We need to do everything we can to protect our eyesight. It is crucial that we guard our eyesight with the resources we have available. Prevention and education are key factors to maintaining healthy eyesight. Visiting the eye doctor regularly, recognizing risk factors, and preventative eye care will help lengthen eyesight; rather than prematurely shorten it. This is my evaluation of the importance of an eye exam through my first hand experience, focusing specifically on glaucoma tests during eye exams, and how tests contribute to long-term vision.
Glaucoma is thought of as a disease that only afflicts senior citizens. The same stereotype the pegs the elderly as people who wear huge wrap around black sunglasses, pants pulled up higher than seem comfortable, white shoes with black socks, who retirement in Florida, and who also frequently visit doctors.
Over the years I have had my fair share of doctor visits. Thankfully, none of the visits were major or life threatening, just minor reasons to see the doctor; eye exams, allergies, and tubes in my ears. I have had glasses since 6th grade, resulting in many eye exams. I would sit in the chair, look at the letters on the wall and they would adjust the lens in the machine to get the right combination. They would say “Which one looks better? This, or this?” then the optician would pause and say again “This, or this?” It took a lot of patience on his or her part because sometimes it was really hard to tell which one did look better. During these exams, it was normal for the optician to administer the glaucoma “puff test”. I found out later, while researching about glaucoma, that the “puff test” is officially known as a tonometry test.
According to www.glaucoma.org, a tonometry test i...
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....org states at the beginning “everyone is at risk.” This is an all encompassing statement that all people should be taking regular eye exams with tonometry tests. , granted the list that follows points out some ethnic groups who are more susceptible.
In conclusion, there are a lot of people who could develop glaucoma and have not had the “puff test.” I used my personal experience as an example against the people who have the potential to develop glaucoma. This analysis allowed me weigh my current situation against what damage could have been done. I wish people would be more active in their eye health. People need to stop putting off what can be done today. If you want to take care of your vision and be able to see until your old, old enough to wear pants too high with white shoe and black socks. You should go see your ophthalmologists today and get a “puff test”.
Regarding to the ocular examination, the patient's visual acuity without optical correction (spectacle) was good 20/20 in both eyes. IOP measurements was 18 mmHg on the right eye and 16 mmHg in the left eye. The pupil was equal, round and reactive to light with no afferent pupillary defect in both eyes. In extarocular movement test, there was limited downward gaze with
Optometrists have accepted vision therapy, which is a medical treatment for optical muscle disabilities, as a feasible treatment used for eye related problems; claiming the treatment can strengthen vision and give the patient the opportunity to understand visuals quicker and clearer (Press). Vision therapy originated in the 1950s and over the past 25 years, has gained popularity, mainly because of new technological innovations in the field of treatment. Generally, vision therapy is prescribed as a measure mainly for people between the ages of 3 and 18. With the results from a comprehensive series of eye tests, the optometrist can work with the patient using special instruments—prisms, filters, occluders, and eye lenses—and strengthen the eye muscles, thus improving sight. According to optometrists in favor of vision therapy, these methods of treatment using these instruments function as safer routes to repair eye disabilities. Although vision therapy can yield favorable results, the practice as a treatment for innate eye disabilities has been in hot debate lately; as it can exceed $8000 and insurance companies do not cover the treatment. For decades, insurance companies have refused to accept vision therapy as a legitimate method for repairing eyesight (Boink). Concomitant with lack of insurance, the cost for a full treatment can exceed $8000, and doctors cannot guarantee a successful outcome. Recently, parents of children with eye related disabilities, such as amblyopia (lazy eye) and strabismus (cross-eye), and doctors have attempted to cooperate with public schools to allow families access to school-funded doctors to practice vision therapy. With a tight budget, most schools cannot afford to supply vision therapy, and a...
