In the world of ophthalmology, innovation has always driven better outcomes for patients with vision issues. One of the most exciting advancements in recent years is the light-adjustable lens (LAL)—a game-changer in cataract and refractive surgeries. What Are Light-Adjustable Lenses? Light-adjustable lenses are a type of intraocular lens (IOL) implanted during cataract or refractive lens exchange surgeries. Unlike traditional IOLs, LALs can be adjusted post-surgery using a specialized ultraviolet (UV) light system, allowing for fine-tuning of vision correction. How Do They Work? The secret lies in the lens material. LALs are made of a unique photosensitive material that changes shape and refractive power when exposed to UV light of a specific wavelength. After implantation and healing, the patient visits their ophthalmologist for a series of light treatments to achieve precise vision correction tailored to their individual needs. Key Benefits of Light-Adjustable Lenses The Process: Step-by-Step Who Is a Good Candidate? LALs are ideal for individuals undergoing cataract or refractive surgery who want precise, customizable outcomes. They are especially beneficial for patients with astigmatism or those hesitant about pre-surgery lens power selection. Considerations and Limitations The Future of Vision Correction As technology continues to evolve, the light-adjustable lens represents a significant step forward in personalized eye care. Its ability to offer post-surgical adjustments ensures that patients can enjoy clear, precise vision tailored to their lifestyle and preferences.

A new study finds that there is a link between dry eye disease and migraines. The study even found that patients who suffer from migraines are at a 20% higher risk of developing dry eye disease. Dry Eye Disease  Dry eye is more common than we think and anywhere from 8% to 34% of adults may be affected by dry eye. It’s a disorder on the tear film of the eye’s surface that may result in symptoms of visual disturbance or discomfort and other issues that can be impairing one’s daily life. If you suffer from dry eye don’t worry, it is common and there is a solution that can help! Read more here on dry eye disease. The Study  A team of researches led by Dr. Richard Davis, an ophthalmologist at the University of North Carolina conducted a 10-year study of almost 73,000 people cared for at ophthalmology clinics in North Carolina. After years of research they found, after accounting for other factors and medications, people with migraines had a 20% higher risk of developing eye disease.  Age and sex both play a risk in developing dry eye. In addition to migraines being more common in women, hormonal and age-related changes also make older females more sensitive to DED. Researchers found that men 65 and older, having migraines nearly doubles the odds, and women the same age had nearly 2.5 times the risk.  The Link  “Underlying inflammatory processes” at the cellular level play key roles in both migraines and dry eye disease, according to the report. Excessive dryness of the eye’s surface might trigger nerve pathways that result in a migraine or inflammatory changes in DED might stimulate similar events in neuromuscular tissue.   The bottom line, physicians need to be aware that a patient with one of these conditions is at higher risk for the other. If you struggle with migraines it is best to make an appointment to be checked for dry eye disease. Call and make an appointment today 480-994-1872!

Diabetes is a disease that affects the body’s ability to produce and/or use insulin in amounts sufficient to control blood sugar levels. People with any type of diabetes can develop hyperglycemia, which is an excess of blood sugar, or serum glucose. Although glucose is a vital source of energy for the body’s cells, a chronic elevation of serum glucose causes damage throughout the body, including the small blood vessels in the eyes. As a result, if you have diabetes you run the risk of developing diabetic retinopathy, in which damage occurs to the delicate blood vessels inside the retina lining at the back of the eye. You are also at increased risk for developing cataracts (clouding of the normally clear lens in the eye), or glaucoma (a disease that results in damage to the optic nerve). Diabetic retinopathy, the most common diabetic eye disease, is caused by changes in the blood vessels of the retina. The vessel walls thicken as they absorb excess sugar. This narrows the opening in the middle of the vessel so it can’t flow as much blood, oxygen, and nutrients needed for the eye tissues. Nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR) is the earliest stage of diabetic retinopathy. With this condition, damaged blood vessels in the retina begin to leak extra fluid and small amounts of blood into the eye. Sometimes, deposits of cholesterol or other fats from the blood may leak into the retina. Proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) occurs when abnormal new blood vessels begin to sprout on the surface of the retina or optic nerve. The new blood vessels are very fragile and sometimes break, leading to blindness. The new vessels are also often accompanied by scar tissue that may cause the retina to wrinkle or detach. The good news is that tight control of the blood sugar level in diabetics can often reverse the damage and restore vision. There are several other treatments that can also help. This article reprinted with permission from the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s EyeSmart® program (www.geteyesmart.org).

