Check Yourself For Dry Eye Syndrome Symptoms

Eye Doctors Dry Eye Secret Treatment

Dry eyes can be a very debilitating condition. It is very common in low humidity climates like the Fort Collins area, and it can interfere with contact lens wear and comfort. It can also be a severe problem after LASIK corrective eye surgery. Optometrists have a number of different options to treat dry eye syndrome  and contact lens intolerance today, and TheraTears non preserved artificial tears have proven very useful to eye doctors. TheraTears has some unique properties that can actually help restore the eye tissues instead of just treating the symptoms of burning eyes, gritty eyes, and general discomfort.

The tear film covering the front of the eye has been the subject of extensive study by eye doctors over the last decade. It is composed of a water component, a mucous component, and a lipid component. Every time you blink, your eyes experience a resurfacing of the tear film. When things go right, the new film has adequate water and retains its integrity until your normal blink reflex recurs. When things go wrong comfort and cells that produce the tear components are compromised.

The water component of tears has a normal value for osmolarity which is related to how much the salt concentration is in your tears. When the water levels decrease, the same amount of salt is present so the relative percentage of salt in the tears increases. This draws more water out of the corneal tissue on the front of the eye and can damage the surface cells known as the epithelium layer. The high osmolarity levels also decrease the amount of goblet cells. These are the cells that produce the mucous component of the tear film that makes the tear layer slide out across the eye surface. There are electrolytes like sodium and chloride in the tear film that are essential to keep the osmolarity in a normal range and also help the proteins like lactoferrin dissolve in the tears. Lactoferrin is a protein that fights against bacterial and fungal eye infections. It also serves to reduce eye inflammation. Because the cornea tissue on the front of the eye has no direct blood supply, a healthy tear function is vital to maintain good eye health and vision. Even from this brief view of the tear film, you can see how important it is to your optometrist that this complex system is functioning normally.

So now one of the best kept secrets of eye doctors in treating dry eye disorders and contact lens discomfort-TheraTears

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And there is a little known way of using TheraTears to achieve the correct effects called saturation dosing. Saturation dosing involves taking one vial of TheraTears and emptying it into the eyes over a five minute period for times a day for at least a few weeks. It helps restore the salt content levels back to normal and allows goblet cells to regenerate. It is specially formulated to stay on the eye for about 30 minutes. The electrolyte content is similar to what a normal eye would be so it helps readjust this also. After a few weeks your optometrist can decide when you can discontinue the saturation dosing and start a single drop several times per day. Often the tear film regains a significant amount of its integrity and the burning, dry eye discomfort stops. Sometimes the simple things work best.

There is a new epidemic that is running rampant across the United States. Fortunately it is not contagious and not life threatening like the Swine Flu, but there is a tremendous cost in terms of loss of quality of life and vision. This epidemic is often referred to as Dry Eye Syndrome and effects millions of people with symptoms ranging from mild, vague discomfort to completely disabling pain and chronic blurred eyesight.The Dry Rye Epidemic has multiple causes.

• Time spent by adults on computers and youth on video games dramatically lowers the normal blink rate and causes the eyes to dry out faster than normal.
• Historically, before mass consumption of processed foods, for every unit of omega-3 fat we consumed in our diet we ate 1 to 4 units of omega 6. Today that ratio has shifted to 20-30 times more omega 6 fats in our diets than omega-3. This has caused an outbreak of disease of the eyelid margins and resultant poor tear film quality.
• As the population has aged there has been an increase due to normal, age related decreases in tear production.
• The large increase in prescription medication use has resulted in numerous drugs being used that contribute to dry eyes. Medications for blood pressure, depression, allergies, pain, and many other conditions can have drying effects.
• Millions of women treated with hormonal replacement therapy in the past may have increased the dry eye epidemic.
• With the shift to industrialized society, working indoors the patterns of airflow and humidity have been altered and effect the incidence of dry eyes.
• The long term shift away from water consumption towards caffeinated beverages and colas aggravates dry eyes in some individuals.
• Even the increase in obesity leads to low grade inflammation in the body which can decrease tear production.
• Many eyedrops, prescription and over the counter, can  cause or aggravate dry eyes to the point that some patients discontinue their treatment and suffer sight loss.
• Perhaps the worse culprit in the dry eye epidemic is LASIK eye surgery. The nerves that drive the eyes to blink are cut by the surgery and dryness is a frequent complaint after surgery. The dryness sometimes persists and requires long term treatment.

