#pinkeye exposed for the masquerader it is

Pink Eye is a daily visitor to urgent care and eye care offices. It can often pretend to be something that it is not, a masquerader. By far, the most common cause of pink eye is conjuctivitis. Say what?

Conjuctivitis is inflammation of the conjuctiva. The conjuctiva is the clear thin mucous membrane that lines the white of the eye and the underside of the eyelids. From the Latin Conjunctivus which is to join.

Inflammation can be caused by many ailments, the most common of which are:

Infection
Allergy
Inflammation
Trauma
Dryness

A few words about each of these are in order.

Infection of the conjuctiva can be from bacteria, virus, fungus and other micro-organisms. Infection always begets Inflammation, hence the pink eye.

Allergy is usually air borne pollens and can also be allergy to eye drop ingredients and soiled contact lenses.

Trauma can be abrasion, chemicals, UV radiation or just rubbing the eye.

Dryness can be lack of tearing, poor quality tears and environmental exposure.

Keep in mind that the most common infection that leads to the inflammation of pink eye is viral. The most common virus is the cold virus. While there is no cure, and certainly not antibiotics, anti-inflammatory treatments are available.

So when you have pink eye visit an Optometrist of Ophthalmologist to get a proper diagnosis and treatment.

Cheers,
Dr. Greg 

#Blepharitis

Blepharitis is a chronic eye lid inflammation. Many causes, many risk factors and can lead to very destructive eye irritation and even reduced vision.

I am pleased to present this information as we are embarking on a new attempt to treat this chronic eye condition.

Here is a excerpt from the LidHygenix web site:

The importance of lid hygiene. Oil and debris from the glands in the eyelid tend to accumulate on the lid margins and eyelashes, often causing irritation and discomfort. If the accumulation is significant, the lids may stick together, particularly in the morning upon awakening.

Oil glands in the eyelid. To promote eye health it is important to remove oil and debris on a daily basis. LidHygenix was developed by an eye doctor to assist with eyelid cleansing. This gentle, non-irritating solution is specifically formulated for the delicate skin of the eyelids. LidHygenix is also an effective eye makeup remover. Used as part of a daily cleansing regimen, LidHygenix will help foster lid health and hygiene. 

This is a representation of the oil glands that produce the oil needed to maintain a quality tear layer for your eyes protection and quality of vision.

Please visit the full brochure that details the critical nature of eyelid hygiene and treatment of blepharitis:
http://www.lidhygenix.com/pdfs/lid_brochure.pdf

Thanks for reading, now go clean your lids :)

Dr. Greg

Corneal Ulcers

I saw a patient with one of these eyes. Quite avoidable really. He called in the morning after having a red irritated eye for a couple of days. He confessed that he really needs to get better at replacing his contact lens on schedule and cleaning them. He is correct.

What we are looking at here is an isolated bacterial corneal infiltrate of white blood cells that are attacking the over-populated bacteria that have broken into his cornea. This will become a corneal ulcer in no time. Yes, ulcer. Imagine this in front of the center of your pupil...

Stressing out the cornea leads to such things. Contact lenses stress corneas, old soiled contact lenses stress corneas in a dramatic way.

Classic ways to stress your corneas with contact lenses:
1. sleep while wearing them
2. wear ill-fitting lenses
3. improper use of solutions
4. over-wear lenses
5. use old soiled contact lens storage case
6. expose contact lenses to water and wear them
7. handle lenses with soiled hands

The bottom line is that you should always wear a good lens, and you should be disposing of your lens while it is still good. Yes, dispose of a monthly lens before a month if it goes bad. And, no, don't re-use a daily lens if it is still good.

Thanks for taking care of your eyes!

#visioniswhatwedo

Dr. Greg

New Year, new vision, who knew?

I give to you the Hoya Recharge Lens. The potential problems with blue light emitted from our digital devices range from blur to eye fatigue. Filtering that high energy light is technically beneficial and possible. Look into Hoya Recharge EX3 for your next lens if you want to optimize your vision while enjoying your time viewing your phone or tablet. I did and I like them quite well.

Contact Lenses blurry? Let me count the ways.

Credit to our colleagues at www.bausch.com for this photo of a soft contact lens that is coated with fungal organisms.

There are so many reasons that your contact lenses may be blurring your vision, here are some for your consideration:

1. Your prescription is incorrect. Sounds simple enough. I can tell you that the art and science of determining the baseline prescription of a person's visual system is not for the simple minded. It takes serious communication, instrumentation and technique to get this right.

2. The lens is ill-fitting. The best fitting lens requires that the following factors are analyzed and considered: and this is just to name a few...

• corneal diameter
• corneal topography
• eyelid position
• eyelid tension/laxity
• eyelid friction
• tear quantity
• tear quality
• lens diameter
• lens curvature
• lens lubricity
• lens modulus

3. The lens is, for lack of a better term, dirty. Lenses can be coated with oils, mucous, makeup, fingerprints, solution chemicals and probably air born contaminants.

I suppose the next time you experience blurry vision with your contact lenses in place you can start to consider some of the possibilities. Thanks for reading.

See well,
Dr. Greg