We love everything eyes, inside and out. Here you will find the doctor’s answers to commonly asked questions.
Optometrist, Ophthalmologist, Optician
“These all sound the same, but they are entirely different.- An optometrist, that’s me, is a professionally licensed doctor who can diagnose, treat, and manage various eye conditions and prescribe glasses.- An ophthalmologist, is a medically licensed doctor who treats eye conditions and can also perform surgeries.- An optician is certified only for dispensing glasses, and cannot prescribe.”
What is nearsighted, farsighted, and astigmatism?
“Nearsightedness, is when your “sight is near” and so you would need glasses to see far. Farsightedness, on the other hand, is when your “sight is far”and so you guessed it, you would need glasses for reading. Where it gets a little confusing is that you can also have astigmatism with either of these two types of prescriptions. In fact, most patients have small amounts of regular astigmatism. Astigmatism is when the front of the eye is not perfectly round, and instead more “football” shaped.”
Can a contact go behind your eyeball?
“This question always makes me smile. But nope, a contact cannot go behind your eyeball. There is a special lining all the way around the eye that prevents that from happening. However, a contact can get wedged under the upper lid and can be difficult to remove. That’s where I come in to help remove your contact using my high magnification microscope.”
Is it okay to sleep in my contacts?
“It is honestly never a good idea to sleep in contacts. While contacts have become very comfortable with new lens designs, they are still essentially plastic and act like a sponge to attract bacteria and other bugs. Plus, sleeping in contacts usually breeds bad habits, like wearing them longer than recommended and not disinfecting them properly. Furthermore, you would be increasing the chances of becoming intolerant to contact lens wear permanently.”
Does reading in the dark ruin my eyes?
“This has been pretty well studied, and we have found that reading with dim light really has no effect on the progression of prescription. Parents are often concerned about their children when they ask this question. But here is something to keep in mind — when we are young our pupils are much larger and let a lot more light into our eyes, as we age our pupil shrinks; so, it makes sense that younger people need less light to read.”
Does wearing glasses make my eyes worse?
“I have had patients adamant that as soon as they started wearing glasses they had a hard time seeing without them or their prescription got worse. The answer I can give is that wearing glasses does not make your eyes worse, but it does finally allow you to experience clear vision without straining your eyes. As for the prescription changing with time, it is typical for progression, especially in our teenage years and forties, and is usually not a reason for alarm.”
What is pink eye?
“Pink eye is a general term. Most people think of the pink eye as extremely contagious and with lots of watery discharge–this type is VIRAL and just takes time to get better. The best way to diagnose what type of pink eye a patient has is with a high magnification microscope; often the ER or general practitioner will not have this equipment to properly diagnose and treat. This is important because prescribing incorrect drops could make the problem worse. I am on call for all eye problems, meaning after hours I make myself available for emergency visits.”
Is there an age limit for wearing contacts?
“Absolutely not 🙂 The youngest person I have fit into contacts was eight years old, and my most mature patient was in her eighties. Age can be a factor. For younger patients it is important to consider their maturity level and interest in contacts. For my mature adults vision limitations and dexterity need to be considered. Contacts are a prescribed medical device, but are nonetheless a wonderful vision option for many patients.”
How can you check for glasses on small children?
“Ever wonder how a child or maybe even an infant can have an eye exam? Great question. I’ll try not to make the answer so technical. Many of you have been behind the machine that automatically reads your prescription; well, before any technology becomes automated it is usually manual (like cars, for example). A child or for that matter a patient with special needs or even non-verbal adults, can be examined for glasses the manual way! I use a special scope that shines a very unique light into the pupil which I can combine with lenses to find the patients prescription. Very accurate, just a requires a little more time.”