Diabetes affects many parts of the body, including the eyes. Over time, sugar blocks the tiny, fragile blood vessels in your eyes that connect to the retina. That damage can cause the vessels to bleed or leak fluid. Blockages also cause your body to form new blood vessels that don’t function as well as the original vessels.

Over time, as diabetes continues to damage blood vessels in the eyes, it can lead to the development of these four vision problems.

1. Cataracts

People with diabetes are 60% more likely to develop cataracts. As sugar levels rise in the eye lens and aqueous humor (the fluid in the front part of the eye), the lens can swell and be damaged. Additionally, the glucose can be converted by an enzyme in the eye lens into a substance called sorbitol, which has been shown to contribute to cataract development over time.

Cataracts cause the lens of the eye to become cloudy, making it harder for light to pass through and reach the retina. In some cases, cataracts are mild, and vision is barely affected. Eventually, however, vision is so severely impacted that the person cannot see shapes or movement.

2. Glaucoma

Diabetes can also increase the risk of glaucoma, and the longer you have diabetes, the greater the risk of developing this condition. In fact, people with glaucoma are twice as likely to develop cataracts.

When fluid can’t drain properly from the eyes, pressure builds up. That elevated pressure damages blood vessels and nerves, which can alter your vision.

There are several types of glaucoma, but the most common form is open-angle. Open-angle glaucoma can be treated with medication that improves drainage and reduces eye pressure. Unfortunately, symptoms may not appear with this type of glaucoma until the condition has progressed and caused major vision loss. However, your eye doctor can catch it during your routine comprehensive eye exam. 

Diabetes can also increase the risk of a less common form of glaucoma known as neovascular glaucoma. This condition causes blood vessels to form on the iris, which prevents fluids from flowing normally and increases eye pressure.

3. Blurred Vision

High blood sugar can also cause blurred vision. In addition, when glucose levels are higher than normal, it can cause the lenses in your eyes to swell and impact your vision.

While concerning, diabetes-imposed blurry vision can typically be corrected by simply getting your blood sugar back to its normal range.

4. Diabetic Retinopathy

Diabetic retinopathy develops because of high blood sugar levels. Without early intervention, this condition can cause complete vision loss. Keeping your blood sugar levels under control is an effective way to reduce your risk of this condition.

There are two primary forms of this condition.

• Nonproliferative: The most common form of retinopathy. Nonproliferative retinopathy causes the capillaries at the back of the eye to swell and create pouches.
• Proliferative: A more severe form of this condition. With proliferative retinopathy, the blood vessels become completely closed off, which causes new ones to form on the retina. These new, weak blood vessels can leak blood and cause vision loss.

Significant advancements have been made in the treatment of retinopathy. The sooner the condition is diagnosed and treated, the better the outcome.

If you are diabetic, it’s extremely important to have your eyes examined regularly to protect against and diagnose these potentially serious vision problems. At North Florida Cataract Specialists and Vision Care, our optometrists are skilled at identifying the warning signs early, giving you the best chance of maintaining your eyesight. Contact us today at 352-373-4300 to schedule your eye exam.

While cataracts occur primarily in senior citizens, they’re not uncommon in individuals in their 40’s or 50’s. In some instances, babies can even be born with cataracts. So, if you experience cloudy or blurred vision, double vision, light sensitivity, glare or halos, these could be cataract symptoms, regardless of your age.

Cataract Risk Factors

Age is, of course, a major factor in a person’s risk of getting cataracts, but it’s not the lone consideration. A few additional risk factors that can increase your chances of developing cataracts include:

• Eye injuries
• Diabetes
• Alcohol consumption
• Smoking
• Exposure to ultraviolet rays

So, if you want to lower your risk of developing cataracts, eat a healthy diet, avoid corticosteroids and limit or eliminate smoking and alcohol. Wearing UV-blocking sunglasses can also reduce your risk. And protect your eyes from trauma. Injury is the most common cause of early cataract development in people under the age of 45. 

Causes of Cataracts in Children

Cataracts in children aren’t necessarily severe early on, so their vision may be only slightly impaired or not impaired at all for many years. In most cases of children with cataracts, the condition is caused by:

• Genetics passed down from parents, which cause the eye lens to not develop properly
• Genetic disorders, such as Down’s syndrome
• Infections during pregnancy, such as chickenpox or rubella
• Eye injuries

Teens and children with cataracts that are not congenital often suffer some form of trauma to the eye. For example, a child may be hit in the eye with a football or hockey puck, and while their vision may return, cataracts may develop.

