For many patients, issues like bumps on your eye are immediately concerning. One common condition is a stye, which usually presents on the eyelid, is typically a bit red, and may or may not come with soreness.
Blocked tear ducts are different. Your tear ducts – also referred to as nasolacrimal ducts – are positioned near the inner corners of the eyes close to the nose, and their main purpose is to drain tears from the eye surface.
If you’re wondering if you have a blocked tear duct, here’s what you need to know.
Symptoms of a Blocked Tear Duct
One of the most common symptoms of a blocked tear duct is watery eyes. When there’s a blockage, tears don’t drain properly, causing them to pool and leading to watery eyes. However, there are other signs of a blocked tear duct, including:
Blurry vision
Eye Redness
Eyelid crusting
Recurring eye infections
Mucus or pus discharge
Ongoing inflammation
Swelling in the inner corner of the eye
It’s important to note that the symptoms above can also point to a range of other eye conditions. As a result, if they’re present and persistent, it’s best to meet with your eye care provider for a formal diagnosis.
Will Blocked Tear Ducts Clear Up on Their Own?
Blocked tear ducts can clear up on their own. For infants, there is often a membrane that covers the duct, resulting in a blockage. As they grow, the membrane usually opens on its own, resolving the issue.
With adults, blocked tear ducts may resolve if the blockage ultimately clears. In some cases, specific eye care steps can encourage this process, though it may also occur naturally.
However, if there are signs of an eye infection, that may not clear up on its own. Additionally, if the blockage is due to a structural issue, such as an overly narrow tear duct, it often requires treatment from an eye care professional to resolve.
Home Care for Blocked Tear Ducts
There are home treatments for blocked tear ducts. Begin by washing the eye with warm water and a gentle soap to remove any eyelid crusting and reduce the odds of infection.
You can also carefully massage the lacrimal sac, which is the spot where tears drain. Twice a day, use clean fingers to gently rub the lower corners of the impacted eye or eyes for a few seconds to encourage the tear duct blockage to clear.
When to Seek Medical Treatment
Generally, it’s best to speak with your eye care provider if you experience excessive tearing for more than a couple of days. Additionally, if there are signs of infection – such as mucus, pus, or eyelid crusting – making an immediate appointment is best.
Recurring infections also signal the need for treatment from an eye care specialist, ensuring that the root cause of the ongoing problem is addressed. Pain that impacts your daily activities should also be evaluated, as well as long-term discomfort that could signal a persistent issue.
At ECVA, the safety and health of our patients’ eyes are our priority. If you are experiencing symptoms that could indicate a blocked tear duct or simply haven’t seen your eye care provider in the past year, the ECVA team is here to help. Schedule an appointment at your closest ECVA clinic today.
Cataracts are some of the most common eye ailments and affect millions of people all over the globe, especially older folks. For many years, cataracts were treated through traditional surgery, which involves making an incision in the cornea to remove the clouded lens. This treatment is still used to help many cataract patients today.
In recent years, technological advancements in medicine laser allowed a new type of cataract surgery to blossom: laser surgery. This type of blade-free cataract surgery is becoming more and more widely used, and it has several advantages. With that being said, traditional cataract surgery is still performed frequently and is a perfectly safe and viable procedure.
Let’s learn more about what cataracts are and about each type of treatment. Then, we’ll discuss the similarities and differences between traditional and laser cataract surgery to help you decide which method is right for you.
What are Cataracts?
The eye has a lens that helps focus light upon the back of the eye, which sends that signal to the brain for processing. This is the way that our eyes transmit an image to our brain. A cataract occurs when the lens of the eye becomes cloudy, opaque, or discolored. To a person with cataracts, the effect is similar to looking out of a cloudy window. Other symptoms include:
· Seeing halos around lights
· Sensitivity to light or glare
· Poor night vision
· Seeing colors as faded or washed-out
· Double vision
The leading cause of cataracts is simple aging – over time, it’s common for the lens of the eye to get clouded. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), about two in three Americans over the age of 80, and about 30 million Americans in total, have cataracts. There are other possible causes of cataracts, however, including steroid use, eye injury, and exposure to ultraviolet light. Additionally, certain diseases such as diabetes make the development of cataracts more likely. In fact, people over 65 with diabetes are twice as likely to develop cataracts as people of the same age who don’t have diabetes, according to Medical News Today.
