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Category Archives: Eye Care

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Categories Eye Care, Lenses, Vision
Posted on Author eyecare247

6 Fascinating Facts About Ortho-K Lenses

Ortho-K lenses, short for orthokeratology, are specialized gas-permeable lenses designed to gently reshape the cornea. This non-surgical procedure involves wearing these lenses overnight, and upon waking, experiencing clear vision throughout the day without glasses or traditional contact lenses. Ortho-K lenses are effective in treating various eye conditions like astigmatism, myopia, and hyperopia. Here are six intriguing insights into corneal reshaping and Ortho-K lenses that might surprise you:

 

Ortho-K Lenses is not new

While Ortho-K lenses might appear to be a recent innovation, their history dates back to the 1940s when doctors first realized that glass contact lenses could reshape the cornea. Over the decades, this technology has evolved significantly, with enhancements in gas-permeable lenses and corneal topography software. Additionally, orthokeratology has proven to be one of the most effective methods to slow the progression of myopia in children.

Myopia Is More Prevalent

Obviously, Myopia has emerged as a global health concern, affecting over one billion people worldwide. Predictions suggest this number could surge to nearly five billion by 2050, driven by factors like age, reduced outdoor activities, and increased screen time. Ortho-K lenses have been a highly effective treatment for over two decades. As myopia’s prevalence rises, orthokeratology gains importance not only for myopia correction but also for preventing its progression.

Effects Can Extend Beyond a Single Day

While it’s recommended to wear Ortho-K lenses every night for optimal results, their effects can sometimes last beyond a single day. In many cases, individuals enjoy clear vision for up to two days following just one night of lens wear. While these lenses can be worn during the day, they are most comfortable and effective when worn at night to reshape the cornea. Frequent nightly wear is crucial during the initial stages, and later on, individuals may reduce wear frequency.

It’s Not a Painful Procedure

Reshaping the cornea with Ortho-K lenses might sound painful, but it’s surprisingly pain-free. The reshaping doesn’t involve squeezing or compressing the cornea. Instead, it relies on hydraulic forces. The lens forms a fluid vault over the eye, redistributing fluid across different parts of the cornea, temporarily correcting curvature issues.

Ideal Benefits for Children

Ortho-K lenses are effective for a wide range of candidates, with children being particularly suitable. This is due to the fact that LASIK surgery isn’t recommended for young patients. Children who prefer not to wear glasses often achieve excellent results with Ortho-K lenses, particularly in slowing the progression of myopia. The treatment is now recognized as a leading approach to myopia management. Other ideal candidates include those within specific prescription ranges and individuals who require vision correction without conventional lenses, such as pilots, police officers, and athletes.

More than one visit for Proper Fittings

Fitting Ortho-K lenses correctly may require several visits to an eye care practitioner. The process spans several weeks and involves testing multiple temporary lenses to ensure the perfect fit, ensuring optimal results.

Concern about your child’s eye health? Call us at +65 6244 4420 to book an appointment now! To find out more about our services, do visit our website at http://www.eyecare247.co

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Categories Eye Care
Posted on Author eyecare247

What is Amblyopia (Lazy Eye)?

What is Amblyopia?

Amblyopia, also called lazy eye, is an eye condition that arises due to abnormal development of the vision from a young age. It happens when the brain only learns to see blurred images on the weaker eye causing it to only process inputs from the stronger eye. Consequently, the nerve pathways between the brain and the weaker eye are not properly stimulated, resulting in deterioration of vision that can no longer get corrected with glasses. In some cases, both eyes may be amblyopic. It happens when both eyes are deprived of clear vision for a significant period, the brain no longer “recognizes” what clear vision is.

Amblyopia starts in childhood (<3 years old to 15 years old), when detected early and promptly treated, permanently reduced vision is avoidable. However, if left untreated, amblyopia can cause severe visual impairment in the affected eye, leading to blindness. 

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Common symptoms of Amblyopia

  • Problems with depth perception (Have trouble gauging distance between objects)
  • Squinting or shutting one eye when focusing
  • Abnormal head posture/ tilt
  • Bumping into things on one side often

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What eye conditions may lead to amblyopia?

  • Refractive errors (Long-sightedness, Short-sightedness, and Astigmatism) When the brain gets a blurry image on one eye and a clear image on the other eye, it starts to ignore the blurry one. It resulted in a halt in the visual development of the poorer eye.
  • Strabismus. When the eyes do not line up (one eye turns in/ out), it is hard to fuse images from both eyes into a single image, causing double vision. To avoid seeing double, the brain will shut off the image from the misaligned eye.
  • Cataracts. A cloudy lens inside the eye causes blurry vision, leading the brain to favor the better eye.
  • Ptosis. A droopy eyelid can block your vision. It can lead to the deprivation of clear vision and halt visual development in both eyes.

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Why is it important to detect Amblyopia early?

