The term eye doctor is loosely defined as anyone who provides vision services. This can be misleading, and it’s important to understand certain differences. Many eye care professionals provide services related to the eyes and vision; not all can address serious eye issues beyond normal vision limitations. The optometrist with some post-secondary training cannot offer the range of services of the ophthalmologist. The latter’s training rises to doctorate levels of education. Each has a place in your vision care; each should be carefully selected based on ability, reputation, and thoroughness.

Optometrists

Optometry Doctors (O.D.s/optometrists) are America’s primary eye health care providers. They represent the frontline in the eye and vision care. As essential health care providers, they are recognized as physicians under Medicare. Their range of services is what you would expect from a thorough eye examination.

• Examine the human eye to diagnose vision problems
• Diagnose nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism
• Test patients for depth, color perception, ability to focus
• Test for glaucoma
• Prescribe vision-correcting glasses and contacts

Ophthalmologists

An ophthalmologist is an MD and does everything an Optometrist does and more.

• Prescribes advanced medications
• Performs eye surgeries, including LASIK
• Assesses, monitors, and treats vision damage brought on by diseases, such as diabetes

Serious Vision Issues Treated by Ophthalmologists

An ophthalmologist treats the following issues:

• Chronic Dry Eye. Your eyes do not make enough tears to stay wet, or when your tears don’t work correctly. This can make your eyes feel uncomfortable, and in some cases, cause vision problems.
• Macular Degeneration. Often found in older people, this degenerative condition affects the central part of the retina (the macula), resulting in blurriness, distortion, or loss of central vision.
• Chronic Thyroid Eye Disease (TED). Hyperthyroidism impacts the tissue around your eyes, including the fat behind your eyeballs, your eye muscles, and neighboring facial tissues. The result is a thyroid eye disease and Graves’ disease, an autoimmune condition identified by bulging eyeballs, eye pain, and impaired vision.
• Diabetic Macular Edema (DME). The condition causes swelling in a part of the retina (the light-sensitive layer of tissue at the back of your eye) and blood vessels to leak into the retina. Blurred vision is a major sign of the condition and should never be ignored.
• Diabetic Retinopathy (DME). A complication of diabetes caused by high blood sugar levels damages the back of the eye (retina). If left untreated, it may result in seriously impaired vision, and eventually, blindness.

Which Eye Doctor Should You See?

The consensus is as follows. Visit your medical optometrist for primary medical eye care, including eye medication prescriptions, monitoring and managing eye diseases, or emergency eye care services. Visit an ophthalmologist for interventions like surgical treatments for serious eye diseases, advanced ocular problems, or refractive eye surgery.
Be advised that these services do overlap. Many people, especially older people or people with diabetes or other conditions in their family history, choose to visit an ophthalmologist for all their eye care needs. It is up to you.

Get Your Sight Right, New York

Dr. Craig Beyer comes to the New York area as one of the first 10 doctors in the country authorized to perform LASIK surgery by the FDA. He has personally performed over 15,000 surgeries. His experience in all corrective surgeries and advanced eye care has been noted by top Ophthalmology Publications nationwide.
If you live in New York or the surrounding areas and are considering LASIK surgery, call 877-274-1797 to schedule a consultation for the best in eyecare and LASIK surgery.

Contact lenses have become the way to go for people with eye issues needing correction. But did you know that plastic lenses were developed in 1936 by New York Optometrist William Feinbloom? Moving forward to 1960, Czech Ophthalmologist Otto Wichterle designed the first gas permeable (GP) soft lens we wear today. Since then, their popularity as an alternative to eyeglasses has been well established. But popularity aside, are they right for you?
Some people see contacts as a natural addition to their daily lives; others find them difficult to put in and uncomfortable. Older people admit their preference for glasses to hide the visible signs of age. The truth is, contacts or no contacts is a matter of preference, one based on a variety of factors beyond aesthetics. While a no-glasses look may seem an attractive alternative, there is more to consider.

Contacts: The Pros

There are several reasons to use contact lenses, including:

• They produce a more “natural” field of vision. Because they sit on the surface of your eyes and move with them, contact lenses provide seamless vision correction.
• Offer freedom of movement during activities and sports. When glasses might fly off your face, contact lenses stay put.
• Don’t stand out on your face. Contacts won’t clash with an otherwise perfectly matching ensemble, and they won’t block other people’s view of your expertly applied eye makeup and lashes.
• Enable you to change your eye color. If you’ve ever wanted to see what you look like with a differently colored iris, contacts can make that happen.
• Allow you to wear a variety of non-prescription sunglasses.
• Losing or replacing them is cheaper than glasses.

