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Happy JulEYE – Dry Eye Awareness Month
Dry Eye signs and symptoms, which usually affect both eyes, may include:
- A stinging, burning or scratchy sensation in your eyes
- Stringy mucus in or around your eyes
- Increased eye irritation from smoke or wind
- Eye fatigue
- Sensitivity to light
- Eye redness
- A sensation of having something in your eyes
- Difficulty wearing contact lenses
- Periods of excessive tearing
- Blurred vision, often worsening at the end of the day or after focusing for a prolonged period.
- Poor tear quality
- Decreased tear production
- Older than 50
- Postmenopausal women
- Eyelid problems (Blinking spreads a continuous thin film of tears across the surface of your eyes. If you have an eyelid problem that makes it difficult to blink, tears may not be spread across your eye adequately or your tears may evaporate too quickly, causing dry eyes).
- Medications
- Medical Conditions (such as diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, scleroderma and thyroid disorders).
- LASIK surgery
- Wind
- Dry air
- Tasks that require enough concentration that you blink less often, such as working at a computer, driving or reading.
Tests used to determine the cause of your dry eyes may include:
- A comprehensive eye exam. An eye exam that includes a complete history of your overall health and your eye health can help your doctor diagnose the cause of your dry eyes.
- Measuring the volume of your tears. Your doctor may measure your tear production. In this test, blotting strips of paper are placed under your lower eyelids. After five minutes your doctor measures the amount of strip soaked by your tears.
- Determining the quality of your tears. Other tests use special dyes in eye drops to determine the surface condition of your eyes. Your doctor looks for staining patterns on the corneas and measures how long it takes before your tears evaporate.
Because doctor appointments can be brief, and because there’s often a lot of ground to cover, it’s a good idea to be well prepared for your appointment.
- Write down any symptoms you’re experiencing, including any that may seem unrelated to the reason for which you scheduled the appointment.
- Write down key personal information, including any recent life changes.
- Make a list of all medications, vitamins or supplements that you’re taking.
What you can do in the meantime:
*To relieve your signs and symptoms while you wait for your appointment, try over-the-counter eye drops. Look for lubricating eye drops and avoid those that reduce redness in the eyes. Eye drops that reduce eye redness can cause additional eye irritation.
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March is National Eye Donor Month
There’s a critical shortage of organs, tissues and eyes available for donation. There are more than 113,000 patients in the United States awaiting transplantation—more than 11,000 are Texans. Every 10 minutes, a new name is added to the national transplant waiting list.
Organ, eye and tissue transplants offer patients a new chance at healthy, productive and normal lives, and return them to their families, friends and communities. The Donate Life Texas Registry is a database of individuals who have officially provided authorization to donate organs, tissues or eyes upon their deaths. You may register as a donor at www.donatelifetexas.org, or at your local Department of Public Safety (DPS) office when you apply for or renew your driver’s license or identification card or through the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) when you renew your vehicle’s registration.
You have the power to donate life…be an organ, eye and tissue donor!
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Win A FREE Visian ICL Procedure
STAAR Surgical, maker of the Visian ICL, is giving away a FREE Visian ICL procedure and GoPro Hero4 to one lucky grand prize winner. The Visian ICL can give you the freedom to live a life uninhibited by the day-to-day lifestyle demands of glasses and contacts.
Enter the Wake Up and Go contest for your chance to experience a hassle free life today! To enter, you must be a qualified candidate. Call us today at 713-395-1515 to schedule an appointment with our certified Visian ICL surgeon, Dr. Edward Wade and take the first step toward winning a FREE Visian ICL procedure!
For more info and contest rules, please click on: http://tiny.cc/VisianCL
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Give LASIK to Your Valentine!
Searching for the perfect Valentine’s Day gift? If your sweetheart wears glasses and/or contacts, consider giving the gift of LASIK. Okay, we get it…LASIK may not be the most romantic Valentine’s Day gift, but unlike chocolate or flowers the gift of sight will last a lifetime! Think about it, you could look into your sweetheart’s eyes – without looking through glasses!
LASIK Gift Certificates are available by calling 713-395-1515 (ask for Steve or Kathy). They will be happy to help create the perfect Valentine Gift Certificate!
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February is Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) Awareness Month
Macular degeneration is a progressive eye condition affecting as many as 15 million Americans and millions more around the world. The disease attacks the macula of the eye, where our sharpest central vision occurs. Although it rarely results in complete blindness, it robs the individual of all but the outermost, peripheral vision, leaving only dim images or black holes at the center of vision.
AMD is the leading cause of severe vision loss in adults over the age 50. Although anyone can get AMD, caucasians are at higher risk than other races and women tend to develop AMD at an earlier age than men. There are several other risk factors for the onset of Age-related Macular Degeneration:
- Smoking
- Obesity
- High blood pressure
- High cholesterol
In the early stages, AMD doesn’t have any symptoms. However, there are complications that a patient should be aware of that become noticeable as the condition progresses. These include:
- Straight lines begin to appear out of shape
- Dark or white blurry areas appear in the center of vision
- Change or decline color perception
With no cure for Age-related Macular Degeneration, the best defense against the eye disease is early detection. As always, it is important for eye care patients to get annual comprehensive eye exams.
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LASIK for $299/eye…Is This a SCAM?
If you drive a car in Houston, chances are you’ve heard this on the radio: “Happy New Year! Start your new year with great vision with LASIK…starting as low as $299 per eye”.
I hate to be the one to tell you…if it sounds too good to be true…it is!
