Eye Infection: What You Should Know!

If you’ve experienced red, itchy eyes, you may have wondered whether it’s a symptom of allergies or dry eyes or a more serious condition, such as an eye infection. Here is an overview of allergies and dry eye as compared to an eye infection.

About Allergies & Dry Eyes
Symptoms of Allergies or Dry Eyes

• If you work at a computer for an extended time or have allergies to products or airborne substances, you may experience dry, red or irritated eyes.
• Generally allergies and dry eyes affects both eyes.
• Treatment options usually include resting your eyes or using an over-the-counter or prescription eye drops, as recommended by your eye doctor.

About Eye Infections
Symptoms of Eye Infections

• Frequently occurs when bacteria, fungi or viruses attack any part of your eye, including the surface, membrane lining of the outer eye and inner eyelid, interior portions or the soft tissue of the eyelid.
• Infections inside the eye or in the soft tissue of the eyelid are the most dangerous and if left untreated, the condition may spread throughout the eye.
• Symptoms usually include redness, pain, discharge, watering and sensitivity to light; usually occurs only in one eye; if symptoms are detected, immediately contact your eye doctor for an evaluation

Types of Eye Infections
Pink Eye (Conjunctivitis) – A common infection that is highly contagious.
Viral Keratitis – Can be simply related to a respiratory virus or cold or more serious such as Ocular Herpes that occurs when exposed to the Herpes Simplex Virus.
Fungal Keratitis – A fungus commonly found in organic matter such as soil, leaves or branches of a tree.
Acanthamoeba Keratitis – A parasite that attacks the eye more often in individuals wearing contact lenses and swimming in pools, lakes, ponds, hot tubs or streams who are at increased risk for contracting this infection.
Trachoma – Usually found in underdeveloped countries. Typically infects the inner eyelid along with eyelashes touching the area can infect the cornea and cause permanent blindness.
Endophthalmitis – Occurs with a penetrating eye injury or complication following eye surgery and if left untreated, may lead to blindness.

Preventing Eye Infections

• If you experience symptoms associated with an eye infection, contact Doctor & Associates immediately. Prompt treatment is necessary to reduce the risk of permanent blindness.
• To avoid eye infections, wash your hands throughout the day, especially if you are near an individual with a red eye or other signs of infection. Contact lens wearers should follow care and handling instructions provided by their eye doctor.

If you or someone you know is concerned about having an eye infection please call Doctor & Associates-203-227-4113, visit Doctor & Associates in Fairfield County, Google+ or facebook.com/doctorandassociates to schedule an appointment.

Doctor & Associates offices are located at 129 Kings Highway North, Westport, Connecticut 06880, 195 Danbury Road, Wilton, Connecticut 06897 and 148 East Avenue, Norwalk, Connecticut 06851.

ADHD, Eye & Vision Problems

Parents of school age children often approach us and wonder if some of the attention or behavior issues that their kids experience are related to a vision problem or are simply a manifestation of their ADHD or ADD. This is a question MANY parents of children diagnosed with ADHD and ADD ask!

ADHD, Vision & Refractive Error
A recent study reported in the journal of the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology & Strabismus (AAPOS) discussed the notion that there was an association between ADHD/ADD, uncorrected refractive-errors such as nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism-and visual acuity. The investigators performed a case matched controlled study that included 56 ADD/ADHD children diagnosed according to criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM IV-TR), along with 66 age-matched control children and then examined both groups for uncorrected visual acuity for distance and near, cycloplegic refraction-an eye test to measure uncorrected refractive error with eye drops, ocular motility, and binocular function. Their results showed that ADD/ADHD children had similar visual acuity at distance and near and refractive errors as normal subjects. Eye movement and the ability to use both eyes together, or “binocular function”, as well as focusing ability were also found to be similar in both groups and thus probably did not contribute to ADD/ADHD type behavior.

If you or someone you know has ADHD and is concerned about any effects of vision problems, refractive errors or decreased visual acuity please call Doctor & Associates-203-227-4113, visit Doctor & Associates in Fairfield County, Google+ or facebook.com/doctorandassociates to schedule an appointment.

