Monday, November 10, 2008

The Eyes Have It

The eye is made up of so many parts. Like a camera, what we see from the outside is only a simple picture to what lies beneath. The overall function and design of the eye is much more than just a white ping-pong sized ball with a colourful space and a little black dot. Your eye is the window to the world. It takes thousands of 'calculations' so to speak. What you see is only a small part of the overall picture. The following is a summary of each part and its function.


Part Description Function

Eye socket Hollow space/opening Holds and Supports the function of the eyeball itself

Eyelid Skin over eyeball This skin through muscular automatic and voluntarily movements. It acts in this capacity to help keep the eyeball moist and to keep it clean and free from debris.

Eyelashes Tiny hairs framing at the end of the eyelid. The lashes although decorative are there for much more than holding mascara. Lashes work to catch dirt and minimized it's entrance to the eyeball.

Eyeball Ping-pong sized white part of the eye. The white part of the eye is made up of a tough material called sclera. It covers a huge part of the outer covering for the eye. The eye has noticeable tiny pink threads, (Blood Vessels) which deliver blood to the sclera.

Cornea Clear/Transparent dome. This dome sits in front of the coloured part of the eye. It help the eye focus as light passes through.

The Iris The Coloured Part. Controls how much light goes through the pupil

The Pupil The Little Black Dot Set in the center of the eye, the pupil is actually an opening into the inner parts, the size of this black dot is dependent on the amount of lights it's exposed to.
When the dot is smaller, it's due to brighter light, thereby minimizing the amount of light that enters. When it's larger, this is due to a darker area, in opening, it allows more light in, so you can see a little better in the dark.

Anterior Chamber Not visible. The space between the cornea and the iris. The transparent fluid is there to nourish they eye.

Retina Not visible. Processes what the eye sees. It receives the signals or information which is sent to the brain for understanding.
Your retina is at the far back part of the eye that takes the light the eye receives and changes it into nerve signals so the brain can understand what the eye is seeing.
It uses cells called rods and cones to process light. In all there are about 120 million rods and 7 million cones per eye.

Lens Not visible. Like a camera, the lens processes and captures the image. It is held by fibers which are attached to muscles called ciliary muscles. It actually changes the size and shape of the lens.

Vitreous Body Not visible. This sits behind the lens, and forms two thirds of the eye's volume and gives the eye its shape. It's filled with a clear, jelly-like material called the vitreous humor.
Rods Not visible Works the processing of black, white, and shades of gray.

Cones Not visible. Work to process colour. They only see colours. They are most sensitive to one of three colours; red, green, or blue. Together they are able to differ what they see to form millions of other colours. Those without functioning cones experience colour blindness.

Optic Nerve Not visible. Acts as the messenger in the back part of your eye. It carries the information it sees to the brain for understanding.

Lachrymal Glands Tears. These glands produce tears for flushing foreign bodies from the eyes. This fluid is regulated by blinking.
Your eyes do so much; protect them and SEE how great they really are!!

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Prevent The Accident Of Eyes With Proper Diet And Supplements

Based on the analysis conducted by the National Eye Institute, if there will be no advance if it comes to analysis and accident of altered kinds of eye diseases, there will be added humans who will lose their eyes by the year 2020. In fact, there will be an access to as top as 2.1 million. This will aswell possibly access the cases of abasement as the patients will lose their aplomb and abate their superior of life. What one needs may be a change in diet or the accession of supplements that are top in lutein.

Defining Lutein 

Lutein is a appropriate admixture of the animal body. The absorbing thing, however, is that it is not by itself bogus by the body. You will alone be able to accept such affectionate of actinic if you eat vegetables and any affectionate of aliment that accommodate carotenoid. These are the accustomed pigments or colors that you can acquisition in blooming abounding vegetables. Nevertheless, lutein can be begin in altered locations of the body, which cover the eyes, skin, breast, brain, and cervix.

Where Can You Get It

There are assertive kinds of aliment that accommodate lutein. These are the abounding vegetables such as aphotic lettuce, egg yolks (which is axiomatic in its chicken color), and corn. You can aswell acquisition it in carrots.

A physique needs to yield in as abundant as 6 to 10 mg of lutein every day afore you can account from its antioxidant properties. That agency that even if you eat bowls of appearance or lettuce, you will never accept abundant of it. The best way is to yield in supplements that can accommodate you with abundant of such actinic or access the beta carotene levels in your body.

Improve Your Vision

There are a lot of allowances one can get from the compound. It is even accepted to advance the allowed arrangement of a person, so he can become awful aggressive to altered kinds of illnesses. But conceivably the a lot of important of it all is how it can enhance the superior of a person’s eyes and anticipate the development of eye-related diseases.