How Are Cataracts Treated?
In some cases, treatment for cataracts isn’t necessary, particularly if the problem is only minor and the individual can still go about their daily life without much impairment. But the problem is likely to grow over time, eventually clouding more and more of the eye and affecting vision. If cataracts are left untreated, they can obscure the entire field of vision and cause complete blindness.
Eventually, cataracts will require treatment. And unfortunately, it’s not as simple as taking a pill or putting medicated eye drops into your eyes. Surgery is the best option for removing clouded lenses entirely and helping a patient get back to normal vision. There are two options: traditional cataract surgery and laser-assisted cataract surgery.
Types of Cataract Surgery: Traditional vs. Laser-Assisted
What does traditional cataract surgery involve? How about laser-assisted surgery? Let’s take a closer look at each of these types of cataract surgery options.
Traditional Cataract Surgery
Traditional surgery to remove a cataract involves using a blade to make a tiny incision on the side of the cornea (the lens) and removing the cataract-clouded lens. Then, an artificial lens known as an intraocular lens is inserted to replace the natural lens. Sutures may be used to close the incision, but it’s more common for the incision to be left to heal on its own over time.
How Long Does Traditional Cataract Surgery Take?
Traditional cataract surgery is a very quick procedure – the actual removal of the cataract-clouded lens only takes about 20 minutes or so. And the recovery period is relatively fast, too. Most people are fully healed and back to normal activities within a few days or weeks.
What is Laser-Assisted Cataract Surgery?
Laser surgery to remove a cataract lens utilizes laser technology and 3D imaging. The first step involves the surgeon creating a customized digital plan for the cataract surgery using 3D imaging of the patient’s eye. The process is “mapped” precisely ahead of time.
The procedure involves using an advanced type of laser known as a femtosecond laser to create an opening in the front layer of the lens. The laser breaks up the cloudy lens, and then the lens is suctioned out through small incisions in the patient’s cornea. Next, an intraocular lens replaces the natural lens, just like in traditional cataract surgery.
Differences Between Traditional Cataract Surgery and Laser Cataract Surgery
The result of traditional and laser cataract surgery is the same: removal of the clouded lens and replacement with an artificial one. But there are clear differences between the procedures.
Tools Used
One big difference between these two procedures is in the tools used. With traditional cataract surgery, manual instruments are used – a blade to make an incision in the cornea, and forceps or a suction tool
to remove the lens. In laser surgery, no blades or instruments are used at all. The laser itself makes the incisions and breaks up the clouded lens.
The use of fewer tools in laser cataract surgery adds to the overall safety of the procedure, and many steps in the process are automated and computer-controlled which reduces the risk of complications even further. However, traditional cataract surgery is still a very safe procedure with an extremely low risk of complications or side effects.
Accuracy
Laser cataract surgery uses 3D imaging to create a customized plan for a patient’s cataract removal. And the laser itself allows for very precise incisions and movements. In this way, laser eye surgery for cataracts is overall more accurate and precise than traditional cataract surgery.
Similarities with Traditional and Laser Cataract Surgery
As different as these two types of procedures are, they also share plenty of similarities. Namely, the two types of cataract surgery last the same length of time and are equally safe.
Duration
Whether a surgeon is using manual tools or being assisted by a laser, traditional and laser cataract surgeries are very quick procedures. The removal of the cloudy lens only takes a few minutes – 10 to 20 minutes is the average time, although it can take longer depending on the severity of the cataracts.
Safety
Both types of cataract surgery are extremely safe. It’s one of the most common medical procedures performed by ophthalmologists and eye surgeons. And the procedure is highly effective – according to UCI Health, the success rate is 99 percent.
Schedule a Consultation with the Ophthalmologists at ECVA to Determine Which Cataract Treatment is Right for You
Which cataract treatment is right for you? That depends on the severity of your cataracts, your health history and previous eye surgeries you may have undergone, and the advice of your ophthalmologist and other eye-care professionals. Both types of cataract surgery are used frequently – laser eye surgery for cataracts is generally more precise and may help lessen recovery time, but traditional cataract surgery is a perfectly viable procedure as well.
