seraly-eye-care

What Is Vision Therapy

Thu, 15 May 2025 15:05:28 GMT

Vision therapy is a doctor-supervised, non-surgical treatment program designed to correct and improve certain vision problems and visual skills. Unlike eyeglasses or contacts that compensate for vision problems, the goal of vision therapy is to teach the visual system how to correct itself. Vision therapy is highly customized to address each patient’s specific visual challenges. As such, vision therapy may include the use of lenses, prisms, metronomes and balance boards.

Teaching Kids About Pink Eye

Wed, 14 May 2025 15:04:11 GMT

Conjunctivitis is by no means limited only to children. An infection or inflammation of the conjunctiva -- the membrane within the eyelid and protecting the white aspect of our eyes -- can occur in individuals of any age secondary to an infection, an allergic reaction or chemical irritation. Infectious conjunctivitis can be the result of a bacterial or viral infection.

In children, however, a highly contagious type of bacterial conjunctivitis can often run throughout a school or daycare facility's entire population due to the isolated subpopulation of children available as victims and habits children engage in throughout the day. According to an interview with Dr. Laura Perrin of the New Jersey Society of Optometric Physicians, children are often prohibited from attending school until they have been treated with antibacterial eye drops or ointments for at least 24 hours in an effort to help prevent the infection of an entire school.

Both the viral and the bacterial form of infectious conjunctivitis can be transmitted directly by touch. Knowing this aspect of the disease's transmission as well as the frequency with which children rub their eyes -- particularly throughout a school day -- clearly indicates the ease by which the infection can spread throughout a classroom, school or daycare center. Depending upon their age and grade, children should be instructed about the following aspects of this disease:• "Pink Eye" is the common name for the eye infection known medically as infectious conjunctivitis.

• Germs or bacteria cause most infectious conjunctivitis. Treatment requires antibacterial eye drops or eye ointment to help your body's defenses fight the infection.

• Viral or infectious conjunctivitis can be spread by touch, both direct and indirect. Teach your child never to intentionally touch another child's face or eye area. If this occurs accidentally, your child should wash his or her hands immediately or use an antibacterial gel.

• While it may be good manners to share school supplies, the practice shares germs and potential infections as well. Provide your child with his or her own supplies and provide instructions on how to combine courtesy with disease prevention.

• Emphasize regularly the importance of your child washing his or hands throughout the day.

• Teach your child the symptoms of pink eye that they may begin to experience before the infection becomes apparent, such as itchy eyes, blurry vision, feeling as if an eyelash or other foreign object is in the eye or light sensitivity. Children may not understand these common terms and they may need to be explained at their level, such as "if bright light hurts your eyes" as opposed to the term "acute photo-sensitivity."

• Teach your child the advanced symptoms of pink eye, such as matted eyelashes, pain with each eye blink and discolored sclera or whites of their eyes. Remove the child's pillowcase and any washcloths or towels used to be laundered so as not to spread the infection among family members.

• Teach your child why the medication they are prescribed must be applied on a regular basis until the entire prescription is complete.

Source:

New Jersey Society of Optometric Physicians. “Does ‘Pink Eye’ Have You Seeing Red?”

Teaching Kids About Pink Eye

How It Works

Tue, 13 May 2025 15:01:17 GMT

Vision therapy, also referred to as vision training, neuro-vision therapy, or vision rehabilitation, is an optometry subspecialty. Vision therapy is prescribed to develop, improve and/or enhance visual function so an individual’s vision system functions more smoothly. Vision therapy can be beneficial for individuals of all ages. The goal of treatment is to help ameliorate vision problems and improve a patient’s quality of life by maximizing vision performance and comfort.

Who Benefits from Vision Therapy?

In order to understand how vision therapy can improve your vision, it is important to understand exactly how the brain creates an image. At the most basic level, a nerve cell sends and receives electrical signals from sensory neurons. This input and output is used to process visual images. Throughout their life, neural networks continually reinforce themselves in response to new experiences. Body-mind interaction is an important part of this learning process. While the quantity of neurons does not increase, new connections between these neurons can be built at any age. The more frequently a pathway is stimulated, the stronger the pathway becomes and the faster the transmission along this pathway will be. The goal of vision therapy is to reinforce and strengthen these new pathways.

