How Do We Treat Astigmatism?

Astigmatism is an optical or focusing problem caused when one or more parts of the eye are shaped like a football instead of a basketball. This causes a situation where TWO points of focus are created inside the eye, and sometimes neither of those points is focused right on the retina (the part of the eye that "sees"). This makes your vision blurry.

We can correct astigmatism in several different ways. Let's introduce them today. Of course, the easiest way to correct astigmatism is to wear a pair of glasses. Your prescription will not only correct for SPHERE (nearsightedness or farsightedness), but also for CYLINDER (your astigmatism). For all but the most extreme cases of astigmatism a pair of glasses might be all you need.

There are two types on contact lenes that will correct your astigmatism, both soft (toric) and hard (gas permeable). Soft Toric contact lenses from companies like Bausch & Lomb and Acuvue are much better now than in years past, giving good vision and lots of comfort. Many people still see better with glasses but strongly prefer their contacts because of the freedom they have with the contacts.

We can also treat your astigmatism with Laser Vision Corrections like LASIK where we literally put the correction right on the surface of your eye. There are also new implants called Toric IOL's that can correct astigmatism if you have cataracts. We'll talk about these two things in detail another time.

So if you live in the Cleveland area and you have ASTIGMATISM, call Skyvision Centers in Westlake so that you can see how you can See What's Next(R)!!

Do I Need Prescription Sunglasses?

Do you need prescription sunglasses? It depends on your prescription, of course, but it also depends in part on what you are doing while you are wearing your sunglasses. If you wear contact lenses you are set--the contacts cover your distance vision, and all you have to do is get the perfect sunglass lens for your activity. But if you wear glasses on a daily basis you might consider putting a prescription into a high-quality pair of sunglasses.

At Skyvision Centers we make it a point to carry sunwear that can be "Rx'ed". Our Maui Jim, Kaenon, Nike, and Oakley lines can all be made with your regular prescription. Even your bifocal prescription! There are some other options, too. We have the entire spectrum of Transitions lenses available, including the revolutionary "Drivewear" lens that changes color in the car! On top of all that, you can add a magnetic clip-on to many of our highest high fashion frames when it gets sunny.

Whether its' golf, biking, tennis, or just reading this summer's blockbuster on the beach, we can outfit you with a pair of high-quality, hi-def sunglasses with YOUR prescription to maximize your vision outdoors. It's just one more way that we are changing the face of vision care. Vision Redesigned!

Eyedrops For Cataract Surgery

Dr. White is our cataract surgeon at Skyvision Centers. He is one of the most experienced cataract surgeons in Cleveland, and indeed in the entire country! He, along with Drs. Schlegel and Kaye, form our cataract team of doctors. They choose which eyedrops are the best available for use before and after cataract surgery. In addition the doctors have chosen a group of medicines that are easier to take (most times you only need to use the drops twice per day), and eyedrops that are comfortable so you don't avoid using them!


There are typically three types of eyedrops used around the time of your cataract surgery. An antibiotic is prescribed which is to be used starting 5 days BEFORE cataract surgery. The antibiotic typically is continued for a week after the surgery. The doctors have chosen an antibiotic drop from the strongest class of antibiotics now in existence in order to prevent infections. There are three choices in this class of medicines, two of which can be used twice per day.

A non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drop (NSAID), kind of like Motrin in a drop form, is also prescribed to start 5 days prior to the surgery. This medicine is then continued for 4 weeks after the surgery. It is used to prevent a type of swelling in the back of the eye. The doctors have chosen a medicine that is easy to take (twice per day), doesn't hurt when you put it in, and doesn't have any dangerous side effects. There are NO TRUE GENERIC EQUIVALENTS for this medicine. The generic medicines on the market must be used 4 times per day. They can be very uncomfortable; most people complain bitterly that they sting. Most importantly, the generic option has a 30% complication rate. That's right, 3 out of 10 people have swelling and inflammation in their cornea caused by this drop and this causes pain and a big drop in vision.