Correcting Cataracts

Surgically replacing the cataract damaged lens with an intraocular lens implant is the only means of correcting vision loss due to cataracts. Regardless of your age, cataract surgery will be required once the cataract limits your vision to the point of interfering with your quality of life.

At North Florida Cataract Specialists and Vision Care, we perform thousands of successful cataract surgeries each year. Our ophthalmologists are specially trained and use the most advanced state-of-the-art equipment to provide patients with a pain-free surgical experience and speedy recovery.

To schedule your cataract consultation, contact our practice today at 352-373-4300.

Whether you’re a kid, you have kids or you’re just a kid at heart, Halloween can be a lot of fun. Like most things, however, it’s a good idea to take a few practical steps to ensure the fun isn’t derailed by any sort of injury. To that end, here are three tips to help keep your eyes safe this Halloween…

1. Avoid Decorative Contact Lenses

Costume contact lenses are not a good idea. While readily available at costume shops, online retailers and even convenience stores, decorative contact lenses present some pretty serious risks for your eyes. These lenses are often made with questionable materials and may come from disreputable sources. Even the “best” non-prescription contact lenses are unlikely to fit as they should, and most people wear them without proper contact lens education from an eye doctor. All this adds up to relatively high risk for eye scratches, sores and infections, and potentially even vision loss. 

2. Keep Makeup Away from Your Eyes

Makeup and face paint are great accents to many costumes, but just be careful with them around your eyes. Some of these products can sting or burn the skin and be substantial eye irritants. Select products that are hypoallergenic and first test them on a small patch of less sensitive skin to see if you have any reaction. Then, once you’re ready to apply them to your face, leave a reasonable margin around the eye. You want to limit the likelihood that any makeup or face paint will make direct contact with any part of your eye.

3. Leave Pointy Accessories at Home

From pirate swords to fairy wands, many costumes seem to include some form pointy-edged accessory. When you consider the potential risk of one of those points making contact with an eye, however, you may decide it’s best to leave those accessories at home. 9% of all eye injuries are caused by sharp objects. And the risk is elevated when children (and grownups) are running around outside in the dark.

As you head out for Halloween fun this year, do so with eye safety top of mind. Taking just a few precautions will help ensure your festive evening won’t have any frightening effects on your eye health. 

A friendly message from your friends at North Florida Cataract Specialists and Vision Care.

For many patients, cataract surgery can eliminate or reduce the need to wear eyeglasses. Several factors come into play, including your current eyeglasses prescription, the presence or degree of astigmatism and the intraocular lens implant you choose.

The Cataract Surgery Procedure

During cataract surgery, ultrasonic energy is applied to break apart the cataract-affected eye lens into tiny pieces. Those pieces are then suctioned out, leaving the eye ready to receive a new intraocular lens implant. The ophthalmologist inserts the lens implant through a tiny incision and skillfully moves it into position, providing a permanent fix for cataracts.

As the entire eye lens is replaced with the implant, some common refractive vision problems (nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism) may also be corrected as a result of the procedure. This is heavily reliant on your overall vision health and the type of intraocular lens implant you and your eye doctor choose. 

Monofocal Lens Implants

Monofocal lens implants are designed to optimize your vision for one focal depth. Many patients select monofocal lens implants calibrated to enhance distance vision. While this can return distance vision to near perfection, it generally requires the patient to wear reading glasses in order to see details up close.

In some instances, an ophthalmologist may recommend monovision surgery. Typically, this is reserved for patients who have had previous (and successful) experience with monovision, either naturally or with contact lenses.

With a monovision procedure, cataract-affected lenses are removed from both eyes (typically, at separate times). One eye is then fitted with a monofocal lens implant calibrated for distance vision, while the other eye is fitted with a monofocal lens implants calibrated for near vision. The brain then adapts to automatically rely on one eye to provide visual information on objects far away and the other to focus on items nearby.

Multifocal Lens Implants

Multifocal lens implants are an exciting new development in cataract treatment. Working much like multifocal eyeglasses, multifocal implants can provide distance, intermediate and near vision correction from a single implant. For many patients, this makes them preferable to monofocal implants or monovision surgery, often eliminating the need for eyeglasses entirely.

At North Florida Cataract Specialists and Vision Care, we offer two multifocal lens implant options – PanOptix®Trifocal Lens Implants and IQ Vivity™ Lens Implants. Our practice was hand-picked to be among the first practices in the U.S. to offer these lenses due in large part to our track record for delivering exceptional patient outcomes.

If you or someone you love is considering cataract surgery, contact North Florida Cataract Specialists and Vision Care today at 352-373-4300.