In the early stages of cataracts, treatment might not be necessary at all. Some patients are aided by different eyeglasses, magnifying glasses, or different and/or stronger lighting. But eventually, cataracts will get worse and start to affect eyesight. At that point or whenever cataracts start to affect a person’s ability to perform normal activities, surgery is usually recommended.
Looking for cataract removal in Buffalo, NY?
If you have signs or symptoms of cataracts, or if you’d like to learn more about this condition and the treatment options available, ECVA can help. The safety and health of our patients’ eyes are our top priority – schedule an appointment at the nearest ECVA clinic today.
While the winter can be a magical time of year, it can also wreak havoc on your eyes. Falling temperatures, heater use, and other situations that occur during this season can leave eyes feeling dry and itchy, which isn’t ideal.
Luckily, there are steps you can take to address the situation. Here are some tips for taking care of dry eyes in winter.
Don’t Sit Directly Next to Heat Sources
Staying close to heat sources could make dry eyes harder to manage. The air near heaters and radiators tends to be drier, and that impacts your eyes. Additionally, if the heat source also has a blower, the moving heat could dry out eyes even quicker.
Ideally, you want to have some distance between you and the heat source. While the air in a heated space may still be dry, it will be just a bit better if you aren’t as close.
Use a Humidifier to Add Moisture to the Air
Since heating systems reduce the amount of moisture in the air – a situation that can lead to dry eyes – putting moisture back into a space makes a difference. Often, a humidifier is the easiest way to go. The machines tend to be small and simple to use.
When you fill your humidifier, use distilled water instead of tap water. Distilled water doesn’t have any minerals or particles, so it won’t harm the machine. Additionally, it’s treated to remove bacteria, allergens, and other contaminants.
Drink More Water to Ensure You’re Hydrated
If you’re dehydrated, dry eyes are often more of an issue. Since heaters and dry air can speed up dehydration, you want to make an extra effort when it comes to staying hydrated. You replenish what you’re losing by drinking more water, ensuring your body can create enough tears to keep your eyes comfortable.
For anyone who isn’t the biggest fan of plain water, other options can also work. Foods with high water contents can make a difference, as well as beverages like green tea.
Eat More Fish to Keep Eyes Hydrated
The omega-3 fatty acids in cold-water fish can actually help keep your eyes more comfortable in the winter. Those fatty acids assist with moisture retention in the eyes, keeping them better lubricated even when the air is drier. Halibut, mackerel, and tuna are all great options. However, anything that provides a solid dose of omega-3s could potentially make a difference.
Use Artificial Tears to Rehydrate Eyes
If you’re eyes feel dry, there’s a good chance that they’re short on moisture. By using artificial tears, you can remoisten eyes and keep them from drying out as quickly.
Usually, artificial tears contain ingredients designed to enhance hydration and reduce evaporation, allowing your eyes to stay comfortable for longer periods. If you want guidance regarding artificial tears, speak with your eye doctor to see what they recommend.
At ECVA, the safety and health of our patient’s eyes are our priority. If you are struggling with dry eye this season or are experiencing symptoms that could indicate another problem, we are here to help. Schedule an appointment at your closest ECVA clinic today.
During the summer months, most people focus on enjoying the warmer weather, planning vacations, and other fun events, not the eye problems they may encounter during the season. In reality, summer can have an impact on your eyes, and certain issues can be surprisingly common.
If you want to find out more about eye problems many people face in the summer and what to do about them, here’s what you need to know.
Corneal Burns
When people think of sunburns, they usually focus on the skin. However, harmful UV rays can also lead to corneal burns, a condition with symptoms like blurry vision, dryness, and a gritty feeling in the eye.
In most cases, the easiest way to protect yourself against corneal burns is to wear sunglasses. Just make sure to pick a pair that offers full-spectrum UV protection.
Dry Eye
During the summer, higher temperatures, fans, and air conditioning can all increase the occurrence of dry eye. In addition, if you live in a more arid climate, the lack of humidity can also be a compounding factor, increasing your chances of experiencing dry eye.
In most cases, dry eye is noticeably uncomfortable. You may experience a gritty or stinging sensation, as well as experience redness, sensitivity to light, and more.
