Eyeglasses are nothing but corrective lenses that are used to improve the vision. Glass pieces are cut according to the prescription given by the doctor. They are cut in such a way so that when the light enters these glasses, the image that you see on the retina gets focused on the correct place. When the retina comes in contact with this light, it sends the information to the brain and the brain transforms this data into the real image.

Read on to know about the different vision problems, the reason behind them and how eyeglasses can effectively correct them.

There is a problem in the vision when the image focused on the retina is not in the appropriate position; it too far back or too far in. Farsightedness occurs in the former case while nearsightedness happens in the latter. Also, there are many people who suffer from aging vision or astigmatism and they too need the help of an eye specialist. An eye exam will help you determine what exact problem you have and then accordingly you can put on the requisite eyeglasses to correct it.

Eyeglasses are also helpful for people who are having the problem of crossed eyes. In this case, the eyes are unable to focus together. This results in the production of two of the same objects that are seen by the eyes. A person suffering from this condition experiences blurriness while seeing both the objects and none can be seen clearly.

Eyeglasses are used to correct the above mentioned problems by using the right lenses in them. There are basically two types of lenses: the plus lens and the minus lens. In case of farsightedness, a plus lens in convex shape is recommended which focuses the image on the retina. On the other hand, the minus lens in concave shape focuses the image on the retina in case of nearsightedness. The different strengths of these two lenses are utilized to correct the defect of the eyes.

In case you suffer from any vision problems, you must visit an eye specialist immediately before the problem worsens. Get the perfect eyeglasses from your optometrist in Killeen for your vision problems and do not make your eyes suffer any sort of strain. Delaying the visit to your eye care doctor will only worsen the vision and cause further complications in the eye sight.

Acanthamoeba keratitis is a parasitic disease of the eyes wherein amoeba infects the cornea of the eye. This is a rare condition and mostly affects those who wear contact lenses. This is the reason, it is imperative to carefully disinfect the lenses before wearing them. You must also keep in mind that you remove the contact lenses when you go for swimming or surfing.

The disease causes unimaginable pain in the eyes and a stromal ring shaped infiltrate appears in the eyes. Read on to know the causes, symptoms and treatment for this eye infection.

CAUSES:

Although Acanthamoeba Keratitis mostly affects the people who wear contact lenses, it can infect anyone. People wearing contact lens can get this infection due to any of the following reasons:

• Improper handling of lenses.
• Not cleaning the lenses properly or cleaning with solutions other than what are prescribed by the eye doctor.
• Using the lenses while swimming or using a hot tub.
• Infecting the lenses with contaminated water.
• Previous history of damage to the cornea due to a sudden shock.

SYMPTOMS:

The symptoms that surface in the eye due to Acanthamoeba Keratitis can be quite similar to what a person might experience in other eye infections. The symptoms of this particular infection can continue for many weeks and even months. Following are some of the most common warning signs that you must look out for:

• Pain in the eye
• Redness in the eye
• Blurriness in vision
• Increased sensitivity towards light
• Feeling that something is present in the eyes
• Excessive production of tears

You must immediately contact your eye doctor in case you experience any of the above mentioned symptoms. If you delay the treatment, the pain will go on increasing and eventually cause loss of vision and permanent blindness.

Grave’s eye disease, also commonly known as thyroid eye disease is basically a condition in which the white blood cells attack the thyroid gland. It is an autoimmune disease where the size of the thyroid increases manifold and it starts secreting hormones in an unusually large amount in response to the attack. This also has an effect on the eyes which bulge out abnormally because of inflammation in the muscles and other tissues. Grave’s eye disease also affects the functioning of the heart and brain.

CAUSES:

The attack by the white blood cells directly aims at the eye muscles and tissues that rest inside the eye socket. The eye tissues consist of proteins that the immune system mistakes for those found in the thyroid gland. Probably this is the reason why eyes are very vulnerable in this disease. Although the severity of symptoms might vary, in rare cases the patients can even lose their eyesight.