Vision loss from glaucoma is permanent but can be prevented with early detection and treatment. Since the symptoms of the disease are usually unnoticeable, regular eye examination are important especially for persons over the age of 35 and those in high risk group.
should read the results at eye level to the tube, so they can get an
According to Baily and Hall, while visual impairment early in life is associated with inherited congenital disorders, abnormal fetal devepment, and problems associated with premature birth, most eye conditions are associated with aging. They claim that over 70% of the visually impaired population in the United States is over 65. Age related maculopathy, also called macular degeneration, or AMD, impairs the center of vision in older individuals. The macula is the region in the back of the retina that surrounds and includes the fovea (Goldstein 1999). It is important to understand that when this degeneration progresses enough, the condition constitutes blindness because the foveal area is what is used to focus on something. Most cases do not progress this far, but between five and 20% do. Allikments and Shroyer claim that 11 million people in the United States alone suffer some degree of this impairment, with 75% of those individuals being 75 or older. Seven percent of this older age group reportedly suffer advanced forms. Freidman reports the disease as most common in developed countries.
Fortunately, cataract formation on the optical lenses proves to be a malady that is simple to fix. Future scholarship on such a topic could serve to address the remaining high statistic of blindness due to cataracts. Perhaps formation of cataracts is under diagnosed due to limited health care availability for some individuals.
I have always been taught that you should never judge a book by it‘s cover. Something happened at birth that has greatly affected who I am today. I was born with a condition called lazy eye. Lazy eye syndrome is a condition where the eyes do not align properly, causing one or both eyes to weaken. If left untreated, the lazy eye does not develop properly. I inherited this from my dad, who also inherited the condition from his father. My mother first noticed I had eye problems when I was 2 months old and had my eyes examined. Because of my age, my doctor was reluctant to try surgery. So, my parents followed the treatment regiment and had me wear eye patches to help strengthen the weak eye. After 18 months of treatment, my doctor felt I was ready for surgery. Although some improvement was noticeable, it was too early to know if this would be the only surgery necessary to correct my eyes. I would have to continue to track my eyes through doctor examinations over the next few years to know if the surgery was completely successful.
Assuming that plastic lenses are being made at an optical laboratory technician’s input optical prescription for a pair of lenses i...
Spectacles gave a person good vision if a person had a regular cornea and normal astigmatism. However, if a person had “corneal astigmatism or diseases and abnormalities of the cornea” the productivity of the spectacles were minimal (Siviglia, 2010). Little did people know that contact lenses would be developed and help individuals who did not have regular corneas and normal astigmatism.
Our lives sometimes depend on our eyes. Think of covering your eyes and walking across a busy street. By investigating red eye and how it applies to our lives today, we can use it to our fullest advantage. For example, eye doctors shine bright lights into our eyes to get a look inside without harming us. This type of research can lead to major improvements on laser surgery and safer eye habits.
reduces eye pressure and blood flow to the optic nerve in Glaucoma patients.(4) This conclusive
Glaucoma can occur in any age patient, therefore yearly screenings is necessary for all ages (Understanding and Living with Glaucoma , 2012). Patients who are at a higher risk for glaucoma include patients of African and Asian decent, patients over the age of 60 years, patients who are very myopic, or nearsighted, and patients who excessively use steroids (Understanding and Living with Glaucoma , 2012). There are two types of screenings for glaucoma (Understanding and Living with Glaucoma , 2012). They are tonometry and ophthalmoscopy (Understanding and Living with Glaucoma , 2012). In order to measure the intraocular pressure, IOP, the health care provider will use tonometry (Ignatavicius & Workman, 2013). Eye drops are used to numb the eye so that a tonometer can be used to measure the inner pressure within the eyen (Understanding and Living with Glaucoma , 2012). The normal range for patients with normal eye pressure ranges from 10-21 mm Hg (Ignatavicius & Workman, 2013). Patients with open-angle glaucoma have a pressure of 22 mm Hg, and with closed-angle the pressure reading is 30 mm Hg or higher (Ignatavicius & Workman, 2013). During ophthalmoscopy, eye drops are also used, but to dilate the pupil (Understanding and Living with Glaucoma , 2012). The health care provider can then examine the optic nerve for damage due to glaucoma (Understanding and Living with
When the contact lens was invented, the world of vision correction was altered forever. No longer were those people lacking perfect 20/20 vision forced to look any different than everyone else. Both discrete and revolutionary, the contact lens provided a brand new, viable, alternate solution to an age-old problem. After centuries of engineering and discovery the contact lens has evolved greatly. Presently contact lenses are made hard or soft, for daily or continuous wear, gas permeable, and even providing ultraviolet protection. A properly fitted pair of today’s discrete, convenient, versatile, and inexpensive contact lenses provide the best form of vision correction available in today’s market.