Amblyopia is a preventable cause of Pediatric Low Vision, it is also treatable when detected early with the help of patching or prescription of glasses. When left untreated, their vision will be blurry even with the aid of spectacle, they might even develop strabismus. By doing a regular eye check with your optometrist, they can make sure your child sees clearly in each eye and assess the risk of the possibility of the development of Amblyopia. 

 

Concern about your child’s eye health? Call us at 6533 0095 to book an appointment now! To find out more about our services, do visit our website at http://www.eyecare247.co/

Categories Eye Care, Surgeries
Posted on Author eyecare247

What is Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD)?

Common Age-related Diseases – AMD

What is Age-related Macular Degeneration?

Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) is a common eye disease that results in blurry, distorted or loss of central vision in one or both eyes due to the deterioration of the Macula. The macula is the part of the retina responsible for clear central vision. 

 

Types of Age-related Macular Degeneration?

Age-related Macular Degeneration is common among people over 50 year old, and they exist in two forms: Dry AMD and Wet AMD. Approximately 90% of AMD patients have the dry form, which is less severe.

Dry AMD (also known as non-exudative AMD) happens due to accumulation of protein deposits in the macula causing the retinal cells above to lose their function. Most patients with dry AMD will not notice any symptoms at the early stage as the progression is very gradual and takes months to years before noticing the changes in their vision, thus regular eye check is important.

As AMD progresses over time, your vision may worsen and affect your ability to do things such as read, drive and recognize faces. 10-15% of patients with dry AMD progress to Wet AMD.

 

Wet AMD (also called exudative AMD) is a more sight-threatening eye condition and accounts for ~10% of AMD cases. 

Wet AMD was caused by abnormal blood vessels in the retina. These blood vessels are leaky and will cause leakage of fluids or blood into the back of the eye. 

Patients with wet AMD will experience more significant vision loss as compared to those diagnosed with dry AMD. Unlike Dry AMD, Wet AMD usually happens suddenly and worsen quickly, symptoms could go from blurry vision to central vision loss in a couple of days. 

Risk Factors of AMD

Here are some factors that may increase your risk of getting macular degeneration:

  • Age – People of 50 Years old and above
  • Race – Caucasians are more likely to get AMD compare to other races
  • Smoking – People who smokes are two times more likely to have AMD compared to non-smokers
  • Family History – If your parents/ siblings have AMD, you are likely to have it too

Symptoms of AMD

  • Distorted vision, lines appears wavy instead of straight
  • Hazy vision
  • Colors appeared less vibrant
  • Deteriorated vision in one or both eyes
  • Well-define blurry zone in your central vision
  • Sudden onset and rapid worsening of symptoms mentioned above

You may still have early-stage Age-related Macular Degeneration despite not experiencing any of the above symptoms, a comprehensive eye examination with an optometrist or ophthalmologist is necessary to check if you have this condition. 

Call us at 6533 0095 to book an appointment now! To find out more about our services, do visit our website at http://www.eyecare247.co/

Categories Eye Care, Surgeries, Vision
Posted on Author eyecare247

What is a cataract? 

Common Age-related Diseases – Cataract

What is a cataract? 

A cataract is the clouding of the transparent lens in our eyes. The lens in our eyes is made of mostly water and protein, and its function is to help focus light on the retina, allowing us to see. However, as we age, some of these proteins may clump up resulting in the clouding of the lens, forming a cataract. As time goes by, the cataract gets denser resulting in visual disturbance which eventually leads to blindness if no intervention was done.

 

How do I know if I have Cataract?

A common misconception of Cataract is that many of us think that we only have cataracts when our eye turns whitish on the inside, however, more often than not Cataracts are not obvious to the naked eye and require eye checks done by an optometrist or ophthalmologist to pick them up. If you are over 60 years old, you probably already have them. In fact, you can get age-related cataracts as early as 40 years old.

Apart from the misconception mentioned above, one main reason why people do not notice it when they have Cataracts is that Cataracts typically form gradually, the build-up of cataracts is so slow that most people do not realize that their vision deteriorates until it starts to affect their daily lifestyle. 

Some symptoms of cataracts include:

  • Blurry or cloudy vision
  • Poor vision in low lighting conditions
  • The colours appear to be less vibrant
  • Increased sensitivity to glare
  • Double vision in the “ cataract” eye
  • Problems with near work, e.g Reading
  • Requires more frequent change in prescription.

How can I prevent myself from getting Cataracts?

 

Similar to Presbyopia (Lao Hua), having Cataracts are inevitable, but some tips to slow down the progression of Cataracts are:

  • protect your eyes from Ultraviolet B rays by wearing sunglasses outdoors
  • eat fruits and vegetables that contain antioxidants
  • keep diabetes and other medical conditions in check

Want to know if you have cataracts or any other age-related eye diseases? Call us at 6533 0095 to book an appointment now! To find out more about our services, do visit our website at http://www.eyecare247.co/

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