Finally, a steroid eyedrop is prescribed to be used after the surgery, beginning on the 1st day after the surgery. This drop treats the normal post-op inflammation in the eye. Like the other eyedrops it is used twice per day, and you continue to use it for 4 weeks after the surgery. There are NO TRUE GENERIC EQUIVALENTS for this medicine. The generic medicines must all be used at least 4 times per day and they are not as strong or as effective.

We understand that medicines can be expensive, especially when an important medicine is not fully covered by your health insurance. But we are talking about YOUR EYES and eye surgery. Your Skyvision doctors have chosen what they feel are the best medicines possible to do every thing possible for you to have a great surgical result.

What could be more important?!

Nike SportsVision Golf!

Did you know that all of the Skyvision Centers doctors are golfers? Dr. Kaye has actually competed in some of the biggest Cleveland golf events. All of our doctors know the importance of protecting their eyes from UV light. But what about performance? Can a pair of sunglasses make you see BETTER on the golf course?

You bet! The Nike Max Tint SportsVision series of sunglass lenses are designed to only let the most important wavelengths of light make it to your eyes for your special sport. The Nike Golf lens is a purple lens that makes the white golf ball "POP"  against the green background of a golf course so that you can follow your shots better.

The other big advantage of wavelength management is how the Nike Golf Lens allows a golfer to see contours on both the fairways and the greens. Dr. Kaye wears his all the time and feels he can see the breaks on the greens much better when he is wearing his Nikes!

Skyvision Centers is the leading provider of Nike Max Tint sports lenses in Cleveland. Let the doctors and our optical staff fit you with the perfect pair of Nike Golf lenses so that you an improve your game!

Eye Tips for Teenagers

Exercise

Our eyes need good blood circulation and oxygen intake, and both are stimulated by regular exercise. Regular exercise also helps keep our weight in the normal range, which reduces the risk of diabetes and diabetic retinopathy. Remember to use sun safety and protective eye wear when enjoying sports and recreation.

No Smoking

Avoiding smoking, or quitting, is one of the best investments you can make in your long-term health. Even though old age seems a long way off, smoking as a teenager can increase your risks for cataracts as well as for cardiovascular diseases that indirectly influence our eyes’ health. Smoking increases the risk of severe vision loss people with other eye diseases as well. 

Decorative Contact Lenses

Decorative contact lenses, including circle lenses, are a potentially dangerous trend among teenagers and young adults. These cosmetic lenses are designed to change the appearance or color of the eye. These decorative lenses can be bought in stores and online without a prescription.

Buying any decorative contact lenses, including circle lenses, without a prescription is hazardous to your eye health. Pain and swelling are frequently caused by improperly fitted, over-the-counter lenses. More serious problems can include corneal abrasions and blinding contact lens-related infections. All contact lenses are medical devices that require a prescription, proper fitting by an eye care professional and a commitment to proper contact lens care by the wearer.

Info - courtesy of EyeSmart

Spring Means Baseball Season for Kids too . . . . Expert Pitches Safety Tips for Young Baseball Players

It's a great youth sport, but beware the possible injuries, doctor advises

 -- Baseball is one of the safest sports for children, but even so there are potential risks that can result in serious injury, an expert warns.

"All kids should be involved in physical activity, and baseball is a great, safe way to get kids exercising, help them develop eye/hand coordination, deepen concentration skills and learn how to work as a team," Dr. Jerold Stirling, a pediatric sports medicine specialist at Loyola University Health System, said in a Loyola news release.

"Still, parents and coaches need to be attentive to ensure all players and fans are safe during the game," added Stirling, who is also chair of the department of pediatrics at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine.

Eye injuries are a common hazard. Baseball is one of the leading causes of the nearly 40,000 eye injuries that occur from sports and recreational activities each year in the United States, according to background information in the news release.

"Children are especially vulnerable to eye injury because they don't have the same depth perception," Stirling explained. "Be especially careful if your child wears glasses. Make sure they wear protective lenses and consider a face shield for the batting helmet."

