It is important to visit the eye doctor on a regular basis to allow the Optometrist to check the health of your eyes, and of course, determine your visual acuity (aka: your prescription). A majority of the time spent with the Optometrist is reviewing your lifestyle, current state of your health, and examine for any pathology. Your health is important. Only a small portion of this time is spent determining your visual acuity. We are passionate about eyes and keeping yours healthy!
Tradewinds offers state-of-the-art technology to diagnose, treat, and manage eye conditions such as glaucoma, macular degeneration, cataracts, and diabetic eye disease. Yearly dilated eye examinations are necessary for patients with diabetes, and even those with borderline glucose levels. We gladly provide these annual checkups and also communicate the results to your primary care provider and/or endocrinologist.
If you’re experiencing any eye symptoms or want to know what eye condition you have, schedule an eye exam with us. Schedule at your convenience, call us or contact us online. for the quickest response.
A red eye can be indicative of various conditions and must be examined by an eye care provider, who can look at the ocular tissue through a slit-lamp biomicroscope. This is a common symptom that presents with bacterial and viral conjunctivitis (aka "pink eye"), ocular allergies, contact lens complications, and ocular injuries. It is impossible to accurately diagnose and treat this symptom without examining the tissue. Every condition will present with subtle, but detectable differences to a trained eye. Keep in mind the wrong medication could worsen or not improve your symptoms.
Spots, cobwebs, strings, bugs, strands of hair, light, dark, and in between. We have heard them all. Eye floaters occur when the gelatin-like substance that fills the eyeball, called the vitreous, converts to a more liquid form over time. The remaining pieces can clump together and cast a shadow on the retina, which will be perceived as a floater. Occasionally, these small clumps or floaters will pull on the retina tissue causing a tear, break, or cause retinal detachment from the back wall of the eye.
This is a symptom of a potentially serious condition that could be sight-threatening. Time is of the essence when experiencing these types of symptoms. It is imperative to see an eye care provider as soon as possible after the onset of flashes of light or an increase in floaters in your vision.
In its mildest form, sudden blurred vision could be simply the result of an uncorrected prescription. It can cause a mild blurring of objects that is hardly noticeable or it is so severe you have trouble with daily tasks or mobility.
Cataracts can cause a significant change in vision as they progress, occasionally developing very quickly.
Many systemic conditions can result in changes in visual acuity, such as fluctuations in blood glucose levels, which cause the lens inside the eye to swell and change shape.
Other causes could include: epiretinal membranes, macular degeneration or macular holes, retinal or vitreous abnormalities, and retinal vein occlusions.
This can be a scary sight looking back at you from the mirror. Blood in the eye can be caused by numerous events or diseases. It is important to always see an eye care professional if you notice any significant change in the appearance of your outer eye. We want to rule out any lacerations in the deep chambers of the eye.
These are very common symptoms experienced by many patients who feel they simply must just put up with it. Nothing could be further from the truth. Often, patients can be treated with a course of simple eye drops to control the itching. Sometimes, over-the-counter eye drops are all a patient will need. Others may need a stronger prescription-only medication. Certain medications can be prescribed for year-round use to keep symptoms at bay, even if they are only bothersome certain times of the year.
Migraine sufferers can experience vision changes before, during, or after the headache pain is felt. Some only experience visual symptoms, but no headache pain. The visual disturbances can last from minutes to upwards of half an hour. Some of the visual changes that can occur with migraines include blurry vision, double vision, blind spots in the visual field, flickering light, jagged light, jumping or dancing images, sensitivity to light, tunnel vision, and vision resembling a kaleidoscope or disco lights, among many others. Given the wide variety of symptoms that accompany migraine, it is sometimes hard to determine whether these are indeed migraine-related or the result of a more serious eye-health or other medical problem.