Caring For Your Eyes
Cataracts & Glaucoma
What is a cataract?
Some 66% of all people over the age of 60 commonly get cataracts. Cataracts are the leading cause of blindness in the world and occur when the eye’s lens becomes hardened and opaque. Cataracts cause vision to become blurred, and distort the perception of light in the eye causing visual disturbances such as glare and halos. Most cataracts develop slowly over the years. Common symptoms include:
· Difficulty reading.
· Difficulty with glare.
· Difficulty with driving, especially at night.
Blurred and dimmed vision.
If you have a symptomatic cataract, the Visalia Eye Center will be glad to discuss optical and surgical options with you. Most people decide to have cataracts removed because they interfere with their daily life and work. Modern day cataract treatment includes placing an artificial lens in the eye to enable the eye to focus and thereby reducing the need for glasses.
EXCITING NEW CATARACT TECHNOLOGY AVAILABLE
The ReZoom™ Multifocal Lens treats not only cataracts, but it also turns back the clock to bring back much of a person's ability to see both up close and at a distance. For many, this new technology can mean independence from glasses and contact lenses.
REZOOM MULTIFOCAL INTRAOCULAR LENS
Unlike other earlier multifocal lens designs, the ReZoom™ Multifocal Lens was created to provide for good vision in a range of light conditions. For instance, some lens focal zones have been designed to provide greater distance vision function in low light conditions, such as night driving.
If you are diagnosed with cataracts and are experiencing one or more of the following issues, and would like to be free of glasses for most visual activities you may be a candidate for the ReZoom™ Multifocal lens:
• Difficulty reading • Changing glasses prescriptions
• Difficulty seeing close objects • Needing bifocals
• Difficulty seeing to drive, especially at night
TREATING A CATARACT
Because there is presently no medical treatment for cataract (the browning and clouding of your natural lens), surgical removal of the cataract is necessary to improve vision functions. At the time of surgery, after the cataract is removed, a tiny, artificial lens is inserted into the eye to restore vision. This man-made lens is called an “intraocular lens”, or “IOL”.
Now with the availability of the ReZoom IOL, there is a choice as to the lens replacement used. Traditional replacement lenses are of high quality, but only have one focal point, that is, for distance viewing. With the new ReZoom multifocal lens, eyes can now see both far away and up close, minimizing or eliminating the need for glasses.
THE PROCEDURE
Cataract removal is generally performed as an outpatient procedure under local or topical anesthesia. Intravenous sedation is provided to allow for a calm, pain-free procedure. With the cataract removal process lasting only about 20 minutes, the entire procedure from arriving at the operating facility to returning home, usually takes only a couple of hours.
GLAUCOMA
What is glaucoma?
The optic nerve of the eye carries images to the brain. Glaucoma is a condition in which the optic nerve becomes damaged. Glaucoma damages nerve fibers, causing blind spots to develop. Damage to the optic nerve is permanent and can lead to vision loss. Most people who have glaucoma do not notice any symptoms early on in the disease. Most people notice no symptoms until late in the disease when vision become impared.
How is Glaucoma detected?
Regular eye examinations by your ophthalmologist are the best way to detect glaucoma.
To be safe and accurate, the Visalia Eye Center uses seven factors to check before making a glaucoma diagnosis.
· Family history of glaucoma.
· The eye pressure (intraocular pressure or IOP).
· The shape and color of the optic nerve with stereoscopic visualization using a microscope and special lens.
· The angle in the eye where the iris meets the cornea.
· Corneal thickness
· The field of vision, evaluated with a standardized, computerized device.
· Nerve fiber layer and optic nerve analysis with an optic nerve analyzer (optical coherence tomography).
How is Glaucoma treated?
Treatment for glaucoma may include medication, laser treatment and/or surgery to prevent or slow further damage to your eye from happening. Because glaucoma can worsen over time without your being aware of it, it is important for you to follow up with your doctor as recomended.
Continual observation and treatment can control the intraocular pressure, which protects the nerve and prevents further vision loss.
Please call us at 800-433-4563 for more information. ■