Attack of the Killer Ragweed!

You can't say we didn't warn you! It's BAAAACCCKKKK!! Ragweed season is here and it's here in a big way. We've had all kinds of folks in the office already with red, itchy eyes to go with their sneezing and wheezing and runny noses.

So what to do? The best thing, of course, is to call Skvysion Centers and come in for a visit. All three of our doctors, Dr. Darrell White, Dr. Scott Schlegel, and Dr. Greg Kaye are experts in the treament of eye allergies, especially environmental allergies like Ragweed. A visit can help us determine if you need a prescription anti-histamine eye drop, a stronger steroid drop, or if you can get by with just an Over-the-Counter drop.

The two prescription drops that work the best in our opinion are ELESTAT and PAT-A-DAY, both advanced generation, multi-action anti-histamine drops. Many people find that the OTC drop ALOWAY very effective in treating itching as a symptom, even though it doesn't necessarily affect the underlying cause of the itch. We like them all!

Got red, itchy, teary eyes? Call us for an appointment!

What Is An Implant?

We're thinking a lot about cataract surgery at Skyvision Centers recently. Cataract surgery is a very gentle experience. We do it as an outpatient procedure--you come in, get it done, and go home on the same day! You're awake for the surgery. We do it under local anesthesia because it's safer for you and better for our surgeon, Dr. White. Our anesthesia assistants will give you something through your veins to relax you, and the special drops we use numb up your eye.

The surgery itself typically takes less than 10 minutes if Dr. White is the surgeon! We remove the cataract, replace it with a clear plastic implant, and then you go home.

Wait...IMPLANT? What's an implant? Well, glad you asked! An implant is a tiny lens called an "Intraocular Lens" or IOL that is place inside the eye, usually behind your pupil, and it take the place of the cataract lens that was removed. When we discuss your cataract surgery in the office a part of the discussion is about the lens implant or IOL you will receive as part of the cataract surgery experience. Here's an Eyemaginations LINK about cataract surgery and implants.

The two basic types of cataract implants or IOL's are "Traditional" and "Lifestyle". Let's talk about Traditional implants today. A traditional implant is like the top part of your glasses, it will focus at a single distance and it will take care of much of your nearsightedness or farsightedness. Since the IOL is clear it will dramatically improve your vision, and wait until you see how bright and vibrant colors will be! Most people will wear glasses after cataract surgery using a Traditional IOL, especially for reading but also often for things like driving as well.

Cataract surgery is one of the most important and exciting medical developments EVER! If your vision is blurry from cataracts be sure to talk to us at Skyvision Centers where we use the most advanced IOL's available!

When Should I Have My Cataract Removed?

Dr. White has been know to say that everyone who lives long enough will get a cataract. Indeed, everyone who lives long enough will need cataract surgery, and the only shame of NOT having cataract surgery is that you didn't LIVE long enough! If that's the case, when is the right time to have a cataract removed?

Cataract surgery has changed dramatically over the last several decades. The very idea of when to have your cataract removed is now radically different. Remember hearing from your parents or your grandparents that someone had to wait until their cataract was "ripe" enough? In the past cataract surgery was so dicey that doctors made people wait until they were essentially blind befor agreeing to do surgery. That's not the case today.

Cataracts cause your vision to change, to become more blurry, darker, or fuzzier. Sometimes your glasses prescription starts to change frequently. You might even find yourself taking your glasses OFF to read, sometimes called "second sight". Colors may start to look strange or different. When these vision changes start to affect your daily life it's time to start to think about cataract surgery.

Different people have different problems from their cataracts. Some folks find it harder to drive, especially at night. Reading can become more difficult, and the smaller or lighter the printing the harder it gets! We often hear that our patients use the small print at the bottom of the TV screen, or the box scores on baseball or football telecasts. The most important symptom or problem is the one that's most important to YOU!

If you are older than 55 and your vision is getting blurry, or someone has told you that you might have a cataract, come on in to Skyvision Centers and let us take a look! 

What is a Cataract?

We do lots and lots of cataract surgery at Skyvision Centers. In fact, Dr. White is one of the most famous cataract surgeons in Cleveland. But just what is a cataract, anyway? What does it do to your vision?

