What You Need to Know About Allergies and LASIK
If you have allergies, then you know that our eyes can be very sensitive to things like pollen. Swelling, irritation, dryness and other uncomfortable symptoms can arise during allergy season. To make matters worse, those who rely on contact lenses may develop even worse symptoms when pollen, dirt, and dust attaches itself to the eye. For this reason, many people choose to get LASIK at Excel Laser Vision Institute in Orange County.
During allergy season, contacts are one of the worst options for vision correction. They can agitate sensitive eyes and become infected, causing conditions like pink eye. When spending time outdoors, contact lens wearers have to be wary of dander, pollen, and other particulate matter sticking to their lenses. This phenomenon typically happens during the spring and summer, but is not limited to allergy season. Throughout the year, people who wear contacts have to over prepare in order to prevent infections from developing and spreading. While these steps are necessary to promote ocular health, they can be exhausting. For some, it becomes too much work. That’s when people search for the best laser eye surgery in Orange County.
Contacts are too much work and glasses are too fragile, so where does that leave patients with myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism? Fortunately, technology in the ocular field has dramatically improved over the last few decades. Laser technology has allowed eye care professionals to develop techniques such as PRK, SMILE, and LASIK eye surgery in Orange County. Now, patients can have their vision corrected to 20/20 or above!
When you visit a LASIK clinic such as excel Laser Vision Institute in Orange County today, you may find that they are booked many months in advance. That is because so many people are becoming aware of the gift that is laser eye surgery. Patients with allergies are finding some relief in their corrected vision, which allows them to go without contact lenses or glasses for a majority of their life.
If you have allergies and you’re interested in LASIK eye surgery, then the good news is that your allergies do not disqualify you for the procedure. In fact, many LASIK specialists recommend laser eye surgery for those who suffer from allergies. However, having allergies does not immediately qualify you for LASIK either. Here are some of the factors that determine LASIK candidacy:
- Prescription level (astigmatism, farsightedness, nearsightedness)
- Age 18 +
- Thickness of corneas
- State of ocular health
- Prescription stability
LASIK specialists recommend that you schedule your procedure at a time when your allergy symptoms are at their lowest. This will prevent any additional risk of inflammation or irritation during the surgery. Your LASIK doctor will evaluate your eyes first to determine if you are eligible for the procedure. Other than that, a recent study has shown that patients with allergies were no more prone to complications during their LASIK surgery than patients without allergies. Thus, the surgery is just as safe and just as effective. Speak to a LASIK surgeon today about laser eye surgery and learn how you can achieve your vision goals!
The Effects of a Concussion on the Eyes
Concussions are defined as traumatic brain injuries. The word “concussion” comes from the Latin root “concutere” which means “shake” or “dash together.” When the brain hits the inner walls of a person’s skull, this can cause serious symptoms such as fatigue, nausea, vomiting, headaches, ringing in one’s ears, amnesia, dizziness, and confusion. A brain is a powerful tool that, when damaged, can affect every aspect of the body. According to experts at Excel Laser Vision Institute, a LASIK clinic in Orange County, concussions can also affect your eye health.
While many people lose consciousness after suffering a concussion, this is not always the case. In fact, symptoms can appear much later from the time of the concussion, which can make them difficult to self-diagnose. These are some of the symptoms that might arise directly after an injury or a few days after:
- Loss of balance
- Irritability
- Dazed look
- Change in sleeping or eating habits
- Lack of interest in things
- Excessive crying
- Vomiting
- Seizures
While concussions can be hard to identify, Orange County LASIK experts say that the eyes can be a great tool for diagnosing head trauma. The King-Devick test is a test that eye doctors may use to track eye movements, visual interpretation, and attention. There are also some apps that are being developed to measure a patient’s pupil in reaction to light in order to diagnose concussions. Concussions will not normally show up on MRIs or CT scans which is why it is so important to have other methods for measuring them.
Patients interested in getting LASIK eye surgery should be aware that concussion symptoms can often mirror other vision problems. This is known as Post-Traumatic Vision Syndrome. Some of these symptoms include:
- Difficulty reading (losing one’s place)
- Light sensitivity
- Blurry vision
- Difficulty focusing
- Loss of peripheral vision
- Frequent headaches
- Double vision
- Difficulty moving eyes
Concussions can do more than affect your vision. They also pose a risk to your general eye health. Consult your eye doctor if you have recently suffered a concussion so that they can evaluate your eyes. These are the more serious effects that a concussion can have on your eyes:
- Optic nerve damage: The pressure from a concussion can lead to partial or total loss of vision.
- Retinal detachment: The impact of a concussion can cause the retina to detach from the eye. This requires immediate surgery.
- Vitreous hemorrhage: A concussion may cause blood vessels to leak into the vitreous humor which can cause floaters, blurred vision, a red tint and other symptoms. Medicine may be required to help the healing process.
Before returning to normal activities after suffering a head injury, it is important to get a doctor’s opinion. This is to prevent a second, more damaging head injury that may jeopardize the healing process entirely. The most common treatments for a concussion are rest and pain management. It can take up to a few weeks to fully recover, depending on the severity of the head injury. For more information on concussions and eye health, consult a medical professional.