If you’re experiencing dry eye, make an effort to stay hydrated and consider using lubricating drops. Drinking more water can make a difference, while the drops provide quick relief.
Tired Eyes
If your summer is especially busy, you may experience more eye tiredness than usual. For many people, enjoying the season can mean missing out on critical sleep, something that can leave your eyes irritated and fatigued.
For tired eyes, your best bet is to give your eyes a break by getting enough sleep. Also, avoid using digital devices, as those can make the situation worse, not better.
Allergies
While many people assume that eye allergies are only a major issue in the spring, they are still prevalent in the summer. Certain plant pollens, seeds, and mold types are more common later into the warmer months.
Eye allergies can be incredibly uncomfortable. Some symptoms may include itching, burning, and dryness.
If you have eye allergies, try to reduce your exposure. Wear sunglasses, wash your face as soon as you come indoors, and even change clothing. Also, many over-the-counter and prescription allergy treatments can provide relief, so they can be worth exploring.
Infection
Eye infections can happen at any time of the year. Plus, you may participate in activities that can increase your risk, such as swimming in a public pool that isn’t properly treated or a nearby lake that may host to a range of bacteria.
If you want to reduce your odds of infection, wear goggles while swimming. Additionally, rinse off after swimming, ensuring contaminants don’t remain on your skin.
At ECVA, we take the safety and health of our patients’ eyes seriously. If you have a summer eye health concern or haven’t had an eye exam recently, we are here to help. Schedule an appointment at your closest ECVA clinic today.
Spotting a broken blood vessel in the white section of your eye can be scary. Often, it stands out dramatically, which alone can be concerning. Additionally, most people view bleeding as a sign of trouble, particularly if they spot it in their eye.
While bleeding in your eye can certainly be serious, a broken blood vessel isn’t typically as bad as it appears. If you are wondering whether you should be concerned, here’s what you need to know about broken blood vessels in the eye.
Common Causes of Broken Blood Vessels in the Eye
A broken blood vessel in the eye is called a subconjunctival hemorrhage. When a small blood vessel breaks beneath the conjunctiva, the clear outer eye surface, blood can pool. In many ways, it is similar to a bruise, though it tends to be brighter red in coloring.
When it comes to common causes, dramatic spikes in blood pressure are a major one. This can occur when coughing or sneezing, as well as during moments of intense laughter. Vomiting can cause a blood vessel to break, too. Similarly, exercise or work that involves heavy lifting can also be responsible for a blood pressure increase that could result in a broken vessel.
However, blood pressure changes aren’t the only potential cause. People who take blood thinners may have a vessel occasionally break. Additionally, a broken blood vessel can be caused by eye surgery or injury. At times, even vigorous rubbing of the eye may burst a vessel.
When to Be Concerned About Broken Blood Vessels in Eyes
Generally speaking, you only need to be concerned about a broken blood vessel in the eye under specific circumstances. First, if the subconjunctival hemorrhage is accompanied by other worrisome symptoms, such as signs of an infection, the overall situation could be an emergency.
Broken blood vessels don’t automatically cause eye pain, discharge, or vision changes. If you have symptoms like that, you may have another condition that needs immediate assessment and, potentially, treatment.
Additionally, if a broken blood vessel occurred after an eye injury, it’s wise to see an eye doctor. The subconjunctival hemorrhage could result from eye trauma, and the situation may worsen, depending on the nature of the injury.
What to Do If You Have a Broken Blood Vessel in the Eye
Generally, if you don’t have signs of an infection or injury, you can potentially wait until the broken blood vessel resolves itself. In most cases, this can take one to two weeks, as the blood has to be reabsorbed, and that process can take time.
If you’re having other symptoms along with the broken blood vessel or the situation isn’t getting better over time, schedule an appointment with your eye doctor. They can assess the subconjunctival hemorrhage, determine a cause, identify any other problems that may be occurring, and ensure prompt treatment if needed.
See an Ophthalmologist in Buffalo NY
At ECVA, our staff works diligently to care for the eye health of our patients. If concerned about a broken blood vessel in your eye or you simply haven’t had your eyes checked recently, schedule an appointment with your closest ECVA clinic today.
