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Does wearing spectacles or contact lenses seem cumbersome to you? Are you considering LASIK eye surgery – one of the most prevalent and successful refractive surgery techniques? I suggest you hold your horses and rather request the valuable assistance of an expert surgeon, since LASIK eye surgery is not for everyone. Read on to see whether you are a potential candidate for LASIK surgery.

An important aspect to bear in mind while considering LASIK surgery is the patient’s age. Since the vision typically experiences a continuous change until the age of 18, you must be at least 18 years old (21 for some laser ablations) to undergo LASIK. Furthermore, if you are myopic, you should defer LASIK awaiting your refraction to stabilize, since myopia may continue to increase until a patient’s mid to late 20s.

Pregnant or nursing mothers are advised against undergoing LASIK, though they might go for LASIK at a later stage in life. Also, you must not be taking certain prescription drugs, such as oral prednisone or Accutane. To be a potential LASIK candidate, your eyes must be healthy with a stabilized refraction. Moreover, LASIK is typically not recommended for patients with herpes infections of the eye, diabetes, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, glaucoma, or cataracts.

LASIK is not a panacea for all vision anomalies. You must have realistic expectations while you consider LASIK eye surgery. Consult your surgeon to check out if you are a potential candidate for monovision. LASIK can be used to impart monovision, that is, one eye corrected for near vision and the other for distant vision. The crucial aspect is to adjust to this particular type of vision correction. If you can do the same, your dependency on eyeglasses or contact lenses may be eliminated.

It is imperative that you discern whether you are a potential candidate for LASIK surgery or not. You must weigh the pros and cons before undergoing surgery. If you are happy wearing contact lenses or eyeglasses in order to compensate for the refractive error, and you certainly don’t believe that wearing eyeglasses cramps your style, then you could very well forego LASIK surgery. After all, LASIK is a surgical procedure and hence it’s bound to have associated risks and complications.

The complexity of the LASIK surgery procedure is often obscured by the office-like milieu of the surgery room, the fact that it takes only a scant few minutes to accomplish the procedure, and the fact that the patient experiences virtually no pain. But, LASIK is in fact a complex surgical procedure with associated complications and risks, and it is certainly not apt for everyone. In order to determine your suitability, and to avoid potential LASIK complications, the best way is to get screened and tested prior to undergoing surgery.

Before the surgery, the patient’s corneal surface is examined with a computer-controlled scanning device. A topographic map of the cornea is created to determine irregularities in the shape of the cornea and also help detect astigmatism. Such preoperative examination is crucial in determining whether the patient is a viable LASIK candidate or not. Comprehensive testing and screening is helpful in avoiding LASIK problems at a later stage, since an inappropriate subject can be ruled out at the outset.

Laser eye surgery has its inherent limits as to how much vision correction it can accomplish. Patients with gravely poor eyesight are not apt for LASIK surgery. The limits prescribed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rule out those patients with more than -14 diopters of myopia, more than +6 diopters of hyperopia, or more than 6 diopters of astigmatism.

Another important consideration is that of the viable age for LASIK laser eye surgery. Since, the visual acuity constantly changes until the age of 18, eye surgeons prefer to operate patients who are well over 18 and whose prescription has completely stabilized. A simple refractive examination followed by a meticulous comparison with the patient’s early medical records would reveal whether the prescription has stabilized or not.

The eye surgeon should also carry out comprehensive tests of the eye anterior (front) and posterior (back). This is helpful in determining certain eye ailments that might rule out LASIK surgery as a treatment option. For instance, a posterior examination might identify eye diseases, such as ocular hypertension, glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy. All in all, prior screening and tests are valuable and rather indispensable in the sense that they determine the possible candidature of a patient for LASIK surgery.

Finding a LASIK surgery that you are confident of working with will ease your concerns about problems with LASIK eye surgery.

Patients considering LASIK eye surgery may come across medical jargon, such as “blade” and “bladeless” LASIK. To a layman, such terms might appear overwhelming. However, as a patient you must know the difference between the two surgery types, and the rewards and risks associated with each.