Fortunately we have many options today, including prescription eye  medications, new contact lens materials, glaucoma  eye drops designed for dry eyes, nutritional supplements, and even  micro-plugs implants for the tear ducts to help increase the basal level of moisture. If you feel you have symptoms of dry eyes please call and request an appointment for a dry eye evaluation. Your vision insurance service plan may provide coverage for dry eye treatment.

Symptoms could be any of the following:

1. Burning or stinging if the eyes
2. Eyes that intermittently water excessivley
3. Eye that feel griity at times
4. Vision that blurs up for brief periods of time
5. Pink or red eyes
6. Vision discomfort that gets worse as the day progresses
7. Developing intolerance to contact lenses
8. An increase in the normal level of itchy eye allergies
9. Frequent styes and eye infections

CALL: 970-226-0959

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Vistakon is releasing a new contact lens called ACUVUE® OASYS^TMfor PRESBYOPIA under the Acuvue Brand. The original Acuvue Bifocal contact lens was made from a material called Etafilcon. It worked by the wonder trademark called Pupil Intelligent Design^TM. The Acuvue Oasys Bifocal is designed on STEREO PRECISION TECHNOLOGY^TM and HYDRACLEAR® PLUS technology.

Hydraclear^TM is a substance incorporated throughout the lens to help it remain moist. Other silicone hydrogel lenses use plasma surface treatments to help overcome the wetting problems that accompany silicone materials. Supposedly, the effect is similar in providing a wettable surface on the lenses.

It is not very clear what STEREO PRECISION TECHNOLOGY^TMmeans. According to VISTAKON® the addition of an aspheric curve on the back of the lens helps eliminate the problems with ghosting. Aspheric curves flatten out as you move away from the edge similar to the shape of the eye. Aspheric lenses can improve vision by more closely resembling the corrective shape the eye needs, but it is not clear how the asphericity has an impact on ghosting. Only time will tell if this is an optical enhancing improvement.The change to the senofilcon A material will be a dramatic improvement in the oxygen permeability,comfort, and eye health the lens delivers. This is a welcome addition to the growing options we have for correcting presbyopia with contact lenses today.
The real innovation the original Avuvue Bifocal Lens contributed was a soft bifocal contact lens in a disposable format at a reasonable price. The secondary advantage was a large range of near prescription powers that could be individually adjusted, a new concept at the time. The lens design has 5 concentric rings of alternating distance and near zones. Theoretically, even if the lens does not center perfectly on the eye there are always sections of distance and near zones of the lens in your line of sight. Of course the disadvantage is there are always sections of distance and near zones of the lens in your line of sight that are responsible for ghost images. Given time, some people will adapt very well to this but in my experience that equates to about 20% of the people who try this design. The new ACUVUE® OASYS^TMfor PRESBYOPIA uses the same concentric ring approach with the added back aspheric surface.

The Acuvue Oasys Bifocal^TMis being produced in the same Senofilcon-A material that has been used in the Acuvue Oasys Lens. This is a silicone hydrogel contact lens that works exceedingly well for about 25% of the patients I see. For the remaining 75% it is OK, just not the dramatic comfort improvement seen in certain individuals. The downside of the material is it tends to develop lens coatings in 10-14 days, sometimes a little shorter than the recommended 2 week replacement cycle.

Overall, this is another addition to help those of us with arms too short that want to continue enjoying the benefits of contact lenses

Welcome to Dr Kisling-Fort Collins Eye Doctors Choice Website. Our vision is to be the premier resource for answers about your eye symptoms and eye problems. You can use the search box to find answers to questions about your eyes. You will find articles on contact lenses, dry eyes, glaucoma, eye nutrition pinkeye ad other eye diseases.

