Ophthalmology Archives - Page 2 of 2

Home Eye Tests and Apps: Are Your Patients Seeing the Whole Picture?

September 9, 2014

Doctors encourage patients to become more active with regard to their health care. They know that engaged patients are more likely to have better treatment outcomes. The Internet, smart phones, and apps now provide patients with unprecedented access to health care tools, including home eye tests and other do-it-yourself diagnostic exams. This technology may help patients feel more confident about seeking early treatment, but ophthalmologists and optometrists know that home eye tests and apps can provide misleading results. The key message for patients is that an online eye examination is not a substitute for seeing a doctor who can detect much more than poor vision. Eye doctors frequently catch other illnesses, and detect chronic conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure.

Ophthalmology

Designer Brand Rip-offs

August 6, 2014

Most of us have experienced sticker shock and the disparity in costs when shopping for sunglasses or for frames for corrective lenses. The truth behind designer brands and knockoffs will surprise you. It all starts with a large yet little-known company called Luxottica. Luxottica is an Italian eyeglass manufacturer. 60 Minutes reported on Luxottica and detailed how it is probably the most well-known brand that nobody has ever heard of.

Ophthalmology

Ophthalmology in Retrospect

July 9, 2014

Medicine doesn’t change by the century, year, month, or even day; it changes by the minute. In particular, the field of ophthalmology has undergone transformative advances since becoming the first medical specialty in the mid-1800s. These 5 recent medical breakthroughs—along with related developments in the pipeline—represent the past, present, and future of ophthalmology.

Medicine

Lyme Disease: Ocular Signs

June 12, 2014

Lyme disease, a serious illness transmitted to humans by infected blacklegged ticks, leads to a variety of symptoms for patients. The CDC reports that common symptoms may include fatigue, headache, fever, and a characteristic erythema migrans rash. However, patients who have contracted Lyme disease may also experience some ocular symptoms.

Ophthalmology

Doctor: Are There Monsters in My Eyes?

May 7, 2014

Have patients inquired whether there are monsters eating away at their eyes? They may have if they recently travelled outside of the US. Parasitic eye infections are relatively uncommon in the US, but they are a significant cause of eye problems throughout the world. Americans who travel abroad to lands where eye parasites are common are at high risk for developing monsters in their eyes.

Body Modification

The Eyes Have It!

April 28, 2014

Don’t blink—surgically implanted eyeball jewelry takes body piercing to a whole new level. It was developed in the Netherlands 10 years ago, slowly made its way to Los Angeles, and recently arrived in New York. The technical medical term for eyeball jewelry is extraocular implant. Eye surgeons at the Netherlands Institute for Innovative Ocular Surgery created the cosmetic procedure where a tiny piece of jewelry (which they market as “JewelEye”) is inserted under the surface of the eyeball for decorative purposes. The institute’s website says that the implant is completely safe and does not affect visual performance, mobility, or other ocular functions.

Ophthalmology

First Came Glasses, Then Contacts; Now the Bionic Eye?

April 9, 2014

In the fictional universe of Star Trek exists a device called a VISOR. Its a thin apparatus worn like a pair of sunglasses by the blind to artificially provide them with a sense of vision. VISORs can detect electromagnetic signals and transmit them to a users brain through neural implants in their temples. However, instead of seeing the world as human eyes do, someone wearing a VISOR is able to see infrared and ultraviolet light and beyond. When the fictional technology of the VISOR was conceived, it was far from becoming a reality, but today, a device very similar to this is already being used by blind patients.

Tech Talk

Three Future Medical Technologies That May Become a Reality Sooner Than You Think

March 18, 2014

The human race is relatively young. The universe is estimated to be approximately 13.8 billion years old, but Homo sapiens have only been in existence for the last 200,000 years. To put that into perspective, humans are less than 0.002% the age of the universe, or rather, a blip in time. And although our species may be in its infancy, humans have already greatly advanced technologically in the short time that we have walked the earth. Once we developed a written language, we were able to begin efficiently passing on our knowledge extra-genetically from one generation to the next. It is the coalescence of this knowledge that made man into the distinguished being that he is today.

Body Modification

Increasing Number of Asians Seek Eye Surgery to Look “American”

February 10, 2014

“Round eye.” It was once a derogatory slang term Asians would use at times to refer to Westerners, but particularly, it applied to Americans. Now the term “round-eye” has taken on a whole new meaning in Asian culture and is associated with more than a touch of envy and beauty. How ironic that an Asian woman’s almond-shaped eyes, thought to be mysterious and alluring to many Western men, are now considered an ugly deformity in some Asian cultures, most notably in Korea and China, where the Western look is now coveted.