July 04, 2019

TFOS DEWS II Patient Summary

  Dry eye disease affects millions of people throughout the world and is one of the most common reasons for patients to seek eye care. This symptomatic disease is characterized by an unstable and a more concentrated (termed hyperosmolar) tear film, which leads to increased inflammation and damage to eye structures and nerves. Moderate to severe dry eye can be life-altering and may be associated with eye pain, limitations in performing daily...
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August 29, 2017

Dry Eye caused by Medications

Do you know that among the top 100 best-selling drugs in the US, 22 of them can cause dry eye? In fact, 62% of dry eye cases in the elderly can be attributed to systemic medications, including nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), diuretics, vasodilators, analgesics/antipyretics, antiulcer agents, sulfonylureas, cardiac glycosides, anxiolytics/benzodiazepines, anti-infectives, antidepressants/antipsychotics, hypotensive agents, and antihistamines....
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August 06, 2017

When Artificial Tears just don’t cut it – other Treatments of Dry Eye

The most common first-line treatment for dry eye is to use artificial tears (ATs), and these are available OTC. I talked about how to select ATs last time. Eye doctors will also recommend warm compress and lid scrub a couple of times a day, which I also talked about previously. These are really effective for majority of dry eye, which is mild to moderate....
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August 03, 2017

A Patient’s Guide to Artificial Tears

The new TFOS DEWS II report provides the latest understanding of dry eye disease (Click here to know more about TFOS DEWS II, the most authoritative literature review worldwide on dry eye disease). How are eye doctors treating dry eye? It turns out, artificial tears are still the first line of treatment. Go to any drug store, and you will find dozens...
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July 30, 2017

A Guide to Phakic Intraocular Lenses (PIOLS) for Myopia Correction

Phakic IOLs are small lenses implanted in the eye to correct refractive error. So far, FDA has approved two lenses to be used for correcting myopia up to -20.00 diopters (D) with astigmatism up to 2.50 D for people 21-45 years of age. These are alternatives to corneal refractive surgery such as LASIK, especially for high myopia, because too much corneal...
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July 24, 2017

A guide to LASIK, PRK and SMILE

Refractive surgery to correct myopia and hyperopia has been around for many years, with technology evolving from micro blade to all laser today. More and more patients have undergone refractive surgery and said goodbye to their glasses. Many people wish they had done it sooner, but more people are still debating, should I have it done? If so, with all...
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September 01, 2017

Ortho K: why do it and is it risky?

Myopia, or near-sightedness, is a big problem in the world today. There are three approaches to treat myopia: 1) wear optical correction, for example, glasses, contact lenses. These allow patients to see clearly, but once you take off the glasses or contact lenses, it’s still burry, and your eyes are still myopic. 2) surgery to optically correct...
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July 04, 2016

Oh oh myopia

Why do we get myopia and how can we slow it down? Myopia, or near-sightedness, is when our eyes cannot see distance clearly. Our eye is like a camera. When the light focuses exactly on the film in the back of the camera, you get a clear photo. If the camera is too long, the image will focus in front of the film and you get a blurry photo. Similarly,...
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