The cornea plays a crucial role in focusing light onto the retina. In individuals with keratoconus, the cornea progressively thins and bulges, taking on a cone-like shape. As a result, vision becomes distorted and blurry, often accompanied by nearsightedness and astigmatism.
Symptoms
Keratoconus doesn’t appear overnight; rather, it develops gradually, usually during adolescence or early adulthood. As the condition progresses, several symptoms become noticeable:
Blurry and Distorted Vision
Light Sensitivity
Prescription Changes
Halos and Glare
Eye Strain and Headaches
Treatment
Treatment options vary depending on the severity of the condition, but may include
Eye glasses
Soft contact lenses
Rigid Gas Permeable (RGP) lenses
Surgical interventions like collagen cross-linking or corneal transplant
If you suspect you have keratoconus or experience any unusual changes in your vision, it’s crucial to consult an eye doctor. Early diagnosis and appropriate management can make a significant difference in preserving your vision and overall well-being.
Migraines are often associated with pounding headaches, but they can also affect your vision. Ocular migraines, also known as retinal migraines or visual migraines, are a unique type of migraine that primarily manifests as visual disturbances. This means that the symptoms revolve around your eyes and the way you perceive the world around you. The visual disturbances associated with ocular migraines are short-lived, lasting less than an hour.
Visual disturbances can include:
Flickering lights
Shimmering or zigzag lines
Temporary blind spots
Momentary loss of vision in one eye
Triggers can include:
Stress
Hormonal fluctuations
Specific foods
Exposure to bright lights, or even distinct patterns
Although ocular migraines are relatively benign, it’s essential to distinguish them from more serious conditions that can cause similar visual disruptions, such as retinal detachment.
Always seek prompt medical attention if you experience sudden visual changes.
Are your ortho-K contact lenses or RGP lenses are starting to get irritating and uncomfortable? Ever feel like there is a foggy blur over your vision? Looking for an easy and effective way to deep clean your lenses? Here at Eyelab, one of our staff’s favourite products is the Progent Lens Cleaner.
How does it work?
Progent cleans lenses by loosening and removing protein deposits that build up on our contact lens over time. It effectively removes surface proteins on all ortho-K contact lenses and RGP lenses without the need for manual rubbing, which may damage the lenses. This product not only improves the comfort of lens-wear, it also helps maintain eye health and prolongs the life of your lenses. Progent deep cleans lenses much more effectively than daily cleaning products.
It comes with two solutions: Progent A (sodium hypochlorite) and Progent B (potassium bromide), which work together in an oxidation-reduction reaction to deep clean surface coatings without the abrasives or mechanical rubbing used in typical cleaning. In just thirty minutes, it effectively disinfects against all organisms that are likely to contaminate lenses, including yeast, mold, bacteria, and viruses.
At this point, you may be wondering how many complicated steps come with this cleaner? The easy answer is, just mix the A and B solutions, shake, and wait! Simply soak your lenses for 30 minutes – no rubbing required. By using this cleaner every 3 months (or more frequently if needed), your contact lenses can stay polished and well-maintained to better serve your vision.
When ensuring optimal health for your child, it is crucial to include eye exams as a routine component. As a parent, it may be unclear what to expect. Fear not! Here we outline all the information you must know before your toddler’s eye exam.
Why should my toddler’s eyes be checked?
A vision examination is a very important step in preparing children for their first day of school. As toddlers increasingly engage with their surroundings, they require the use of their eyes to focus on objects near and far, coordinate body movements, and of course to read and learn. Any vision problems need to be detected and treated before they lead to a learning and/or behaviour problem.
Source: @Karelnoppe Getty Images
It is important to have annual check-ups to monitor the overall health of your child’s eyes and determine if glasses are needed to see. In addition, how well the eyes move when reading, how well they work together, as well as how easily and quickly they can change focus from looking at a book to looking at the board.
What to expect in a toddler/preschool eye exam
This exam will likely involve more subjective questions and answers compared to infant exams, as your child may be mature enough to describe pictures, letters and their surroundings. The exam may end up being longer as we are able to do more testing.
In a typical eye exam for toddler/preschoolers, one can expect:
The child to either sit on a parent/guardian’s lap, or on their own in the exam chair
Identify different shapes, pictures, words, or letters
Following and looking at different objects or lights
Lights shone into the child’s eyes
What are the optometrists looking for during the eye exam?
Prescription
Are they farsighted or nearsighted? How much?
Is there a large difference between the two eyes?
For example, your child may have large amounts of far-sightedness in one eye but none in the other
It is important to note, children are unlikely to complain about this phenomenon because they cannot tell the difference
Large prescription differences between both eyes may require an optometrist to put in eye drops to get a more accurate assessment
Binocular vision
How well the eyes focus and team together
How well the eyes track when reading and follow a moving object
Is their eye straight? Turned in? Turned out?
What to look for as a parent
It is important to observe your child’s eyes in order to determine any concerns worth bringing up.