Thyroid eye disease also bothers people who have normal or thyroid hormone levels. Women are more at the risk of getting affected by this disease as compared to men. Also, people who regularly smoke are at a higher risk of developing Grave’s eye disease.

SYMPTOMS: This disease can be diagnosed by a simple eye examination if your thyroid gland problem has already been detected. Additionally, blood tests and thyroid scans are also necessary to confirm the condition.
Following are some of the symptoms associated with Grave’s eye disease:

• Redness and irritation in the eyes is one of the most common symptoms.
• Dryness appears in eyes if the tear-producing gland is badly affected.
• The eyes appear bulged out and it might seem you are staring continuously.
• Since the eye muscles suffer from inflammation, they are unable to function properly and as a result the patient might develop double vision.
• If the disease goes untreated and reaches an advanced stage, blurry vision coupled with the inability to distinguish between various colors can also occur.

TREATMENT:
In some cases, the eyes tend to return back to normal when the abnormality of the thyroid gland is fully treated. However, in other instances even the treatment of thyroid gland is rendered ineffective and there is no positive effect of its treatment on the eyes. In these conditions, the doctors prescribe steroids as well as immunosuppressive drugs to stop the occurrence of inflammation of the optic nerve and consequent blindness.

At present, intravenous corticosteroids are generally preferred by eye doctors as they are a more effective remedy. If all the measures fail, then surgery is the last resort wherein a part of the affected tissue is removed to reduce the pressure on the eyeball. An X-ray procedure can also be used to remove the damaged tissue.

There are millions of people across the globe who wear contact lenses in order to correct their vision. However, it is important to know safety measures one must adhere to while using contact lenses. You have to wear these lenses in the prescribed way and take care of them so that they provide you maximum benefit. Read on to know what all safety measures should be kept in mind if you wear contact lenses.

1. The first and the foremost thing is that you must get a contact lens prescription from an eye specialist. Also, make sure that you get to know about all the instructions related to proper lens care.
2. Make sure you do not wear contact lens while taking a shower or swimming. Organisms in water can cause eye infection, so you must remove your contact lenses before entering a water body. 
3. Use fresh contact lens solution every time you put back your lenses in their case. Don’t ever re-use the contact lens solution as its disinfectant properties are effective only in the first use.  
4. Do not clean your contact lenses with saline water as it does not have disinfectant properties.  The saline solution does not make your lenses free from infection.
5. Remove your contact lenses as soon as you feel irritation in the eyes because this could be a sign of some other eye infection.
6. Wash your hands properly with soap before handling the contact lenses.
7. Whenever you remove your lenses, rub each lens with a fresh solution. Then squeeze enough solution for storage so that the lenses remain free from any sort of infection.
8. You must follow the product directions on the lens solution bottle and accordingly put back your lenses.

Contact lenses are very safe to use. They do not involve the hassle of wearing spectacles all the time. Also, they are worn right on the eyeball and therefore provide natural vision. These lenses are especially very helpful for athletes as well as the people who are driving.  Since the contact lenses do not fog up, they don’t produce unnecessary distractions. These lenses provide a much better view as compared to glasses that might not be too comfortable. 

So, you see there are huge benefits of using contact lenses. But as is the case with everything, these contact lenses also require special care. All you have to do is follow your doctor’s advice and keep in mind the above mentioned tips. Following these measures will help you benefit the most from the contact lenses. 

For more safety tips, visit us at Killeen Eyecare Center. We are located at 416, North Gray Street, Killeen, TX 76541, Downtown Killeen. You can also call us at 254- 634- 7805.

