Month: December 2022

We wanted to shed some light on a very common eye issue that we are sure you have heard of. Astigmatism is a widespread issue that can be easily fixed with a quick visit to your eye doctor. Since it affects so many people, we wanted to take a deeper dive into it.

What is it?

Astigmatism is a very common eye problem that can make your vision blurry or distorted. It is caused by either your cornea or your lens having a different shape than normal.

The most common symptoms are:

• Squinting to see clearly
• Headaches
• Eye strain
• Issues seeing at night
• Blurry vision

The odd shape of the cornea or the lens makes light bend differently as it enters your eye, this in turn causes a refractive error.

It is not possible to prevent astigmatism, some people are born with it and others develop it. It can develop in children, young adults or someone who has had an injury or surgery on their eye.

How to catch it?

A visit to your eye doctor of course! This is another fantastic reason to get regular eye exams for yourself and your children. If your eye doctor is seeing your eyes regularly enough it is easier to spot irregularities. In some cases, you may not have any symptoms at all, but your eye doctor can help you to ward off any symptoms in the future by catching it before you develop any and treating them.

What will help?

The most common treatment for astigmatism is eyeglasses or contacts that help correct the way your eye takes in light. Your eye doctor will be able to tell you what prescription is needed to help alleviate any symptoms.

In more rare cases, there is also a surgery that can be used if the astigmatism is too bad to be treated with glasses. This would be something your eye doctor will discuss with you if necessary.

Call us for your next appointment!

If this is something you are concerned about for yourself or for your child, please make sure to bring it up at your next appointment with us! We are always here to help take care of you and your family’s eye care needs. We want to be a part of your eye health journey.

There are many kinds of infections that can happen in your eye. Some we have already discussed here like, Pink Eye or infections due to contact lens scratches. One we want to bring up today could be something you encounter yourself. Orbital and Periorbital Cellulitis has had some connection with Covid-19 and we want to be sure to set the record straight.

What is Cellulitis?

These two types of cellulitis are referring to infection and inflammation of the skin around your eye.
Orbital – Involves the eye, and eye structures within the bony cavity of the face
Periorbital—Involves the area from the skin of the eyelid to the eyebrow.

In both cases, the condition is serious and if you notice this type of inflammation, you should seek medical care immediately. While the swelling will happen around the eye, the actual eyeball is usually not affected.

Symptoms

• Pain
• Fever
• Swelling
• Redness
• Discomfort

Cause

Both types of cellulitis are caused by a bacterial infection. The bacteria can either find its way to the eye area from a direct scrape or from an infection that started in the sinuses. These types of infections are more common in children.

This is where cellulitis has come into the spotlight recently. There have been some cases of children getting after they contracted COVID-19. While cellulitis can be caused by an infection somewhere else in the body, there is no direct research linking COVID-19 to cellulitis.

What should you do?

If your child has any of the symptoms listed above, we recommend seeking medical help from a doctor. A doctor may need to run blood tests and do a physical exam to determine what type of infection is causing the discomfort.

Once diagnosed, your doctor will most likely prescribe antibiotics to kill the infection.

These infections can cause other more serious problems if left untreated. In some cases, cellulitis can cause loss of vision or meningitis. Its best to seek medical care as soon as possible.