A cataract is a clouding of the natural lens that sits in back of our pupil, inside the eye. Although some folks get cataracts from medicines or other diseases, cataract growth is usually an aging change that occurs over time. Dr. White like to say that EVERYONE who lives long enough will get a cataract; the shame of NOT getting a cataract is that you didn't live long enough!

A cataract gradually causes your vision to become blurry. It usually happens pretty slowly, sneaking up on you. There are no medical treatments for a cataract. Once your cataract starts to cause enough trouble that glasses won't fix the only solution is surgery. Take a look at this Eyemaginations LINK for a couple of videos on cataracts and cataract surgery. We'll bring you lots of information on your cataract surgery options right here!

Don't forget to visit our website for more information on cataracts.

Here Comes the Ragweed!

Oh oh! You heard that right...HERE COMES THE RAGWEED!! It's almost that time of year again, that time when the ragweed pollen gets released here in Cleveland and all of our allergies explode. Runny noses, itchy noses, red and itchy eyes, they're all right around the corner.

Here's how it works: the pollen is something called an ANTIGEN, a substance that turns our immune system to the "on" position. The pollen activates cells in our body that have histamine in them, and this activation causes those cells to release the histamine into our blood stream. It's the histamine that causes all of our symptoms.

So what do we do? Well, as far as your eyes are concerned we have two really good prescription eye drops that work very well. PAT-A-DAY is a one time per day eyedrop that works very well, especially if you don't have any dry eye problems. The other option is ELESTAT, a two time a day drop that works well even if you do have dry eye. We like both of them at Skyvision.

So if you have annual allergies from ragweed now is the time to come in for a visit. Don't let that pollen getcha this year!

I Have Flashing Lights, and Now a BIG Floater

We hear this kind of story several times every day at Skyvsion. Bright flashing lights somewhere in the side of your vision that last for minutes to hours...sometimes like lightening bolts and sometimes just like a shower of stars. I time a great big floaty thing appears. It can be any shape but it often seems like a spider web that drifts in and out of view. You've had a posterior vitreal detachment!

A what?! What kind of detachment?

Remember the blog post about floaters? The vitreous jelly shrinks as we get older, and sometimes it actually shrinks to the point that it separates from the back of the eye. The back of the jelly, the part that was attached to the back of the eye, is now free floating, and it becomes dense and thick. Your big floater!

When the vitreous jelly pulls off it tugs on the retina putting traction or pull on the inner retina (the film on the inside of your eye). Now, the retina can only respond to ANY kind of stimulation in just one way. Bite it, scrratch it, tickle it, pull on it, or shine light on it, the retina will give off a sensation as if it has seen light. So when the vitreous jelly contracts and pulls off you get flashing lights!

The danger of a vitreal detatchment isn't so much the flashes or even the big floater; all of that will seem like it goes away in time. The REAL danger is that when it comes off it can take a piece of the retina with it causing a hole or a tear, and that can lead to a retinal detachment. Go HERE to see an eyemaginations video on vitreous detachments, and we'll talk some about retinal detachments another time.

When Should I Use My Tear Drops?

There are many degrees of Dry Eye so there are many answers to this question! For some people it's perfectly OK to just use an artificial tear when there is a little bit of discomfort. Feel a little dry? A tiny bit of scratchiness? Go ahead and put a drop in.

Other people have Dry Eye symptoms all the time. The doctors at Skyvision like to tell these folks that they should use their tears just like they were a prescription medicine. 2, 3, sometimes 4-6 times a day on a schedule is sometimes what it takes to be comfortable with your Dry Eye.

It turns out that it is usually easier to prevent the Dry Eye symptoms from starting than it is to stop them once they start! In other words, the time to take your eye drops is when you DON'T have any symptoms. If you wait until your eyes feel badly it's already too late.

Think of an image of a well with a bucket that hangs down into the water. If the well slowly drains all day long pretty soon the rope won't be long enough to reach the water. In order for the bucket to get to the water you first have to FILL UP THE WELL! Same thing with dry eye; if you don't keep the well full all day you won't get the benefit of the tears until you fill the well (your eye) back up!

Ask Dr. White, Dr. Schlegel, or Dr. Kaye what kind of artificial tear is best for you, and how much to use them.