Cataract surgery is a minimally invasive outpatient procedure. That means the surgery requires only very small incisions, often requires no stitches at all and the patient returns home the same day. It also means most people experience little to no pain during cataract surgery.

Anesthetic Eyedrops

Just before the cataract surgical procedure, a member of the surgical team applies topical anesthetic drops to numb the patient’s eye, so they will not feel the actions of the surgery. These eyedrops do a remarkable job of preventing any perception of pain during the procedure for the vast majority of patients.

Minimally Invasive Procedure

A principal reason cataract surgery is typically painless is the procedure’s minimally invasive nature. In most cases, cataract surgery requires just one tiny incision (surgical cut).

Through that single incision, the ophthalmic surgeon inserts a small probe that uses ultrasonic energy to break apart the cataract damaged lens. A second probe is then inserted through the incision to suction out the pieces. Finally, the surgeon again takes advantage of that same incision to insert the new artificial lens implant. The incision is typically so small that it can be left to heal on its own, without the need for stitches. The entire procedure generally takes less than 15 minutes. 

Recovery

Patients are typically ready to be driven home within 30-60 minutes after the procedure. Many report improved vision before even leaving the surgery center.

Most patients experience few or no side effects. Others may have mild short-term side effects, such as cloudy or blurred vision or redness, that should clear up within a week or two. The risk of more serious side effects is less than 0.5%, making cataract surgery one of the safest procedures in the country. 

Drs. Gregory Snodgrass and Matthew Gray of North Florida Cataract Specialists and Vision Care are two of the region’s most skilled and respected eye physicians, and they specialize in performing traditional and laser-assisted cataract surgery.

If you or someone you love is considering cataract surgery, contact North Florida Cataract Specialists and Vision Care today at 352-373-4300 to schedule your consultation.

Vision changes are part of the natural aging cycle as you get older. Gradually, over time, your eyes will worsen. While you can’t prevent all forms of eye trauma or disease, here are four things you can do now to help protect your vision.

1. Wear Sunglasses, Especially if You Have Blue Eyes and Fair Skin

Sunglasses are often under-appreciated when it comes to protecting eye health, but they can indeed reduce the likelihood of developing cataracts. People with fair skin and blue eyes are particularly susceptible to elevated risks of cataracts due to UV light exposure.

In addition to cataracts, a study by Johns Hopkins found a correlation between sun exposure and increased risk of age-related macular degeneration (ARMD).

An increase in UV light also causes metabolic changes in the cells of the eye lens and retina.

2. Stop Smoking

Smoking has a direct impact on eye health later in life. Smokers are four times more likely than nonsmokers to suffer from ARMD, the leading cause of blindness in the United States. Your risk of cataracts also increases if you’re a smoker.

Maintaining your vision is one more important reason to make quitting smoking a priority.

3. Remain Physically Active and a Maintain Proper Weight

A healthy lifestyle is good for your overall health and your vision. Regular exercise and maintaining a healthy weight are two main ways to protect against adverse vision changes as you get older. Many factors are involved with poor eyesight and a healthy weight.

Being overweight can lead to:

• Heart issues
• Blood sugar issues
• High blood pressure
• Diabetes
• Insulin resistance
• High cholesterol

And all those conditions can impact your vision.

Obesity can also cause a rise in oxidative stress and inflammation of the eyes, leading to a higher risk of ARMD.

4. Get Your Vision Checked Regularly

Routine comprehensive eye exams are an essential part of keeping your vision as sharp as possible, especially as you get older. Eye exams provide an opportunity for early diagnosis of many eye diseases and identification of other vision problems that may be correctable.

During an eye exam, the optometrist or ophthalmologist looks for common age-related eye issues, including cataracts, presbyopia, glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, corneal diseases, retinal detachment and more.

Aging is inevitable, but the steps above may help limit the impact of aging on your vision. Take care of your eyes now to reduce your risk of eye-related issues later in life.

To schedule your comprehensive eye exam, contact North Florida Cataract Specialists and Vision Care today at 352-373-4300.

If cataracts are affecting your quality of life and vision, your ophthalmologist may recommend cataract surgery. The procedure is performed 10million times per year worldwide, and the surgery itself can take as little as ten minutes to complete.

Because this is an outpatient procedure, the majority of the recovery process will occur at home.

Following Your Cataract Surgery

Once the surgery is complete, you will be placed in a recovery room for up to an hour while the anesthesia or sedation wears off. After the grogginess subsides, you’ll be able to go home. You will not be able to drive at this time, so be sure to have a ride home following the procedure.

Your eyes will be sensitive at first, so to protect them from bright light and glare, your doctor will ask you to wear special sunglasses given to you after the procedure.