Eye injuries are most likely to occur when a batter is hit by a wild pitch, Stirling pointed out. He said coaches and parents should teach batters to turn their backs toward the ball and their heads away from the ball. This is especially important at younger ages, when pitching is more erratic.

Age 5 is the ideal time for a child to start playing baseball as part of a T-ball team, he noted.

"A child's hand/eye coordination and ability to concentrate really start to develop at age 5, and that can play a role in keeping kids safe while playing a game," Stirling said.

He also noted that pitchers and catchers are the players most likely to suffer injuries. "Pitchers tend to have more shoulder and elbow injuries due to overuse. Catchers tend to encounter the most traumas with foul balls being hit off their body and painful collisions at home plate," Stirling said.

In order to prevent injuries in young pitchers, it's important to teach them proper technique and to keep an eye on their pitch count, Stirling said. Children younger than 14 should not throw curve balls, and sliders should not be thrown until a pitcher is 16 or older, he advised.

More information

The Nemours Foundation offers safety tips for young baseball players.

Copyright © 2012 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Invest in Protective Eyewear for Sports

Health Tip: 

Make sure they fit and work properly

SkyVision Centers docs are big into fitness and sports.   They concur with all recommendations regarding eye injury prevention . . . .

(HealthDay News) -- Wearing protective eye gear when playing sports can help prevent serious eye injuries.

Guidelines when selecting protective eyewear:

• Buy your eye guards at an optical store or sports store, and make sure someone familiar with your eyes and the sport you play fits you for the guards.
• Make sure your eyewear comes with the correct lenses, which should be held securely in place.
• Purchase eye guards that offer cushion or padding along the bridge of the nose and eyebrows to avoid cuts or damage to the face.

SkyVision Docs can help you and any family members pick out the right protective eyewear for your best protection.

Copyright © 2012 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Corneal Ulcers: Why Contact Lens Wearers Need Glasses!

What do you think is the biggest risk for really bad infections in contact lens wearers? Give up? The answer is not owning a pair of glasses! That's right, the biggest risk factor for developing a corneal ulcer, as very serious infection, is not having a pair of glasses to wear when your eyes are a little uncomfortable with your contacts, or to give your eyes a break from your contacts.

There are almost 71,000 cases of what eye doctors call ulcerative keratitis each year in the United States. Contact lens wearers are TEN TIMES as likely to get this than non-wearers. There seems to be an increased risk from wearing your contact lenses when you sleep, and wearing contact lenses that you buy from a fashion store is dangerous, too!

Here's a very typical story of how NOT having glasses causes a problem. You have a very high, very strong prescription, and your vision without glasses or contacts is very poor. One of your eyes starts to get red and sore, but you don't have glasses so you just keep wearing your contact lens. Pretty soon...UH OH!...you have a corneal ulcer. Now you CAN'T wear your contacts, but you still don't have a pair of glasses and you're stuck.

Dr. White always says that the first cardinal rule of contact lens wear is to have a back-up pair of glasses, because you never know. Don't let yourself get caught in a bind. Make sure you own a pair of glasses in addition to your contacts!

Treating Astigmatism In Patients With Cataracts

Modern cataract surgery is not your grandfather's surgery! If you have asigmatism we can not only make you see better over-all, but we can also treat your astigmatism. Dr. Darrell White is an expert in using Intra-Ocular Lenses (IOL's) that correct astigmatism.

A cataract is a clouding of the natural lens inside your eye. The lens sits in back of your pupil. As we get older the lens becomes harder, making it harder to focus. This is why we need reading glasses in our 40's. As we get even older (and sometimes in younger people, too), part or all of the crystalline lens becomes cloudy, sometimes yello-brown, too. This makes our vision blurry even with glasses or contact lenses. When that happens the only treatment is to take the cataract out.

