Regular Eye Tests Prevent Cataracts
Cataracts: the word probably makes you think of old age and surgery. It shouldn’t. Think instead of a condition that optometrists have been dealing with for decades, a condition which can occur in any age group, and which is often perfectly treatable without surgery. So forget old age and surgery for a minute; what you should be thinking is regular eye tests.
Cataracts are the third leading cause of preventable blindness in the United States, yet cataracts are also the ocular condition that is easiest for a sufferer to identify. The most common symptoms are blurred or hazy vision and increased sensitivity to glare, which you would notice most when driving at night – a task that becomes more difficult, and less safe, with cataracts. Some cataract sufferers also report that colors have lost their intensity. Cataracts usually form over a long period of time, which means that symptoms also develop gradually so it’s trickier to notice them. In fact in some cases, patients with mild cataracts don’t experience any symptoms at all. Regular eye exams are the only way to know exactly what condition your eyes are in. Continue reading Regular Eye Tests Prevent Cataracts>>
RGP Contact Lenses: Custom Made for Extended Wear
RGP contact lenses are designed for extended wear. Put an RGP lens in and you can leave it there – overnight, all week and even, is some cases, for a full month – without worrying about irritation or an increased risk of developing eye infections. They’re also custom made to fit your eye.
R.G.P. stands for Rigid Gas Permeable. RGP lenses are rigid because they are made to be reworn. They’re stiffer than the soft lenses people generally refer to when they talk about ‘contacts’, so they won’t tear easily and are excellent at correcting astigmatism, an optical defect caused by a cornea or lens that isn’t spherical. It most often leads to blurry vision – an irregularly shaped eye can’t bring a single point into sharp focus – but astigmatism also triggers headaches and, in some cases, chronic fatigue. RGP lenses are so good at correcting the condition precisely because they’re rigid. While you’re wearing them, your cornea and lens are pressed into the right shape and held there.
RGP lenses are gas permeable because your eyes need to breath. They’re narrower than ordinary contacts and made of materials that are highly oxygen permeable (RGP lenses are also called oxygen permeable lenses), so your eyes function normally while you’re wearing them. In the past, lenses intended for continuous wear increased the possibility of contracting an eye infection. Sometimes – after long periods of continuous use – they also led to acute irritation. The reason was simple: the organisms that irritate and cause infections thrive in warm, moist environments, exactly like the environment underneath a contact lens. To fight these organisms, your body would normally increase the oxygen supply to the affected area, in this case the cornea, but the lenses made this impossible. Peoples’ eyes were literally suffocating, and doctors eventually decided that no contact should be worn overnight – until RGP lenses came along. Continue reading RGP Contact Lenses: Custom Made for Extended Wear>>
LASIK in Shanghai: An Expat’s View
JP Villaneuva, a former host of SpanishPod, had LASIK eye surgery done in Shanghai and recorded his thoughts on the experience in a vlog, available here and at youtube.com. In the vlog, he describes his thoughts before surgery, while still wearing glasses, and the day after, when his vision is already almost perfect. He speaks about Shanghai becoming a destination for affordable LASIK, particularly for people from the Korea and Japan, and laughs about some of the “China moments”. Continue reading LASIK in Shanghai: An Expat’s View>>
Common Questions About Laser Eye Surgery
Many people dream of having laser eye surgery, but all too often cost prevents suitable candidates from undergoing the procedure. If you, too, have wondered what it would be like to wake up every day and not have to put your glasses on, laser surgery, often referred to as LASIK, might be worth considering.
As with all types of surgery, professional advice is essential for making a well-informed decision, but the following commonly asked questions are a good starting point. They’re just some of the many our patients regularly ask. If you have any of your own, please feel free to contact us.
Is laser surgery in China safe?
The country in which laser surgery is performed has very little bearing on the safety of the procedure. Be sure to check that both the clinic and the doctor are reputable. A reputable clinic will also be happy to show you around their facility and answer any questions you may have about their practitioners’ qualifications and experience. Enquire about the number of procedures their doctors have performed and their success rates, but be aware that laser surgery in any country involves risks. Negative side effects do not usually occur in more than 2% of all laser surgeries and about 90% of patients enjoy 20/20 vision after surgery. Continue reading Common Questions About Laser Eye Surgery>>
A Guide to Our Clinic’s Services
At New Vision Eye Clinic, we offer a comprehensive range of eye care services. Our premises are modern and well equipped, and foreign clientele can expect service of an international standard from the team of English speaking professionals – including receptionists, nurses, optometrists and doctors – who staff our dedicated VIP clinic, created especially with Shanghai’s busy expatriates in mind. The clinic employs English speaking local as well as foreign optometrists, and English speaking Chinese ophthalmologists. Our spacious, modern facility also features an eye care store which stocks a wide range of eye glasses and all the latest varieties of contact lenses. We are well qualified to take care of all your eye care needs. Continue reading A Guide to Our Clinic’s Services>>