Select Page

Question and Answer June14 large graphicMy eyes get kind of dry, and sometimes they burn at the end of the day when I’m driving home. I use an eye drop I get at the store about six times a day, but my eyes still burn, look red, and get watery. Any suggestions?” – Kelly via email

What you’re describing sure sounds like a case of dry eye, Kelly. There are many different types of dryness. A healthy tear layer contains a mucus layer, a saltwater layer, and an oil layer. Some forms of dryness are due to a deficiency in one of those layers and treatment needs to be aimed at restoring that particular layer. The solution to eye dryness isn’t necessarily (or even most often) applying rewetting drops. As an example treatment, punctal plugs are an excellent solution to a lack of the saltwater layer. These very small plugs sit in the lids’ tear drain and allow more tears to sit against the eye for a longer time. There are several different medications including Restasis® and Xiidra™ that allow the body to produce more tears. In addition, nutritional approaches can also help, with the consumption of omega-3 fatty acids (often from fish or flaxseed oils) being linked to a reduction of dry eye symptoms. Sometimes dry eye is linked with systemic conditions such as arthritis, lupus, systemic allergies, thyroid disease, and Sjogren’s disease. Many eye-related conditions can contribute to dry eye including blepharitis and meibomitis. If you find you’re using as much as six eye drops from a commercial rewetting bottle, there is likely a much better long-term treatment available for your eye dryness.

I’ve heard of macular degeneration, and I know that my grandparents were diagnosed with it. Is this an inevitable disease associated with aging? I’m 37 years old and want to be sure I’m doing what I can to prevent it.” – Sally via email

You have the right state of mind, Sally. Eye disease prevention is the best thing you can do to ensure a lifetime of healthy eyes and great vision. Macular degeneration attacks the retina’s central vision, and it is often an irreversible. Treatment usually aims at preventing further vision loss, and many times the vision that is destroyed by macular degeneration is lost forever. It impacts a patient’s abilities to drive, recognize faces, and read. There are certainly some genetic components to the disease. Some risk factors are directly inherited, but also inherited is your overall complexion. Lighter-complexion patients tend to have less pigmentation at the macula. Measuring macular pigmentation (MPOD) is key to determining how much of a risk you have of getting the disease yourself. At Vista Eye Care, we recommend all patients over the age of 30 have their MPOD assessed each year. If your score is low (less than 0.5 on a scale of 0.00 to 1.00), we recommend starting nutritional supplementation with a zeaxanthin/lutein supplement to thicken up your macular pigment. The increased macular pigment will increase your resistance to receiving damage to the macula which would otherwise result in macular degeneration. Preventing exposure to damaging light is also critical. Wear sun protection outdoors, and blue-blocking lenses indoors (utilizing such technologies as BluTech and Crizal® Prevencia™). While macular degeneration is typically diagnosed when you are in your sixties or seventies, you can take action to prevent that disease today.

I purchased a pair of glasses from a discount optical chain and less than a year later, they are scratched and bent out of shape. How are your glasses different than the ones I currently have?” – Jim via email

Great question Jim! First off, our optical department recommends an anti-glare coating on all of our lenses. The anti-glare coating prevents haloes around headlights and reduces eyestrain at the computer. The anti-glare coating also serves as a scratch warranty on your lenses – for 2 years! If you had purchased your glasses from Vista Eye Care, we would be able to replace your scratched lenses at no cost. In addition, all of our frames carry a 1-year warranty, so you have the peace of mind that you have great glasses that will give you awesome vision for years to come. We use trusted name-brand lens technologies such as Transitions®, Crizal® and Shamir which offer you the latest in digital lens design and clarity. We could provide you with inexpensive glasses just like the chain stores and franchise shops in the area, but with just a little more effort, your glasses can provide much better vision and last much longer. Stop by our optical department any time to learn more about our top-notch lens technologies.

Please call us at (303) 450-2020 to schedule your annual eye check-up, or use the button below to schedule online!

Vista Eye Care Schedule an Eye Exam

Ready to schedule your annual eye check-up?

Ready to schedule your annual eye check-up?