Why It’s Important to Choose an Eye Doctor You Trust

An eye exam can reveal a lot about your overall health. That’s why choosing an eye care professional you trust and feel comfortable with is important.

During your visit, the optometrist or ophthalmologist may have you follow his finger to test visual acuity or ask you to identify colors on a chart. Click My Eye Doctor Towson to learn more.

An eye exam is the most effective way to keep your eyes healthy. Your doctor will perform many tests and procedures while you sit in a comfortable padded chair. They will take a detailed medical history and measure your visual acuity (how clearly you can read letters on an eye chart). They will also check how your eyes move and focus together, and evaluate your peripheral vision or side vision to see if one eye is seeing less than the other.

A comprehensive eye exam can include a close inspection of the front and inside the eye with a microscope called a slit lamp or an autorefractor. This allows them to see the ocular adnexa (the area around the eye) and the lens, cornea, pupil and iris. It can also reveal abnormalities such as astigmatism, which is a common refractive error that makes it hard to see objects at different distances.

Your eye doctor will also test your color vision, and may have you cover one of your eyes. They will then ask you to try and focus your exposed eye on a target, which could be a light or an object. This helps them to determine how well your eye muscles work as a team, and it can highlight issues such as muscle weakness or a tendency to drift one eye to the side.

This is a key part of your eye exam, as it can pick up on conditions such as glaucoma, which causes high pressure that damages the optic nerve and can lead to blindness. It can also show if you are developing age-related macular degeneration or diabetic retinopathy, which affect the blood vessels in the retina and can also lead to loss of vision.

A final key part of the exam is a measurement of your optical prescription to ensure that you have the right amount of lens power to provide clear vision. This can be calculated using a variety of methods, including a manual procedure where your eye doctor shines a bright handheld light into your eyes and measures how your pupils react to get an approximate prescription.

Contact Lenses

Contact lenses are thin discs of plastic or glass that sit directly on the eye to correct vision. They are available in a variety of materials, modalities, and prescription ranges to suit most eye conditions. Proactively recommending contact lenses to patients allows the ECP to enhance the patient’s experience and satisfaction with the practice.

Soft contact lenses are the most common type and are typically made of flexible, water-holding plastic. They are very comfortable and are easily adapted to wearing, even by children. They can be worn with the fingers or with a special solution, and they can be used daily or on a weekly schedule.

Hard contact lenses, also known as Rigid Gas Permeable (RGP) contact lenses, are more durable and allow for greater oxygen flow to the cornea. They may initially be more uncomfortable than soft contacts, and they can create a slightly “dry” feeling in the eyes. They are suitable for a wide range of eye conditions, including astigmatism and corneal ectasia.

Hybrid contact lenses combine the durability of RGP with the comfort of soft contacts. They contain a hard RGP center surrounded by an outer ring of soft material and can be more convenient for some patients than RGP alone.

If you wear contact lenses, it’s important to follow proper cleaning and storage procedures. These can help you avoid eye infections like Acanthamoeba keratitis and keep your lenses clean and safe for longer wear.

Other problems can arise from contact lens use, including a corneal abrasion or infection, which can be serious if left untreated. In severe cases, eye injuries can cause corneal ulcers or scarring that requires medical attention.

The best way to reduce the risk of injuries from contact lens wear is to follow your eye doctor’s recommendations and take good care of your lenses. Your eye doctor will tell you how often to change your lenses and how to properly insert and remove them. You should also use preservative-free lens solutions to reduce the risk of infections. There are also specialty contact lenses designed to protect the eyes from trauma. For example, there are lenses that shield the eyes from UV light and others that have built-in glare reduction to improve photography.

Glaucoma Treatment

If you have glaucoma, your eye doctor will prescribe medications to reduce eye pressure. They may also recommend surgery. These treatments are very beneficial for your eye health. They can delay or prevent blindness.

Most people don’t notice glaucoma symptoms until they’re very advanced, so early diagnosis is critical. That’s why it’s important to get regular dilated eye exams.

Glaucoma happens when the drainage canals in the eye become clogged, which leads to a buildup of pressure that damages the optic nerve. If left untreated, glaucoma can lead to permanent blindness.

The most common treatment is prescription eye drops, which lower IOP. These are also known as ophthalmic solutions or topical solutions. They work by improving the aqueous fluid outflow or reducing how much aqueous fluid is produced. You’ll need to take these eyedrops daily. It’s important to follow your doctor’s instructions on how and when to take them. If you have a loved one with glaucoma, help them establish a routine and stay on schedule with their eyedrops. You could offer to remind them or arrange transportation to their follow-up appointments.

Another glaucoma treatment is laser surgery, called laser trabeculoplasty or LTP. During this procedure, your doctor uses a laser to create tiny spots in the front part of your cornea. This helps open the blockage in the drain canal. Your aqueous fluid should drain more easily after the surgery, which lowers your IOP.

In some cases, your eye doctor will recommend surgery if medicine and laser therapy fail to control your IOP. This includes acute closed-angle glaucoma, which causes a sudden buildup of pressure in the eye, and narrow-angle glaucoma.

If you have a history of glaucoma in your family, you may be at higher risk for developing it yourself. The condition is inherited and your first-degree relatives (parents, siblings, and children) have an almost 1 in 4 chance of developing it in their lifetime. People with a history of diabetes or high blood pressure are at an increased risk as well. It’s also more common in women than men.

Eye Surgery

Eye surgeries can correct a variety of conditions. The most common is refractive surgery, which corrects vision problems such as myopia (nearsightedness), hyperopia (farsightedness) and astigmatism by reshaping the cornea, the clear outer layer of the eye. This allows the retina to properly focus incoming light rays, improving vision. This procedure is performed in a doctor’s office or at a surgery center. Eye drops are applied to numb the eyes; a mild pain reliever may be offered if necessary. You must wear an eye shield after the procedure to protect your eye from accidental contact or rubbing, as this can interfere with the healing process.

Other types of eye surgery include muscle surgeries to alter where the muscles attach to the eyeball — a condition called strabismus, which causes your eyes to point in different directions and creates double vision. These can be performed on the upper or lower eyelids, or both. Another type of surgery — blepharoplasty — repairs the muscle that opens the eyes by removing excess fat and skin, or repairing damage from an injury.

There are several procedures to repair a detached retina, including freezing and laser treatments. In a procedure known as pneumatic retinopexy, your doctor uses an injection of air to fill the center of your eyeball, creating a gas bubble that presses against the retina to help it reattach. The surgeon also may use a freezing treatment, or shine a laser at the retina to “weld” it in place.

Some eye surgeries require general anesthesia, but most can be performed under local anesthesia with a sedative to keep you calm. Your doctor will explain your options before the procedure. People who are pregnant or have a medical condition such as reflux, back pain, or emphysema should alert the doctor before the surgery. These issues can make it difficult to remain still for an extended period of time during the sedation, which can interfere with the effectiveness of the meds. Your doctor will monitor your progress and let you know when the surgery is safe for you to resume activity.