Choosing the Right Eye Doctor

With so many medical specialties it is often hard to know how one eye specialty differs from another. Sorting out the different types of eye practitioners can be confusing, but each is distinctly different. Choosing the right eye doctor can make a difference in your outcome, even if only financially. For example it might be excessive to pay for an ophthalmologist exam when you need only prescription lenses, but when you need eye surgery, only an ophthalmologist will do.

Types of Eye Specialists

Ophthalmologist
An ophthalmologist is a medical doctor (MD) or who specializes in eye surgery. An ophthalmologist's training consists of attaining a college degree, followed by medical school, internship, residency and sub-specialty fellowships. Ophthalmologists prescribe medications and administer anesthetics. Ophthalmologists diagnose and treat eye diseases, medically, pharmaceutically and surgically, including those caused by systemic disease, injury and aging.

The American Academy of Ophthalmology definition: "A medical doctor who specializes in all aspects of eye care including diagnosis, management, and surgery of ocular diseases and disorders."

Optometrist
An optometrist in the United States is not a medical doctor, but has completed college followed by a four-year accredited optometry program. They receive their Doctor of Optometry (OD) upon graduation. Optometrists diagnose and treat refractive conditions and prescribe corrective lenses. Optometrists treat common eye problems and can prescribe medications. They can detect, but cannot treat diseases that affect eye health such as diabetes and hypertension. They can diagnose eye diseases like glaucoma, cataracts, and retinal diseases, but can treat them only in certain states.

The World Council of Optometry definition: "Optometry is a healthcare profession that is autonomous, educated, and regulated (licensed/registered), and optometrists are the primary healthcare practitioners of the eye and visual system who provide comprehensive eye and vision care, which includes refraction and dispensing, detection of disease in the eye, and the rehabilitation of conditions of the visual system."

Orthoptist
Orthoptists diagnose and treat specific eye movement disorders specified by the International Orthoptic Association (IOA). These include amblyopia (lazy eye) and binocular vision. The orthoptists role in assisting ophthalmologists has grown and is accepted worldwide due to the international standards developed by the IOA. Orthoptists receive between two and five years of training. In the US they are required to complete three years of college followed by two years of in post-graduate school.

The International Orthoptist Association definition: "Orthoptics is a profession allied to medicine whose primary remit is the diagnosis and non-medical management of strabismus (squint), amblyopia (lazy eye) and eye movement disorders."

Ocularist
An ocularist makes, and fits patients who have lost eyes, with ocular prostheses or artificial "glass" eye, which is actually made of medical grade acrylic or cryolite glass. Alternatively, if the natural orbit can be preserved, the ocularist can fit a scleral shell over the orbit (eyeball).

Optition
The optition is not a doctor. Rather he/she is the professional who makes the lenses (for glasses, contacts, etc.) that the optometrist or ophthalmologist prescribes.

Only two of the above specialists are doctors. And only ophthalmologists perform surgical procedures such as cataract surgery, LASIK and other refractive correction surgeries, glaucoma treatment or diabetic eye care.

Will Lasting Prescription Changes Lead to Blindness?

Many people find that their glasses prescriptions always change. And some of them worry that they will go blind some day. In fact, such worry is unnecessary. The commonest eye problem that may lead to vision loss is degenerative myopia. However, only a few people will be suffers of such eye problems.

Though there are only few people who will suffer from degenerative myopia, this disease will always lead to very serious results. As times goes by, patients will suffer from some very serious problems, such as glaucoma, cataracts, retinal degeneration. It is reported that sufferers of degenerative myopia is no less than 2%, and it is also one of the main causes for blindness. Of course, different country has different incident ratio. All have proved that pathological myopia is very special and will cause very serious outcomes onto sufferers.

Sometimes, progressive nearsightedness is also the signal of some serious diseases, as albinism, Ehler’s-Danlos syndrome, etc. These prescriptions changes are really rapid. Especially, younger patients will suffer much more than older ones. With time goes by, people’s prescription will be stabilized, especially after adolescence. However, even for those adult groups, if they work under very bad condition, they may also suffer from such eye problems. Furthermore, if these groups are judged by different criteria, more people will be counted in.