Contacts: The Cons

Reasons to not wear contact lenses include:

• Requires discipline in their care, replacement, cleaning, and storage. Contact lenses are stored in solution inside a case at night and must be cleaned before and after you wear them.
• Putting in, taking out, and wearing contacts can take some getting used to. New users often report difficulty in finding dropped contacts.
• Using contact lenses improperly can lead to eye health issues.
• Exacerbates the symptoms of computer vision syndrome. Wearing certain contacts while working at the computer boosts your chances of experiencing screen-related eye strain.

Dry Eye

Among frequent complaints from contact, users are those who experience dry eye. While dry eye syndrome (DES) is common among both contact lens wearers and non-wearers, the symptoms for contact users can be severe and even disruptive to their vision. Before choosing contacts, consult your eye doctor to determine whether or not they are right for you.

Scleral Lens

This relatively new contact technology is larger in diameter rigid gas permeable lenses that rest on the white (scleral) part of the eye. The sclera has considerably fewer nerve endings than the cornea, which means less sensitivity and a more comfortable fit. The lenses are comfortable for dry eye sufferers and are especially beneficial for people with corneal disease.

Who Should Not Wear Contacts?

Many doctors do not recommend contacts for intense nearsightedness, those with severe allergies, or those in advanced age.

Get Your Sight Right, New York

Dr. Craig Beyer comes to the New York area as one of the first 10 doctors in the country authorized to perform LASIK surgery by the FDA. He has personally performed over 15,000 surgeries. His experience in all corrective surgeries and knowledge of advanced eye care has been noted by top Ophthalmology Publications nationwide.
If you live in New York or the surrounding areas and are considering LASIX surgery, experiencing eye issues, or need professional advice on contacts versus glasses, call us now at 877-274-1797 to schedule a free consultation.

Blurred vision generally refers to a lack of sharpness in vision resulting in the inability to see fine detail. While it may be a result of common abnormalities—nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism—it may be a sign of serious disease. Blurriness due to the common conditions mentioned above is corrected through LASIK surgery or eyewear prescriptions. More severe conditions are a bit tricky and may require significant lifestyle changes.

What to Look For

The following are symptoms of blurred vision:

• Pain in one eye or both
• Loss of field of vision
• Gradually deteriorating vision
• Double vision

Any of these symptoms could signal something serious going on. People with the following disorders should be especially mindful.

• Immune disorders, such as HIV or AIDS
• Diabetes or high blood pressure
• Thyroid disease

These conditions not only leave the body weakened but can directly cause damage to the delicate workings of the eye.

Chronic Thyroid Eye Disease

Hyperthyroidism (TED) impacts the tissue around your eyes, including the fat behind your eyeballs, eye muscles, and neighboring facial tissues. The result is a thyroid eye disease and Graves’ disease, an autoimmune condition identified by bulging eyeballs, eye pain, and impaired vision.

Diabetic Macula Endema (DME)

Macular edema, swelling in the part of the retina (the light-sensitive layer of tissue at the back of your eye), causes blood vessels to leak into the retina. Blurred vision is a major sign of the condition and should never be ignored.

Diabetic Retinopathy (DME)

Diabetic retinopathy is a complication of diabetes caused by high blood sugar levels that damage the back of the eye (retina). If left untreated, it may result in seriously impaired vision and, eventually, blindness. The disease presents in four stages.

• Mild. Patients experience balloon-like swelling in certain areas of the blood vessels in the retina.
• Moderate. Marked by damage to some of the blood vessels in the retina by leakage of blood and fluid into the retinal tissue.
• Severe non-proliferative. More blood vessels are blocked, and more leakage into the retina is present. Impact and blurred vision are significantly present.
• Proliferative. Damage to the eyes’ blood vessels is severe. New blood vessels are abnormal and fail to nourish the retina. Vision loss is likely if left untreated.
• Macula Degeneration. Often found in older people, a degenerative condition affects the central part of the retina (the macula), resulting in blurriness, distortion, or loss of central vision.
• Inherited Retinal Disease. A gene-related condition marked by gradual blurriness in vision. The condition should be noted on an eye-health questionnaire to aid the doctor in diagnosing and determining treatment.

General Eye Health

Blurriness is not something to take lightly. Also, be sure to mention any medications you are currently taking which may be contributing to blurred vision. Always check with your eye doctor if you are experiencing headaches, sensitivity to light, redness, and/or irritation of the eyes. These could be signs of a serious problem that, if untreated, may cause loss of vision or blindness.

Get Your Sight Right, New York

Dr. Craig Beyer comes to the New York area as one of the first 10 doctors in the country authorized to perform LASIK surgery by the FDA. He has personally performed over 15,000 surgeries. His experience in all corrective surgeries and advanced eye care has been noted by top Ophthalmology Publications nationwide.
If you live in New York or the surrounding areas and are considering LASIK surgery, call 877-274-1797 to schedule a consultation for the best in eyecare and LASIK surgery.