If you have astigmatism you can choose to NOT HAVE TO WEAR GLASSES for most (maybe all!) of your far-away vision. You can choose to have Dr. White put in a Toric IOL, an implanted lens to give you clear vision AND correct your astigmatism. Imagine...after a life of glasses and contact lense for astigmatism...after cataract surgery you could choose not to have to wear glasses for lots of your far-away vision!

If you live in the Cleveland area Dr. Darrell White and Skyvision Centers in Westlake are the people and the place for expert treatment of astigmatism when you have cataract surgery!

Daily Disposable Soft Contacts

Dr. Kaye is our contact lens expert in our Westlake, Ohio Skyvision Center. We recently asked him about advances in contact lenses, and about what his recommedations are for new contact lens patients:

"It's amazing how many new things we have in the contact lens world! More and more people can wear soft contact lenses with great vision and really good comfort. One of our major concerns is always safety. The new one-day disposable contact lenses are the safest type of soft lens yet!

Each day you open a new lens for each eye. The lens is fresh, and it comes out of its package sterile. At night you remove the lenses and throw them away. No need to clean them, and since you throw them away at night they never get a chance to wear out.

One of the problems contact lens patients can have is something called a corneal ulcer, an infection in the window of the eye. These are most often associated with poor lens cleaning, wearing the lenses overnight, or continuing to wear a lens past it's time. With daily disposables all of these potential causes for corneal infections are removed!"

If you live in Cleveland and the surrounding towns come visit Dr. Gregory Kaye at Skyvision Centers in Westlake, right across Crocker Road from Crocker Park to get fit with the latest one-day disposable contact lenses from ProClear or Ciba!

What Are Bifocals and How Do They Work?

OK...you're over 40 years old and you can't read things up close. Maybe you have to take your glasses off and you can read. Maybe you need those $3.00 cheapo glasses from the pharmacy, even putting them on over your contact lenses. But you're starting to get cranky because of all the on-and-off with the glasses stuff. What to do? It's time to talk about bifocals.

Bifocals are glasses that have both a correction for your distance vision on the top of the lens, and a correction to help you read on the bottom. The first bifocal was actually invented by Benjamin Franklin. Yup...the same guy who did the whole kite and key thing to discover electricity! Ol' Ben just glued the top half of one lens to the bottom half of another and created what we now call an "Executive" bifocal.

This very simple type of lens has evolved into into more modern bifocal lenses. The most direct descendant of the Franklin lens is the Flat-top bifocal. These lenses have a very large area devoted to your distance vision, with a smallish insert or segment that allows you to focus on objects up close. The working distance, how far away you can hold something and still be in focus, is fixed with this type of bifocal.

What about seeing things a little further away, say a computer screen? And by the way, I think those bifocals where I can see the lines make me look older. Isn't there some kind of newer lens?

Absolutely! The most modern bifocal lenses are called "No-line" or "Progressive" lenses. These lenses have a smooth change in focus from the topo of the lens (distance), through the middle (arm's length), to the bottom of the lens (reading distance). We say that there's a "column of clarity", a sweet spot for each working distance for our vision. This column is usually shaped somewhat like an hourglass.

Our favorite Progressive lenses at Skyvision are Varilux products like the Varilux Comfort or the Varilux Physio. We always try to match the strengths of a particular lens to your special visual needs. Our doctors and opticians are experts on making this match. If you are having trouble with reading come on in and learn all about bifocals!

SkyVision Continues to Grow and We Thank You!

WOW!  What a year!. We've worked very hard for you all, and you've rewarded us by telling your friends and family about your Skyvision Centers experience, and now many of your friends and family are coming to see us for their eyecare needs.  We are obsessed with our goal of giving you not only the very best eyecare but also the very best patient experience you could possibly have. 

We hired a couple of new staff members for our reception and technician staff.

We rolled out a new appointment notification system which has been very happily received by both patients and staff.   If you have not had the opportunity to sign up for the new DemandForce notification system just click here   SkyVision Demand Force  for appointment requests, sign up requests, our latest reviews, etc. 

