily, such a condition can be addressed with the use of prescription glasses.

Today's prescription eye glasses offer optimum comfort and style. Innovations throughout the years have led to the creation of thinner yet no less effective corrective lenses, while the wide range of choices in terms of materials and finishes for eyewear frames makes it easy to find one that suits your personal tastes. Thanks to high-quality and stylish prescription glasses, you can perceive the world around you with better clarity and face it with more confidence.

How a Perfect Vision Can Make You Appear More Sociable

What is about some people that makes it easy for them to connect with others? It may have something to do with their personality; perhaps they were raised in a highly interactive environment, or else were born with inherently outgoing natures. Meanwhile, people like emcees, spokespersons, and public relations representatives obviously must know how to effectively engage and interact with all sorts of individuals as part of their profession.

Whatever your station in life, it certainly helps to have good eyesight when dealing with others.

Healthy eyesight not only allows you to recognize faces but also to notice nuances in facial expressions as well as behavior. You can also avoid squinting and maintain a perfectly calm demeanor while hearing what the other person has to say.

Sadly, you can't have 20/20 vision all your life. As you age, your eyes are vulnerable to various conditions such as astigmatism, macular degeneration, glaucoma, cataracts, etc. These can make it hard for you to maintain an active social life, much less carry out everyday activities such as reading, driving, or even crossing the street. Luckily, one visit to a reputable eye doctor can change all that and help you kick your social life back into high gear. Be sure to see your eye doctor at least once every year.

Of Glasses, Contacts, and Lasers: Eye Treatments

You couldn't be reading this article without the help of your eyes; they are some of the most important components of the human body. However, eyes can experience difficulties in seeing things due to a number of factors such as diseases, trauma, and even from genetics. Good thing there are several ways to mitigate vision problems.

Those suffering from nearsightedness and its cousin, farsightedness, can easily counter their effects by wearing graded glasses; the implements make up for an eye's flawed perception by altering vision through the lenses. Those who find it cumbersome to wear bulky glasses may opt to use contact lenses instead. Contacts are designed to fit over the ocular organs, eliminating the need to wear frames (it also helps prevent people from losing their glasses or sitting on them by accident).

While the above two measures can improve eyesight, they only mitigate the problem and don't actually cure the complication. For something a bit more permanent, eye surgery could be just the thing. Medical procedures such as LASIK can correct corneal defects, offering lasting and natural vision without having to wear anything corrective. It's a relief to know that modern advances in eye treatment have an answer to almost every ocular condition.

Sight for Sore Eyes: About Eye Treatments

The World Health Organization published a fact sheet last June 2012 which revealed that about 285 million people around the globe are visually impaired, and that 90% of them live in developing countries. On the other hand, the data also states that the number of people whose poor visions were caused by diseases decreased in the last couple of decades. With today's modern medicine, about 80% of all cases of visual impairment can actually be cured, and the drastically reduced number of poor vision cases is good proof of that.

Usually, surgery is used to permanently treat bad eyesight; most cases of visual impairment involve abnormalities in the structure of the eye, and so by operating on these problems, vision can be permanently corrected. Ocular complications such as cataract and glaucoma are cured through eye surgery. For conditions like nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism, there's another kind of “surgery” used to treat them.

Myopia (nearsightedness), hyperopia (farsightedness), and astigmatism are caused by the irregularities in the eye structure itself. When regular surgery can't treat them, LASIK can be used instead; it's a laser-based application that reshapes the eye to grant proper vision. Unlike traditional surgery, LASIK only involves making a small flap just enough for the laser to manipulate the problem area. Eyesight problems may still persist to this day but at least there are cures out there.

LASIK: Bringing Vision Back with Light

According to a 2012 World Health Organization fact sheet, 285 million worldwide are visually impaired; 246 million suffer from low vision, while 39 million are blind. All hope isn't lost, though, as the same document stresses that 80% of all visual impairment cases can be prevented or cured. Often, treatment would involve control of diet for diabetics, medications for glaucoma victims, and prescribing graded glasses.

