Posts Tagged ‘glaucoma’

Medication Side Effects Review: Steroids

Tuesday, January 26th, 2010

Steroids (Corticosteroids)

Ever wonder why an optometrist wants you to list all of your medications?  Ever wonder what a medicine for arthritis, lupus, or any other condition has to do with a comprehensive eye health exam?

In this series of blog entries I’ll be talking about potential ocular side effects of  common medicines that are used to treat diseases throughout the body.  In fact, most common systemic medications have the potential to affect your eyes.    The incidence and degree of ocular side effects depends on the medicine, but letting the optometrist know your medications list will allow for special attention to  specific potential side effects during your  exam.

First up:  Steroids.    We’re not talking body-building,  Mark McGuire steroids.  Those are anabolic steroids.  We are talking corticosteroids.   This group of oral medications help control over-active responses from your immune system during a whole host of conditions.  Examples of conditions in which corticosteroids may be used include arthritis, lupus, dermatitis, severe allergies, Crohn’s disease, hepatitis, sarcoidosis, and many other conditions.   Two of the most common corticosteroids used are Prednisone and Dexamethosone.

Corticosteroids are one of the groups of oral medicines most likely to have ocular side effects.  Long term use of these medicines may lead to cataracts.    Steroid-induced cataract formation varies in its incidence and severity based on the individual and the dose and duration of the steroid use.   Eye exams, with pupil dilation, are indicated at regular intervals during long-term steroid use.  This way the optometrist can notify the primary care physician of this side effect.    If the cataracts become severe, cataract surgery may be indicated.

Another potential side effect of oral corticosteroids is an increase in eye pressure.  This increase in eye pressure has the potential to develop into glaucoma, which is an irreversible damage to the optic nerve resulting in permanent vision loss.   Again, regular examinations by the optometrist during the use of these medicines will allow for close monitoring of eye pressures. When pressure changes are caught early and treated with topical pressure lowering eye drops,  glaucoma may be prevented from occurring.

As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to email me at doctor@clearvieweye.net

Take Care,

Dr. Beach.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Medications Review | No Comments »

January is National Glaucoma Awareness Month

Friday, January 15th, 2010

What is Glaucoma?

Wow! That’s a loaded question, and I’m glad to get that question from patients every day.   I’m so glad  because a better public awareness of glaucoma will be key to preventing the blinding effects of the disease.

Statistics and scientific data are a little boring sometimes, but  the one statistic that I would like to share is that glaucoma is the second leading cause of irreversible blindness in the U.S.   And what really speeds up my receding hairline, besides genetics, is that glaucoma is also a preventable source of vision loss.  Ok, one more statistic and then I promise no more–   As many as 4 million people in the U.S. have glaucoma and half of them are not aware of it.

What is glaucoma? Glaucoma is a progressive, irreversible deterioration of the optic nerve which causes blindness.  There are several different types of glaucoma, each having its own unique characteristics, but the common theme is damage to the optic nerve.     Consider these two pictures of optic nerves below.    The one on the left is a healthy optic nerve, and the one on the right has glaucoma.

The parallel lines in each picture are pointing to the edges of the optic “cup.”   The cup in the nerve is basically a hole that allows the blood vessels to enter the back of the eye.   Since it is a hole, there is no nerve tissue there.   Surrounding the cup, you’ll see reddish-pinkish tissue…that is healthy optic nerve tissue sending vision back to the brain.   We need as much of that tissue as possible to maintain a full field of vision.   In the picture on the right, that cup has expanded and the optic nerve has lost a significant amount of optic nerve tissue–which resulted in a severely reduced visual field for the individual.   This loss, unfortunately, is permanent and it never produced any pain symptoms which would have made the individual aware of the damage occurring.

As a result of this, glaucoma is often referred to the “silent thief of sight.”   However, regular eye exams with an optometrist can detect these changes early, and early detection is the key to effective treatment.

Please feel free to email me any questions about this or other eye care related concerns at doctor@clearvieweye.net

Take care,

Dr. Beach

Tags: , ,
Posted in Ocular Conditions | No Comments »

Welcome to CEC in 2010

Wednesday, January 6th, 2010

Welcome !

First, I’d like to welcome everyone to 2010—-and to the all new Clearview Eye Care (CEC) blog. It’s my mission with this blog to give current and future CEC patients valuable and helpful information.   Every week, I’ll be posting information about important topics in eye care, new advances in eye care technology and products, ways to help protect your vision, local events, patient spotlights, and many more helpful items. And if there’s something you would like to hear more about, send me an email at doctor@clearvieweye.net. I also encourage everyone reading these blogs to interact with your own comments and questions right here on the blog posts.

As we start 2010, I also want to take this opportunity to outline some of the steps CEC took in 2009 to promote a more beneficial patient experience:

  • Added evening appointments to accommodate the schedule of our working families
  • Added the GDx glaucoma laser scan to all adult eye exams, helping to detect glaucoma several years earlier than traditional glaucoma testing
  • Increased the CEC Eye Wear and Lens Warranty to 3 Years to give patients even more value for their investment
  • Redesigned the optical boutique to showcase over 600 designer eyeglasses
  • Added VSP and Eyemed Vision to the already long list of patient insurance plans accepted
  • Developed a military (Tricare) appreciation discount program
  • Added a Patient Appreciation Beverage Station with bottled water and fresh ground coffee

I know that 2010 will bring even more additions to CEC as we constantly strive to provide patients with the best service and better vision.   Thank you for all your support and we look forward to hearing from you soon!

Dr. Beach

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »