Archive for category: Eye Care

Vision problems can affect people of all ages. If you have been recently diagnosed with something you never heard of before, it can feel very scary and overwhelming.

Fortunately, most eye diseases can be treated if caught early enough. Here are the most common vision problems and what you should do about them:

Vision problem: Cataract

Cataracts form when proteins form in the lens of your eye, clumping together and impacting your vision. Cataracts can form in one or both eyes and they can make performing daily tasks like driving difficult.

What to do about it:

Cataracts can be managed temporarily with prescription eyewear. But the only long-term solution is cataract surgery. Fortunately, it is one of the safest and most common surgeries performed in the world. Learn more about our bladeless laser cataract surgery.

Vision problem: Glaucoma

Glaucoma is a disease that causes fluid to build up in the eye. This fluid increases the pressure in your eyes and damages the optic nerve over time. Glaucoma can be very easy to miss because patients rarely experience pain in the beginning.

What to do about it:

You can fix refractive errors with contacts, glasses, or LASIK surgery. Your doctor can help you decide if LASIK is right for you.

Vision problem: Diabetic retinopathy

Diabetes can cause your eyes to swell which damages the blood vessels in your eyes. If left untreated, it can cause blindness.

What to do about it:

Treatments vary depending on the severity of your situation. If you are living with diabetes, it is very important that you stay on top of appointments with your ophthalmologist.

What to do about it:

Vision loss from glaucoma is permanent; once you lose it you can never get it back. However, glaucoma can be managed with surgery and medication.

Vision problem: Refractive errors

If you have refractive errors then light doesn’t bend and land where it should on your retinas. This causes nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism.

The best way to manage a serious eye condition is to catch it early. Most common eye problems can be treated if caught early enough so the importance of yearly comprehensive eye exams can’t be overstated.

Schedule a Comprehensive Eye Exam at Shinagawa to know if you have an underlying vision problem that needs to be treated.

Call our Patient Care Lines: (+632) 7-368 5238 l (+63) 917 862 7454 l (+63) 921 217 0517 for inquiries, questions, and appointments or talk to our consultants via LiveChat here on our website.

Other than refractive errors, such as myopia (nearsightedness), hyperopia (farsightedness), or astigmatism, changes to our vision can occur for other reasons, such as hormonal changes. These can occur naturally, due to age, like in menopause, or they can happen because of diseases, such as diabetes.

Here are some life stages and the vision changes that one may encounter:

Adolescence – GnRH travels to the pituitary gland to signal the release of other hormones to begin puberty. Growth spurts during this time can temporarily lengthen the eyeball, causing myopia, or nearsightedness, in both boys and girls.

Pregnancy – Fluctuations in estrogen and progesterone can cause changes to the glands in the eyes and eyelids, causing dry, irritated eyes. An increase in estrogen can also affect the shape of the cornea, causing temporary vision changes that are typically reversed after pregnancy.

Menopause – A decrease in estrogen can cause the structures of the eye to become dry and less elastic, causing dry eye and blurry vision. Menopausal women also tend to have higher intraocular pressure which, if left untreated, could lead to glaucoma.

Middle-age for men – As testosterone levels naturally drop with age, men may experience dry eyes and blurry vision, in the same way, menopausal women do. This is due to changes in the tear ducts and the oily film in the eyes that keep them moist.

At any age – people who experience excessively high or low thyroid hormones can experience changes to their vision. For example, high levels of the T4 hormone can increase the risk of age-related macular degeneration. The thyroid hormones also contribute to the development of cones, the cells in our eyes responsible for color vision. Furthermore, for people with diabetes, low levels of insulin can make it difficult for your eyes to produce tears, causing dry eyes. This can affect people with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

If you experience any sudden changes in vision, especially flashes of light or a dark “curtain” descending over your field of vision, it’s important to see an eye doctor right away. Our eye experts are waiting for you! Schedule a needed check-up with us at Shinagawa!

Call our Patient Care Lines: (+632) 7-368 5238 l (+63) 917 862 7454 l (+63) 921 217 0517 for inquiries and appointments or talk to our consultants via LiveChat here on our website.