Some people think that blurriness in the eyes is the main cause for prescription changes. But it is unsettled. In fact, using eyes in bad ways can lead to blurriness. Some people hold that peripheral blurriness may lead to such changes. Many statistics have also indicated that such problems are also related with heritage and environment.

Nowadays, people have to work under some very specific conditions, such as, facing the computers everyday. Some of them even have to work for ten and more hours in front the computer monitors. However, no one can change this state. Gradually, most of them will suffer from nearsightedness. And this eye problem will worsen one’s habits of using eyes. Under such conditions, our eyes will also become very dry. And dryness will also lead to some eye problems.

Because the condition in which we live changes so rapidly, it is impossible to say people’s eye sights will be stabilized. Of course, it is true that adult will suffer fewer prescription changes than school children. Some people get their visions worsened, whereas others bettered. The reason is some people follow what the eye doctors suggested, while others take measures of full distance correction. It is true that only a few people can wear full RX, while most can not. In fact, like any other human organs, there are also self-recovering systems in people’s eyes. And people have benefited a lot from these systems. For example, some people get even nicer vision as time goes by; others have also maintained a relatively stabilized prescription. For anyone, there are different prescriptions in both of his eyes, and the only way to maintain the stabilized state of the prescription in each eyes is to wear correctly prescribed glasses. As people age, there will be some changes in their eye lens. Especially, for these who are over forty, they will more improbably suffer from myopia, if they are farsighted. However, such change will not last very long and they will have to suffer from the original problems. As for those who have some physical diseases, they tend to get more eye problems, unlike other’s changes with age.

It is still impossible for people to stop the process of change in eyes. But there is a promising future. Some drugs are being produced to slow down the process of eye changes. It is said that wearing some soft contacts can also slow such changes. However, no one can tell which ones are practical and effective.

Ergonomics is very ideal for people suffering from eye strain. This method involves some exercises of relaxing eyes. It suggests that people should stare at some objects afar for some time and look back, and then repeat this process for many times. If one has to work in front of computers, he is suggested to take some cautious measures, as using anti-reflecting coatings, etc. Of course, using some Xibrom is also very useful. Some products and measures are only suitable for children, not for adults. But the future is promising. Some other points should also be noticed that maintaining a healthy diet is also very important. Some eye problems are caused by imbalanced diet. So it is essential for people to eat more vegetables and fruits. In a word, there is no need for people to worry about the possibility of getting blind, though their visions are getting changed all the time.

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A free eye exam and glasses for Brunswick kids

A Shallotte optician came by the Brunswick school board meeting last night and said the district has had a service available since 1978 people might not know about: Free eye care for students.

Karen Moshoures said her clinic, Vision Square Eye Care, will donate an eye exam and a pair of glasses to three Brunswick County students per year. It’s based on financial and medical need. Teachers, school nurses or principals need to nominate students for it.

To be eligible, the student must: not be able to afford an eye exam and glasses; have no insurance or state assistance covering vision; parental permission; and an eye screening done by a school nurse.

What Do You Know About Eyeglasses?

Eyeglasses, defined in Wikipedia, are frames bearing lenses worn in front of the eyes. They are formerly used for vision correction; later for eye protection, either from foreign matter or from harmful rays. In fact, they can be a major part of person image and expression as well.

Eyeglasses are thought to be one of the most important invention of mankind history, because without them, scientists may not be able to do precision researches and bring so many discoveries to us; without them, we ordinary people with eyesight problems will never observe the beautiful world around us clearly.

Since eyeglasses are so important to us, what do you know about them?

Eyeglasses emerge earlier than most of us imagine. The first recorded use of corrective lenses may have taken place around 1^st Century AD in Rome, while the first pair of wearable eyeglasses was invented around 1284 in Italy by Salvino D'Armate. Since then, eyeglasses began their evolution, from those without legs to with legs; from those with glass lenses to high index plastic lenses; from those plastic frames to titanium frames, etc..

Then with different requirements of eyeglasses of different people, diverse types of eyeglasses are then invented.

Corrective glasses: the original corrective glasses are used to correct refractive errors of the eye--myopia, hyperopia or astigmatism, etc.. This should the most common type for people in their daily lives.