As we age so do our eyes, but there are a few things we can do along the way to help keep our eyes in good shape! Find the right Eye Doctor First thing to start with is finding an Eye Doctor you can trust! Getting in for regular eye exams is key to maintaining good eye health. Many eye diseases are only detectible with an eye exam. 2. Have a dilated eye exam often! Find out from your Eye Doctors how often you should be having a dilated eye exam. When the eyes are dilated it allows for more light to enter which gives Doctors the ability to check for eye diseases like Diabetic Retinopathy, Glaucoma and Age-Related Macular Degeneration. 3. Get Exercising Lots of studies show that exercise and movement can be very healthy for the eyes it can even lower your risk for certain eye diseases. Finding time to get moving is always the challenge so start small by adding in a few more steps to your day and getting up from your desk for a quick stretch! 4. Choose a Balanced Diet! Eating healthy is the building blocks of good health, we all know this, but it actually is really beneficial to your eye health! Studies have shown that foods like leafy greens, fish, nuts and legumes, citrus foods are just a few foods that are good for your vision! 5. Know your Family History! Family history can help to determine eye diseases that you can be more susepitble to. Diseases like Glaucoma and Age-Related Macular Degeneration often times run in families. 6. Always Wear Sunglasses Even when it is cloudy you should still wear sunglasses to block harmful UV rays. Wearing sunglasses that block 99 to 100 percent of both UVA and UVB radiation can protect your eyes and lower your risk for cataracts. 7. Keep an Eye on Health Conditions like Diabetes and High Blood Pressure Health conditions like diabetes can increase your risk for eye diseases such as Glaucoma. Work with your Doctor to help manage your condition. 8. Quit Smoking Smoking increases your risk of eye diseases and is just bad for the body! Make a plan to quit it could just save your vision! Taking care of your vision doesn’t have to be hard! With a few extra tips you can help to keep your eyes in tip top shape!

Individuals living with diabetes face a host of complications stemming directly from the disease itself. From kidney damage to cardiovascular disease, maintaining and controlling blood sugar is key to preventing many complications. Too much sugar, or too little sugar, can increase risk factors for many of these impediments, including diabetic retinopathy. But, with proper management and treatment from your Scottsdale ophthalmologist, diabetic retinopathy will not lead to blindness. Risk Factors for Diabetic Retinopathy Diabetic retinopathy is defined as a complication of diabetes that affects the eyes. Specifically, this complication is caused by too much sugar in your blood, which damages the blood vessels in the eye that nourish the retina. Over time and without proper treatment, the blood supply to the retina can be completely cut off and vision loss can result.

Love Your Eyes: Ophthalmologists Remind Older Americans to Protect Themselves from Age-Related Macular Degeneration. Seniors are at heightened risk for age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness among older Americans. The disease damages central vision, limiting a person’s ability to read and recognize faces. Approximately 2.1 million Americans had AMD as of 2010. This number is expected to double to more than 5.4 million by 2050. Meanwhile, fewer people are aware of the disease compared to other eye diseases such as cataracts and glaucoma. To help raise awareness of age-related macular degeneration, the Scottsdale Eye Physicians and Surgeons, PC and the American Academy of Ophthalmology are reminding seniors that their eyes need love, too. There are steps they can take to take better care of their eyes and protect themselves from AMD-related blindness.   Here are five eye-loving tips from the Academy and the facts behind the advice:   Get regular comprehensive medical eye exams. AMD often has no early warning signs, so getting regular comprehensive eye exams is critical to diagnosing and treating AMD in its early stages. The Academy recommends that people over age 65 get an exam every one to two years, even if they have no signs or symptoms of eye problems.   Quit smoking. Numerous studies have shown smoking to increase the risk of developing AMD and the speed at which it progresses. If you smoke, you are twice as likely to develop macular degeneration compared with a nonsmoker.   Know your family’s eye health history. If you have a close relative with AMD, you have a 50 percent chance of developing the condition. Before you go in for your next eye exam, speak with your family about their eye health history. Sharing this information with your eye doctor may prompt him or her to recommend more frequent eye exams. The earlier AMD is caught, the better chances you may have of saving your vision.   Eat a diet rich in omega-3s and low in cholesterol and saturated fat. A number of studies have shown that people who had a reduced risk of AMD had diets rich in omega-3 fatty acids, such as fish. In one study of patients who were at moderate risk for AMD progression, those who reported the highest omega-3 intake (not in the form of a supplement) were 30 percent less likely to develop advanced AMD after 12 years. In another study, an increased risk of AMD was found in individuals who had a higher intake of saturated fats and cholesterol and in those with a higher body mass index.   Exercise regularly. Many studies have shown that getting regular exercise can benefit your eyes. One study found that exercising three times a week reduced the risk of developing wet AMD over 15 years by 70 percent.   “There is still a worrying lack of awareness when it comes to AMD, despite it being the number one cause of blindness in seniors,” said Rahul N. Khurana, M.D., a clinical spokesperson for the American Academy of Ophthalmology. “Older Americans who are unaware of the disease may be putting themselves at risk by not taking early steps to care for their vision. The good news is that they protect their sight from AMD-related blindness by showing their eyes some TLC with regular eye exams and lifestyle changes.”   Age-related Macular Degeneration is a very serious eye disease and the proper steps should be taken to protect your vision. Make sure to be seen by an eye doctor often for a comprehensive eye exam!   To make an appointment call us at 480-994-1872 or visit our website to book online!        