What’s the Recovery Time for Cataract Surgery?

A lot of patients will notice that their vision improves in the recovery room, but your vision may be blurry while your eyes heal and adjust. Vision improvement is often experienced in the first few days following surgery.

While many patients report clear vision within hours of the surgery, it can take one to two weeks before your vision is at its sharpest.

The Follow-up Exam

Your surgeon should schedule a follow-up exam to make sure that there are no complications following surgery. The appointment can be as soon as the next day.

Patients may experience the following after surgery:

• Red eyes
• Bloodshot eyes
• Bruising near the eye
• Black eye
• Dry eye
• “Scratchy eye”

All of these conditions are common and should subside within a day or two.

If you experience a substantial discomfort or pain, or your vision is still blurry days after the procedure, talk to your surgeon to rule out any potential complications.

Tips to Improve Recovery Time After Surgery

You can help improve your recovery time by following advice from Johns Hopkins Medicine and your surgeon, including:

• Limit heavy lifting or strenuous activity. Heavy lifting can cause an increase in eye pressure, which should be avoided. A general rule of thumb is to avoid bending over or lifting heavy objects for a few weeks after surgery.
• Continue wearing sunglasses. Irritants, even pollen and dust, can impact recovery. Wear the sunglasses provided by your eye doctor for a week or longer to protect the eyes from irritants, potential trauma and even light sensitivity.
• Avoid the pool and showering. You should not shower the day after the surgery. Avoid going into a hot tub or pool until your doctor says that it’s safe to do so.

If you follow these tips and adhere to your doctor’s recommendations, you’ll be able to resume normal activities as fast as possible.

Contact North Florida Cataract Specialists and Vision Care today at (352) 373-4300 to speak to one of our vision specialists or schedule your cataract surgery.

With the school year starting back up, now is the right time to pay close attention for possible warning signs related to your child’s vision. The National Institutes of Health estimates 20 percent of preschoolers have vision problems. And the U.S. Centers for Disease Control estimates that among nine-to-15-year-olds, only 10 percent of kids who need glasses actually have them.

A study published in the journal Optometry also found that limited vision was a significant predictor of poor school performance. And it makes sense. Imagine learning to read when the words are blurred on the page. Or following along as a teacher scribbles fuzzy math problems on the blackboard.

Children don’t always know to tell parents when their vision isn’t great. In fact, if a child’s vision has been poor their whole life, they may not even realize it. So, your kids need your help to watch for the warning signs. 

The Warning Signs

1. Squinting

Squinting is often an attempt to overcome blurred vision caused by refractive issues, such as myopia (nearsightedness), hyperopia (farsightedness) and astigmatism. These are the most common types of vision problems in adults and children. Squinting may help momentarily, but it doesn’t correct the issue. Corrective lenses can often allow children with these challenges to achieve 20/20 vision.

2. Sitting Close to the TV

Sure, lots of kids sit too close to the TV, but you shouldn’t just write it off as them being engrossed with Elmo. They may actually have difficulty discerning details on the TV screen from farther away due to myopia (nearsightedness). Watch to see if they also hold books or tablets close to their face. If so, it’s definitely worth getting checked out. 

3. Covering One Eye or Tilting their Head

Children with blurred vision in one eye will often cover that eye to see clearly through the other. Covering one eye can also be their way of adjusting for eye misalignment, a condition called strabismus. Head tilting is another common adjustment kids make to try and compensate for vision issues. In this case, eye alignment issues such as amblyopia, are likely the core issue.

4. Frequent Headaches or Eye Pain

If your child develops frequent headaches or sore eyes, it could be related to their vision. Eye muscle imbalances and/or refractive issues can lead to asthenopia, commonly known as eye strain. And that often translates to headaches or eye pain, particularly following a long school day.

5. Trouble with Concentration

Children with vision challenges may have a hard time concentrating in school or while doing schoolwork at home. This can be misdiagnosed as ADHD. When in reality, it may be that your child is simply experiencing frustration and/or physical discomfort from their eyes straining to focus or allow them to read.

If you notice any of these warning signs in your child, schedule a comprehensive eye exam with your local optometrist. A simple pair of eyeglasses may be all they need to see clearly and start enjoying the benefits that come with it. 

Contact North Florida Cataract Specialists and Vision Care today at 352-373-4300 to schedule your child’s appointment.

As long summer days attract us to enjoy a little fun in the sun, prescription sunglasses are a must for many eyeglasses wearers. While working or playing in the great outdoors, prescription sunglasses provide the benefits of crystal-clear vision paired with the glare reduction and eye comfort of a good pair of shades.

