Eye Disease

Our doctors pride themselves on the ability to work with and treat many eye diseases and conditions including but not limited to:

Vision Exams VS Medical Exams:

Due to insurance, eye exams are broken into two categories: Vision Exams and Medical Exams. Major Medical (Regence, Premera, Aetna, etc.) do not cover routine eye care and Vision Insurance (EyeMed, VSP, Davis Vision, etc.) will not cover medical eye care.

When our doctors perform routine eye exams, they incorporate a photo, called an Optos, that takes an image of the back of the eye instead of dilating your eyes. This photo is billed to the major medical due to some insurances paying a portion of the cost. You will be responsible for a $39.00 copay for this photo. You do have the option to choose dilation instead of the photo during your routine eye exam.

A routine vision exam is when the doctor checks the health of your eyes as well as checks for a prescription which will give you a glasses and/or contact lens prescription. A medical exam is when you come in for a medical reason such as an eye injury, eye infection, or loss of vision. All of which will be billed to your major medical insurance and subject to your deductible.

Diabetic Eye Disease:

Diabetes can damage your eyes in many ways due to elevated blood sugar. The elevated blood sugar levels can cause patients to experience fluctuating and blurry vision. Blood sugar elevation or large fluctuations may affect the lens within the eye causing it to swell and become less flexible. This can cause cataracts to develop quicker than usual requiring cataract surgery at a younger age.

Diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of irreversible vision loss in individuals with diabetes. Sugar levels being elevated cause occlusions and thickening of small fragile blood vessels in the retina. The retina is the nerve tissue within the eye allowing visual images to be captured. The blocked blood vessels hemorrhage (leak blood), protein, and fluid in the retina which can cause swelling in the macula. The macula is the central part of the retina and is responsible for reading and seeing small print.

Retinal ischemia can also be caused by blocked blood vessels and lead to irreversible vision loss. Retinal ischemia is a decrease in blood flow to the retina, these areas can cause new blood vessels to grow erratically called neovascularization. The new blood vessels can bleed in the back portion of the eye and fill it with blood which is known as a vitreous hemorrhage resulting in sudden vision loss and can be associated with retinal detachment.

Our doctors see many patients for diabetic eye exams. Since diabetes is a medical diagnosis, the exam is billed to the medical insurance and involves two photos, Optos and OCT, allowing the doctor to detect any changes within the eye that may not be as visible to the naked eye.

Dry Eye Syndrome:

If your eyes are not sufficiently lubricated, this can lead to redness, itchiness, and pain which is a condition known as dry eye. Dry eye can occur when tear ducts are not properly producing tears, or if there is a chemical imbalance in the tears themselves. Dry eye treatment is important, untreated dry eye syndrome has the potential to damage your vision.

There are many causes of dry eye, a few include blood-pressure medication, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, thyroid disease, Sjogren’s syndrome, long-term contact lens use, eye injury, eye or eyelid surgery, and inflammation of the eye (conjunctivitis or keratitis).

Symptoms of dry eye include stinging, burning, or scratchiness, eye fatigue, sensitivity to light, excessive tearing, blurry vision, and difficulty wearing contact lenses. The symptoms typically occur in both eyes.

Glaucoma:

One of the leading causes of permanent blindness in the world is glaucoma. Glaucoma is a disease that damages the optic nerve and is often associated with increased eye pressure. If glaucoma is left untreated it can cause blindness. Detection methods for glaucoma continue to improve and proper prevention can help avoid complete vision loss. Glaucoma can occur in anyone, but there is a higher risk to individuals with a family history of glaucoma, increasing age, or history of trauma to the eye.

To diagnose glaucoma a thorough eye exam is necessary. To examine the optic nerve, dilation is typically required. Our office uses non-invasive laser imaging and visual field testing to detect abnormalities in our patient’s vision. If these tests identify an individual as a glaucoma suspect the doctor will examine the optic nerve a few times a year to track changes that can indicate the onset of glaucoma.

Cataracts:

A cataract is when the lens of your eye becomes cloudy; it is comparable to a frosted window. Cataract surgery is common, safe, and painless. Our doctors treat many patients with cataracts before they have surgery. Our office does not perform surgeries, but we have a few offices we coordinated care with. Patients will receive a referral to have pre-op visits. We will see them back for any follow-up appointments needed unless the patient chooses to return to the office they had surgery at for the follow-up appointments.

Macular Degeneration:

For individuals over the age of 50, age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of blindness. Macular degeneration involves the loss of central vision, which is the straight-ahead vision needed for driving, reading, recognizing faces, and looking at detail. The most significant risk factor to the development of macular degeneration is age. Other risk factors include heredity, blue eyes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and smoking.

The macula helps send images from an individual’s optic nerve to their brain. Damage to the macula causes your brain to not understand or read what your eyes see. Some symptoms associated with macular degeneration include blurred vision, being less able to see in low light, low vision, problems or changes in the way you see colors, straight lines are seen as wavy or curving, and dark or blank spots may appear in your field of vision.

Annual eye exams are extremely important because symptoms are rarely caused in the early stages of macular degeneration. There is no cure for macular degeneration, but treatment can slow the progression of the disease, which is why annual exams are so important. The exams can include extra testing such as dilation or an optical coherence tomography (OCT), among others.

Flashes and Floaters:

Changes to the thick gel firmly attached to the retina, called the vitreous, can be the cause of flashes and floaters due to age. As we age the vitreous becomes more watery and thinner and can sometimes pull away from the retina which is known as a posterior vitreous detachment. When this occurs tissue debris that was once secure in the vitreous gel loosens and moves around, casting shadows on the retina.

As a result of pressure on the retina, flashes may occur. These lights can come in the form of flashes or streaks. Floaters occur when collagen fibers move across the vitreous and into the field of vision. Floaters can look like specks, strands, webs or other shapes as a result of the collagen fibers casting shadows on the retina.

A few causes of flashers and floaters are aging, Cataract or YAG laser surgery, a blow to the head, injury to the eye, diabetes, or retinitis. Flashes and floaters can occur for other reasons as well, but are often seen due to injury, inflammation, or nearsightedness. If you are experiencing sudden flashes of light or floaters, we recommend reaching out to your eye doctor to schedule an appointment as soon as possible.