A Guide To Understanding Your Eyes

To understand the LASIK procedure it is crucial to understand your eyes.  How do we see?  What takes place within your eye to allow it to process images and give us the gift sight?  They eye is made up of several different parts, one being the cornea.  The cornea, together with the lens refracts light rays so that they focus on the retina.  The retina is a layer of light-sensing cells that line the back part of the eye.  It is the job of the retina to take the light rays and convert them into little impulses that are sent to the brain to create images. Any light rays that don’t focus on the retina give you blurry vision and are known as refractive errors.  This refractive error is what is corrected to bring you better sight with glasses, contacts or eye surgery.

When the eye has imperfections to the shape within the eyeball itself, the cornea or the lens a refractive error will occur.  The four basic refractive errors are:

1)      Myopia:  The term that is commonly used for Myopia is nearsightedness.  This means that only objects that are close are clear.

2)      Hyperopia: The term that is commonly used for Hyperopia is farsightedness.  This means that only objects that are far are clear.

3)      Astigmatism: Astigmatism causes the images to be blurry no matter if they are close or far away.

4)      Presbyopia: The term that is commonly used for Presbyopia is aging eye.  This usually occurs to the adult population between forty and fifty making it difficult to see things that are close.  Reading glasses help.  This is a condition that cannot be treated using LASIK.

Now that you know more about the eye and the different ailments that can affect them it is time to consider if you are a candidate for LASIK.

• LASIK can only be performed on patients over eighteen years old.  People younger than eighteen still have changing vision.  Some ophthalmologists prefer to operate on patients over twenty one.
• Patients that are pregnant or nursing are not candidates for LASIK. Pregnancy changes some women’s vision.
• Check out the list of medications that you cannot take if you are considering LASIK eye surgery.  Some drugs like Accutane and oral Prednisone are not to be taken if you are considering eye surgery.
• You must have good eye health and your eye prescription should have been stable for awhile.
• Your personal health should be good.  If you have diabetes, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, cataracts, retinal diseases or cornea disorders your eye doctor may recommend that you don’t have Laser eye surgery.
• If you have dry eye from wearing contact lenses, medications or some other reason your eye doctor may also recommend that you forgo LASIK eye surgery.

To better understand your vision issues as well as the risks and rewards involved in LASIK it is important that you meet with a local eye surgeon.  They will provide valuable information that can help you determine if you are a proper candidate for LASIK.

Rohr Eye & Laser Center out of Grand Blanc, Michigan offers the most advanced technology in eye surgery available to suit your lifestyle.  To see what the leader in laser vision correction and cataract surgery has to offer you can find more information at http://www.michiganlasik.com.

Considering Lasik Eye Surgery

Perfect vision is something we all wish for.  Wearing contacts and eye glasses are an inconvenience.  They tend to get in the way while pursuing sports and many recreational activities.  This is the reason many people seek LASIK treatment.  With LASIK eye surgery the patient has surgery using a laser to reshape the eyes cornea.  The cornea is the clear dome that makes up the front of your eye.  The cornea is shaped to improve your focus of light rays sent to the retina.

With any surgery there are risks to way in connection with the rewards that you will receive.  Before you meet with a LASIK eye doctor here are some things to consider.  When initially meeting with your ophthalmologist make sure to get clear answers to all of your questions and concerns.  This list of things to think about before LASIK surgery will hopefully lead to meaningful conversation between you and your eye surgeon.

• LASIK eye surgery is not reversible.  It is also surgery to a very sensitive part of you, your eyes.
• With LASIK there are serious risks and complications involved.  This is true for any surgery no matter how minor it may seem.
• LASIK is not for everyone.  It is however a surgery that offers freedom from eye glasses and contacts to millions of people.
• It is a misconception that LASIK provides perfect vision for everyone.  Nine out of ten patients have vision ranging between twenty-twenty and twenty-forty.  Twenty-forty may not always be crisp enough for detailed work or recreational activities.  Be sure to ask what type of results are expected for you personally.
• After LASIK eye surgery that corrects distance vision, reading glasses could still be needed.  Age-related loss of sight cannot prevent further aging of the eye.  It corrects the vision problems that you are dealing with currently.  The loss of focusing within the eye happens as we age.  This is not something that we can correct with LASIK.
• Another thing to consider is needing reading glasses sooner that you may have after LASIK.  This is a possible side effect of using laser eye surgery to correct nearsightedness.  This could be the case even if you previously did not have to wear reading glasses.
• Again, as you age your eyes will age as well.  There is nothing that can be done to cure the aging process.  Even after LASIK eye surgery is performed your eyesight and focus may start to decrease.  The thing to think about is that it is now decreasing from perfection.  Without LASIK your eyes continue to diminish from the sight point where you are at. 
• It should also be noted that laser eye vision surgery is not covered by most major insurance plans.  The procedure is seen as elective and therefore as something that does not have to be done but rather is done as a convenience. For you this means that the expense will be out of pocket.  You will want to talk with your LASIK provider about the costs associated with the surgery as a whole including care before and after the surgery.  

Rohr Eye & Laser Center out of Grand Blanc, Michigan offers the most advanced technology in eye surgery available to suit your lifestyle.  To see what the leader in laser vision correction and cataract surgery has to offer you can find more information at http://www.michiganlasik.com.