We all know the ill-effects that UV rays have on skin. To protect skin from any damage, we apply sun screen and other sun protective lotions before setting out. But, we are hardly aware of the damage that the UV rays can cause to our eyes. The UV-A and UV-B radiations in the sunlight has been shown to have adverse effects on eyes. The macula of the eyes (the part of the retina responsible for sight in the center field of vision) gets injured by the penetration of UV-A rays and can cause serious eye problems. UV-B rays, on the other hand, can cause external eye problems.  Therefore a proper protection of the eyes is a must to secure your vision after excessive exposure. The several eye damages caused by radiations are:

• Cataract: On a lot of exposure to UV radiation, human eyes can be subjected to cataract. Cataract is the term referred to the opacity formed in the natural lens of the eyes that causes a decrease in vision.
• Macular degeneration: Although with aging the power of vision of an individual decreases, but chronic exposure to UV rays leads to this aging process rapidly.  The macular region that is the most sensitive center of the retina degenerates and causes poor vision at an early age.
• Pterygium: People who work out in the sun for long hours are prone to pterygium that is also caused due to UV rays of sun. In this the white part of the eye, they get a fleshy growth that may extend onto the clear cornea and hence block vision.
• Photokeratitis: The cornea of the eye may get reversible sunburn when the eyes are excessively exposed to UV-B rays of the sun. This condition of the eye is called photokeratitis that result in excessive pain and temporary vision loss.

You can protect the eyes from getting damaged by sun radiation in the following ways:

• Use a brimmed hat and protective eyewear that absorbs UV radiations whenever your eyes are exposed to the UV rays, even during winters and overcast. The sunglasses that absorb ultraviolet radiations are the best protective measures of UV protection.
• You must look for quality sunglasses that absorb most of the UV spectrum. People who wear spectacles can go with lenses that offer good protection. Any good quality lenses or sunglasses block out 99 to 100% of UV-A and UV-B radiation and screen out 75 to 90% of visible light.
• It is not necessary that only dark colored sunglasses provide better UV protection. Special lens coatings that can be done over any lens color protect the eyes.
• Kids have clear eye lenses and are more prone to damage from sun. Therefore eye protection is a must for them.

A sports person can enhance his performance with a good vision. While practically performing any of the perceptual-motor tasks, the visual information is the dominant sensory system. According to various researchers, the athletes have an excellent visual system that let them see and process the most important visual information more efficiently than others, especially in competitive sports environment.

What eye problems do sports people suffer?

Sports related eye injury is the major cause of several eye problems in sports persons. The injury can be severe enough to cause vision loss. Various contact sports, racquet sports and other risky athletic sports activities are popularly organized also in an informal level. Therefore people who participate in these high risk activities are recommended to wear the proper eye and facial protection to prohibit any severe injury. The eye injuries related to any sports activity are more exposed to many eye problems like ocular morbidity and subsequent severe vision loss. However, these eye injuries are preventable. An eye doctor can provide necessary information and guidance regarding protection and avoidance of any kind of harm that can occur to the eyes while performing the high risk activities.

What is sports vision?

Sports vision can be described as a group of eye care services that are given to athletes to make their performance better in a particular sport. The practitioners working in this field help in preventing and managing the eye injuries that are caused while performing the sport.  These opticians also provide with special contact lenses to the sports persons that let them visualize correctly and are not affected by the environment of the surroundings. They also provide them with performance-based ophthalmic eyewear services that have a positive effect on their vision while performing and are hardly influenced by the environmental factors. They also train the sportsperson regarding specific visual abilities that are considered to be essential in a specific sport activity. For better visual factors and strategies related to consistent athletic performance, these practitioners also consult the athletes and their coaches.

Since every single athlete have different visual demand, only an expertise optometrist who is also a specialist in sports vision can better assess his unique visual system and recommend with corrective measures like eyeglasses or contact lenses while also asking him to take necessary precautions to prevent the eyes from being injured. An athlete is also advised to have a regular and thorough eye examination by your optometrist.

For complete eye examination or for any related query, kindly visit us at Killeen Eyecare Center. We are located at 416, North Gray Street, Killeen, TX 76541, Downtown Killeen. You can also call us at 254- 634- 7805.