Doctor & Associates offices are located at 129 Kings Highway North, Westport, Connecticut 06880, 195 Danbury Road, Wilton, Connecticut 06897 and 148 East Avenue, Norwalk, Connecticut 06851.

Cataracts Cause Night Driving Problems

As we age, the onset of cataracts is sometimes very slow and subtle. In fact many patients try to ignore the symptoms of cataracts-blur, cloudiness, glare and light sensitivity-and just cope with the vision decrease. One symptom of cataracts that is difficult to ignore and is also the most troubling, is how disturbing cataracts can be while trying to drive at night. Driving at night is already difficult enough as reduced lighting can cause you to misjudge distances and boundaries like the edge of the road or distance between you and other vehicles, as well as simply causing an overall dimming of your vision. If you are becoming afraid to drive at night and you suspect or have been told that you have the beginning of a cataract it might well be time to consider whether cataract surgery might be a good option to help you regain your night driving safety and comfort level.

If you or someone you know feels they have night driving problems that might be related to cataracts or has a question about cataracts, laser cataract surgery or lens implants please feel free to schedule an eye exam by calling Doctor & Associates-203-227-4113, visit Doctor & Associates in Fairfield County, Google+ or facebook.com/doctorandassociates to schedule an appointment.

Doctor & Associates offices are located at 129 Kings Highway North, Westport, Connecticut 06880, 195 Danbury Road, Wilton, Connecticut 06897 and 148 East Avenue, Norwalk, Connecticut 06851.

Why is Polycarbonate THE Lens of Choice for Kids?

Polycarbonate is the type of high-index lens. It is thin and lightweight like other high-index lenses, but it has some extra features that make it a very appealing option. It is the standard for safety glasses and for children's glasses due to its impact resistance. In case of an eye injury polycarbonate material will not shatter and will protect the eye. Poly can withstand impact forces much greater than any other lens material. In addition, polycarbonate provides excellent inherent UV protection without having to pay extra for a UV coat application to the lens. It has low specific gravity, which means, ounce for ounce, that poly is lighter than other lens materials. Polycarbonate should be the only material used in rimless or semi-rimless frames, any other material will likely crack in such a frame. Finally, poly's impact resistance allows a laboratory to ground it thinner than any other material. With all these good points, polycarbonate is a very soft material and therefore is more prone to scratches. For this reason, most labs will automatically apply a scratch coating to poly lenses. Polycarbonate is also more difficult to tint, especially in dark shades. Despite some drawbacks, choosing polycarbonate as a lens option is often easy to justify; it is lightweight, thin, has UV protection as an inherent property, is very safe, and typically has a scratch coat automatically applied. It is one of our most used lens materials.

 If you or someone you know has questions about children’s eyewear or eyeglasses, please call Doctor & Associates-203-227-4113, visit Doctor & Associates in Fairfield County,  Google+ or or facebook.com/doctorandassociates to schedule an appointment.

Doctor & Associates offices are located at 129 Kings Highway North, Westport, Connecticut 06880, 195 Danbury Road, Wilton, Connecticut 06897 and 148 East Avenue, Norwalk, Connecticut 06851.

Headaches & Childrens’ Eye Problems

About Headaches and Childrens’ Eye Problems

It is pretty common for parents to bring their children in for an eye exam because they are complaining of headaches. Headaches are a frequent complaint of kids but fortunately they are usually not serious. Some of the more common causes of headaches in kids include migraine, the stress and tension of school, certain foods with nitrate or MSG preservatives, physical trauma, sinus infections and of course eye problems. Parents can be concerned with the serious but truly rare occurrence of brain tumors causing headaches but this is usually accompanied by other complaints of dizziness, weakness of arms and legs and a loss of coordination.

Evaluating Kids with Headaches

As part of evaluating any child with headaches I always want to be sure that there has been a complete and thorough examination by their pediatrician who may need to order additional tests or even a referral to a neurologist. Then I will need to perform a complete eye exam including evaluation of the pupils, a refraction to determine any refractive error or need for glasses, eye alignment and binocularity testing and sometimes possibly a visual field examination. Generally I will put drops in the child’s eyes to dilate the pupils, so that the optic nerves can be properly examined and the refractive error can be most accurately measured.