The admixture can stop or abbreviate the risks of macular degeneration. Since the admixture is mostly begin in macula, which is that baby allocation in the retina that performs axial vision, it has the adeptness to clarify dejected ablaze which can could cause oxidative accent and allure chargeless abolitionist accident to the physique apparent to it, such as the eyes.

Furthermore, the admixture can anticipate the accident of cataract, which is one of the above affidavit for the accident of eyes and commonly associated with diabetes. A being who adds the admixture in their diet will abate their accident of eyes accident to as abundant as 50% compared to those who do not. Moreover, men who bite on broccoli or appearance at atomic alert every anniversary are beneath acceptable to go through avalanche anaplasty than those who alone gorge on them already per month.

Today, eye problems are no best accompanying to age. Anyone can access it. Thus, you ability as able-bodied access your aegis adjoin eye-related diseases.

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Are There Risks Associated With LASIK Eye Surgery

Are There Risks Associated With LASIK Eye Surgery

Refractive surgery (LASIK) often produces amazing results, however, as with any medical procedure, there are risks involved. If you're considering LASIK, it's important that you are aware of the limitations and possible complications that may arise.

According to FDA reports, nearly 100% of LASIK patients have good results and no complications, but you need to be aware that there are things that can and do go wrong. Some problems include double or triple vision, light distortion so severe that patients can't drive at night, or eyes so dry that they have to wear goggles when going outside.

Some patients experience infections, inflammation of the eye, redness, blurriness or eye irritation. In many cases, LASIK eye surgery can eliminate your need for corrective lenses, but that's not always the result. Sometimes, LASIK will drastically reduce your dependence on corrective lenses, but you may still require corrective lenses for some activities, such as reading. It's best to think of LASIK as reducing your dependency upon corrective lenses - not necessarily as eliminating your need for them.

Diffuse lamellar keratitis is a post operative LASIK risk that happens when a foreign substance, such as a hair or speck of dirt gets trapped behind the corneal flap. If this happens to you, you may experience pain, light sensitivity, blurred vision, along with the sensation that something is trapped in your eye. Rubbing will only intensify the problem and may lead to further complications, such as infection or tearing or dislodging of the corneal flap. Diffuse lamellar keratitis usually occurs as the result of the patient not exercising proper precautions during the healing period after LASIK eye surgery.

One of the most common complications of LASIK eye surgery is a slipped flap. The flap that was created during the LASIK procedure may become detached from the rest of the cornea. Most doctors recommend that you go home and sleep for several hours after completing the LASIK procedure in order to allow the cornea to start its healing process. That's good advice and can substantially reduce your chances of experiencing a slipped flap.

Even without LASIK eye surgery, it's expected that everyone's eyes will change slightly with the passage of time - it's just a natural part of life. After LASIK, your eyes will still follow their natural course of changing with time, so LASIK shouldn't necessarily be considered a permanent solution. For most people however, their vision will not change enough to require any additional treatments, especially when the original procedure was done to correct for poor distant vision.

The information provided here is not intended to scare you away from LASIK eye surgery, since it has been a blessing to a great many people. For many who have chosen LASIK, it has meant that they are no longer dependent on corrective lenses in order to have good vision. It's highly recommended that you talk with your doctor about LASIK and how any possible risks or side effects relate to your own personal circumstances.

Friday, November 7, 2008

What Not To Do After LASIK Eye Surgery

What Not To Do  After LASIK Eye Surgery

LASIK eye surgery is probably the safest, quickest and easiest way to improve your vision. The healing process happens quickly and for most patients, the process is uneventful. However, in spite of all the cards being stacked in your favor, it is important that you follow the recovery procedure your doctor has outlined for you in order to insure a speedy recovery without any complications.

First and foremost, you'll need to apply the medications prescribed by your doctor according to the established schedule. In most cases, you'll have a steroid based medication that you'll apply quite frequently during the first four hours after LASIK eye surgery. Also, you may have antibiotic eye drops that will help prevent any infection. Be sure to adhere to the schedule with these medications, especially during the first four hours.

After the first four hours, you'll still use these same medications, but the frequency will be reduced to one every six hours.

You should also have a supply of artificial tears to provide lubrication to your eye. Use these drops according to the established schedule and also at anytime your eyes feel dry. Keeping your eyes moist greatly enhances the healing process, so don't skimp on the artificial tears.