We moved around our exam rooms again this year to accomodate for additional new pieces of equipment to service for our expanding number of patients .  

Our committment to you and the health of your eyes continues to be as strong as ever. We are always looking for the next, great development for you and your vision!

We look forward to seeing you, your family and friends this coming year.

Skyvision Centers....Vision Redesigned (R)

Detection and Treatment of Refractive Errors

Your eye doctor determines the type and degree of refractive error you have by performing a test called a refraction.

This can be be done with a computerized instrument (automated refraction) or with a mechanical instrument called a phoropter that allows your eye doctor to show you one lens at a time (manual refraction).

Often, an automated refraction will be performed by a member of the doctor's staff, and then the eye care practitioner will refine and verify the results with a manual refraction.

An eye care practitioner performs a manual refraction. Your refraction may reveal that you have more than one type of refractive error. For example, your blurred vision may be due to both nearsighted and astigmatism.

Your eye doctor will use the results of your refraction to determine your eyeglasses prescription. A refraction, however, does not provide sufficient information to write a contact lens prescription, which requires a contact lens fitting.

Eyeglass lenses and contact lenses are fabricated with precise curves to refract light to the degree necessary to compensate for refractive errors and bring light to a sharp focus on the retina.

Vision correction surgeries such as LASIK aim to correct refractive errors by changing the shape of the cornea, so that light rays are bent into a more accurate point of focus.

by Gary Heiting, OD

Vision Tests

Have You Wondered What All The Different Vision Tests Are For?

Vision tests check many different functions of the eye. The tests measure your ability to see details at near and far distances, check for gaps or defects in your field of vision, and evaluate your ability to see different colors.

Visual acuity tests are the most common tests used to evaluate eyesight. They measure the eye's ability to see details at near and far distances. The tests usually involve reading letters or looking at symbols of different sizes on an eye chart. Usually, each eye is tested by itself. And then both eyes may be tested together, with and without corrective lenses (if you wear them). Several types of visual acuity tests may be used.

Refraction is a test that measures the eyes' need for corrective lenses (refractive error). It is usually done after a visual acuity test. Refractive errors, such as nearsightedness or farsightedness, occur when light rays entering the eye can't focus exactly on the nerve layer (retina) at the back of the eye. This causes blurred vision. Refraction is done as a routine part of an eye examination for people who already wear glasses or contact lenses, but it will also be done if the results of the other visual acuity tests show that your eyesight is below normal and can be corrected by glasses.

Visual field tests are used to check for gaps in your side (peripheral) vision. Your complete visual field is the entire area seen when your gaze is fixed in one direction. The complete visual field is seen by both eyes at the same time, and it includes the central visual field-which detects the highest degree of detail-and the peripheral visual fields.

Color vision tests check your ability to distinguish colors. It is used to screen for color blindness in people with suspected retinal or optic nerve disease or who have a family history of color blindness. The color vision test is also used to screen applicants for jobs in fields where color perception is essential, such as law enforcement, the military, or electronics. Color vision tests only detect a problem-further testing is needed to identify what is causing the problem.

More information regarding these different tests to come . . . .

I Have Flashing Lights And I See Bugs!

 One of the most common symptoms patients share with us usually go something like this: "HELP! I'm seeing black things flying around in front of me and no one else can see them." Or "there's lightening in my house!" Flashing lights and dark floaters are things that bring patients in to see us every day.

The most common cause of "Flashes and Floaters" is changes in the vitreous jelly, the jell that fills the center of the eye. The vitreous is very important for the development of the eye until we reach the age of 2. After that it's just there to cause mischief! One of the mischievious things it does is shrink. In the beginning stages of this shrinking the microcsopic protein skeleton that makes the vitreous a jell collapses on itself and you get bits of protein debris...FLOATERS!

In time the vitreous shrinks to the point where it starts to separate from the inside of the eye. When this happens the vitreous tugs on the retina. It doesn't matter what you do to the retina it will give off a sensation of light. So, when the vitreous contracts and puts some pulling on the retina you get a FLASH!