General eye problems like itching, blurriness or fatigue are experienced by every one of us from time to time. Some of these problems last for a short time and go away on their own, while other might persist for a longer time and should get checked by an Optometrist. Just like your other body muscles, the muscles of your eyes also need some exercise. The following exercises will strengthen your eye muscles as well as improve vision:

• Blinking: This simple way keeps your eyes fresh and they will also help to focus on a particular thing for a longer time. While blinking, your eyes are subjected to a very short period of darkness. This will refresh your eyes, discharge previous information making your eyes ready for new information. This will also reduce eye strain.
• Palming: This exercise is perfect for those who work before a computer regularly for several hours. Palming relaxes your eyes and also relieves stress around eyes. Before starting with palming exercise take few deep breathes. Sit in a comfortable position and close your eyes. Place the cup of your palms over your eyes while the fingers over the forehead. Do not put a lot of pressure with your palms. Do this exercise for a few minutes, two to three times a day. This will relax your eye muscles and will also improve vision.
• Near and far focusing: This exercise requires you to sit in a comfortable manner. Then extend your thumb to 10 inches in front of you and focus on it for some time. Then focus on something stable which is at the range of 10-20 feet from you. Switch on to focusing on your thumb and the 10-20 feet object each time you breathe. This exercise will help you to improve the near or far sightedness while making your eye muscle stronger.
• Zooming: For doing this eye exercise, sit comfortably in a relaxed position. In the hitchhike position, stretch out your arm along with your thumb. First, focus on your thumb when the arm is outstretched. Then slowly bring your arm towards your face and stop when it is three inches away. Then again outstretch your arm slowly, focusing on the thumb. Repeat this for a few minutes several times a day. This exercise will help you to strengthen your eye muscle and your focusing skills.

For more queries regarding eye care, feel free to contact us at Killeen Eyecare Centre. We are located at 416 North Gray Street, Killeen, TX 76541, Downtown Killeen. You can also call us at 254-634-7805.

Astigmatism is one of the most common eye disorders, in which the curvature of the eye is distorted, causing the patient’s vision to be blurred. Patients with astigmatism are unable to see clearly from all distances. A normal eye is curved just enough to refract the incoming light, and focus on both distant and near objects. In astigmatism, the eye is not completely round, but instead, adopts an oblique shape, like a football or the back of a spoon. This causes an abnormality in the process of refraction, leading to light being refracted more in one direction, due to which only part of the object is focused.

Causes:
Every person suffers from some degree of astigmatism. It is a naturally-occurring disorder, and has no specific cause. Some people are born with astigmatism, while some develop it later, along with near-sightedness or far-sightedness. It is also believed to arise as a result of certain eye surgeries.

Symptoms:

• Blurred vision
• Fatigue
• Eye strain
• Headache

Diagnosis:

Astigmatism is easily diagnosed by a regular eye examination. Eye doctor conducts a refraction test to diagnose the disease. No special examinations are required. Children or patients with special needs who are unable to respond to a refraction test can undergo a special examination that examines the refraction with the help of reflected light. This procedure is referred to as retinoscopy. The disorder usually remains undiagnosed in school-going children. This can be avoided by conducting regular eye examinations and encouraging children to report any abnormality in their vision.

Treatment:

Before beginning treatment for astigmatism, all underlying disorders like cataracts, retinitis, corneal scars etc. must be treated. The disorder can then easily be treated by using contact lenses or eye glasses. Special lenses known as ‘toric lenses’ are used in the treatment of astigmatism. These lenses have the ability of bending light more in one direction, which helps to cure the disorder.

While an optometrist is trained to diagnose the disease and provide contact lenses or eye glasses to correct vision, an ophthalmologist can carry out a surgical procedure to cure the disease completely. This is done by refractive surgery, commonly referred to as ‘laser treatment’. The surgery is performed after taking into consideration the needs of the individual, and after ensuring that the vision has reached a stable point and is no longer deteriorating. If left untreated, astigmatism in one eye may result in ‘amblyopia’ or ‘lazy eye’.

