When you include all types of Diabetes, 8.3% of the population of the United States is affected. When you add in the classification of Pre-Diabetes, then the percentage goes up to 25% of the population of the United States. Diabetes can affect many parts of the eye. The three most common that we will talk about are Retinopathy, Glaucoma and Cataract. Diabetic Retinopathy is a leading cause of blindness in American adults. It is caused by changes in the blood vessels in the back of the eye. Leakage from the blood vessels, as well as abnormal new blood vessel growth, results in loss of vision and/or blindness. The longer one has Diabetes, the more likely he/she will get Diabetic Retinopathy, and nearly half of the people with Diabetes will develop some degree of Diabetic Retinopathy during their lifetime. In the early stages of the disease, there are frequently no symptoms and the vision may not change until the disease becomes very severe. Because there is no pain and the vision Continue Reading

As you may have noticed at this time of year your eyes may be feeling dry and irritated and maybe even a bit blurry, you don’t have to put up with it. Dry Eye Syndrome, DES, is the most common eye disorder affecting about 20% of the population. The root cause is deficient production of tears from the lacrimal (tear) glands which do not produce enough or a high enough quality of tear. It may also be caused by your tear ducts being too effective in draining the tears from your eyes. There are 2 types of tears, lubricating and reflex. Lubricating tears, as the name implies, provide the lubrication and moisturizing your eye needs on a constant basis. Reflex tears are produced in response to irritation or injury and are used to flush the eye. A lack of lubricating tears can trigger the production of reflex tears thus making constant teary weeping eyes a symptom of DES. Factors that contribute to DES include age, contact lens wear, environmental factors, eye usage, and side effects Continue Reading

What is glaucoma? Glaucoma is a disease of the optic nerve – the part of the eye that carries the images we see to the brain. The optic nerve is made up of many nerve fibers, approximately 1,000,000, like an electric cable containing numerous wires. When damage to the optic nerve fibers occurs, blind spots develop. These blind spots usually go undetected until the optic nerve is significantly damaged. If the entire nerve is destroyed, blindness results. Early detection and treatment by your ophthalmologist, an eye M.D., are the keys to preventing optic nerve damage and blindness from glaucoma. Glaucoma is a leading cause of blindness in the United States, especially for older people. But loss of sight from glaucoma can often be prevented with early treatment. What causes glaucoma? Clear liquid called aqueous humor circulates inside the front portion of the eye. To maintain a healthy level of pressure within the eye, a small amount of this fluid is produced constantly while an equal Continue Reading

A cataract is a clouding of the eye’s lens that can cause visions problems. The most common type is related to aging. More than half of all Americans age 65 and older have a cataract. In the early stages, stronger lighting and eyeglasses may lessen vision problems caused by cataracts. At a certain point, however, surgery may be needed to improve your vision. Today, cataract surgery is safe and very effective.   What is the lens? The lens is the part of the eye that helps focus light on the retina. The retina is the eye’s light sensitive layer that sends visual signals to the brain. In a normal eye, light passes through the lens and gets focused on the retina. To help produce a sharp image, the lens must remain clear. What is a cataract? The lens is made mostly of water and protein. The protein is arranged to let light pass through and focus on the retina. Sometimes some of the protein clumps together. This can start to cloud small areas of the lens, blocking some light Continue Reading

What is macular degeneration? Age related macular degeneration is a condition of the eye that is often related to aging and is commonly referred to age related macular degeneration, abbreviated as AMD. In AMD, the macula of the eye is affected. The macula is located at the center of the retina, alight-sensitive tissue which lines the back of the eye. The retina receives images of external objects then sends them as impulses to the brain. The macula provides us with central vision and allows us to see fine detail, such as recognizing a face, reading or watching television. When the macula becomes damaged, extreme and dramatic vision loss can occur. Age related macular degeneration is the most frequent cause of vision loss among people 50 years and older in the United States. Many older people are unaware that they have AMD and may not notice that their vision is deteriorating, particularly if only one eye is affected. Other people may fail to report vision loss because they Continue Reading

Dr. Ramsay is an ophthalmologist, an “Eye MD”.  He is a medical doctor who specializes in the eye.  He writes three different types of prescriptions and each has its purpose and limitations. Contact lens prescriptions are for the use of contacts, which are viewed as a medical device that is worn on the eye.  As such, a contact lens wearer must be seen every year to ensure the health of your eye.  Dr. Ramsay follows best practices and writes his contact lens prescriptions to be valid for 1 year. An ill fitting contact can damage your eye, over wear can cause problems for your cornea, so to be able to purchase contacts, your prescription must be less than a year old and you must be seen every year.  It’s for your eye’s safety. Glasses prescriptions are also written to be valid for a year.  The reason being, the power of your eyes can change, sometimes greatly in that time frame.  Some people may have a very stable prescription for years while others may not.  Because of that Dr. Continue Reading

There are many different kinds of lenses from single vision, to bifocal, to “workstation” to progressives (the no-line bifocal). We stock a wide range of powers in single vision lenses in both polycarbonate and hi-index. Polycarbonate lenses are made of an incredibly impact resistant material that is thin and light, scratch resistant and filters 100% UV A and B. We stock the Optima Resolution lens which is an atoric design to give you the best optics. Our hi-index lenses, made by Seiko/Pentax, are even thinner than polycarbonate and also filter 100% UV A and B. Our hi-index lenses have an anti-reflective coat and are aspheric for better vision. Anti-reflective coated lenses give you a much cleaner view of the world by reducing the ghost and halos images off your lenses. This is the same coating that all quality binoculars and camera lenses use. The cleaner the image entering your eye the better your vision will be. If you need bifocals because you suffer from “short Continue Reading

With Spring having arrived in the valley this year, much earlier than last, and yard work commencing its time to think about eye safety. When most people think of safety eyewear they think of work and not home but around 40% of eye injuries do occur around the house. Just give some thought to the things you do around the house that can cause injuries. Yard work is a major source of injuries. You have rocks, twigs, grass and any number of other things that come flying out from under the lawnmower. A weed eater is a definite source of flying debris, including my favorite…garter snakes. Trimming trees not only do you have the branches and leaves but you have the sawdust and bugs as well. Trimming bushes and simple gardening have the potential for injuries to the eyes. Home maintenance is also a source of eye injuries. Hammered nails can break and strike the eye, again sawdust or splinters from sawing and something most people don’t think about is trimming a wire, when clipped it Continue Reading

Now you have a prescription... what’s it mean? You just finished your eye exam and the doctor said you need glasses, so you get this piece of paper covered in numbers, what do they mean? Those numbers tell the optician if you are myopic, near sighted meaning you can see up close but not far away. Hyperopic, far sighted meaning you need help up close, presbyopic, also known as old age/short arm disease, or have astigmatism, which messes your vision across all distances. Or if your unlucky possibly some combination of all the above. The standard way a prescription is written, the right eye is on top and the left eye is on the bottom. They can be denoted by either an “R” or “OD” for the right eye or “L” or “OS” for the left eye. The first column will either be labeled “Sphere” or “Sph”. If the number has a “+” sign in front of it or nothing that means you have hyperopia, and your lens will magnify things. A “-“ sign means you have myopia and your lens will shrink Continue Reading