How often should I have an eye exam?

Dr. Trusty recommends annual eye and vision examinations as an important part of your preventive health care. Many eye and vision problems have no obvious signs or symptoms; therefore, you may be unaware that a problem exists. Early diagnosis and treatment of eye and vision problems are important for maintaining good vision and eye health, and when possible, preventing vision loss.

Call for an appointment immediately if you have problems such as, vision changes, flashes of light, blurred or double vision, floaters, a change in peripheral vision, halos around lights or an eye injury.

Do I need lens coatings?

Lens coatings are optional but we highly recommend you consider applying coatings to your lenses. Anti-reflective coatings minimize reflections the keep people from seeing your beautiful eyes. These reflections may also make it difficult for you to see through the reflected light.

UV coatings protect your eyes from ultra-violet rays, the rays that cause sunburn on your skin. UV rays may cause corneal sunburn and contribute to the development of cataracts and/or retinal tissue damage. Think of a UV coating as sunscreen for you eyes. Scratch resistant coatings help reduce the risk of scratching your glasses. This coating is applied to both sides of your lenses.

Why do my eyes feel dry?

Dry eyes may have many causes including age, gender, medications, medical conditions, and environmental conditions. Other factors such as the long-term use of contact lenses may also be a reason for dry eyes. Talk to Dr. Trusty if your eyes feel dry, especially if you wear contacts.

Until you can make an appointment, here are some simple steps you can take to reduce your symptoms:

• blink regularly when reading or staring at a computer screen for long periods of time.
• use a humidifier to increase the humidity in the air at home and at work, if possible.
• wear sunglasses with a wrap around frame to reduce exposure to the wind and sun.

Glaucoma

There are many forms of glaucoma. As we age the incidence of glaucoma rises. A leading cause of blindness, glaucoma affects close to 2.5 million Americans age 40 and older. Blacks are 4 to5 times more likely to be blinded by glaucoma than any other race. The symptoms are usually slow developing and go unnoticed until it is too late for much improvement in vision.

That is why it is so important to get your eyes checked on an annual basis. This is your best defense against glaucoma. If you do develop glaucoma during your lifetime there are many ways to treat the disease. Most of them involve one or more eye drops that you take during the day. Surgery is needed in those few cases that don�t respond to drop therapy.

Medicare recipients are eligible to receive each year an exam to screen for glaucoma. Medicare will cover 80% of the optometrist�s exam fee. The patient or his/her secondary insurance must pick up the patient�s deductible and the remaining 20% balance.

To qualify you must: 1. Have a family history of glaucoma
2. Be diabetic
3. Be African American age 50 and older

Conjunctivitis (Pink Eye)

Conjunctivitis is the most common eye problem kids can have. It can cause redness, itching, inflammation or swelling, and a clear or white, yellow, or greenish gooey liquid to collect in the eyes. Many people know the more common name for conjunctivitis, which is pinkeye.

It's called pinkeye because the white part of the eye and inside the eyelids become red or pink when you have it. Pinkeye may start in one eye, but many people get conjunctivitis in both eyes at the same time. Conjunctivitis usually doesn't hurt, but itching can be annoying. Sometimes it feels like you have an eyelash or a speck of sand in your eye and can't get it out.

Adults, especially parents and teachers who spend a lot of time with kids, can get conjunctivitis, too. Conjunctivitis lasts a short time, usually about a week or less, and then goes away by itself or after treatment.

How Do I Get Conjunctivitis?
Kids get conjunctivitis for different reasons. Most kids get it from bacteria or viruses. This is called infectious conjunctivitis. Bacteria can be seen only with a powerful microscope and viruses are even smaller than bacteria! Bacteria live on your skin or in your nose or mouth all the time and you never know it. Most don't ever bother you, but certain kinds of bacteria can cause infections like conjunctivitis.

Conjunctivitis is easy to catch just through touching. You can get conjunctivitis by touching the hand of an infected friend who has touched his eyes. If you then touch your eyes, the infection can be spread to you. Washing your hands often with warm, soapy water is the best way to not get infected with conjunctivitis.

Kids also get conjunctivitis because of allergies or because they get something irritating in their eyes, but these kinds of conjunctivitis are not contagious.

If your eyes are itchy, red, or more crusty than usual in the morning, you should tell your parent. Do not wait because conjunctivitis spreads easily. Your parent will probably call the doctor for an appointment.

Allergies

Symptoms?

When allergies affect your eyes symptoms include eyes that are red, itchy, watery, and in some cases even swollen. Today there are many medications on the market that can help prevent or reduce the symptoms of allergic conjunctivitis. To know which one is right for you, just visit your optometrist and he will be able to tell you.

There is often a mistake that every red eye that has a little bit of itching associated with it is an allergy. Dry eye actually can be made worse by preservative-containing anti-allergy medications that may be given very frequently. That�s why it�s very important not to misdiagnose.

77 million Americans suffer from dry eye Of people age 55 and older, about 5% to 15% have experienced symptoms of dry eye The number of cases of diagnosed dry eye has reached 4.3 million, passing both glaucoma and cataract surgeries in the US Women account for 70% of the dry eye cases in the US Today there are instruments that are available that can make the diagnosis of dry eye vs. allergy simple, accurate and fast. Ask your optometrist for more details.

Cataracts

When to get surgery?
The time to get surgery is when your cataracts prevent you from doing the things you want or need to do. Most insurances will cover your surgery when your vision is worse than 20/40. Your Optometrist can tell you all of this when you have your annual vision examination.

What can be done to prevent them?

Research indicates that the main reason for the development of �age related� cataracts is long term exposure to Ultra Violet or UV radiation. The main source of UV rays is from the Sun. So limiting your exposure to the sun by wearing a good quality pair of sunglasses is your best defense in preventing cataracts.

New in 2006!! Medicare recipients are allowed the choice of receiving basic lens replacement (IOL) paid in full up to $2,000 or applying the credit to new replacement lenses that can correct both near and farsightedness (multifocal IOL) in addition to cataract removal. Patients would then be responsible for paying the difference.

High Blood Presure

People with HBP suffer a lot of the same things that diabetics have to endure. Their vision can fluctuate as their pressure goes up and down during the day. This causes a person to have a prescription that varies as their pressure varies. Which is the same thing that can happen to a diabetic. This scenario can alert the optometrist to a potential problem even when the patient feels fine and just thinks they need a change in their glasses. Keeping your pressure stable, following your doctor�s advice, and taking your medication can help your eyes stay healthy, and avoid other treatment in the future.

Diabetes

Most people who have diabetes for 20 years or longer will get some form of the disease in their eyes. Diabetic signs in the eye is a leading cause of new cases of blindness among working age people, so early diagnosis and treatment are crucial to preventing blindness from this disease. People who are diabetic are more likely to get glaucoma. The best thing you can do to keep your eyes healthy and at their best is to keep your blood sugar under control and see your eye doctor each and every year.

Medicare recipients with diabetes qualify for the annual glaucoma screening benefit. People with diabetes need to have an eye exam at least once a year; Medicare recipients should be sure to make full use of the screening benefit to receive an eye exam that can check for both glaucoma and diabetes.