Tag: eye diseases

Have you been suffering from chronic Dry Eye? Maybe you spend a lot of time behind a computer at work, school, or even at home. If your dry eyes have been causing a problem, you’re probably wondering how you can treat them on your own. In some cases you can get temporary relief from Dry Eye symptoms over the counter, but in other cases a prescribed drop or procedure maybe needed.

Below are a few types of treatments for your chronic Dry Eye:

When you are first diagnosed with Dry Eye, your eye care professional will have you try different treatments, depending on the severity of your Dry Eye. Below are a few treatments you may encounter after diagnosis.

Over the counter drops:

These types of drops are found in your pharmacy and provide temporary relief for your dry eyes. They are helpful if you experience an occasional episode or two. If you have chronic Dry Eye it is likely you will have to continue using these drops multiple times a day, while also using other methods.

Prescribed Eye Drops or topical treatments:

If you continue to have difficulties with Dry Eye, your doctor may prescribe some drops for you to use regularly. These drops are often prescribed for those who have continued Dry Eye or have difficulty producing tears. If you have an issue with the lipid glands, topical creams or ointments may be suggested (such as testosterone cream). Prescribed eye drops and creams can often provide better relief than over the counter eye drops.

Lipiflow® Procedure:

For those who have difficulty with chronic Dry Eye related to a lipid deficiency, Lipiflow® may be a great treatment option for you. Lipiflow® is a painless 12-minute outpatient treatment that heats and massages the eye lids and glands that create the lipids. This action loosens and unclogs the glands, allowing lipid to be produced and excreted more effectively. While the procedure is relatively new, it has been extremely effective in providing relief for those who suffer from chronic Dry Eye that previously had no great treatment options.

Watch Jennifer, a Dry Eye sufferer for over 30 years, discuss how she finally found relief:

Contact lenses and eye glasses are usually the first treatment option recommended for Keratoconus. However, as Keratoconus progress contacts become very, especially RGP contact lenses (Rigid Gas Permeable lenses).

Increasingly doctors are now recommended Holcomb C3-R® (cornea collagen crosslinking) as the first treatment and contacts as a secondary treatment. Holcomb C3-R® helps to stabilize Keratoconus and will help keep you comfortable in lenses longer.

But, what do you do if your Keratoconus has progressed to the point that even after Holcomb C3-R®, RGP lenses are uncomfortable. There are several other specialty Keratoconus contact lens options.

These options include:

Hybrid Contact Lenses (SynergEyes)

What are Hybrid Lenses? They are a mixture of soft lenses and RGP lenses. They provide you with the comfort of a soft lens but the crisper vision of an RGP. Many report these provide a great edge to contact for all day wear without the harsh edge of the RGP lenses.

Scleral Lenses

What are Scleral Lenses? These are similar to RGP lenses only they are larger in diameter. They almost look like a bowl that you fit over your eye. The advantage is they do not rest on the cornea, so they provide increased comfort. In addition, prior to insertion the lenses are filled with saline, so basically all day your eye is bathed in saline, which can help keep your eyes moist and lessen the concerns about dry/irritated eyes.

RGP, Hybrid lenses, or Scleral contact lenses can provide the best option for improved clarity, comfort, and stability. However, the most important benefit to Keratoconus treatment today is the Holcomb C3-R® which will preserve your vision and stop the deterioration of your vision so you can maintain good vision and comfort in contacts and avoid the painful cornea transplant.

There are many benefits of using specialty Keratoconus contact lenses for the treatment of your Keratoconus. Take the time and get the facts. Ask your eye care professional about contact lenses for your Keratoconus Treatments today!

Watch Michael explain how he is now living life all over again thanks to specialty Keratoconus contact lenses.

Summer is here and many of us are thinking of ways to stay fit through exercise and healthy eating. We can’t forget that we can improve our vision health by eating better and getting the right amount of vitamins daily as well. There are several foods we eat everyday that can improve your overall eye health.

Listed below are some foods and vitamins that are vital to your eye health:

There are several foods that can help you improve your vision by including them in your daily diet. In addition these foods can assist you in improving your bodies overall function. Take a few minutes to read the list and how they can help improve your vision.

Riboflavin – Vitamin B2

Riboflavin also known as Vitamin B2 provides benefits for your vision but also improves the production of other vitamins which benefit the rest of your body (Vitamin B3- Niacin & Vitamin B6 Pyridoxine). Riboflavin helps the body’s cells produce energy from our intake of protein, fats, and carbohydrates.