Traditional LASIK makes use of a microkeratome to cut a thin hinged flap in the cornea. The flap is then folded back to reveal the stroma – the middle layer of the cornea. A high precision laser, called the excimer laser, is used to reshape the corneal surface so as to correct any refractive error. The flap is then repositioned to act as a natural bandage. Since the microkeratome used to create a flap is in fact a surgical blade, the procedure is also known as blade LASIK.

A more recent innovation, introduced in 1999, makes use of a high energy laser (IntraLase or femtosecond laser) to create a flap during surgery. As opposed to traditional LASIK, IntraLase does not employ a surgical blade, and hence the procedure is often marketed as “bladeless” or “all laser” LASIK. The term itself has raged a debate among eye surgeons, as to whether it should be used in IntraLase advertisements or not. Several surgeons assert that the term “bladeless” implies that traditional LASIK, which makes use of a surgical blade (microkeratome), is a scarier proposition, when in fact it’s not.

The creation of the flap is an important part of the laser eye surgery procedure. It’s true that flap predictability is better with a laser flap, that is, with bladeless LASIK. Moreover, there is a reduced possibility of flap complications, such as partial flaps, flap dislocation, free flaps etc. However, an expert surgeon wielding a contemporary microkeratome can very well match the finesse of bladeless LASIK. Although the chances are rare, there is an issue of transient light sensitivity as well – a unique risk associated with bladeless LASIK. Moreover, the bladeless LASIK procedure costs an extra $300 per eye, when compared with traditional LASIK.

All said and done, LASIK itself is one of the safest refractive surgery procedure. Whether it’s blade or bladeless, it largely depends on the eye surgeon of your choice. If the surgeon has loads of experience carrying out microkeratome procedures, it’s better to have it that way. If otherwise, you may go in for the relatively new bladeless LASIK surgery.

Finding a LASIK surgery that you are confident about will be able to give you more information about blade and bladeless LASIK.

Fashion industry is brimming with new trends one of them is the use of contact lenses. Youngsters today prefer varied eye colors for different appearances. This has created a strong demand for disposable contact lenses or soft lenses in the market. Disposable lenses come in variety of replacement options. Replacement refers to how frequently the contact lenses could be changed. Daily disposable lenses are to be changed daily. Disposable (daily wear) have a replacement duration of 14 days or two weeks. Seven day extended wear lenses are to be replaced after a week . Planned or frequent replacement lenses are to be changed after one or more months depending upon the brand. The conventional contact lenses are replaced after an year. These replacement durations are very general n nature and vary according to the amount of lipid; the proteins; produced by the eyes.

Earlier cleaning of lens was a tedious job with various solutions. With passage of time lens manufacturers developed better quality lenses and lens solutions that are easier to use. Lenses protect eyes from UV rays of sun. UV rays from the sun are associated with formation of cataracts. Excessive exposure to UV rays leads to photokeratitis. It is a condition in which the sun burn is caused to cornea of eye leading to temporary vision blindness known as “snow blindness”. It is easy to find whether a lens is UV blocker or not. UV protection layer is clearly visible on a lens. Also, the packaging of the lens clearly states if the lens is UV protected or not. However, these lenses only cover the cornea of the eye for protecting the other parts of eye from sun it is essential to make use of sunglasses.

Also, the 30 day continuous wear lenses are back in market. They are made up of better material than they were earlier. They allow a lot more amount of oxygen to reach the eye even when you are wearing the lenses. Thereby making them much safer and convenient to use. A few manufacturers are also making bifocal & toric lenses in disposable styles in addition to the conventional styles that last from one to several years.

The replacement schedule of a lens depends on whether i can be worn during sleep or not. There are lenses that have the caliber of correcting vision. This is known as corneal refractive therapy. Under this therapy special contact lenses are worn during night when you sleep. These lenses reshape the eyes in order to improve your vision. As a result you can see even when you are not wearing them.

The concept of lenses made from silicone hydrogel was first proposed over 20 years ago. The potential benefits were clear but the technological challenge was as difficult as needing to combine oil and water to produce an optically clear product. Researcher organizations have to date invested considerable academic and financial resources to achieve the high performance soft lenses of today. They have done this quite simply because they see this material as the way forward and the ultimate standard of the future.