Eye Problems That Can Cause Headaches

If your child has uncorrected hyperopia or farsightedness, it requires extra effort to focus clearly while reading. This can sometimes lead to fatigue and headache. Glasses can reduce the effort required to see clearly at near and improve the headache, if significant hyperopia exists.  Mild hyperopia is normal in children, however, and generally does not cause headaches or other symptoms.

When we read or perform other near activities, our eyes pull in toward each other, this is called convergence. The decreased ability to pull the eyes toward each other when viewing near objects (convergence), particularly while reading, may cause headaches.  This is called convergence insufficiency, and symptoms include the doubling of images or words, blurred vision, fatigue, and headaches which worsen with prolonged reading.  At home eye exercises, sometimes with the help of computer software, can help treat convergence insufficiency. Glasses are sometimes prescribed, but costly in-office eye exercises are rarely necessary.

 Acute infections, allergic and inflammatory diseases of the eyes can also cause headaches.  These problems are often accompanied by redness of the eye and/ or the eyelid as well as light sensitivity or photophobia. Acute glaucoma can cause headaches, but rarely affects children.  Pseudotumor Cerebri (aka, Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension) is a condition caused by increased intracranial pressure or too much fluid around the brain, and this causes headache and swelling of the optic nerves, but does not typically cause redness of the eyes. During the complete eye exam we perform, we will be able to rule out these problems as a cause of headaches in your child. If we do not find any ocular causes of your child’s headache we may refer them back to his/her pediatrician and/or to a neurologist to look for other possible causes of the headaches.

If you or someone you know has questions or concerns about childrens’ headaches and eye problems or needs a kids eye exam, please call Doctor & Associates-203-227-4113, visit Doctor & Associates in Fairfield County, Google+ or facebook.com/doctorandassociates to schedule an appointment.

Doctor & Associates offices are located at 129 Kings Highway North, Westport, Connecticut 06880, 195 Danbury Road, Wilton, Connecticut 06897 and 148 East Avenue, Norwalk, Connecticut 06851.

Kids School Eye Exams in Fairfield County

It seems like the summer has really just started-but believe it or not it’s almost time to get the kids ready to go back to school! As part of your “Back to School Checklist,” it’s important to remember to schedule an eye exam for your children. Keep in mind that childrens’ eye health and vision is one of the core functions of learning. Today more than ever, kids operate in a very intense and demanding visual environment as they read, write, play sports, use computers and tablets and on and on…and being able to get clear and efficient vision plays a critical role for them.

An annual eye exam for children is a good idea as it is not uncommon for childrens’ vision to change during their school years and development. Regular eye exams can detect these changes or any eye problems that might hinder their overall well being and academic performance. The most frequent eye problems we find in school age kids are the common vision problems of nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism. Sometimes, not having clear vision in the classroom can lead to the undeserved perception of a behavioral problem or attention problem. What we know is that kids are often unable to verbalize that they have a vision problem as they just don’t recognize it. It is important to observe children for some common behaviors that might indicate an eye or vision problem. Watch for:

·  Frequent eye rubbing or blinking

·  Short attention span

·  Avoiding reading and other close activities

·  Frequent headaches

·  Covering one eye

·  Tilting the head to one eye

·  Holding reading materials close to the face

·  An eye turning in or out

·  Seeing double

·  Losing place when reading

·  Difficulty remembering what he or she read

If your child exhibits any of these please bring it to our attention. Your child should receive an eye examination at least once every two years, preferably EACH YEAR, more frequently if specific problems or risk factors exist, or if recommended by your eye doctor. The earlier a vision problem is detected and treated, the more likely treatment will be successful.

If you or someone you know has questions or concerns about childrens’ vision, please call Doctor & Associates-203-227-4113, visit Doctor & Associates in Fairfield County, Google+ or facebook.com/doctorandassociates to schedule an appointment.

Doctor & Associates offices are located at 129 Kings Highway North, Westport, Connecticut 06880, 195 Danbury Road, Wilton, Connecticut 06897 and 148 East Avenue, Norwalk, Connecticut 06851.