The same procedures can't be used to permanently treat those suffering of nearsightedness  (myopia), farsightedness (hyperopia), and astigmatism. These conditions have something to do with the imperfection of the patient's eye, and they'll have to be surgically operated on to resolve. While traditional eye surgery exists, the procedure can be intimidating to most.

Those who feel queasy about having their eye dissected might want to undergo LASIK instead. LASIK, which means Laser-Assisted in situ Keratomileusis, is a process in which a laser or microkeratome is used to correct the shape of a patient's cornea, which should correct their vision. It is relatively painless, and the results of the laser surgery can be enjoyed after a few weeks. Thanks to LASIK, hundreds of people have been cured of their vision problems; it's a promising technology that hopes to cure visual impairment.

Refractive Errors that can be Treated with LASIK

Laser-Assisted in situ Keratomileusis (LASIK) simply translates to “laser eye surgery,” and it is primarily used to treat imperfect vision in the eyes, technically known as “refractive errors.” The procedure is non-invasive and is relatively harmless since it uses “cold” lasers that do not generate heat like “hot” lasers do.  Lasers used in LASIK are optimized so that they can reshape the patient's cornea to make it more efficient in absorbing light, translating to clearer eyesight.

Molding this part of the eye is one way of counteracting the effects of astigmatism, which is generally the result of an irregularly shaped cornea. While people with astigmatism generally perceive the world in a blurry state, astigmatism often leads to other refractive errors such as myopia (nearsightedness) and hyperopia (farsightedness). Laser eye surgery can quite literally chip away bits of the cornea to give it a well-rounded shape for improved vision.

Specifically, LASIK can either reduce or further the steepness of the cornea for those who suffer from nearsightedness and farsightedness (respectively) to permanently correct their vision. LASIK can also help treat presbyopia or the degradation of eyesight resulting from old age. If you are considering going for this corrective eye surgery, consult doctor to know what you can expect before, during, and after a LASIK surgery.

Do's and Dont's: How to Prepare for Laser Eye Surgery

The idea of using lasers for eye surgery is not at all new since the technology has already been adopted to treat muscle pain, bone disorders, and even dental problems. Laser-Assisted in situ Keratomileusis or LASIK uses “cold” lasers that do not inflict damage on human tissue, much less on the eyes. However, even a harmless procedure such as this one requires some careful preparation on the part of the patient.

Well before the initial eye examination, patients must avoid wearing contact lenses that alter the shape of the cornea. The purpose of LASIK is, after all, to reshape the cornea, so rendering it in a semi-corrected state beforehand can lead to less desirable surgical results. To ensure that your cornea is in its natural shape on the day of the surgery, you'll need to avoid wearing contact lenses for 2 to 4 weeks, and switch to corrective glasses for the interim.

As with any medical procedure, the FDA advises against applying perfumes, lotions, and make-up on the day of the surgery. This should reduce the risk of debris and particulates accumulating in your eyes. Aside from observing the necessary precautions, you must also be forthcoming about any other health problems. For instance, if you have extremely sensitive skin, then this procedure may not be for you.

See the World More Clearly with Lasik Eye Surgery

Laser-Assisted in situ Keratomileusis, better known as LASIK or laser eye surgery, is a revolutionary procedure in the field of ophthalmology. LASIK changes the shape of the cornea and is intended to improve eyesight by means of a cool laser. The process involves the use of state-of-the-art computer technology, making LASIK one of the most sophisticated refractive eye surgeries available today.

The technology was initially derived from an industrial carbon-dioxide laser developed at the University of California in 1968, which IBM tested on human tissue 12 years later. After a series of grueling examinations and clinical trials, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) finally authorized LASIK in the US in 1998. Today, LASIK sees limited use in the country as the technology is still being perfected. At present, numerous research companies continue to develop methods to make LASIK more efficient and more comfortable for patients.

For safety reasons, the FDA also recommends that LASIK only be performed on people aged 18 and above. In addition, patients must have had a stable eye prescription for at least a year to qualify. As it currently stands, laser eye surgery is increasingly considered as an effective alternative to corrective glasses and contact lenses.