The danger, of course, is that when the vitreous pulls itself off the retina it can take a piece of the retina with it, causing a hole or a tear. That's why it's important to call your Skyvision Centers eye doctor and come in for a visit if you have new FLASHES AND FLOATERS!

What are Styes and Chalazia?

WebMD Medical Reference from Healthwise

What are styes and chalazia?

Styes and chalazia are lumps in or along the edge of an eyelid. They may be painful or annoying, but they are rarely serious. Most will go away on their own without treatment.

A stye is an infection that causes a tender red lump on the eyelid. Most styes occur along the edge of the eyelid. When a stye occurs inside the eyelid, it is called an internal hordeolum (say "hor-dee-OH-lum").

A chalazion (say "kuh-LAY-zee-on") is a lump in the eyelid. Chalazia (plural) may look like styes, but they are usually larger and may not hurt.

Styes and chalazia may be related to blepharitis, a common problem that causes inflammation of the eyelids.

What causes a stye or chalazion?

Styes are caused by a bacterial infection. Usually the bacteria grow in the root (follicle) of an eyelash. An internal hordeolum is caused by infection in one of the tiny oil glands inside the eyelid.

A chalazion forms when an oil gland in the eyelid becomes blocked. If an internal hordeolum doesn't drain and heal, it can turn into a chalazion.

What are the symptoms?

A stye usually starts as a red bump that looks like a pimple along the edge of the eyelid.

As the stye grows, the eyelid becomes swollen and painful, and the eye may water.

Most styes swell for about 3 days before they break open and drain.

Styes usually heal in about a week.

A chalazion starts as a firm lump or cyst under the skin of the eyelid.

Unlike styes, chalazia often don't hurt.

Chalazia grow more slowly than styes. If a chalazion gets large enough, it may affect your vision.

The inflammation and swelling may spread to the area surrounding the eye.

Chalazia often go away in a few months without treatment.

How is a stye or chalazion diagnosed?

The SkyVision doctors can diagnose these problems by closely examining the eyelid. It may be hard to tell the difference between a stye and a chalazion. If there is a hard lump inside the eyelid, the doctor will probably diagnose it as a chalazion.

How are they treated?

Home treatment is all that is needed for most styes and chalazia.

Apply warm, wet compresses for 5 to 10 minutes, 3 to 6 times a day. This usually helps the area heal faster. It may also help open a blocked pore so that it can drain and start to heal.

Use an over-the-counter treatment. Try an ointment, solution, or medicated pads.

Let the stye or chalazion open on its own. Don't squeeze or open it.

Don't wear eye makeup or contact lenses until the area has healed.

If a stye is not getting better with home treatment, talk to one of the SkyVision docs. You may need a prescription for antibiotic eye ointment or eyedrops. You may need to take antibiotic pills if infection has spread to the eyelid or eye.
If a stye or chalazion gets very large, the doctor may need to pierce (lance) it so it can drain and heal. Do not try to lance it yourself.

How can you prevent styes and chalazia?

Don't rub your eyes. This can irritate your eyes and let in bacteria. If you need to touch your eyes, wash your hands first.

Protect your eyes from dust and air pollution when you can. For example, wear safety glasses when you do dusty chores like raking or mowing the lawn.

Replace eye makeup, especially mascara, at least every 6 months. Bacteria can grow in makeup.

If you get styes or chalazia often, wash your eyelids regularly with a little bit of baby shampoo mixed in warm water.

Treat any inflammation or infection of the eyelid promptly.     This information is not intended to replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise disclaims any liability for the decisions you make based on this information.

© 1995-2012 Healthwise, Incorporated. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated.

Bifocals: How Do They Work?

Bifocals   . . . .

Yes, many people wear bifocals yet, even more want to know what exactly a bifocal lens is and how does it work?   There are bifocal lenses with a line, there are bifocal lenses with no line, called progressive lenses.   Watch this video by Dr. Darrell White at the SkyVision Centers Dr. Whiteboard for the answers!


