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Swollen Eyelids

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A swollen eyelid occurs when there is inflammation or excess fluid (edema) in the connective tissues surrounding the eye. Swollen eyes can be painful or non-painful, and involve one eye or two and top or bottom eyelids.

Symptoms of Swollen Eyelids

Swelling of the eyelids is a symptom of an underlying cause, such as allergy or infection. Swollen eyes usually are accompanied by one or more of the following:

  • Eye irritation, such as an itchy or scratchy sensation
  • Excess tear production, resulting in watering eyes
  • Obstructed vision (depending on the extent of the swelling)
  • Redness of the eyelid
  • Redness and inflammation of the white of the eye (conjunctiva)
  • Discharge from the eye
  • Pain, particularly when swollen eyelids are caused by infection

Treatment of Swollen Eyelids

The first step in treating swollen eyelids is to identify the cause. The doctors at Eyelid Swollen Westside Optometry may write a prescription, recommend an over the counter remedy or suggest hot or cold compresses depending on the diagnosis.

Tips for Preventing Swollen Eyelids

Control your allergies
Choose and use cosmetics, lotions and skin products carefully
Pay attention to eye drops you use, do not share them, check the expiration date and verify the intended use.
If you wear contact lenses, you can minimize your risk of eye infection or irritation by practicing proper hygiene, replacing contacts and contact cases as prescribed and not over-wearing your lenses.

To read more about the causes of swollen eyelids click here

Selecting the Right Sport Eyewear

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Athletes depend  on their gear to perform to their personal best. For example, if you’re a cyclist, your performance is heavily influenced by the bike maker and construction, sprocket ratios, derailleur, shifters, seat and tube, wheels, fork pedals.. Each part of the bike and the clothes you wear contribute to your safety and performance. For cyclists who wear prescription eyewear, the right outdoor eyewear is as important as the bike or cycling gear. Athletes have different visual needs for their unique sport.

Sports Glasses
Sports specific lenses are the sum of the component parts:
1. Optics – Clear vision as required for the way in which the athlete uses the lens.
2. Color – Tints and filters that boost color contrast to enhance performance in each sport’s environment.
3. Coating – Automatic back surface anti-reflective coating to eliminate the backside reflections that can hide important objects and affect split-second decisions. The AR coating also must repel dust, water, and oil for better visibility while providing longer surface durability.
4. Protection – Provides improved impact resistance, safety and absorbs 100 percent UVA and UVB radiation.
5. Finishing – ensuring a close and aesthetically appealing fit which can be enhanced by features like venting to reduce the occurrence of fogging.

Let Westside Optometry enhance your sporting experience.

 

If you’re itchy and you know it…

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Are your eyes itchy, red or watery? Seasonal allergies are caused by the allergens in the air. When they come in contact with the tissues of your eyes, your eyes may over-react. With allergies, your body releases histamine that causes your eyes to itch and water.

Itchy EyesPreventing the allergens from getting into your eyes is the first line of defense. Keep your home free of pet dander and dust. Stay inside with the windows closed when there is a lot of pollen in the air. Use high quality furnace and vent filters that trap common allergens and replace the filters frequently.

Wear wraparound sunglasses to help shield your eyes from allergens, and drive with your windows closed during allergy season.

If despite your best efforts to avoid allergens your eyes are still itchy and watery, it may be time to try eye drops. Some products have ingredients that act as mast cell stabilizers, which alleviate redness and swelling if used properly. It can take 10 – 14 days for the active ingredients to have a noticeable effect on the mast cells so it is important to use the drop as prescribed. Antihistamines are known for their immediate relief and are often combined with the mast cell inhibitor for a single solution.

Over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription eye drops each have their advantages; for example, OTC products often are less expensive, while prescription ones usually are stronger and more effective.

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory eye drops can be prescribed to decrease swelling, inflammation and other symptoms associated with seasonal allergic conjunctivitis. Steroid eye drops provide quick relief but must be used cautiously as the possible side effects are severe.

If you wear contact lenses, you may find yourself less comfortable during the allergy season. Excess discharge and the allergens can get on the contact lenses, increasing irritation. Diligent control of the eye allergy and daily use contact lenses may be an option to continued contact lens wear.

For more details about eye allergies click here.

Safety Glasses

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Most people wouldn’t dream of mowing the lawn barefoot. But most people don’t hesitate to  weed-whack without protective eyewear. Eye injuries from  rocks and debris thrown by household tools like lawn mowers, chain saws and weed trimmers occur daily.

weed wacker

In California, OSHA regulations and enforcement of personal protective equipment have reduced the number of injuries in the workplace. Now most eye injuries happen at home.

 

What makes safety glasses safe?

Safety frames must pass two rigorous impact tests, which dress frames do not undergo, to be marked Z87 (the ANSI, American National Standards Institute, requirement). A special device call an Alderson Head Form, which simulates a physical human head is used.

The High Velocity Impact Test

A 1/4″ steel ball traveling at 150 feet per second is directed at different designated positions on the front and side of a frame glazed with plano lenses. No contact with the eye or head form is permitted as a result of the impact, nor shall any parts or fragment be ejected from the protector that could contact an eye of the head form.

