Tag: Keratoconus Inserts

Tips for Family Vision Care This Year

Vision care should be a priority to your family especially if you have a family history of eye problems or conditions like elevated blood pressure, or Diabetes. Several conditions affect the eyes and can lead to severe vision loss or eye care issues.

Be sure to find an eye care professional that you are comfortable speaking with, and that communicates well with you and your family. This will help your family understand your eye care conditions and find the right treatments for your family.

Below are a couple tips to help you:

Discovering Vision Problems in Your Children:

There are several signs of vision problems in children. Knowing what they are and how to spot them is important. If they are having difficulty seeing it will affect every part of their life including social, and academic as well.

Below are some common signs it is time to see the eye doctor:

 Eye Strain – (in children straining to see the television or board at school)
 Blurred Vision
 Double Vision
 Poor night vision
 Frequent Eye rubbing
 Eye Pain

Family History of Eye Conditions:

If you have a family a family history of eye conditions such as Cataracts, Glaucoma, Keratoconus, or even Diabetes type 1 or 2 you should go to the eye doctor on a regular basis. Annual eye exams are an important part of a healthy lifestyle. Early detection of eye conditions opens up more options when it comes to treatments.

For more information on symptoms of common eye conditions, or treatment option ask your eye care professionals or visit www.BoxerWachler.com

Dr. Brian’s shares his tip on why eye rubbing can be dangerous to your eye health:

Understanding New Advancements for Keratoconus Treatments

Keratoconus treatments have been around for decades and over the years many patients have experienced different treatment options for managing this condition. Keratoconus is a progressive condition that is caused by an abnormal shaped cornea. Over time the vision becomes more distorted and Keratoconus left untreated can result in a severe loss of vision.

Within the last decade there have been several new treatments available for those who suffer from this progressive condition. At one time the primary treatment was a cornea transplant. This type of treatment often had a long and painful recovery time. Now there are many treatment options that involve little to no pain, and have recovery times of days to weeks instead of months.

Advancements in Keratoconus Treatment:

There are several methods of treatment options to improve the quality of life and vision for those with Keratoconus with the advancements in technology. Below you will find various treatment options, and how they help those with Keratoconus. Currently less than 5% of all patients with Keratoconus ever need a corneal transplant.

Contact & Rigid Gas Permeable Lenses

The Use of Contact lenses for Keratoconus Treatment:

If the patient is diagnosed at an early stage contact lenses or glasses can help correct their vision and is often used as a first treatment. However, contacts do not stop the progressive nature of this condition and patient frequent exams multiple times a year to manage changes in prescriptions.

As Keratoconus progresses the contact lens needs to be adjusted to improve the clarity of the condition. The patient then often needs to get special lenses called RGP Lenses or Rigid Gas-Permeable Lens, which can often become uncomfortable to wear for any length of time. Over time patients begin to notice that their vision even with contacts is no longer clear.

The Holcomb C3-R ®:

Other treatments for patients with Keratoconus include the Holcomb C3-R ® (Corneal Collagen Cross linking with Riboflavin). The procedure is revolution, in that it stops the progression of Keratoconus. When patients seek this early, this will often allow patients to maintain good vision and comfort in contact lenses and avoid additional procedures.

This procedure simply uses natural vitamin coupled with Ultra violet light to active the vitamin. Over a period of 4-16 weeks additional fibers are created in the cornea, which stabilizes the cornea and in some cases reverse some damage due to the Keratoconus.

There are many other treatments to improve the clarity or overall vision of patients suffering with Keratoconus. Other procedures include Intacs and CK procedures. When these procedures are combined with Holcomb C3-R® vision is further enhanced and improved.

Looking into these options before making a decision is best. Asking questions of your eye care professional before making a decision is even better.

Dr. Brian Boxer Wachler, MD is a renowned eye surgeon specializing in Keratoconus Treatments, and other procedures.

Watch one man’s journey from vision loss to traveling to the Olympics in Russia after his Keratoconus Treatments

For more information regarding Keratoconus Treatments visit www.KeratoconusInserts.com/fix

Top 3 Reasons to Use Intacs for Keratoconus Treatment

Keratoconus vision correction procedures have advanced over the last decade. There are several procedures that can help improve your overall quality of vision quickly and with little to no pain. Intacs is a procedure that can help you with a condition called Keratoconus and when it is combined with other procedure such as the Holcomb C3-R ® it can improve your quality of vision even more.