To know more about Astigmatism, visit us at Killeen Eyecare Center 416, North Gray Street, Killeen, TX 76541, and Downtown Killeen. You can also call us at 254- 634- 7805.

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Orbital cellulitis refers to the inflammation and bacterial infection which affects the skin and tissues of eyes and its surrounding areas. The eyelids, eyebrows and cheeks may also get affected with this infection. One must never ignore this infection as if it is not treated on time, it may result in complete blindness and even death.

Symptoms:

• The localized symptoms occur at the location of the infected area, it includes immense pain, bulging of the eyes, reduced movement of affected areas, swelling of eyelids, red or purple appearance of eyelids, double and poor eye vision.
• The systematic symptoms include fever (mid-range or high), fatigue and a lot of discomfort.

Causes:

• Orbital Cellulitis is said to be caused by a number of bacteria. In adults, this infection is caused by bacteria in the genera Staphylococcus and Streptococcus.
• In children, a bacterium named Haemophilus influenzae type B is associated with the causes of this infection.
• Risk Factors:
• It is said that there are various factors which can make a person susceptible to develop this infection. These factors include infections affecting the teeth, face or ear, trauma to the eye and sinus infections.
• Also, chronic infections are more likely to develop orbital cellulitis than the acute infections. This is because the acute infections be treated with antibiotic treatment unlike the chronic ones.

Treatment

• The first step involves a course of antibiotics. After treatment for several days with Intravenous antibiotics, oral antibiotic medications may be given. However, it is very important to let your doctor know if you have any drug allergies before undergoing the antibiotic treatment.
• In complicated cases, surgical intervention is necessary. This is done when the antibiotic treatment does not work, if vision is endangered or the person is facing severe problem with swelling due to the infection.

For more information about Orbital Cellulitis and its treatment or to know about any other eye disease, visit us at Killeen Eyecare Center 416, North Gray Street, Killeen, TX 76541, and Downtown Killeen. You can also call us at 254- 634- 7805.

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Aniridia is a Greek word which means ‘without iris’. It is a genetic eye disorder which causes incomplete formation of the Iris of either one or both the eyes. It is an extreme form of Iris Hypoplasia which affects the eye vision to a great extent. A person having Aniridia has huge pupils which are also called ‘black iris’.  Aniridia can be in four forms AN-1, AN-II, AN-III and AN-IV.

Causes

• Inherited from the parents and affects the eye vision adversely.
• The gene responsible for the development of iris ‘PAX6’ does not function properly.

Symptoms

• Absence of iris.
• Opaque corneas.
• May even lead to blindness.
• Worsening of eye vision.
• Absence of muscle controlling the pupil.
• Results in Glaucoma, Cataract, Nystagmus, Stabismus, Micro Cornea etc.
• Leads to diseases like dysosmia, dysnomia, Gillespie syndrome, WAGR etc.

Treatments Involve

• Regular eye examinations.
• Eyeglasses (for glaucoma and cataract).
• If glaucoma develops, eye drops are used for treatment.
• In case the vision worsens due to cataract, removal of lens (with or without intraocular lens implant) may be required.
• A recent development is an artificial iris which can be placed after removal of cataract. It improves the eye vision by reducing the amount of light entering the eyes.

If you are searching for the best optometrist in Killeen, Killeen Eyecare Center is all you need.  We are a team of highly specialized Optometrists who diagnose, treat and manage a number of eye diseases. We use sophisticated and modern optometric instrumentation and therapeutic eye treatments to our patients.

We also provide complete information and guidance for various eye related medical conditions like keratoconus, glaucoma, dry eye therapy, ocular allergies/infections, corneal or conjunctival foreign body removal, eyelash removal, color vision disorders, learning-related vision disorders, amblyopia and strabismus.

To know more about various eye diseases or our services, feel free to visit us at Killeen Eyecare Center 416, North Gray Street, Killeen, TX 76541, and Downtown Killeen. You can also call us at 254- 634- 7805.

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