Here’s what’s going to happen: you arrive for your appointment expecting to have surgery for $299 per eye, but by the time they add additional charges for upgraded technology, post op visits, guarantees…your fee will be closer to $2000 per eye. Or, because you have astigmatism (and most people do) you don’t qualify for the $299. If I had to guess, less than 1% of patients qualify for the $299 advertised price.
Don’t get scammed, ask questions before you book for “FREE” Lasik Evaluation:
- Do you use custom blade-free LASIK technology?
- Do you have the most updated software?
- How many procedures has the surgeon performed (not how many procedures has the center performed – big difference!)
- What’s the surgeon’s enhancement rate? Are enhancements included in the price?
LASIK surgery is not inexpensive. But, then again, you only get it once in a lifetime!
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November is National Diabetes Awareness Month
Diabetes is one of the leading causes of disability and death in the United States. If it’s not controlled, diabetes can cause blindness, nerve damage, kidney disease, and other health problems.
Here are just a few of the recent statistics on diabetes:
Nearly 30 million children and adults in the United States have diabetes.
Another 86 million Americans have prediabetes and are at risk for developing type 2 diabetes.
The American Diabetes Association estimates the total national cost of diagnosed diabetes in the United States is $245 billion.
Our doctors advise patients with diabetes to take an active diligent role in preventing vision loss from diabetic eye disease problems with regular dilated eye exams and health lifestyle choices.
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Thank You Dr. Wade
I was afraid to have cataract surgery on my 2nd eye because my 1st eye was botched 11 years ago by another surgeon.
This is what I want to share: during cataract surgery on my 1st eye the surgeon ruptured my posterior capsule. I later learned he should of stopped and stabilized the tear – but he continued with the surgery. This mistake has resulted in a longstanding iritis (a serious condition that can lead to vision loss) and eye pressure problems. I had to have additional surgery and to this day I must apply a steroid drop 4 times a day.
I was afraid to have surgery on my 2nd eye, but because of Dr. Wade’s character and experience – he gave me the confidence to have cataract surgery on my right eye and the outcome was successful with no complications! I’m very grateful to Dr. Wade and his staff and I would highly recommend the Eye Center of Texas.
Thank you Dr. Wade….!
C. Trevino
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March is Workplace Eye Wellness Month
March is Workplace Eye Wellness Month. Whether you work on a computer, or use power tools at your job, it’s important to keep eye health and safety in mind…since the gift of sight is irreplaceable.
More and more workers using technology suffer from computer vision syndrome. Computer vision syndrome is a group of eye and vision-related problems that result from prolonged computer use. Computer vision syndrome symptoms can range from physical fatigue to eye twitching. If you think you are suffering from symptoms of computer vision syndrome, it’s important to see your eye doctor.
However, if you are like most people who work on electronic devices all day, there are things that you can do to prevent computer vision syndrome. Here are some tips that you can use:
- See An Eye Doctor: The first step to preventing computer vision syndrome is seeing your eye doctor for an eye exam. It is a great way to keep tabs on your eye health. Tell your eye doctor if you are a heavy user of electronic devices during your daily routine.
- Get to Know the 20/20/20 Rule: If you work on a computer at your desk, take a 20 second break every 20 minutes and shift your vision to something else 20 feet away.
- Make Sure to Blink: When you work at a computer or on other electronic devices, you are less likely to blink. However, you need to blink because it keeps your eyes moist and prevents dry eye. So remember to blink when you are working at your computer.
- Take Mini Breaks: Most people only take two 15 minute breaks throughout the work day, but if you take shorter more frequent breaks from working on your computer, it will be a lot easier on your eyes. Make sure to get up, stretch, and move around during your breaks so that your eyes get a chance to rest.
- Computer Eyewear Is An Option: Your eye doctor may be able to prescribe computer eyewear that can help alleviate eye strain if you are heavy electronics user.
If your job requires the use of heavy machinery, be sure to remember safety glasses. All it takes is a tiny sliver of metal, a particle of dust or a splash of chemical to cause significant and even permanent eye damage.
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The Heart Truth
February is National Heart Disease Awareness Month and National AMD (Age-Related Macular Degeneration) and Low Vision Awareness Month
Some of the same things that put you at risk for heart disease and stroke also put you at risk for AMD. These include:
- High blood pressure
- High cholesterol
- Obesity
- Smoking
You can tackle several risk factors at once by doing these 4 things: eat healthier foods, exercise, stop smoking and take your medications as instructed.
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Our Locations
Houston/Bellaire
6565 W. Loop S., Suite 650Bellaire, TX 77401
Medical Office:
713-797-1010
Medical Fax:
713-357-7276
LASIK/Near Vision:
Office: 713-395-1515
Fax: 713-357-7278
Pasadena
4415 Crenshaw RoadPasadena, TX 77504
Medical Office:
281-977-8800
Medical Fax:
281-977-8877
Sugar Land
15400 S.W. Freeway, Suite 301Sugar Land, TX 77478
Medical Office:
281-277-1010
Medical Fax:
281-277-4504
Clear Lake
455 E. Medical Center Blvd., Suite 110Webster, TX 77598
Medical Office:
281-332-1397
Medical Fax:
281-282-9152
Katy
Greenhouse Medical Plaza2051 Greenhouse Road, Suite 110
Houston, TX 77084
Medical Office:
713-797-1010
Medical Fax:
713-357-7276
The Woodlands/Conroe
100 Medical Center Blvd., Suite 118Conroe, TX 77304
Medical Office:
713-797-1010
Medical Fax:
936-647-1620