Below are the top 3 reasons to use Intacs for Treatment of Keratoconus:

Support in reshaping your cornea

Keratoconus causes the cornea to become misshaped, or distorted. The cornea becomes more cone shaped, which makes vision less clear and contacts more difficult to wear. Intacs are in the layers of the cornea and help to reshape your cornea to improve your overall quality of vision by reducing the irregular cone shape. While this treatment doesn’t cure the condition it can significantly improve quality vision with glasses or contacts by reducing distortions and prescription.

Needs little maintenance

The Intacs needs little maintenance. Once it is placed in the cornea layers the tiny insert is barely felt, and doesn’t need any maintenance from the patient. It can be removed easily if you need a prescription change, or for any other reason.

Can be combined with other treatments

The Intacs can be combined with other Keratoconus treatments to maximize the vision improvement. The Intacs procedure takes merely 7 minutes or less and other procedures can be combined with them, such as the Holcomb C3-R ®.

Watch Ian’s story of night vision improvement with Intacs

Find out today if Intacs is right for you call 310-594-5210 or email info@boxerwachler.com

Improving Vision with the Holcomb C3-R ®

When we are searching to a way to improve our Keratoconus vision we are often mislead. There are several treatments listed online but how do we find one we can trust? Finding the right eye care professional or even the right Keratoconus treatment can be confusing. One of the most important treatments for Keratoconus is the Holcomb C3-R ® (cornea collagen crosslinking).

Why you should chose the Holcomb C3-R ®:

The Holcomb C3-R ® is a great treatment for your Keratoconus. The Holcomb C3-R ® is a non-invasive treatment that will stabilize your vision over the following 4-16 weeks. It additionally can be combined with other procedures, such as Intacs, to improve the quality of your vision. Even better often these Keratoconus treatments can be performed on the same day without even extending recovery time.

Benefits of the Holcomb C3-R ®

Non-invasive office based procedure (no scary surgery room)
Pain-free treatment
Procedure stabilizes vision and stops progression of Keratoconus
Can be performed on individuals as young as 8 years old with no upper age limit
Can be combine with other procedures to improve quality of vision
Takes about 30 minutes per eye
Uses natural vitamins already produced by the body

Combination of Procedures:

Many patients believe that the use of more than one procedure often requires longer healing and additional procedure dates. But with the Holcomb C3-R ® you can have procedures like INTACS, or even CK done the same day. These procedures will give you more improved vision results when preformed with the Holcomb C3-R ® and often times can keep you from having more procedures done at a later and avoid the dreaded painful cornea transplant.

Thousands of patients have improved their vision with the use of the Holcomb C3-R ® treatment since 2003. Many have found that either individually or in combination with other treatments they were seeing results right away, and improved vision when combined with Intacs or CK.

Watch 13 year old Jake’s story and experience with Holcomb C3-R and Intacs

Learn if Holcomb C3-R is right for you, call 310-594-5210 or email info@boxerwachler.com

Optimal Eye Health with Flaxseed Oil

Did you know that your eyes need vitamins just as much as the rest of your body? Yes, it is important for your eye health to get the right vitamin balance for your eyes as well as your whole body. Optimal Flax can help you achieve this and helps with Dry Eye. Below are a few additional benefits to flaxseed oil.

Benefits of Flaxseed Oil

Flaxseed oil is used in many various health applications. It has been shown to:

Reduce inflammation from several types of Arthritis
Treat Dry Eye
Help regulate high blood pressure
Treat for heart disease
Help control Diabetes
Assist digestive health as a laxative for constipation

Even more important that the above benefits, research has revealed that free radicals can damage corneas and increase the progressive nature of Keratoconus. Anti-oxidants vitamins should be an essential part of your Keratoconus treatment. In addition, Keratoconus contacts lenses can be more comfortable when dry eye is treated. Flaxseed oil vitamin capsules have been effective for alleviated dry eyes in Keratoconus patients.

Several vitamin supplements that can support good vision care, as well as overall health, for yourself and your family. Vitamins can provide longevity and improved health.

As with any medications or supplements, there are a few interactions to watch out for including medications that help slow clotting of the blood. It is important to check with your physician or eye care professional before starting any new treatments to ensure there are no interactions.

Optimal Flax is a supplement that naturally increases the lubrication of the body, including the eyes and skin. This is an effective product for helping reduce Dry Eyes.

Flaxseed oil contains Omega-3 fatty acids which help with several health problems and offer many daily health benefits. If you are looking for a daily vitamin that will assist you with Dry Eye symptoms, Optimal Flax may be the ideal vitamin product.

For those of you who want more information on the Optimal Health products such as Optimal Flaxseed and Optimal Eye (antioxidants) visit www.ioptimalhealth.com

How Will INTACS Help My Keratoconus?