There are several similarities between occupational therapy and vision therapy, especially when it comes to improving hand-eye coordination and visual motor integration. However, vision therapists have completed more in-depth training in the field of visual motor integration, as well as the use of lenses, prisms, and filters.

Vision therapy is especially beneficial for individuals with ocular motor dysfunctions, binocular dysfunctions, accommodative dysfunctions, visual motor and visual perception disorders, learning-related vision problems, traumatic brain injuries, myopia control, amblyopia, and strabismus. Vision therapy may also be prescribed for patients seeking sports vision enhancement.

Vision therapy is customized to meet the needs of an individual. For example, if you are seeking sports performance enhancement, you will receive therapy designed to improve visual processing speeds, reaction times, visual endurance, accuracy, and eye teaming. Individuals with vision-related learning difficulties will receive therapy that focuses specifically on improving the visual input skills and visual processing skills required for efficient reading, writing, spelling and mathematics.

Depending on a patient’s needs, vision therapy may last anywhere between six weeks to one year. Most problems can be improved with bi-weekly sessions over two to three months, as determined by an eye care professional.

How Vision Therapy Works

How It Helps

Sat, 10 May 2025 14:58:56 GMT

The goal of vision therapy is to treat vision problems that cannot be fully addressed through eyeglasses, contact lenses or surgery. For example, studies show that vision therapy may be beneficial for addressing eyestrain and other issues that can affect a child’s reading abilities. The human brain has significant neuroplasticity, which means it can change its structure and function in response to external stimuli. This neuroplasticity is present not only in childhood, but also into adulthood. As a result, custom vision therapy programs can help bring about neurological changes that correct vision problems for improved visual perception and performance.

Vision therapy addresses vision problems that include amblyopia (“lazy eye”), strabismus, binocular vision problems, eye movement disorders, and accommodative (focusing) disorders. For example, if one eye fails to attain normal visual acuity due to eye teaming problems, vision therapy can help improve this teaming and reduce an eye’s perceived “laziness”. Studies show that vision therapy can improve the accuracy of eye movements required for close-up work and reading, as well as minimizing eyestrain and eye fatigue.

Vision therapy is not a “cure all” for vision issues and it is not a replacement for glasses, contact lenses or eye surgery for certain conditions. For example, do not expect to “throw away your glasses” after attending a few vision therapy sessions or practicing eye exercises at home. Vision therapy cannot “cure” refractive disorders or reverse nearsightedness. However, it may play an important role in addressing visual anomalies associated with vision development, perception and function.

Unlike other forms of exercise, the goal of vision therapy is not to strengthen the eye muscles. Instead, this progressive program of vision exercises is designed to help individuals develop or improve fundamental visual skills and abilities. Vision therapy helps individuals improve visual ease, efficiency and comfort while changing how they interpret or process information. Vision therapy can be beneficial for individuals of all ages, including children and older adults.

What It Treats

Retinitis Pigmentosa

Fri, 09 May 2025 14:56:45 GMT

The term retinitis pigmentosa (RP) refers to a set of degenerative genetic diseases that gradually kill off the light-sensing cells (rods and cones) of the retina, eventually causing blindness. It is a relatively rare genetic disorder, affecting only 1 in 4,000 people. Retinitis pigmentosa can be difficult to adapt to without proper support. Although there is currently no cure for RP, regular visits with your eye care professional are important to monitor the progression of the disease, adapt to the condition, and become aware as new RP treatments are available.

Although there are variations dictating how a person inherits and develops retinitis pigmentosa, this condition is usually characterized by the following symptoms:

Poor and narrowing peripheral (side) vision.
Difficulty seeing or driving in dimly-lit conditions. This is often called “night blindness.”
As the disease progresses, vision may narrow to just a small, central vision field or “tunnel vision.”
Difficulty discerning colors.
Problems reading or doing intricate work due to deficiencies in the central field of vision, which often disappears first.

The progression of the disease can vary significantly depending on whether the condition is inherited as a dominant or recessive trait. Regular testing by your eye care professional is very important if you have RP for two reasons:

Eye exams and vision tests can give you an idea of how your condition is progressing so that you can be aware of and prepare for any adaptations you need to make as your vision declines.
With modern technology, there are currently efforts under way to provide treatments to slow the progression of RP, or to create solutions that simulate the behavior of healthy retina cells. Your eye care professional can inform you of any developments that might be able to make a positive impact in the quality of your life as you live with this condition.

If you or a loved one suffers from any of these symptoms, please contact your eye care professional today for an appointment.

Symptoms of Retinitis Pigmentosa

Fuchs' Corneal Dystrophy

Wed, 07 May 2025 14:54:36 GMT

Fuchs' dystrophy (pronounced fooks DIS-truh-fee) is an eye disease characterized by degenerative changes to the cornea’s innermost layer of cells. The cause for Fuchs' dystrophy is not fully understood. If your mother or father has the disease, then there is roughly a 50 percent chance that you will develop it as well. While Fuchs' dystrophy can sometimes be genetic, it can also occur in individuals who have no known family history of the disease

Treatment

Fuchs’ dystrophy typically causes vision problems in individuals who are 50 years or older, although symptoms are sometimes diagnosed in individuals who are younger. While Fuchs’ dystrophy can affect both genders, it most commonly affects women. This eye disease affects the innermost layer of cells in the cornea, the endothelium, causing degenerative changes. As the disease progresses, the cornea swells (known as a cornea edema) and clouds, which causes a decline in vision. Finally, the swelling also causes blisters to develop on the front of the cornea, a condition known as bullous keratopathy.

Treatment for Fuchs’ dystrophy depends on the stage of the disease at diagnosis. For an early-stage diagnosis, it is possible to improve vision with special 5% sodium chloride drops that remove excess water from the cornea. If the disease is caught in later stages, a cornea transplant may be necessary to replace a ruptured cornea. As an alternative to a full cornea transplant, a new treatment known as DLEK (deep lamellar endothelial keratoplasty) can replace the endothelium while leaving the upper layers of the cornea untouched. Finally, if you have been diagnosed with Fuchs’ dystrophy, keep in mind that certain eye surgeries, including LASIK, can actually worsen this condition.

Understanding Fuchs’ Dystrophy

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) Retinitis

Tue, 06 May 2025 14:52:43 GMT

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) retinitis is a serious disease causing compromised vision and ultimately a total loss of vision. CMV retinitis is typically associated with Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). In the early days of the AIDS epidemic, nearly one-quarter of all individuals diagnosed with late-stage AIDS also developed CMV retinitis. Thanks to aggressive treatments and a new, potent combination of drugs used to treat HIV/AIDS, CMV retinitis has been reduced by more than 80 percent.

Diagnosis and Treatment

CMV retinitis is caused by the cytomegalovirus. Nearly 80 percent of all adults have antibodies for this very common virus, meaning they have been infected with the virus and their bodies have successfully fought it off. For individuals with compromised immune systems, especially due to HIV/AIDS, their bodies are unable to fight off the virus. All individuals with a weakened or suppressed immune system are at risk for CMV retinitis, including individuals who are undergoing chemotherapy or who have recently had a bone marrow transplant.

Common symptoms of CMV retinitis include seeing “eye floaters” or small specks in the eye. As the disease progresses, individuals experience blurry vision, decreased peripheral vision, and light flashes. If the virus is not treated, CMV retinitis can cause a detached retina, leading to blindness in under six months.

When stricken with CMV retinitis, the infection occurs in the most external part of your retina. The virus may be present for an extended period, but not active on this outer layer. Once the virus becomes activated, however, it will quickly trigger cell death and spread to deeper layers within the retina, ultimately leading to detachment and total vision loss.

If you have been diagnosed with HIV/AIDS or have a weakened immune system and are experiencing vision changes, see an eye care professional immediately. Prompt care and treatment is absolutely essential to control the disease and prevent blindness. Anti-viral drugs are used to treat the progression of the disease, but these drugs cannot completely cure it. Anti-viral medication may be administered in pill form or as an implant in the eye.

Causes and Symptoms

Keratoconus

Mon, 05 May 2025 14:50:34 GMT

If you find yourself experiencing blurred or distorted vision that seems to get worse year after year, you may suffer from an irregularity of the cornea known as keratoconus. This condition is infamous for causing astigmatism and nearsightedness that can progress rapidly, calling for constant updates to your corrective lens prescription. Fortunately, several treatment options are available to help you cope with keratoconus.