Ophthalmologists Encourage Making Your Eyes Part of a Healthy Aging Strategy In observance of Healthy Aging Month, Scottsdale Eye Physicians & Surgeons joins the American Academy of Ophthalmology in emphasizing the importance of having regular eye exams to maintain healthy eyes and vision. According to a national survey released by the American Academy of Ophthalmology, nearly two out of three American adults report having eye or vision problems as a result to aging. A significant percentage of them, however, fail to seek medical attention in the form of regular, sight-saving eye exams. Some of the more common age-related eye diseases include age-related macular degeneration, cataract, diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma. With early detection and treatment vision loss can be prevented[1]. Ophthalmologists recommend a dilated comprehensive eye exam as the best way to prevent these conditions from becoming debilitating. U.S. Adults Do Not Get Eye Exams as Often as They Should! The survey results emphasize a need for more education about the importance of medical eye exams. Survey results show that most adults are unaware and uneducated on the importance of medical eye exams. Results showed that over 64 percent of adults had at least one or more of the following issues with their eyes or vision: difficulty seeing at night; blurry vision; reading up close; flashes of light; red, watery eyes; and, double vision. Despite experiencing some level of impairment, only 13 percent admitted they had been seen by an ophthalmologist. When Do I Need An Eye Exams? The Academy recommends that a healthy adult get a baseline eye exam at age 40, even if they have no history of eye problems or eye disease. Those who have chronic conditions, such as diabetes or high blood pressure, may require more frequent exams. If you are in need of a comprehensive eye exam call 480-994-1872 or click here to make an appointment online! Don’t wait save your eyesight may be counting on it! [1] https://nei.nih.gov/healthyeyes/aging_eye  

What is Glaucoma? Glaucoma occurs when there is damage to the optic nerve, usually from high intraocular pressure (fluid pressure) and it results in visual field loss. Glaucoma is called the “sneak thief of sight” because patients may not notice any change in vision until significant loss has occurred, which is why regular monitoring is essential. When caught early, it is easily treatable.

Buying Sunglasses? Read This First Not all sunglasses are created equal. While the choices are endless, there’s only one thing that tops all sunglass considerations and it has nothing to do with price or brand names. It’s all about the UV protection. Sunglasses that block 99 to 100 percent of UV-A and UV-B radiation is the best way to protect your eyes from the sun’s damaging rays.