Foods with Riboflavin:

• Spinach
• Mushrooms
• Pasta (Egg noodles)
• Milk
• Cottage Cheese
• Pork
• Fish including (Trout, Squid, Salmon)
• Cuttlefish – Contains highest amount of Riboflavin – (1.3 mg per serving)

EFA – Essential Fatty Acids

Essential Fatty Acids are not just important to your eye health but your body’s overall health because the body doesn’t naturally produce them. Ensuring that they are a part of your diet regularly is important to your body.

There are two types of essential fatty acids:

Omega-3

Omega-3s are found in breast milk and are essential to our early development. Omega-3s also help protect vision from conditions like macular degeneration, and even Ery Eye syndrome. EFAs or essential fatty acids are also known to help drain intraocular fluid which can reduce the risk of high blood pressure and risk of Glaucoma.

Foods- (with Omega-3s)

• Tuna
• Herring
• Sardines
• Salmon

Recommended amounts would be 2 serving per week.

Omega-6

While Omega-6 can’t be produced by our bodies, it is in a lot of the foods we already eat regularly. In fact, most of us get too much Omega-6 so it is not often recommended to eat additional amounts with our daily diet. Of the EFAs, it is recommended that your focus be on Omega-3s.

To see a news segment about foods that are good for the eyes, as well as other helpful summer eye health tips, watch below.

Keratoconus is a difficult condition to live with. Losing your eye sight can be disruptive and scarey to say the least. But when you already have diabetes it can give you more difficulty, and add great emotional stress to your already complicated health issues. So how do you live with both Keratoconus & Diabetes? Quite simply put, one day at a time!

Diabetes is caused by an over abundance of sugar left in the blood stream after we eat. And while generally our bodies are supposed to naturally clear out the amounts of sugar in the bloodstream on their own there are several things that can keep this from happening properly causing diabetes. The increase amount of sugar in the blood can slowly eat away at the tissue or organs throughout the body, and since our blood travels through all of these organs and areas of the body everything can be effected.

When the sugar levels are elevated in the bloodstream the blood vessels in the eyes, and various parts of the eye can be damaged. This can cause vision problems, glaucoma, and cataracts. If you have been diagnosed with Diabetes and Keratoconus not only can you have diabetic induced vision problems from damage to the blood vessels of the eyes, but the Keratoconus can cause the irregular shape of the cornea. While it is important to get your sugar levels under tight control to prevent further damage to your vision, it is equally important to visit your eye doctor at least 2 times a year for evaluation.

Reporting all vision changes to your eye care professional immediately is also important when dealing with diabetes. If you are diagnosed with Keratoconus remember that there are several options for treatment. Remember that each patient is unique in their situation and what will work best for them. Talking to your eye care professional about what will work best for you will give you an idea of your best options for treatment of Keratoconus. Know that you are not alone and there is hope for treatment of Keratoconus.

For more information about keratoconus visit the American Keratoconus Association

Home   |   About Us   |   Cornea Cross Linking   |   Intacs   |   CK   |   Visian ICL   |   PRK   |   Testimonials   |   Media   |   Blog   |   Fly In   |   Research   |   Privacy Policy   |   Contact Us |   Sitemap

         ©2019 BOXER WACHLER VISION INSTITUTE OF BEVERLY HILLS. 465 N. Roxbury Drive, Suite 902, Beverly Hills, CA 90210.                          Call: 310.594.5210  Or   Text: 424.245.0171  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. email: info@boxerwachler.com.

A diagnosis of Keratoconus can not only effect the person with the condition physically but it can effect them on an emotional level as well. Keratoconus often leads to progressive loss of vision. Slowly over time patients no long obtain functional vision in glasses and as the disease progresses the often lose the ability to wear contacts. Many patients feel they have gone blind. While the disease is generally progressive to the sight, it to can also have a crippling emotional impact effect as the patient starts to lose their sight. If the vision deteriorates too much a patient might have to undergo a cornea transplant.

Doctors have been working on treatments to fix the effects of Keratoconus for years, and new treatments have brought hope to those who are fighting the condition. These new treatments have helped thousands avoid the intensive cornea transplant and restored vision and hope for many.

Keratoconus creates a thinning in the cornea and over time can cause discomfort and loss of vision. While it takes time to create a complete loss of sight, the emotional and physical problems along the way are horrendous for those who are suffering. There have been other treatments for Keratoconus but were often painful and caused discomfort. However new advances offered to patients cause much less discomfort and less healing time.  