Dr. Whiteboard Video onYouTube - Bifocals

Omega 3 Fatty Acids

Are you getting yours? Omega-3 fatty acids, that is. It turns out that almost everyone doesn't get enough of these essential fatty acids in their diet.

Omega-3 fatty acids can be obtained most easily through dietary supplements. Fish oil capsule and Flax Seed oil capsules are probably the most accessible options. Omega-3 fatty acids can help to prevent heart disease and stroke, especially in men. They have been shown to decrease joint and muscle pain in people who suffer from diseases like Fibromyalgia.

In the eye world Omega-3 fatty acids are important in the care of Dry Eye of all kinds, especially EVAPORATIVE Dry Eye caused by problems with the glands in your eyelids that produce the oil in your tears. Also, there is lots of research that suggests that increasing the amount of Omega-3 fatty acids you take in can reduce the severity of Macular Degeneration. Taking Fish Oil, Flax Seed Oil, or a specialty formulation like Doctor's Advantage products can do the trick!

Does it matter what kind you take? What brand or what form of Omega-3 fatty acids you use? Of course it does! Purity of the Omega-3 sources is important, and some forms simply work better than others. The Skyvision Centers doctors have done their homework and we offer the Doctor's Advantage forms of nutritional supplements right here in the office.  You can also opt to have your Omega-3's delivered right to your home!

There are some healthy things that are pretty easy, like making sure you are getting Omega-3 fatty acids every day!

Glaucoma 101

Glaucoma is one of the "silent blindness" disease of older folks all over the world. Most glaucoma has no symptoms at all, no warning that there is a problem. The only way to know that you have glaucoma is to have a complete eye examination performed by an eye doctor. Even then addtional testing might be necessary.

Glaucoma is damage to the optic nerve, the nerve that carries "light" from the eye to the brain. It usually comes with high eye pressure, but not always. There are lots of people who have glaucoma who have eye pressure that seems normal, and there are even more people who have high pressure who will never get glaucoma. The "normal" pressure in the eye is 11-21. Most people who get glaucoma are older, usually older than 60.

There are several ways to measure pressure in the eye. The two most common methods are Non-Contact Tonometry--the air puff-- and Contact Tonometry--the blue light. The "blue light" technique is much more accurate and is necessary to treat glaucoma. The "air puff" is a great screening test for glaucoma because it's easy to do, and easy to have done.

There's lots to talk about with Glaucoma so we'll try to teach you as much as we can here on the Skyvision Blog. All of our Doctors, Dr. White, Dr. Kaye, and Dr. Schlegel have lots of experience in treating people with glaucoma here in Cleveland. Stay tuned!

High Tech Dry Eye Care

Dry Eye Syndrome is the cause of more visits to the eye doctor than anything except routine vision exams. People with dry eye may have symptoms like burning, redness and blurring, to feeling like there’s something in their eye. They can even have tearing caused by dryness! Dry Eye Syndrome is so common that it is the most frequently searched eye problem on the Internet—10 times more common than LASIK!

Tear Osmolarity is the measurement of the saltiness of your tears. This test is an important measurement of the health of your tears and your eye lubrication. Tears are a complex combination of salt water, mucin, and special oil called mebum. All three of these elements are mixed, kind of like Italian salad dressing, and they form the tears that coat the surface of our eyes every minute of every day.

The measurement of your tear osmolarity is a rather new test. It's fully FDA approved. When your tear saltiness is high this is an indication that your tears are not normal. At Skyvision Centers we use the most modern instrument available, made by the TearLab Corporation, to do your test.

Why is this an important measurement? The most common cause of Dry Eye is a problem in the production of the saltwater part of your tears. This will give you a HIGH Tear Osmolarity. You can learn more about Dry Eye and Tear Osmolarity at Skyvision Centers, Northeast Ohio’s leading Dry Eye Center.