Symptoms to look for and consult an eye doctor if observed:
Excessive rubbing of eyes
Eye redness, watery, discharge
Eye turns – either in or out
Closing an eye
Clumsy – bumping into objects in their surroundings
Developmental delays can be a sign of vision issues
Delayed walking
Poor coordination
What can parents do to help ensure their toddler learns to see well?
12 – 18 months
Language is developing quickly: use names for actions and objects
Engage in water and sand play with containers, cups, pails, plastic bottles
Provide crayons and large sheets of paper for creative scribbling
18 – 24 months
Build towers and structures
Provide toys to put together/take apart
Challenge child to with obstacle courses of furniture and pillows
2 years – 3 years
Running, tumbling, climbing
Encourage drawing and creating
Assist as beginning to classify objects, colours, shapes
3 years – 4 years
Challenge child to dodge, throw, stop/go, turn sharp corners
When ensuring optimal health for your child, it is crucial to include eye exams as a routine component. As a parent, it may be unclear when to get your child tested and what to expect. Fear not! Here we outline all the information you must know.
Why should my baby’s eyes be checked?
Vision develops rapidly after birth. Any undetected vision problem can have a significant impact on infant and childhood development. The earlier a problem is detected and treated, the less likely it is that other areas of development will be affected. As your infant grows, they increasingly engage with their surroundings, requiring the use of their eyes to focus on objects near and far and to coordinate body movements.
When should I bring in my child?
An eye exam is recommended within the first 10-12 months of life. At this age they are able to sit on their own, fixate on objects, and follow light. If there are known cases of eye diseases within the family, such as glaucoma, strabismus (eye turns), or eye tumours, it may be in your best interest to bring your child in for an exam earlier. Routine eye exams can mitigate the progression and severity of potential eye conditions if caught early!
Brandon Day on Unsplash
What to expect in an infant eye exam
If you’re concerned that your child may not be mature enough to communicate sufficiently, there is no need to worry! These exams are largely objective, meaning an optometrist needs to simply observe and measure your child’s eye response to various stimuli.
In a typical eye exam for infants, one can expect:
The infant will be sitting on the parent/guardian’s lap
Preferential Looking to test how well the infant can see
Looking and following different objects or lights
Lights shone into the infant’s eyes
What are the optometrists looking for during the eye exam?
Prescription
Are they farsighted or nearsighted? How much?
Is there a large difference between the two eyes?
For example, your child may have large amounts of far-sightedness in one eye but none in the other
It is important to note, children are unlikely to complain about this phenomenon because they cannot tell the difference
Large prescription differences between both eyes may require an optometrist to put in eye drops to get a more accurate assessment
Eye Turns
Eye turns can manifest at different stages of your child’s life, such as during infancy and commonly between the ages of 2-3 years old, where children are more engaged and aware of their surroundings
Assess the eye health
To check for infections, redness, in-turned lashes, tumour growths, cataracts, or glaucoma in the back of the eye
What to look for as a parent
It is important to observe your child’s eyes in order to determine any concerns worth bringing up.
Symptoms to look for and consult an eye doctor if observed
Excessive rubbing of eyes
Eye redness
Watery eyes
Eye discharge
In pictures, their eye reflexes look different
One is red one is white
Eye turns – either in or out
Clumsy – bumping into objects in their surroundings
Developmental delays can be a sign of vision issues
Have not been crawling at their expected age
What can parents do to help ensure their baby learns to see well?
Birth – 6 months:
Lots of tummy time
Follow faces up, down, sideways, closer, farther
Make noises to the side so baby turns toward them
Change position frequently so their view of the world changes
Let baby bounce on the bed with support for both hands to encourage balancing
Lots of toys to touch, grasp, listen to and find with eyes and ears
Hold and feed your infant from alternating sides to promote development of both eyes
6 – 12 months:
Lots of creeping and crawling time – do not rush your baby into walking
Creeping on all fours is very important for developing coordination of both the body and the eyes
In a previous post, I talked about my experience with laser eye surgery in 2014. Now, eight years later, I am extremely happy about my decision to undergo the surgery. My vision is still stable at 20/20 however I still experience dry eye from time to time.
One of the biggest pros of the surgery is being able to wake up in the morning and immediately see clearly. This surgery allowed me to tend to my twin daughters better in the middle of the night without having to find my glasses first. I also no longer have to worry about getting my contacts or glasses coming out when playing ultimate frisbee or during other physical activities. A smaller change in my life that I started to appreciate after the surgery was that I longer need to carry around microfiber cloths to clean my glasses.
However, now that I am reaching the age in which the effects of presbyopia (the gradual loss of your eyes’ ability to focus on nearby objects) becomes more prominent, I may need to use reading glasses. Overall, I am very glad I decided to get PRK and I have no regrets about it!
Book an appointment at Eyelab to learn more about whether you’re a candidate for laser eye surgery, and to discuss any questions or concerns you may have!
