Month: February 2024

Have you ever heard of keratoconus? We love to bring you information about common eye issues that everyone may face in their lifetime. Every now and then, we like to bring awareness to the lesser know eye issues that not as many people know about.

One that we wanted to bring attention to today is Keratoconus. This eye issue happens in approximately 2,000 people in the United States. It can begin usually in puberty and then progressing into the mid 30s. The condition may take up to 10 years to progress, or even longer.

What is Keratoconus?

This eye condition is when your cornea gets thinner and gradually bulges outward into a cone shape. The Cornea is the clear, dome front of your eye. If your cornea becomes coned shaped, it can cause a lot of issues for your vision.

This condition can affect one eye more than the other eye, so you may need a different prescription in one lens.

Symptoms of Keratoconus

• Sudden worsening or clouding of vision
• Blurred or distorted vision
• Frequent changes in eyeglass prescriptions
• Increased sensitivity to bright light and glare

What Causes Keratoconus?

There are not any known causes for keratoconus. It is thought that there are genetic and environment factors that can contribute to it. The statistics go up if your parent has the condition.

Things that can increase your chances of developing keratoconus:

• Rubbing your eyes vigorously.
• Having other conditions like retinitis pigments, Down syndrome, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, Marfan syndrome, hay fever and asthma.
• Having a family history of keratoconus.

Treatment

Depending on the severity of the condition the treatment can range from prescription eye glasses to surgery.

In the early stages, the vision problems can be corrected with glasses or soft contact lenses. If the condition develops, you may need to be fitted with rigid, gas permeable contact lenses or other types of lenses like scleral lenses. If the condition continues to progress and get worse, you may need a cornea transplant.

There is a procedure called corneal collagen cross-linking that may stop or slow the progression of keratoconus, if caught early enough. This could also prevent the need for a future cornea transplant.

February is low vision awareness month, so we thought this was the perfect time to shed some light on the topic. According to the National Eye Institute millions of people in the US are living with a visual impairment.

Having a visual impairment can make things like every day activities hard to do.

What is Low Vision?

Low vision is when someone has uncorrectable, reduced vision. It means that their vision cannot be improved by wearing glasses or contacts.

According to the American Optometric Association, the criteria for low vision is 20/200 or worse. Most of us know that 20/20 vision is what we are shooting for each year at our eye exam.

For reference, 20/500 to 20/1000 is considered profound low vision and less than 20/1000 is considered near total low vision.

In the United States, anyone who has vision that cannot be corrected better than 20/200 in their best eye or who has 20 degrees or less of their visual field remaining is considered legally blind. So to be legally blind does always mean you cannot see anything.

What Causes Low Vision?

While low vision affects so many people in the world, there are many different things that can cause it. Some of the main things that can cause low vision we have talked about on our blogs in the past. They include:

• Macular Degeneration – This affects the retina, causing blurred vision. If developed later in life can be caused by smoking and poor nutrition.
• Cataracts – This is clouding of the lens inside the eye. The clouding keeps light from being able to reach the back of the eye which is needed for sight.
• Glaucoma – This happens when there is increasing internal pressure in the eye because of issues with the flow or drainage of fluid within the eye. This pressure causes damage to the optic nerve.
• Diabetic Retinopathy – This can happen to people with diabetes. The diabetes can cause blood vessels to develop tiny branches that leak and keep all of the nourishment from getting to the Retina.
• Retinitis Pigmentosa – This is an inherited disease that causes vision impairment.
• Amblyopia – This is when the visual system does not develop normally during childhood resulting in blurry vision that is not easily corrected.
• Retinopathy of Prematurity – This affects newborns who are born prematurely and the high oxygen levels in incubators during the critical neonatal period can cause it.
• Retinal Detachment – This is when the retina separates from is underlying layer.
• Traumatic Brain Injury – any traumatic brain injury can affect the eye and result in long term vision impairment issues.

Common Types of Low vision

• Loss of central vision
• Blurred vision
• Reduced Contract Sensitivity
• Glare light sensitivity
• Loss of peripheral vision
• Night Blindness

Low Vision Rehabilitation

If you are suffering from low vision there are some things that eye doctors can do to help improve your quality of life. Some eye doctors specialize in low vision rehabilitation. This rehabilitation can help people with low vision get their independence back.

People with low vision can learn a variety of techniques to help them perform daily activites with their remaining vision. There are also government and private programs that offer educational counseling, occupational therapy and more.

We want to remind our customers about protecting their eyes, since this time of year winter eye safety usually not at the forefront of your mind.

It is normal during the summertime to remember to grab your sunglasses before you hit the beach or the pool. Did you know that it is just as, if not even more important to bring them along during the winter months?

Wear Your Shades

A winter eye safety survey was done by the American Optometric Association noted that 80% of Americans wear sunglasses in the summer, but less than a third wear them in the winter. This is primarily due to the colder temperatures and overcast skies much of the country sees this time of year. We want to remind you, that even when it’s cloudy 80% of the sun’s UV rays are still coming through and have the potential to harm your eyes.

While here in the Lowcountry, we don’t see much snow, many families plan vacations to go skiing, tubing or just enjoy a change of scenery. If you plan to head to a higher elevation, your eyes are not used to the strength of the UV rays the closer you get to the sun. Higher elevation equals higher UV rays and the potential for a disorder called photokeratitis (Snow Blindness). This is basically like a sunburn for your eyes, which sounds awful. Make sure to keep your sunglasses on while exploring!

Lasting effects of UV Rays

One main concern aside from snow blindness is that exposure to too much of the bad UV rays could cause cataracts later in life. The World Health Organization says  20% of cataracts may be the result of overexposure to UV radiation. Furthermore, the effect cataracts has on your long-term eyesight is not good! It can lead to total blindness. While this is a worst-case scenario, it’s still good to keep in mind anytime you are outside.  The UV rays are affecting your eyes so why not protect them??

If you are thinking you need a new pair of sunglasses to sport on your next winter vacation. Or maybe you just want to wear them around town to always keep your eyes protected. Come by our offices to find the right pair for you!

We offer many styles and brands that can be made into prescription if needed! You may even be able to get your sunglasses covered by your insurance provider.

Dry Eye

Another danger to your eyes in the winter time is dry eye. The air in the winter is drier than the other seasons. Plus, the use of heat in your home is also another way we dry out the air around us in the winter months. Both of these combined can cause a higher amount of people to suffer from dry eye during the winter months.

Some recommendations from the AAO to help keep your eyes from drying out are:

• Protect your eyes in windy areas
• Avoid cigarette smoke
• Rest your eyes often and blink
• Try artificial tears
• Omega-3 fatty acid supplements
• Warm compress over your eyes

We also have some great dry eye therapy we offer if your dry eye persists and is causing you a lot of discomfort.

Tricounty Eye Associates wants to make sure you are well prepared for what the winter months can bring. We also want to remind you that we have everything you need to keep your eyes safe!

Call or come by to check out our extensive sunglass collection and ask us about our dry eye therapy!