Safety glasses: they are mostly used by athletes or sports lovers, helping them prevent foreign bodies entering eyes; what's more, for the fact that there is a greater chance for this kind of glasses to get broken and debris may fly into eyes, safety glasses are usually made with shatter-resistant plastic lenses.

Sunglasses: sunglasses provide protection against harmful rays from the sun, so as to reduce or stop the possibility of the emergence of kinds of eye disease. Additionally, nowadays sunglasses can be of both prescription or non-prescription, that is to say, if you are a person with eyesight problems who has to wear corrective glasses, you can also wear prescription sunglasses which both prevent harmful rays and provide a clear vision.

Presbyopia glasses: they include bifocals, trifocals and progressive lenses. The first two lenses are the traditional ones which have only two or three distinct horizontal viewing area, which are easily to make the wearers dizzy for the sharp transition between the focal points. Unlike the two, the last lenses give a smooth transition, providing the wearers a comfortable feeling.

3D glasses: they are specially designed for people to watch 3D movies. Due to the illusion of three dimensions on a two dimensional surface, 3D glasses can offer each eye with different visual information, making the image more real.

Of course there are many other glasses for different usages, for example glasses for watching the solar eclipse.

As for eyeglass styles, they are of a great variety, ranging from rimless glasses to boxy glasses. At present the most in style is those with thick, black and boxy or round frames, in a kind of restoring ancient way. In street, if you keep an eye on the passersby, you will find a lot of them wearing thick boxy or round glasses of different colors, and some of them even just wear glass frames without lenses, just for fashion.

Eye Exercise Tips For You----take Care Of Your Eyes

Sit comfortably on a chair. Rub your hands together until they feel warm. Close your eyes and cover them lightly with your cupped palms. Avoid applying pressure on your eyeballs. Place your palms so that the nose remains uncovered, and the eyes remain behind the slight hollow of the palms. Make sure that no light rays enter the eyes, and leave no gaps between fingers or between the edge of the palms and the nose. You may still see other lingering traces of colors. Imagine deep blackness and focus on the blackness. Take deep breaths slowly and evenly, while thinking of some happy incident; or visualize a distant scene. After your eyes see nothing but blackness, remove your palms from your eyes. Repeat the palming for 3 minutes or more.
Close your eyes tightly for 3-5 seconds, and then open them for 3-5 seconds. Repeat this 7 or 8 times.
Close your eyes and massage them with circular movements of your fingers for 1-2 minutes. Make sure you press very lightly; otherwise, you could hurt your eyes.
Press three fingers of each hand against your upper eyelids, and hold them there for 1-2 seconds, then release. Repeat 5 times.
Sit and relax. Roll your eyes clockwise, then counter-clockwise. Repeat 5 times, and blink in between each time.
Sit about 6 inches (150 mm) from the window. Make a mark on the glass at your eye level (a small sticker, black or red, would be perfect). Look through this mark and focus on something far away for 10-15 seconds; then focus on the mark again.
Hold a pencil in front of you at arm's length. Move your arm slowly to your nose, and follow the pencil with your eyes until you can keep it in focus. Repeat 10 times.
Look in front of you at the opposite and pretend that you are writing with your eyes, without turning your head. It may seem difficult at first, but with a bit of practice it is really fun. The bigger the letters, the better the effect.
Imagine that you are standing in front of a really big clock. Look at the middle of the clock. Then look at any hour mark, without turning your head. Look back at the center. Then look at another hour mark. Do this at least 12 times. You can also do this exercise with your eyes closed.
Focus on a distant object (over 150 feet or 50 m away) for several seconds and slowly refocus your eyes on a nearby object (less than 30 feet or 10 m away) that's in the same direction. Focus for several seconds and go back to the distant object. Do this 5 times.
Focus on an object in the distance (as far as possible) with a low contrasting background. Do this for a few minutes every half hour or so. This does not improve your vision, nor does any other technique. It can, however, maintain your best eyesight level during the day and prevent significant further vision deterioration.
Make up and down eye movements starting from up to to down. Do this 8 times. Then do the side to side eye movement, starting from left to right. Repeat this 8 times. Make sure not to add pressure to your eyes! It only worsen your vision!