Before the 1990’s there was little available in regard to treatment options for Keratoconus. Many patients had to deal with the debilitating effects of Keratoconus until they needed a Corneal Transplant. Now there are several new treatments that are improving the overall effects of Keratoconus. INTACS have been available to patients for the treatment of Keratoconus since 1999. This treatment can also assist patients with other eye conditions such as Myopia.

Below are benefits of INTACS for Keratoconus:

Simple, out-patient procedure.
Less invasive then a corneal transplant
Provides you with Improved Quality of Vision
Most Commonly takes less than 15 minutes
Removable if technology changes, but designed to remain in the eye for a lifetime

For most people, the use of INTACS for Keratoconus is a great treatment for correcting their quality of vision and comfort in glasses and contacts. The INTACS are not noticeable within the eye and do not require maintenance once in place. If this is something you might be interested, in speak with your eye care professional for more information.

Procedure & Recovery:

15-30 min. total operative time (1 or 2 eyes)
Little to no recovery time
Little to no pain
Almost immediate improvement
Can be combined with other eye care procedures

There are several advantages including quicker and little to no pain with recovery. INTACS can take the place of your glasses or contact lenses, however most commonly assists in the comfort of these types of correction. They help to reshape the eye’s cornea to help improve your overall quality of vision.

Dr. Brian Boxer Wachler, MD is a renowned eye surgeon specializing in Keratoconus Treatments, as well as other vision correction procedures.

Watch how a 12 year old boy had his vision restored and saved by INTACS. He was saved from having to undergo the invasive cornea transplant:

Keratoconus Options: Treatment Success

For those who have had family members or close friends that were diagnosed with Keratoconus, treatment options probably didn’t sound very promising at that time. With new advancements in the treatment of Keratoconus, success is a common place. In fact over 90% of all patients with Keratoconus are now receiving successful treatments for their Keratoconus, and may have improved overall vision, WITHOUT the need to undergo a painful corneal transplant!

Keratoconus is a progressive eye disease that changes the shape of your cornea from circular to cone shaped over time. These distortions cause your vision to decrease and lower the quality of your vision, as well as your ability to complete your daily life activities. In past years there were only a few treatments available. A diagnosis of Keratoconus meant that you would eventually require a corneal transplant. Now only 5% of patients with Keratoconus eventually need a corneal transplant, and these cases are often due to additional circumstances beyond the Keratoconus diagnosis.

Below are a couple of the New Treatments for Keratoconus:

Holcomb C3-R® Crosslinking System

This treatment was developed over a decade ago and has made remarkable strides in successful Keratoconus treatment. This is a totally non-invasive treatment that only takes about 30 minutes to perform. It strengthens the cornea, reducing visual distortions, fluctuations, and can even occasionally improve overall vision.

INTACS

INTACS is another great treatment for those with Keratoconus that uses tiny segments which are placed in the cornea and reduce the steepness to create a more normal shape. This treatment requires little maintenance and the segments are intended to be left in the eye for a lifetime. The INTACS can be done in combination with the Holcomb C3-R ® to provide better results and is great for those with Keratoconus.

These amazing new treatments have restored hope in the lives of thousands of patients over the past decade. Knowing that there are several new treatment options out there to help you regain your vision should add new hope to your treatment’s success.

Listen to Tom’s story of avoiding a cornea transplant. Tom says “run, don’t walk to see Dr. Brian”

Improvements for Keratoconus Treatments & What You Should Know

The disease Keratoconus is a progressive condition that causes the patients quality of vision to decrease gradually over time. In the past there was only one main treatment for Keratoconus other than eye glasses or contact lenses, which was corneal transplants. Over the past decade or longer, technology has improved the treatments for Keratoconus including treatments like INTACS®, Holcomb C3-R®, and even CK.

These treatments alone or combined can improve the patients overall vision, and in almost all cases they have been known to stop the progression of Keratoconus.

Holcomb C3-R® Crosslinking System:

The Holcomb C3-R® is a treatment which is making incredible progress in the treatments for patients with Keratoconus. Keratoconus is a progressive condition that damages the cornea or the lens of the eye causing it to go from a dome shape to cone shape distorting the vision. The Holcomb C3-R® strengthens the corneal fibers allowing the cornea to return to its original shape over time and stopping the progression of the disease.

INTACS® are also a great treatment to help those with Keratoconus. There are many that also have the ability to combine both the Holcomb C3-R® with INTACS® to provide them with a better quality of vision and in some cases remove the need for glasses or contacts. INTACS® are tiny inserts that are placed within the cornea to help shape and provide support to your vision.