As you start to get back into your normal daily activities, there are certain things you'll need to avoid -

- Don't get involved in any activities that could result in an object coming into contact with your eyes.
- When you shower, don't allow the water stream to hit your eyes.
- Don't get soap or shampoo in your eyes.
- Don't get dust or pet hair in your eyes.
- Don't rub your eyes.
- Don't go out in bright sunlight without sun glasses.
- Don't let your eyes get too dry - use the artificial tears as often as needed.
- Don't rub your eyes while you're sleeping - a special mask, provided by your doctor will protect your eyes while sleeping.

It is absolutely imperative that you faithfully follow your doctor's schedule for medications, especially during the first week after your procedure. You've probably been given a steroid based medication to promote quick healing, so be sure to use it. Also, you may have been prescribed antibiotic eye drops to prevent an infection, so be sure to use them as recommended.

Your eyes are important and you'll want to protect them thru the healing process. Be absolutely sure to follow your doctor's instructions and you should have a quick, successful recovery!

LASIK Monocular Vision Correction

LASIK Monocular Vision Correction

For the last several years, doctors have been hesitant to recommend LASIK eye surgery for patients who were farsighted.

Such patients could see clearly at a distance, but had trouble focusing on close up objects. This is a common problem for many people as they age and usually starts showing symptoms in the early to late 40s. The first sign of becoming farsighted is that these people have to hold reading material farther and farther away in order to be able to focus clearly. Eventually, they find that their arms are no longer lengthy enough to achieve proper focus.

LASIK eye surgery can resolve the problem of being farsighted, but at the expense of losing distance focusing. A typical farsighted person can see distant objects with no problem, but while LASIK surgery can solve the close focusing problem, the distance focusing is sacrificed in the process. Most people would consider this as just trading one problem for another.

However, research has shown that there is a way that LASIK eye surgery can help patients that suffer from farsightedness. It seems that the brain possesses powerful capabilities when processing images. The LASIK solution for farsightedness is to perform the procedure on one eye only, hence the name 'monocular'.

An eye exam is used to determine which eye is best suited for distance viewing and that eye remains unaltered. The other eye undergoes the LASIK procedure and is then optimized for close object focusing. When the patient views an object, whether it's near or far away, the brain accepts images from both eyes and merges the images thru complex processing. In essence, one eye focuses on far away objects and the other eye focuses on close up objects. The brain uses both images and the end result is that patients can now see close up and far away - problem solved!

If you're at the age where you've just begun to notice your farsightedness, it may be best to wait a couple of years before having the LASIK eye surgery. The reasoning is that during the initial onset of farsightedness, your eyes tend to change frequently, so if you have the procedure done too early, your changing eyes could negate the results in a year or two, so you may need to have the procedure repeated. If you wait until your eyes stabilize, or at least the changing process slows, you're likely to realize longer lasting results.

Many LASIK surgery doctors have been offering an option when you elect to have the procedure - for a fairly small extra fee, they'll provide you with lifetime repeat procedures for free if they're ever needed. This way, if your eyes do change as you age, you can have the LASIK procedure repeated at no additional cost. This can be a wise investment if you're in the 40 to 50 age group.

If you have the monocular vision correction procedure, you'll find that it does take a little getting used to. After all, your eyes have been providing very similar signals to your brain for a long time. Now that each eye focuses differently, your brain has to adapt and process the different images into a single view.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Lasik Eye Surgery Explained.

Lasik Eye Surgery Explained.

Lasik eye surgery is a procedure that can correct your vision by altering the physical properties of your eye. Unlike traditional surgical procedures that depend upon the skills and steadiness of the surgeon's hand, LASIK eye surgery is computer controlled.

The more progressive LASIK surgery centers perform in-depth analysis of your eyes as an evaluation procedure to determine if you're a good candidate for the LASIK procedure. The evaluation process, which is largely controlled by computer itself, maps the overall physical makeup of each eye. A traditional eye exam determines your visual abilities and then an exhaustive computer analysis determines if your eyes can be enhanced by the LASIK procedure.

In addition to determining whether or not you're a good candidate for LASIK, the procedure also records quite a bit of data that's specific to your eyes. If you choose to proceed with the LASIK eye surgery, this data is used to program the computer controlled LASIK equipment to insure that your eyes are modified exactly in the proper manner so as to provide maximum benefit.

How Your Eyes Work

The cornea of the eye is responsible for projecting light onto the retina in order to produce an image. When the cornea is not shaped properly, distortion of the image will occur. This is called a refractive error. LASIK eye surgery can correct refractive errors.

There are three primary types of refractive errors -

1) Myopia is a refractive error in which a person has trouble seeing things at a distance, but they can see things that are close up.

2) Hyperopia is when a person will be able to see things clearly at a distance but cannot see things that are close to them.

