Resources: A great place to get and stay informed.
A few frequently-asked-for definitionsAstigmatism: Astigmatism refers to the prescription not being totally spherical, or that different areas or directions on the glasses/contacts have a different strength. You can relate this to the idea of a basketball versus a football. A basketball has the same curvature in all directions because it is spherical. A football (more like astigmatism) has essentially two different curves, one gentle and one steep, and is not spherical. Almost 9 out of 10 patients with a prescription have an astigmatism.
Glaucoma: Glaucoma is a disease (or group of diseases) of the optic nerve, characterized by progressive damage to the nerve tissue, which leads to functional loss of vision. It is commonly associated with high inter-ocular pressure, but there are many risk factors, including age, race, medical history and family history. As the nerve is damaged, side vision is affected first, and progression of the disease can lead to blindness. Glaucoma can be caught early with yearly examinations and can usually be controlled/managed with eye drops.
Cataracts: Cataracts refers to the clouding of the natural lens inside the eye. This clouding is usually caused by aging, but can be accelerated with certain things, for example trauma, UV exposure and smoking.
Macular Degeneration: Macular degeneration is the leading cause of blindness in America. The macula is a small area in the thin, inner lining of the eye--the retina. The macula is essentially the bull's eye on the retina, where people do their fine focusing, and macular degeneration is a disease that affects this very sensitive area. Also referred to as "Age Related Macular Degeneration," or ARMD, this disease process is usually associated with an aging eye. However, many young people have early signs of this disease. Risk of the disease is increased by smoking, vascular disease (including hypertension, diabetes and high cholesterol), family history and UV exposure. Risk can be decreased with UV protection and proper diet/supplementation.
Use the customized box below to 'google' for any information relating to eye care. This customized search engine will only return results from websites that Dr. Dovie and Blacksburg Eye Associates have approved as reliable, such as the American Academy of Optometry, Journal of Optometry, Journal of Ophthalmology, The National Eye Institute and more.