When looking for treatments for Keratoconus however you must remember a few small things. Below you will find a couple of reminders that will serve you well when searching for the right doctor and treatments for Keratoconus.

Review all Treatment Options: While most doctors will give you an upfront choice of their one or two most relevant treatments don’t be afraid to ask them for ALL your options. This would include both new and old. Also ask them to explain the pro’s and con’s of each treatment.

Find a Doctor that Fits You: The truth is when it comes to your eye care, it is important that you doctor will discuss the treatment options to you in a way that you can understand it. There are few doctors out that will take the extra time their patients need to understand their condition, so don’t give up until you find the doctor who will take time to help you understand all your options.

Visit their clinic: Don’t be afraid to visit their clinic and see for yourself how they operate. Ask questions, talk to the staff, and find a place you are comfortable. This is your sight and it is up to you to take the time out and learn what is available and what works best for you.

There are great advancements to treatments in Keratoconus, a diagnosis today doesn’t mean the same as it did yesterday. There is hope for patients with Keratoconus, and your sight can be restored with the right treatment and doctor behind you.

Learn more at the American Academy of Opthamology.

For more information about keratoconus visit the American Keratoconus Association

Home   |   About Us   |   Cornea Cross Linking   |   Intacs   |   CK   |   Visian ICL   |   PRK   |   Testimonials   |   Media   |   Blog   |   Fly In   |   Research   |   Privacy Policy   |   Contact Us |   Sitemap

         ©2019 BOXER WACHLER VISION INSTITUTE OF BEVERLY HILLS. 465 N. Roxbury Drive, Suite 902, Beverly Hills, CA 90210.                          Call: 310.594.5210  Or   Text: 424.245.0171  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. email: info@boxerwachler.com.

When I started college I was an Ocean Lifeguard. At school, I found it harder to focus on textbooks. I thought it was just the chlorine from the pool. I had my eyes checked and I was diagnosed with astigmatism in one eye and I started wearing glasses while studying. As lifeguarding became my chosen profession, I found it hard to focus in the afternoon as the Southern California sun set lower in the sky.

When running out for a rescue, I would often lose my prescription sunglasses. I tried soft lenses, but sand got under them and that was uncomfortable. The lenses often slid up behind my eyes and even floated away when I swam. I often went without correction because of the irritation. By late afternoon I would see double images of objects far away, such as a boat on the horizon.

When laser eye surgery became available, I was excited. However, I was discouraged to learn that I had keratoconus in one eye and was not a candidate for LASIK. I came across an article and some studies by Dr. Boxer Wachler. I was optimistic after my first meeting with him in 1999. He explained a new procedure Intacs that would help correct my keratoconus and vision. Back then Intacs had not been reported on a patient with keratoconus in the United States, but he felt it was ready to be attempted. As I was a good candidate, I welcomed the opportunity.  A week after surgery, the vision in that eye improved to a great degree. I was able to see nearly equally with both eyes and it was unnecessary to wear glasses or contacts at work. After a few months I noticed that I was relying more and more on the corrected eye!

It has now been about eight years since I had Intacs and I still do not wear corrective lenses. I am able to pick objects out of the glare on the horizon and street signs on the freeway well before I need to turn. The freedom I have gained and the confidence I now have in my vision has proven invaluable to me and my ability to continue in my profession.

The ability to see well in lifeguarding is critical, and I no longer have the worry that I might miss something that could result in someone’s pain, suffering or their life. I owe this self assuredness to Dr. Boxer Wachler and to Intacs.

I feel fortunate to have been at the right place at the right time in history. I can appreciate the saying, “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.” I am glad that my pioneering experience helped pave the way for the thousands of other patients who have subsequently benefited from innovative advancements for keratoconus. I am pleased to dedicate this book to the thousands of future patients who will benefit from these innovations.

– Kenny Atkins, first reported Intacs® for

keratoconus patient in the United States

Learn more about keratoconus: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keratoconus

For more information about keratoconus visit the American Keratoconus Association

Home   |   About Us   |   Cornea Cross Linking   |   Intacs   |   CK   |   Visian ICL   |   PRK   |   Testimonials   |   Media   |   Blog   |   Fly In   |   Research   |   Privacy Policy   |   Contact Us |   Sitemap

         ©2019 BOXER WACHLER VISION INSTITUTE OF BEVERLY HILLS. 465 N. Roxbury Drive, Suite 902, Beverly Hills, CA 90210.                          Call: 310.594.5210  Or   Text: 424.245.0171  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. email: info@boxerwachler.com.