INTACS® Benefits:

Less-invasive procedure
Takes less than an hour
An outpatient procedure
Can be used in combination with other procedures
Less maintenance, can be easily removed if necessary

Dr. Brian Boxer Wachler, MD is a renowned eye surgeon specializing in Keratoconus treatments, and other procedures.

Here numerous stories of patients whose lives were changed by having their Keratoconus fixed by Dr. Brian: http://tiny.cc/m7h0ix

Early Prevention of Keratoconus Can Save Your Vision. Don’t Fall Off the Keratoconus Cliff!

There has been great strides of progress when it comes to Keratoconus and over the last decade we have found several new treatments to improve your overall quality of vision. Although Keratoconus is a progressive disease there are several treatments that can improve your vision and in some cases reverse the damage already done by the disease. There are screenings that help predict Keratoconus at an early stage.

Yearly screenings are important. They can help your eye care professional spot early signs of Keratoconus. If you have a family history of the disease you should inform the doctor right away. This will help them detect the disease in its earliest stage. There are several treatments available to assist you with your Keratoconus and improve your disease allowing you to be free of glasses and contact lenses in some cases. Below are some early warning signs of Keratoconus and New treatments for those with the disease.

Keratoconus Symptoms:

  • Blurred vision
  • Frequent Prescription changes
  • Halos
  • Difficulty with night vision
  • Excessive rubbing of the eyes
  • Double Vision
  • Headaches

Treatments for Keratoconus:

  • Glasses, contact lenses – Changing prescriptions
  • IOL’s or Intra Ocular Lenses
  • CK
  • Holcomb C3-R ®
  • INTACS for Keratoconus

So if your question is, can Keratoconus be cured? No, but it can be treated. You can improve your overall quality of vision. And the earlier it is caught the better your vision can get. Some of the treatments in some cases have reversed the damage done by Keratoconus, but in most cases you can still get your vision back. So stop paying attention to all the blogs, magazines, articles, and general doctors, and consult an expert. Dr. Boxer Wachler, MD is a renowned eye surgeon specializing in Keratoconus treatments, LASIK, I-BRITE eye whitening, and other procedures.

Patient Pioneer – Dr. Brian’s Very First Intacs® for Keratoconus Patient 20 years ago

Dealing with Keratoconus & Treatment Options

A diagnosis of Keratoconus can be frightening. If you have family history of Keratoconus you may have already experienced seeing someone with the disease. However today technology has allowed for several new treatments that can slow the progression of Keratoconus or even in some cases stop the it’s progression.

In the past most treatments for Keratoconus ended up with a Corneal Transplant. But within the last decade many other treatments have allowed for faster recovery times, non-invasive procedures, and even improvements over time. Now with the design of hybrid contact lenses, scleral contacts, and even the Holcomb C3-R ® patients have non-invasive options for improving their vision.

Today’s Treatment Options

The use of eye glasses: The use of eye glasses has been a treatment option for those with Keratoconus and many other condition for years. This treatment is generally used in the very early stages of Keratoconus. When patients are treated during early diagnosis with Holcomb C3-R® they have a higher probability to be able to use glasses long term. Holcomb C3-R® stabilizes the progression of Keratoconus and helps preserve a patient’s current vision.

Contact Lenses:

Another traditional treatment for more advanced Keratoconus are RGP (Rigid Gas Permeable lenses) or Scleral Contact Lens. One type of RGP lens is the Rose-K lens, which can offer crisp and sharp vision for those with Keratoconus. There are some brands of soft contact lenses that are designed for patients with Keratoconus, these include KeraSoft Lenses and NovaKone Lenses. In addition to the soft contact lens there is a combination lens or Hybrid lenses like ClearKone ®, which have a hard center and a soft skirt. Discuss with your Keratoconus contact lens fitter the best option to improve the clarity of your vision and improve your day-to-day visual experience.

The Holcomb C3-R ® or Corneal Cross-linking With Riboflavin: This revolutionary treatment developed in 2003 by Dr. Brian Boxer Wachler is used to preserve the vision of those suffering with Keratoconus by using a more natural approach. A Vitamin rich solution is administered to the eyes and then activated with a special UV light. This procedure helps to strengthen the cornea and stop the progression vision loss from Keratoconus. This procedure helps to preserve a patient’s current vision. When combined with other procedures, such as INTACS, overall vision can be improved.

Ian discusses how revolutionary Keratoconus treatments have improved his life and vision, watch his story here: http://youtu.be/Tr2DeAQA-DI

To learn more about new treatments for Keratoconus you can visit www.allaboutvision.com/conditions/keratoconus.htm