Presbyopia is an age-related eye condition that makes it more difficult to see up close.   When we are young, the lens in our eyes is soft and flexible and changes easily, allowing you to focus on objects both close up and far away. After the age of 40, and as we continue to age, the lens becomes more stiff, which makes it difficult to change shape and focus on objects that are close up.   Causes & symptoms of Presbyopia   Unlike nearsightedness and farsightedness, presbyopia is caused by the aging of the eye. It is generally believed that, as we age, changes in the lens protein make up trigger the lens to become less flexible. This is why it is common for people over the age of 40 to hold reading material farther away in order to see it more clearly. Other symptoms include eyestrain, headaches, or feeling tired after doing up close work.   Diagnosing and treating Presbyopia   A routine eye exam performed by your doctor will diagnose and determine the degree of presbyopia. Once diagnosed, reading glasses are the most common and simplest ways to correct presbyopia. If you wear contact lenses, your doctor can prescribe reading glasses that can be worn with your regular contacts. Eyeglasses with bifocal or progressive lenses are another common method of correcting presbyopia. There are other simple methods of correcting presbyopia, such as multifocal contact lenses, or monovision, which is using two different contact lenses, one for distance and one for close up vision.   If you would like more information about presbyopia or wish to make an appointment, please call our office, 480 994-1872 or visit our website at ScottsdaleEye.com. We also carry a large selection of reading glasses in our optical boutique, which is conveniently located in our office.   Source: GetEyeSmart.org  

Six Smart Things College Students Should Do for Their Eyes This fall, a record 21.7 million students will attend a college or university in the United States. Many teens will be living away from home for the first time without mom or dad around to reinforce healthy habits, including how to care for their eyes. Before students head for the dorms, our Ophthalmologist at Scottsdale Eye Physicians would like to provide parents with college eye health tips to ensure their freshmen sons and daughters keep seeing 20/20 during school. While accurate vision plays a vital role in learning, college students can be susceptible to a host of vision and eye problems such as injury, infection and increased nearsightedness that can complicate life in and out of class. Crowded classes and dorms can serve as a breeding ground for infectious eye disease, while reading and computer use in school has been linked to poorer eyesight. Fortunately, there are many ways to avoid these and other eye issues on campus. Scottsdale Eye Physicians and Surgeons along with the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the world’s largest association of eye physicians and surgeons, offers the following six tips for protecting eyes during college: Don’t shower or swim in 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. Go outside. Scholastically-inclined students spend much of their time studying indoors, which can put them at risk of becoming more nearsighted, or myopic. A 2014 study found that more than 50 percent of college graduates are nearsighted, with eyesight worsening for each year in school. Other research shows that spending more time outdoors can protect vision from getting worse. Grab your books and head outside whenever possible. Wash your hands. Conjunctivitis, often called pink eye, spreads fast in schools and dorms. An outbreak struck more than 1,000 Ivy League college students in 2002. 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. Nearly 80 percent of engineering and medical school students experienced symptoms such as dry eyes and redness, according to a study of students at one Indian university. To help avoid eye strain, 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. Protect your eyes during the game. 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. “For many teens just starting college, taking care of their eye health may be the last thing on their minds,” said Rebecca Taylor, M.D., comprehensive ophthalmologist and clinical spokesperson for the American Academy of Ophthalmology. “But the fact is that an eye injury or condition can affect their grades and social life, causing days or even a lifetime of poor vision. We hope that parents will remind their kids of these risks before they fly the coop this fall.” Get your kids into the eye doctor before they head off to school! Call 480-994-1872 to make an appointment today! This article reprinted with permission from the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s EyeSmart® program (www.geteyesmart.org).

Kids Eye Exam: When Should They Be Getting Checked? As parents we are always worried about what our child’s eating, how much rest they are getting and if they are behaving properly but we often forget that we need to be keeping an eye on their vision! Good vision is very important to a child’s physical development, success in school and overall well-being!   Did you know that the vision system is not fully formed in babies and young children? Equal input from both eyes is necessary for the brain’s vision centers to develop normally.

Cataracts are one the leading causes of vision loss in the U.S.  By age 65 most people have some degree of cataract development.  But cataract surgery is an easy pain free procedure! What is a Cataract? A cataract is the gradual clouding of the natural lens inside your eye, which allows less light to pass through the eye, causing blurred vision.  Cataracts form naturally as we ate and most people will start to notice clouding in the lens as early as 40 years of age!  But not to worry cataract surgery is one of the most common ophthalmic procedures performed with more than 4 million procedures done per year in the U.S. How will I know if I have Cataracts?

Dennis L. Kilpatrick, MD, Medical Director at Scottsdale Eye Physicians & Surgeons, PC, talks about a new breakthrough in cataract surgery. We’re talking today about the femtosecond laser. How big of a breakthrough would you say this is in cataract surgery?

Intraocular Lenses: How To Choose The Best IOL For Your Cataract Surgery What can I expect from different lens options for my cataract surgery? Intraocular lenses (IOLs) are medical devices that are used in a type vision correction surgery called refractive lens exchange.