There is also information about eye examinations, eyeglasses, prescription eye glasses for different conditions;nearsightedness,farsightedness, astigmatism, and presbyopia.

We carry a unique selection of eyeglasses for women, men and children with the latest lens technologies including glare free anti-reflection coatings, no line progressive 5th generation eye glass lens designs, transition sunglasses tints, thin and light hi-index prescription lenses.

We also try to make your vision insurance processing as simple as possible. We welcome most insurance including Vision Service Plan (VSP).

If there is a topic you would like more information on please feel free to leave a request in the comment box. Thank you for visiting our website and we hope we can become your partner in preventative eyecare for a lifetime of healthy eyesight!

As we age so do our eyes so it is important to take precautions to avoid certain eye problems. A common eye problem that accompanies aging is  macular degeneration. This eye problem is caused by deterioration of the retinal tissues lining the back of the eye. This is a chronic eye disease with a multitude of evolving forms of treatment. It can give a person blurry vision and blind spots, and involves the central area of vision only. Unfortunately, this small area called the macula is vital for all detailed vision functions including reading. Since most of the retina remains healthy magnification aids can often be used to extend reading images onto the remaining healthy tissue. There are two different kinds of macular degeneration, the dry form and the wet form. The dry form of macular degeneration is less sight threatening and precedes development of wet macular degeneration.

Once macular degeneration transforms into the wet variety it can progress rapidly and cause serious vision complications. This can give you visual distortions such as seeing straight lines being crooked or wavy in appearance. You may notice objects looking very small or being farther away then they really are. You may notice loss of your central vision with blurry spots.

Evidence for nutritional intervention in preventing and treating macular degeneration continues to grow. Low dietary intake of the carotenids lutein and zeaxanthin are associated with an increased risk of age-related macular degeneration and may retard the development and progression of macular degeneration. Lutein and zeaxanthin have high levels   in Broccoli, corn, squash,peas,  and  green leafy vegetables like spinach and kale. Foods with a high glycemic index (sugar rich simple carbohydrate foods that raise blood sugar rapidly) also increase the risk of macular degeneration -eating oatmeal may be good for more than just your heart. Vitamin deficiencies of E,D,and C seem to increase the risk of macular degeneration but vitamin A, especially in smokers may increase your risk for macular degeneration. Omega-3 fatty acids found in cold water fish contain docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and may act in a preventative manner for macular degeneration.Coenzyme Q10 and acetyl-L-carnitine supplementation is a potential early intervention. UV and blue light increase risk for macular degeneration so sunwear should start early for children.

If you have dry macular degeneration you may notice blurriness in the words that you read, less color in certain objects and have a harder time recognizing peoples faces. Your vision may start to seem hazy and you will have the need for brighter light. With both kinds of macular degeneration, it may only effect one of the eyes. Sometimes people don’t realize that they have it with the eye that does not have it making up for the eye that is effected.

Another problem with your eyes as you age is cataracts. Cataracts cloud the eye and are a common type of eye problem. There are three basic types of cataracts that you should be aware of which are nuclear sclerosis, cortical and sub-capsular. The nuclear sclerosis cataract forms throughout the lens as a gradual darkening and discoloration. A sub-capsular cataract is at the back of the lens close to the line of sight and may cause vision loss much faster than other types of cataracts. Cortical cataracts start in the cortex of the lens. If you have a cataract you should not be overly concerned, they can be successfully removed by having outpatient surgery and are one of the most successful surgical procedures done today. Artificial lenses are implanted, often with no stitches involved in an outpatient procedure.

Another eye problem you may encounter as you grow older is called dry eye syndrome. As we age, we do not produce as many tears as before. It is known to cause discomfort and pain and can result in serious vision loss in more extreme cases. Treatment is available with a multitude of options. You do not have to suffer from the chronic burning and stinging that accompanies dry eyes. If should have your eyes dilated every one to two years by your optometrist to check for these eye problems and other diseases that can compromise your vision irreversibly. Prevention is the best gift you can give your family and yourself.

David H. Kisling, O.D., A.B.D.A.
Fort Collins Eye Doctors

Fort Collins Contact Lens

Vision Service Plan Provider