This January, our clinic welcomed the New Year with a brand new “toy” — MYAH from Topcon, making us at Eyelab one of the first optometry clinic in Vancouver to measure and chart eye axial length. You may be wondering…what is so great about axial length measurements? Why do we care about how long the eyeball is?
As the eye increases in length, not only does our lens prescription increase, there’s a greater risk of ocular diseases (e.g. glaucoma, cataracts, macular degeneration). In fact, rapid progression of myopia in children is due to excessive elongation of the eye. Therefore, to monitor the effectiveness of myopia management treatments, axial length measurements are charted at each follow up visit, which serve as the standard of care for our myopia management program. For Ortho-k lens patients, axial length is one the primary measure used to evaluate myopia progression.
MYAH can help us advance our myopia management care in further ways as well as diagnosis and management of dry eye disease.
Dry Eye Assessment
Noninvasive tear break-up time (NIBUT) measurement
At Eyelab, we can evaluate the stability of your tear film by accurately measuring the tear break-up time non-invasively. Typically, tear break-up time is around 10 seconds — with shorter tear break-up time, especially below 5 seconds being indicative of dry eye disease.
Meibomian gland imaging
The meibomian glands are oil glands that are embedded in our eyelids which produce the lipid layer of the tear film and are expressed when we blink. Imaging glands allows doctors to analyze their shape and structure. Healthy glands will appear long and continuous in the image, assisting the production of oil in the eye for lubrication. Contrastingly, unhealthy glands will appear much shorter due to degradation and inspissated, thus producing oil of a “toothpaste” consistency, or be entirely clogged and unable to secrete oil.
Contact Lens Fitting
MYAH Topcon also allows our doctors to simulate fluorescent imaging to observe the Ortho-K and RGP contact lens fit. This noninvasive method is efficient and accurate at evaluating whether the lens will sit comfortably around the eye and provide effective treatment.
After learning about the cool features of the new machine at our clinic, are you curious to try out one of its services for yourself? Don’t hesitate – book an appointment with us today!
You might have heard of Latisse, an eyelash serum promising to deliver naturally longer, thicker, fuller lashes. But what is this magical product and does it work?
Bimatoprost, the active ingredient in Latisse, was originally a prescription medication used to lower eye pressure for glaucoma patients. One peculiar side effect soon caught the attention of eye doctors: patients reported increased eyelash growth during use. Pharmaceuticals quickly took advantage, rebranding the medication for its eyelash enhancing properties. The serum has been on the market since its FDA approval in 2008, claiming to be the secret behind natually lush lashes.
Eyelashes, like other body hair, move through a growth cycle: sprouting, growing, and eventually falling out. Research suggests that Latisse works not only by prolonging the growth phase, which allows eyelashes to grow longer and darker, but also increasing the number of hairs that sprout.
Source: Liam Welch (via Unsplash)
Why use Latisse?
For many people, Latisse is a safe, effective, and convenient alternative to mascara or eyelash extensions, which each has its associated costs and risks. Latisse serum comes with a simple brush applicator that users apply to their lash line once a day, at night. It is an easy-to-use at home treatment that shows results in as little as 4 weeks, and maintains results as long as it’s being used. Studies have shown that after 16 weeks of use, eyelash length increased by 25%, and thickness/fullness increased by 106%!
Potential side effects to consider
Latisse is safe to use for most people, but some may experience the following side effects:
Dryness or redness of the eyes
Darkening of skin around the lashes
In rare cases, changes in eye color
The side effects are not permanent and will resolve when Latisse is discontinued.
Want to try Lattise?
Latisse is a medication and requires a prescription from a doctor. If you are interested or have questions, please book a consultation with our doctors to see if Latisse is suitable for you.
At the end of 2014, I had my PRK laser eye surgery at Pacific Eyecare Laser Center. My original prescription was -7.50 -1.50 x 180 for both eyes and after years of having contacts and glasses, I finally decided to have the surgery.
I first had a pre-operative assessment to ensure that my prescription was stable and that my eyes were healthy enough for the procedure.
I was given relaxant medication before the surgery and the procedure only lasted 5-8 seconds for each eye. I experienced no pain during the entire process and at the end, contact lens bandages were placed on my eyes to heal. I was given anti-inflammatory eye drops which I had to use hourly and was instructed not to drive for the next two weeks.
I returned the next day for my 1-day post follow-up to make sure my healing process was progressing well. In the following days, I found that it was hard to open my eyes as it felt like there was sand in my eyes and had to constantly put in eye drops.
Five days after the first follow-up, I had my contact lenses removed and my vision was now at 20/50.
After 2 weeks, I was able to drive and my vision was at 20/40 but I still had to use eye drops almost every hour. After 5 weeks, my vision was at 20/20 and at 8 weeks, my vision was at 20/15.
If you are interested in laser eye surgery, please book a consult with us and we can explore your options.