So, if you’re considering prescription sunglasses for the first time, here are three things you should look for… 

UV Protection

The same UV rays from the sun that can burn your skin can also burn your eyes. Over-exposure to the sun’s UV rays can cause photokeratitis, which is essentially an eye sunburn. And, yes, it hurts quite a bit. UV radiation can also have long-term effects on your eyes, including increasing your risk of retina damage or cataracts. So, when you’re looking for prescription sunglasses, be sure to specify that you want UV-blocking lenses. The American Optometric Association recommends sunglasses that block out 99 to 100 percent of both UV-A and UV-B radiation.

Standard Sunglass Lenses vs Transition Lenses

Some people don’t mind carrying around two pairs of eyeglasses – a regular pair of prescription glasses for indoors and separate pair of standard prescription sunglasses for outdoors. Others, however, would rather have a single pair of eyeglasses for all occasions. That’s where transition lenses (also known as photochromic lenses) make all the difference. Transition lenses automatically darken in bright sunlight and return to a regular tint in normally lit environments. Often, however, transition lenses won’t darken in the car, so you may still find it useful to keep a pair of prescription sunglasses with polarized lenses on hand to use while driving.

Style

We all want to look our best, and your eyeglasses are probably the one thing you wear more than anything else. So, make sure to find frames that match and enhance your style. Today, many well-known designers make a variety of attractive prescription eyeglass frames, all of which can be paired with sunglass lenses. From Gucci and Kate Spade to Maui Jim and Costa Del Mar, there are frames to match anyone’s style and budget. When you visit your eye doctor, take some time to try on a variety to see which frames best accentuate your style. 

At our optical shops in Gainesville, we have an outstanding selection of frames plus top-notch optometrists and licensed opticians, to help you get the perfect pair of prescription sunglasses.

Contact North Florida Cataract Specialists and Vision Care today at 352-373-4300, or stop by our optical shop on NW 8th Avenue and 43rd Street in Gainesville or in Tioga Town Center on West Newberry Road.

Sometimes, expressions are used so often in movies, TV shows or other pop culture that we take for granted that we know what they mean. We may even start using them incorrectly, without truly understanding. One example is “20/20 vision.” You’ve almost certainly heard someone claim to have “20/20 vision” to suggest their eyes are perfect, but is that really what it means?

What is 20/20 Vision?

20/20 is one possible score from a visual acuity test, which is conducted as part of a comprehensive eye exam. Most people are familiar with the Snellen visual acuity test, which requires reading a series of decreasingly small letters from a chart on the eye doctor’s wall. Another version is the Random E test, in which you identify the direction the capital letter E is facing as the eye doctor shows it to you through a series of lenses. These tests are designed to evaluate your ability to distinguish details and shapes of objects. A score of 20/20 on a visual acuity test means that you have normal vision.

Is 20/20 Perfect Vision?

20/20 vision isn’t necessarily perfect, but it’s pretty darn good. As noted above, 20/20 is really just normal vision. The score means that at a distance of 20 feet, you can see clearly what you and other people with normal vision should be able to see clearly at 20 feet. Hence, “20/20.” About 35% of adults in the U.S. have 20/20 vision. When you add in those who have 20/20 vision when wearing their eyeglasses or contact lenses, that number jumps to 75%.

It’s actually possible to have better than 20/20 vision. People with visual acuity scores of 20/10, for example, can see clearly at 20 feet what a person with normal vision would have to be within 10 feet to see clearly. There is even one recorded report of a person with 20/5 vision, but most researchers question the authenticity of that report. 

What Do Other Visual Acuity Scores Mean?

Of course, if only 35% of U.S. adults have unaided 20/20 vision or better, that means 65% of Americans have lower visual acuity scores. For these people, it’s pretty common to see scores closer to 20/40, meaning they have to be within 20 feet to clearly see what people with normal vision would see clearly at 40 feet. This can usually be remedied through the use of corrective lenses.

In some cases, a person’s vision may be so poor that even with corrective lenses they can still only achieve a 20/40 visual acuity score. That’s the lowest score possible to still get a driver’s license in most states.

More extreme cases also exist. A person with a lens-assisted visual acuity score of 20/200, for example, is considered legally blind. 

If it’s been a while since your last comprehensive eye exam, now might be the right time to contact North Florida Cataract Specialists and Vision Care to find out your visual acuity score. Call us today at 352-373-4300 to schedule an appointment or stop by one of our two convenient Gainesville locations: NW 8th Avenue and 43rd Street or Tioga Town Center on West Newberry Road.