A lot of people are on plaquenil (the generic name is hydroxychloroquine). This is a medication that is usually used for lupus, sjogren's disease, rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases. An autoimmune disease is one where the body attacks itself. It is very important to see your ophthalmologist or eye doctor when you are on this medicine because it can cause a problem with the retina. The medicine can concentrate in the pigment in a place called the macula in the back of the eye. This is the area where light is focused--if your eye was a camera, this would be the film of the camera. This concentration can result in damage to the photoreceptors and retinal pigment epithelium

This is probably the single most common item on a parents mind because every kid is going to get this at some point or other. Sometimes a generous child will give this to the whole family! What is pink eye? Well, it really is not a diagnosis; it is just a red eye. So “Pink Eye” could be anything from a severe infection of the eye to an allergy of the eye. Basically, when the eye is irritated it gets red or “Pink.” What most people are referring to when they call something “Pink Eye” is a bacterial or viral conjunctivitis. The good news is both of these will probably go away without any treatment, but the bad news is that it can be very difficult to distinguish between these things and

There are many different types of glaucoma, but as a medical doctor and eye specialist, I will assess the glaucoma and determine the appropriate type of laser, and need for the procedure. Many of these procedures can be done in the office, and with minimal discomfort. The good news is that most people with glaucoma will never need glaucoma lasers. The simplest glaucoma procedure is a laser peripheral iridotomy (LPI). The procedure is done for people with narrow angle glaucoma. Narrow angle glaucoma is when there is not much space between the iris (colored part of the eye) and the cornea (the clear window where contact lenses rest). This can be done for acute glaucoma when there is a ra

Over the last ten or so years there has been the rapid development of advanced technology intraocular lenses. These are placed during cataract surgery like a standard lens, but they are able to reduce the need for glasses. Many of these lenses can allow the patient to read, see the computer, and see far away. There are several different ways that these work. A standard lens is able to correct for distance vision or up close vision, but only allows for one clearest point, and the vision reduces around that point. These standard lenses are not able to correct for astigmatism so the vision will remain blurred after these lenses if there is significant astigmatism. A toric intraocular lens

When a patient comes in, and we make the decision to proceed with glaucoma drops for treatment, we have to decide together what the best type of drop. There are several different drops and they each have their benefits, and risks. Generally, the first class that we try to go for treatment is the prostaglandins. These include Lumigan, Travatan Z, and Xalatan (the generic name is latanoprost). There are some new medications pending approval and marketing in this class, but the previously mentioned are the major players. The benefit of these medications is that they are highly effective and often lower the pressure by 30% or more. They are also convenient at only one time daily. Some are

We have previously talked a little bit about cataracts. However, a common question that comes up is what causes the cataract. The lens is made up of a number of proteins that are aligned in a uniform fashion. This uniform alignment allows light to pass through the lens of the eye without being scattered. However, the lens continues to grow throughout life from cells growing mainly from the equator of the lens. These fibers continue to compress the lens over time. Clinically, the ophthalmologist or eye doctor will see the center of the lens as less clear. The lens is kind of like a peanut M&M or the core of the earth. The central part called the nucleus tends to become denser and more

Glaucoma is a condition that results in optic nerve damage and peripheral vision loss in a characteristic pattern. The only modifiable factor that we know that can modify the disease course is lowering the intraocular pressure. Even though glaucoma is one of the most common causes for blindness, our knowledge of the cause for the optic nerve findings are limited as stated in the previous definition. Typically glaucoma is associated with an elevated intraocular pressure, but not always. In susceptible individuals this elevated pressure results in damage to the optic nerve that usually starts with peripheral vision loss and can extend to central vision loss. The amount of nerve tissue tha

As an ophthalmologist, glaucoma is one of the most common conditions that I treat. One of the major questions that the ophthalmologist or your eye doctor must decide on is when does the patient have glaucoma and when does it need to be treated. In order to decide this question, your doctor needs a lot of information. I think about several different items when making the decision about glaucoma treatment. 1)Does the patient have glaucoma? This is not as simple as determining the pressure. We learned from the ocular hypertension treatment study that a significant percentage of patients can have elevated intraocular pressure without developing any signs of damage. We need to examine multi