Diagnosis and Treatment

While medical science has no clear explanation for the cause of keratoconus, the condition occurs more frequently in people who rub their eyes a lot, have worn contacts habitually for many years, or have certain genetic disorders such as Down syndrome. Pregnant women are also known to develop keratoconus, which might indicate that endocrine system imbalances are involved. The condition occurs when corneal tissue grows unusually weak or thin. This allows it to lose its perfectly spherical shape and take on more a cone-like outward bulge. A cornea deformed in this manner cannot refract incoming light in a way that creates an accurate image for the retina.

Keratoconus usually appears between late childhood and the mid-20s, at which point it may progress for many years. The progression is characteristically dramatic, with sufferers having to get new lens prescriptions practically every time they see their eye care provider. Blurred vision is the obvious primary symptom, but in some cases eyesight can also become hazy or cloudy if a rupture at the rear of the cornea occurs. Patients also find that their eyes grow increasingly sensitive to bright light.

The vision problems caused by mild to moderate keratoconus can usually be corrected through such conventional methods as eyeglasses and soft contacts. More stubborn cases may require gas-permeable rigid contacts, scleral lenses, or custom-made silicon hydrogel soft contacts. Some sufferers even "piggyback" a gas permeable lens on top of a hydrogel lens to achieve an optimal balance between vision accuracy and comfort.

Traditional laser surgeries such as LASIK are not usually recommended for keratoconus patients, but other types of structural correction may provide the desired vision correction. Intacs, tiny corneal inserts implanted just below the corneal surface to flatten out the cone-like curve, can be inserted in a minimally invasive surgery. Even the most extreme cases can be treated with a corneal transplant. However mild or severe your keratoconus, your eye care professional can help you understand your treatment options and devise an effective treatment plan.

Causes and Symptoms

Swollen Eyelids

Sat, 03 May 2025 14:45:01 GMT

Swollen eyelids are a fairly common eye condition caused by inflammation or excess fluid in the connective tissues surrounding the eye. Depending on the cause, swollen eyelids can be painful or not painful and affect the upper eyelid, the lower eyelid, or both. Swollen eyes can be caused by many different factors, including allergies, styes, a blocked gland, traumatic eye injury, and conjunctivitis (“pink eye”).

Diagnosis and Treatment

In some cases, swollen eyelids may be symptomatic of a bigger health problem, such as orbital cellulitis (a sudden infection of the tissue surrounding the eye), Graves' disease (an autoimmune eye disorder associated with abnormalities of the thyroid gland), and ocular herpes (a recurrent viral infection that can cause inflammation and scaring of the cornea). In general, swollen eyelids are accompanied by symptoms such as itching or scratching sensations, excessive tear production resulting in watery eyes, obstructed vision, redness of the eyelid, eye discharge, and eyelid dryness or flaking. Pain generally accompanies swollen eyelids that are caused by an infection.

Many people also use the term “puffy eyes” interchangeably with swollen eyelids. However, for medical professionals, swollen eyes are generally used to describe an immune system response to an allergy, infection, or injury. Puffy eyes typically refer to eyes that are swollen from external reasons, such as water retention, a lack of sleep, or even genetic traits like dark circles under the eyes.

Eye allergies are the most common cause for swollen eyes. In this case, the swollen eyes are symptomatic of the body’s overreaction to a foreign substance, known as an allergen. Common allergens that can trigger swollen eyes include pollen, dust and pet dander. Some types of contact solution and eye drops may also trigger an allergic reaction in certain individuals.

The treatment of swollen eyes depends on the cause. Generally, if eyes are swollen due to allergies, antihistamine drops or oral allergy medication will be an effective treatment. For severe allergic reactions, an eye care professional may also recommend mild steroid drops. Ocular herpes and conjunctivitis are treated with anti-viral medications or anti-inflammatory eye drops, ointments, or antibiotics.

For at home care, remove contact lenses (if you wear them) until the swelling stops. Applying a cool compress can relieve swelling and pain. Most importantly, do not rub the eyes as this will only aggravate the condition. Contact an eye care professional should conditions worsen or pain intensify, in order to rule out the possibility of a more serious cause for this pain

Causes of Swollen Eyelids

Eye Symptoms

Fri, 02 May 2025 14:38:37 GMT

Vision, one of our five senses, is perhaps the most relied upon in our daily lives. For this reason, eye health is essential. Vision is one of the most delicate systems in the human body, so any unusual symptoms or sensations should be brought to the attention of an eye care professional immediately to ensure proper treatment and continued function. The following common eye symptoms are a few which may require a visit to and an examination by your eye care professional.