3) Astigmatism is the distortion of images caused by irregularities in the shape of the cornea.

LASIK eye surgery
is also called refractive surgery because it will reshape the cornea, therefore improving the ability to focus clearly.

Not everyone is a good candidate for LASIK eye surgery. To be a good candidate for LASIK eye surgery, you have to be willing to accepts the risks that go along with this type of surgery. Your eyesight should be stable, meaning that it hasn't changed appreciably over the past several years. Also, you shouldn't have any existing health conditions that would put you at risk while having LASIK eye surgery.

Risks of LASIK Eye Surgery

LASIK eye surgery does carry some risks, such as loss of vision. In some extremely rare cases, the patient may lose vision due to equipment malfunction, scarring or healing related complications.

One common risk of LASIK eye surgery is that any dry eye condition that is experienced right after surgery may hamper the healing process. Signs of dryness are burning, redness and decreased vision. If this dry eye condition persists, you may have to medicate to improve tear duct function and use artificial tears to maintain the proper level of moisture. You must keep your eyes moist after LASIK surgery in order to promote healing.

Things to do Before LASIK Surgery

If you wear contact lenses, either soft contacts or rigid contacts, you should stop wearing your contacts at least three weeks before your initial evaluation by the doctor. On the day of surgery, you shouldn't wear makeup or perfumes. Also, don't wear any fuzzy clothing that is likely to disperse lint.

Make sure that someone goes with you on the day of surgery, since you'll need someone to drive you home after the LASIK procedure. Before the surgery, the doctor may give you medicine to relax you and your vision may be a little blurry immediately following surgery. Also, special eye drops are administered prior to the procedure which can cause additional, but temporary blurriness.

LASIK eye surgery is relatively safe and it can free you from glasses and contacts. Before you commit to LASIK surgery, make sure that you consider all the advantages and disadvantages of having the procedure. Ask the doctor lots of questions so that you can make an informed decision about whether LASIK eye surgery is the right choice for you.

The differences between Lasik eye surgery and ICL

The differences between Lasik eye surgery and ICL

A number of people who are considering the Lasik procedure to correct their nearsightedness or farsightedness have of some potential problems of Lasik, and are wondering if there are other options.  Though more than 95 percent of the Lasik patients have a very successful procedure without any major side effects, there are choices for people who wish to improve their vision.  Let's compare two, and discuss these choices with a reputable ophthalmologist.

Traditional Lasik eye surgery uses a scalpel to create a small flap in the eye, and then a laser reshapes the eye in order to focus accurately.  There are two more recent forms of Lasik, one that entirely uses a laser and does away with the scalpel.  Another variation uses a three dimension waveform for people with unusual eye shapes, and both of these are worth discussing with your ophthalmologist.

Those people with very thin corneas or other issues that make Lasik not a good candidate for their particular case can consider implantable contact lens surgery.  This is known as ICL in the eye surgeon's lingo, and is a good alternative to Lasik to permanently correct vision.  These lenses function in exactly the same way as removable lenses, except that they remain permanently in the eye.  Like Lasik, they reshape the eye in order for it to focus accurately.  The patient will not feel the lens once the operation has been performed.

Lasik and ICL are similar in several ways.  Lasik can improve vision affected by nearsightedness and astigmatism, and ICL can improve these vision deficiencies also.  Both Lasik and ICL also have some of the same risks, one of these being that the correction is not accurate after the first operation is done.  Lasik is a much more frequently performed procedure, and less than 3 percent (according to the FDA) of these patients need to undergo additional surgery to further correct vision after the first Lasik procedure is done.

Like any operation, there is a chance of infection in either a Lasik procedure or an ICL operation.  Good post-operative care by the patient will minimize this and regular checkups at the Lasik or eye care center will nearly always clear this up without further complication.  In a small percentage of the cases, either Lasik or ICL patients may not achieve perfect vision and may need to continue to wear corrective eyewear, though usually not at the same strength as the original eyewear.

One advantage of ICL over Lasik is that ICL is a reversible procedure, where the implanted lens can be removed later if that becomes necessary.  Lasik involves the reshaping of the cornea to bring objects accurately into focus, and is permanent.  However, for a typical, healthy patient either Lasik or ICL will generally bring about the desired improvement in vision.

Lasik is generally a less invasive procedure, and this is reflected in the current cost of the operation.  The current price for a Lasik procedure is between $500 and $2500 per eye, depending on the type of procedure and the presiding physician.  A typical price for ICL is between $1500 and $3000 per eye.  Do some investigation into the options offered, and select the eye procedure that is best for your personal case.