Dry eyes can have a few causes so we have to find the cause of it first. Once we have diagnosed the cause, then we can treat them many different ways. Treatments can be as easy as controlling our environment, like turning off ceiling fans when you sleep, or limiting the amount of smoking you do. We can also use artificial tears, ointments, take fish oil tablets, or use punctual plugs (which is putting small plugs in the puncta or holes in the upper and lower eyelid where the tears drain). Some of the harder cases may need a prescription that helps the body make tears. Watery eyes can be caused from exessive dry eyes, causing a reflex tearing where the tears are almost running down the cheek.
If they are sensitive to the sun then sunglasses that block all the harmful UV rays from the sun. If they are sensitive to smoke or other environmental factor, then you just mainly have to try and stray from the causes as much as you can.
- The first thing we do is take a careful look at your medical history to see if you have any visual problems.
- We then check your vision and see if you need a prescription to help you see better.
- We then check the health of the eye inside and outside.
The eye is the only place in the body where we can see the blood vessels and that is the reason your medical professional always looks into your eye. If we think there may be a problem then we may put some eye-drops in the eye to dilate the pupils so we can get a better look at the blood vessels or if they are not seeing as good so we can find the cause of this. We also will do a test of the pressure of the eye which is one of the possible signs of glaucoma.
A regular eyes exam is important to make sure your eyes are seeing the best they possibly can and to ensure your eyes remain healthy. If they are not healthy then we can try to treat the problem or send you to another ophthalmologist to treat the problem.
Reading glasses are usually fine if the optometrist has told them what power of reading glasses to get. Prescription glasses for reading are just better quality and have the correct prescription in them in case one eye needs a different prescription. If you have astigmatism, prescription glasses may be a better option for you.
For people who work on a computer all day it can cause some peoples prescription to change quicker. Some people may just need a separate pair of glasses just for the computer distance they have to work at. These glasses can have special coatings that protects the eyes from the glare of the screen and from the light coming from the screen. There is also a little rule that is good for people that are in front of computers called the 20 20 20 rule: Every 20 minutes you try to look 20 feet away for 20 seconds to give your eyes a rest.
There are a few things that we can check even on a babies eye, like the health of the eye, or how well the eyes work together and get an idea if the baby may need a prescription. If the parents notice their children are not seeing like they should or their eyes are not working together like they should, then we can check that out also to see if anything needs to be done. Some states now like Illinois are requiring kindergarten kids to have their eyes examined before they start school.
It is really a personal preference for wearing glasses or contacts. Some people see better with contacts and some people see better with glasses. Contact lens wearers should still have a pair of backup glasses to wear just in case they get an eye infection or cannot wear their contacts for a few days. Even glasses wearers should have a backup pair of glasses in case their main pair gets lost or broken.