If you are tired of dealing with blurry vision, contact Excel Laser Vision Institute at (877) 963-4238 for a free LASIK consultation. We are a highly-regarded eye care clinic that offers the best laser eye surgery in Orange County and Los Angeles.
Preparation Tips before Undergoing LASIK Eye Surgery To Ensure Success
Dr. Ferzaad Moosa, a LASIK Orange County eye surgeon explains to us that LASIK eye surgery can help you deal with various visual issues, such as farsightedness, nearsightedness, astigmatism, and other conditions. For the most part, patients who do not have any serious eye or health issues are eligible for LASIK eye surgery. Nonetheless, you should always check with your LASIK eye surgeon before booking your LASIK procedure.
Once you find out you are a good candidate for laser eye surgery, there are things you have to do and stop doing. So, before you start to make plans for the life you’re going to have after your LASIK vision correction surgery, you have to take a look at this way to prepare before your procedure.
Drink a Lot of Water Before the Procedure
Prior to any procedure, you should drink more water unless you were told otherwise by your physician. However, with LASIK you are doing good when you increase your water intake. Boosting your water intake will help you keep hydrated and encourage the healing process after your procedure.
A typical side effect of LASIK eye surgery is temporary dry eye. Therefore, drinking more water is an easy way to help keep your eyes lubricated. If you have already booked your LASIK procedure, it’s time to start getting hydrated. Set your sights on at least 8 eight-ounce glasses per day. It sounds like a lot but that is the ideal minimum amount you should be drinking to keep hydrated.
Stop Wearing Contact Lenses
Before you have your LASIK procedure, your eye surgeon will instruct you to stop wearing contact lenses for at least a week for soft contacts and one month for hard contacts. The reason being is that wearing contacts can change the shape of your cornea and influence the results of your LASIK procedure.
It’s imperative that you give your eyes a break and switch over to eyeglasses for a while before your procedure.
Your eye doctor will be the person to let you know when to stop wearing contact lenses. It will be based on an evaluation of your eyes, and from there he or she will let you know exactly how long before your eye laser procedure to stop contact lens use.
Get a Comfortable Outfit Ready in Advance
It’s important to decide in advance what you wear to the LASIK procedure. Keep in mind that you will be awake during the surgery, so it’s important to feel comfortable in the clothes you’re in. Go with loose clothes that you can easily remove once you get back home.
For instance, this could be athletic shorts, leggings, a zipper hoodie, or a soft t-shirt. After a LASIK procedure, the first thing you will do when you get home is sleep. It’s a lot easier to get to bed if you’re wearing clothes that you can rest in or that you can easily change out of.
Furthermore, try not to wear clothes that produce lint. So, avoid faux fur or wearing any type of clothing that may be shed. This is important since it helps to keep contaminants away from the operating suite. LASIK is a safe and sterile procedure, but it’s a good idea to make that additional effort to avoid lint when you can as well.
Get a Person to Be Your Designated Driver
When you are doing a LASIK procedure, you are not put to sleep. Instead, your eye surgeon will put numbing drops in your eyes. If you are feeling nervous about the procedure, you may be given medication to help you relax.
The numbing drops ensure you never feel any pain when you’re undergoing LASIK. Eventually, these drops wear off after a few hours once the procedure is completed.
Even though no anesthesia is involved in a LASIK procedure, you are not supposed to drive home yourself afterward. Get a friend or a family member that can drive you to your procedure and then drive you back home.
Many LASIK patients can drive during their follow-up appointment the next day. When you get confirmation from your eye doctor, you can return behind the wheel.
Go Through Your Paperwork
Your eye clinic will hand over a LASIK consent form before your procedure. Once you have read through your paperwork, the team will help you answer any further questions you may have regarding the LASIK procedure.
It’s important that patients make an informed decision about the procedure. Therefore, your questions can be about LASIK safety, financing, aftercare, or anything else. Your eye doctor should be happy to discuss them with you!
Don’t Wear Makeup, Perfume, or Lotions
When the day of your LASIK procedure arrives, don’t wear any makeup, perfumes, or lotions. You should take a shower and make sure your face is squeaky clean with absolutely no contaminates the morning of the big day! Don’t forget to skip on any perfumes as well.
Also, don’t put on any hand or face lotions, since this can make your skin oily. You will want to enter your LASIK procedure clean and prepared, and wearing greasy lotions can get into your eyes. Having a successful LASIK procedure is also about being safe.
After your LASIK eye surgery, you will need a day to rest before getting back to your regular activities. Then, you’ll be over the moon to wake up the next day following your procedure with sharp, clear vision.
There is only one factor you will regret about LASIK and that is you will wish you had gotten the procedure done sooner. So, get ready for a life free from eyeglasses and contacts.
Do you live in the Los Angeles or Orange County areas? Contact the professional and dedicated team at Excel Laser Vision Institute as soon as possible to book your free LASIK consultation today!