Cataract Surgery Experience from Herbert

I just wanted to put in a good word for Dr. Michelson and his staff. I am an engineer with many years of experience in the area of camera lens and have made many pictures that I am proud of their clarity and depth of field. Therefore, I was very concerned when I was told I needed to have cataract surgery to correct my vision. It made me very apprehensive not only about the surgery but about what the outcome would be. I am writing this testimonial to let you know that Dr. Michelson and his staff are the best. Not only in the work up but also in the performance of the procedure. It has been only eight days since my surgery so you could say I'm an expert on the subject. So, have no fear, Dr. Michelson and his staff are in charge.

If you or some you know is experiencing cataract symptoms such as cloudy foggy vision, glare or difficult night driving and would like to learn more about cataract surgery & lens implants please call Alabama Eye & Cataract Center in Birmingham at 205-930-0930, visit Alabama Eye & Cataract Center, Google+ or www.facebook.com/alabamaeyeandcataractcenter.

Michelson Laser Vision and Alabama Eye & Cataract Center are leading eye care centers in Birmingham located at UAB-Highlands, 1201 11th Avenue S, Suite 501, Birmingham, Alabama 35205 and staffed by UAB Medicine eye doctors and eye specialists.

Is LASIK Safe after 65?

LASIK is safe, effective and convenient type of laser vision correction for those wanting freedom from the hassle of glasses and contacts. But sometimes patients think they might just be too old for LASIK. While the best way to correct both distance vision and the near vision focusing problem-presbyopia, is with lens implants for vision correction, a recent study clearly supports that even at age 65, LASIK is still safe and effective. Reporting in the journal International Ophthalmology  eye surgeons found that even though elder patients may present greater LASIK restrictions due to lens cataract and other eye age-related changes, patients  65 years of age and older that were good candidates LASIK achieved safe, predictable and effective vision and eye health results.

If you or someone you know is thinking about the freedom seeing clearly without glasses or contact lenses and is concerned about whether their age might be a problem, please schedule an appointment so we can help find out if you might be a candidate for LASIK or lens implants for vision correction. Please call Michelson Laser Vision at 205-969-8100 to schedule a free consultation. 

Eye Health Tips for College Students

Going to college and perhaps living in a dormitory can be an exciting and hectic time for students. But, it’s worth mentioning some common sense tips to preserve eye health and avoid eye problems for college students. College students can be susceptible to a host of vision and eye problems such as injury, infection and increased nearsightedness that can be avoided with a little bit of “smarts” and awareness.

Don't Shower or Swim with Contact Lenses. Acanthamoeba is a parasite that lives in water and can cause a rare but serious eye infection called Acanthamoeba keratitis. According to the CDC, 85 percent of Acanthamoeba eye infections occur in contact lens wearers, one of the main risks being exposure of lenses to water. To avoid this dangerous infection, do not wear contact lenses in showers, hot tubs or when swimming in lakes or pools. Also, never use water to clean or store contact lenses; only use sterile contact lens disinfecting solution and a clean contact lens case. 

Get Out. We all want you to get good grades, but spending much of their time studying indoors, puts you at risk of becoming more nearsighted, or myopic. A recent study found that more than 50 percent of college graduates are nearsighted, with vision worsening for each year in school. Other research shows that spending more time outdoors can protect vision from getting worse. Take a break-get outside when possible.

Wash Your Hands. Conjunctivitis, or “pink eye” spreads really fast in schools and dorms. We know of a report where an outbreak struck more than 1,000 Ivy League college students! Avoid rubbing the eyes and wash hands with soap to avoid catching and spreading pink eye, not to mention other infections.

Give Your Eyes a Break. Dry eye from intense long hours of computer or video display terminal use can be a real problem for college students. To help avoid dry eye symptoms of burning, gritty red eyes, follow the 20-20-20 rule. Look at something 20 feet away every 20 minutes for 20 seconds. Because dry eye can also cause painful corneal ulcers, which are open sores on the front part of the eye, blink regularly and fully to keep eyes moist.  

Don't Share Makeup. Harmless as it may seem, sharing makeup is a surefire way to spread infection such as herpes keratitis among friends. Infection-causing bacteria grow easily in creamy or liquid eye makeup. Stick to your own makeup and throw it away after three months. If you develop an eye infection, immediately toss all of your eye makeup.  

Stay in the Game. Did you know that nearly 1 in 18 college athletes will get an eye injury playing sports? Common injuries, like scratches on the eye surface and broken bones near the eye socket, happen most often in high-risk sports such as baseball, basketball and lacrosse. Athletes should consider wearing polycarbonate sports glasses to help keep stray balls and elbows from hitting their eyes.

In college, taking care of their eye health may be the last thing on your mind but we wanted to share some common sense tips. If you or someone you experiences an eye health or vision problem please call Alabama Eye & Cataract Center in Birmingham at 205-930-0930, visit Alabama Eye & Cataract Center, Google+ or www.facebook.com/alabamaeyeandcataractcenter.

Buying Online Internet Eyeglasses

Anyone who wears glasses and uses a computer is often presented with the availability and options of buying their eyewear online. When asked, most people say they are interested in internet eyeglass purchases because it seems to be convenient. Many others say it’s because they can get a good deal A recent study in the journal Optometry & Vision Science compared the overall quality and fit of eyeglasses bought online with eyewear purchased from from optometry practices. The study found that patients preferred spectacles bought from optometry practices rather than those bought online, in spite of lens quality and prescription accuracy being similar. A greater number of online spectacles were deemed unsafe or unacceptable because of poor spectacle frame fit, poor cosmetic appearance, and inaccurate optical centration. This appears to especially be the case for Progressive Addition Lenses (PAL) or “Progressives” as when these lenses are not fit and positioned properly they can cause a great deal of unusual distortion and discomfort.

Laser Treatment or Eye Drops for Glaucoma?

Can Laser Treatment Replace Eye Drops for Glaucoma?

Chronic Open Angle Glaucoma, which is the most common type of glaucoma, has no cure. Glaucoma is lifelong eye disease that will require you to be treated throughout your life in some manner. This may require using one or more eye drops on a daily or even more frequent basis, by having laser treatments or even surgery-or some combination of treatments, in order to maintain stability and prevent vision loss. in some manner. A recent study that might be of interest to those stable glaucoma patients who in fact use one or more eye drops each day was published in the journal Acta Ophthalmologica demonstrated that a form of glaucoma laser treatment called Selective Laser Trabeculoplasty was able to complete replace the need for eyedrops in 77% of stable glaucoma patients and still maintain excellent control of intraocular pressure! In most other patients, the laser treatment was able to reduce the number of different eye drops used or the number of times a single eye drop needed to be used to maintain stable eye pressure. This is very helpful for most glaucoma patients as it reduces medication side effects and helps those who might have a tough time instilling eye drops or remembering to use them at the prescribed time each day.

If you or someone you know has glaucoma and uses eye drops each day and wishes to explore the possibility of glaucoma laser treatment or anyone concerned about their risk of glaucoma and might need to schedule an eye exam we welcome you to call Alabama Eye & Cataract Center in Birmingham at 205-930-0930, visit Alabama Eye & Cataract Center, Google+ or www.facebook.com/alabamaeyeandcataractcenter.