Vision Archives

Does Lack of Sleep Affect Vision?

Written By Michael Healy

You live a busy life. With the responsibilities associated with your job, family, and well, everything, you may not get enough sleep.

More than one in three Americans don’t get enough sleep—defined as seven or more hours each—on a regular basis, according to the CDC. It’s been well established a lack of sleep can increase the risk of a number of serious health issues including high blood pressure, obesity, and depression, but does it contribute to serious or long-term problems for the health of your eyes?

Lack of sleep can leave you looking worn-down and with dark circles or heavy bags under your eyes. While this isn’t an ideal look, it’s usually nothing that a good night’s sleep can’t fix. However, as doctors learn more about our vision it has become abundantly clear that a chronic lack of sleep can have significant, and in some cases lasting, effects on your vision and the overall health of your eyes.

A Look at the Development of Medicated Contact Lenses

Written By Courtney Dryer

Besides correcting vision, contact lenses may be potential treatment devices to relieve eye pain, help the cornea to heal from injury, protect and hydrate the surface of the cornea from dry eye disease, and deliver medications to the eye.

Many ocular conditions like allergic conjunctivitis, dry eye, and glaucoma are treated using eye drops. It is estimated that 95% of the active ingredient in the medication may be lost through tear drainage. Technological advancements have made it possible to use soft contact lenses to deliver a continuous release of medication over a duration of time to treat ocular conditions and disease.

The ability of the soft contact lens to absorb and release a drug is based on the contact lens material. Their potential as a treatment depends on the water content, the thickness of the lens, the molecular weight of the drug, the drug concentration, and the time it remains within the lens.

Topical eye drops can be an inconvenient burden for patients. Delivering medication by way of a contact lens has many benefits and offers a glimpse into the future of treatment.

Let’s look at the potential benefits of using contact lenses to deliver medication to your eyes.

Blurry Vision and Headache: 8 Common Causes and Treatments

Written By Courtney Dryer

It’s often said the brain is an extension of the eye, and for that reason, a headache may be a symptom of a vision problem. Headaches that are related to the eye can be of the forehead, temples, behind the eyes, and at the back of the skull. They may be excruciating or dull. They may or may not be alleviated by Tylenol or sleep. They may even present with blurred vision. If you are having blurry vision and headache, your eye doctor may ask you the following questions:

Where do your headaches occur?
Do you wake up with headaches? Do they worsen with near work?
How long does your vision stay blurry when you have the headache?
If you were to grade the severity of the headache on a 1-10 scale, what number would you give?

Here are the 8 most common reasons for blurry vision and headache, and how they are diagnosed and treated.

Sun Damage to Eyes: How Can You Protect Yourself?

Written By Michael Healy

The harmful effects of the sun’s ultraviolet rays have been well documented. However, one of the most important, but often overlooked, areas of concern is the possible sun damage to eyes.

A recent report from The Vision Council estimates nearly 35% of the adult population has experienced eye or vision damage resulting from prolonged exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet rays.

To shed light on the importance of protecting the eyes from ultraviolet rays, it’s important to understand the various types of ultraviolet rays, the serious eye conditions that can occur, and how to protect your eyes and your vision from damage caused by exposure to the sun.

10 Helpful Tips for Dry Eye Symptoms

Written By Courtney Dryer

Approximately 16 million Americans have been diagnosed with dry eye, and millions more have symptoms but remain undiagnosed. Dry eye can result from inadequate tear production or poor tear quality. Symptoms include:

Watery eyes
Light sensitivity
Burning /gritty eyes
Blurred or fluctuating vision

Those over 65 and female are most likely to have symptoms. However, children are commonly diagnosed due to their significant digital device use. Once you have been diagnosed, it is important to understand that dry eye is a chronic condition that will always require treatment.

Your doctor will prescribe dry eye treatment tailored to your eyes, however, there are several lifestyle changes you can make to alleviate or improve your symptoms.