At the time of writing, silicone hydrogel lenses are available in the USA from four manufacturers: “Night & Day” and “O2OPTIX” from CIBA Vision, “Pure Vision” from Bausch & Lomb, and “Acuvue OASYS” and “Advance” from J&J Vision Care.

OXYGEN TRANSPORT

So what’s so special about silicone hydrogel as a lens material? Essentially, the great benefit of this material is it’s ability to transport oxygen to the eye and thus maintain proper eye health. Modern contact lens technology is all to do with oxygen permability, which is measured using the “Dk” index. And for optimal oxygen transmission, this must be as high as possible.

The Dk of traditional, non-silicone based hydrogel lenses is directly related to the amount of water that the material can hold, since oxygen dissolves into the water-component of the material and thus diffuses through the lens. The Dk in fact increases logarithmically with increasing water content. Water itself has a Dk of only 80, thus placing a ceiling on the Dk of convential materials, and the original soft contact lens material, polyHEMA, possesses a Dk of only around 10 (with a water content of about 38%).

However, in silicone hydrogels, the relationship between Dk and water content is the opposite. Here higher water content implies lower Dk. With these lenses Dk increases significantly as the silicone content – not water content – of the lens increases. The Dk values of silicone hydrogel contact lenses are much higher than those of older soft lens materials.

SLEEPING IN CONTACT LENSES

According to market data from CIBA Vision, 84% of soft contact lens wearers occasionally sleep with their lenses in, and one-third admit to doing this regularly. 25% of wearers of one to two-week disposable lenses with low oxygen transmissibility occasionally or routinely sleep in their lenses overnight. And 72% of soft contact lens wearers said they would prefer to be allowed to wear their lenses overnight provided it was safe.

Thus the demand for lenses with the capablities of silicone hydrogels is evidently very high with almost three-quarters of soft lens wearers wanting to be able to sleep in their lenses.

LENS HANDLING

Silicone hydrogel lenses are significantly more rigid than their conventional counterparts, due to the presence of silicone. This increased rigidity does possess some advantages, making the lenses markedly easier to handle and thus the ideal choice for wearers with a less delicate touch. There is a downside to this however in that the rigidity makes the lenses less prone to adopting the shape of the eye so readily, resulting in the possibility for some of reduced comfort.

REDUCED DEPOSITIONS

Historically, the deposition of proteins and lipids has been a problem with contact lenses. The amount of depositions is essentially linked to the duration of wear, the lens material and the tear composition of each individual wearer. With traditional lenses, a frequent replacement schedule greatly reduces the buildup of harmful deposits.

Silicone hydrogel contact lenses have been proven to offer major benefits in the reduction of protein and lysozyme deposition. Indeed, combined with the correct replacement schedule and appropriate care system, problems associated with protein deposition have become almost a thing of the past.

DRY EYES

A problem frequently encountered by wearers of traditional soft contact lenses is one of a feeling of discomfort and “grittiness” in the eyes towards the end of the day. It has been reported that after one week wearing silicone hydrogel lenses, the quantity of regular soft lens wearers in a particular study group who previously suffered significantly from end-of-day dryness, was reduced dramatically to only 13% of the sample.

LIFESTYLE BENEFITS

Silicone hydrogel contact lenses also provide some benefits that conventional lenses don’t. Continuous wear contact lenses can be particularly beneficial for use by members of certain professions, such as medical workers, police, the armed forces and firefighters who frequently work unpredictable and long hours.

Furthermore, an increasing numbers of contact lens wearers can now enjoy active outdoor lifestyles, enjoying pursuits such as camping and hiking where it is often difficult to handle and disinfect the lenses with the appropriate level of hygiene.

THE FUTURE FOR CONTACT LENSES

There is much evidence to suggest that, owing to their significant benefits over conventional soft lenses, silicone hydrogel lenses will ultimately, and sooner rather than later, displace other types of contact lens as the prefferred choice for both daily and overnight wear for the majority of contact lens wearers. Silicone hydrogel lenses provide a much improved physical performance, excellent handling properties and greater comfort. They might be considered as the ideal lens for general purpose use that exists today and are likely to become the new everyday standard.