The High Mass Impact Test

A pointed projectile weighing 17.6 ounces is dropped from a height of 51.2″ on a glazed frame. No parts or fragments shall be ejected from the protector that could contact an eye of the head form.

Prescription Safety Frames

If you need correction to see, safety frames can be made with prescription lenses that meet ANSI. The lenses and frame will have Z87 on them. The lenses must pass a drop ball test. (A 1″ steel ball is dropped on the lens from 50″ high.)

Please note that safety glasses and sports glasses are not interchangeable. Sport glasses do not need to pass ANSI tests and safety glasses are not appropriate for sports applications.

If you are working in the yard or the garage, put on a pair of safety glasses. Westside Optometry has different styles of ANSI approved safety glasses to make in prescription. We offer safety frames in plastic and metal materials with side shield options.

To see chart of  eye hazards and the recommended protective device, click here.

Contacts and Children

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In a series of rigorous clinical trials over several years, investigators have been researching the feasibility, risks and benefits of contact lens wear in children.
The most recent data is from the Adolescent and Child Health Initiative to Encourage Vision Empowerment (ACHIEVE). The ACHIEVE study looked at whether contact lenses affect how children feel about themselves. The children (between 8 and 11 years old) in the contact lens group felt significantly better about themselves compared to the eyeglass wearers in three specific areas: athletic competence, social acceptance and physical appearance.
This doesn’t mean that children actually performed better after they began wearing contact lenses; rather, it means they felt more competent and confident about their performance in those areas. But perception can become reality. According to Mitchell Prinstein, professor and director of clinical psychology at the University of North Carolina, “Children’s sense of self-concept can alter their whole course of development,” he says. “Kids who feel more confident about sports or social activities are more likely to engage in those experiences, which further builds their skills and makes them more open to similar experiences in the future.”

Not all children are ready for the responsibility of contact lens wear at 8 years old, but we at Westside Optometry have seen children that young succeed with the handling, and care of contact lenses. To see a comparison of contacts and glasses, click here.

Magic Lenses

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Eyeglass lenses that darken and lighten depending on the light level are called photochromic. Transition is the trade name for photochromic lenses.  Transition lenses offer more than clear corrected vision. Like our eyes which are constantly adapting to changes in light levels, Transition lenses have trillions of molecules that respond to changing light conditions. Our pupils dilate and constrict all day long. It doesn’t seem like much but over the course of a day it can all add up to eyestrain and fatigue. Transition lenses filter the light for you so your eyes don’t have to work as hard, allowing your eyes to stay relaxed and comfortable all day long.

Transition Vantage is a technological breakthrough where lenses are virtually clear indoors and darken and polarize outdoors. They filter even more harsh glare caused by light bouncing off everyday objects such as cars, water and the street. The polarization level adjusts to match the level of outdoor glare.

Most prescriptions can be made in Transition lenses. Ask us, next time you visit the office.

 

It’s Baseball Season

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Baseball is the leading cause of eye injury in players 14 and under. Players are contending with a high-speed projectile (the ball) and swinging bats. Due to the velocity of the ball or bat, nothing can guarantee complete injury protection, but sports protective eyewear can greatly lessen the risk of serious injury.

The number of kids playing organized sports is on the rise and so is the number of sports-related injuries. What many players, parents and coaches do not realize is  that the majority of injuries occur during practice and not during games, making it crucial that kids wear protective equipment for practices and games. More than 90% of all eye injuries can be prevented with the use of appropriate protective eyewear.

If your child plays a sport that requires a helmet or faceguard, don’t make the mistake of thinking he or she is protected from eye injuries. The eyes are still exposed to danger from sports equipment or an opponent’s fingers penetrating the openings of a facemask. Likewise, if your child wears glasses, everyday fashion eyewear is not held to the same protective standards as regulation eyewear products labeled as protective eyewear for sports use. The lens in you child’s regular eyeglasses could easily pop out and puncture or cut the eye. A frame mangled from impact could also injure the eyes and ocular region of the face.

Make the decision to add protective sport goggles to the equipment bag. Many eye injuries are caused by blunt trauma, such as from a ball, stick or elbow. A pair of sport goggles, equipped with polycarbonate lenses, can be sight savers since they help keep the eyes and the surrounding ocular region safe. At Westside Optometry we have all sizes and colors of sports goggles. We can also put prescription lenses into them.

Spring Trunk Show

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The spring trunk show is almost here

Saturday, March 2

10:00 to 2:00

We will be hosting Clearvision Optical and many of their designer frame lines

Including BCBG and Ellen Tracy pictured here.

Come by for refreshments and the opportunity to try on many different styles of eyewear and sunglasses.

There will be styles for children (Fisher Price), Teens (Ocean Pacific), Women  (Cole Haan, BCBG, Ellen Tracy and Jessica McClintock and Men (Izod and Marc Ecko)

Ripe Cataracts

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I occasionally have patients ask if their cataract is “ripe.” There is some misunderstanding, cataracts don’t ripen. The crystalline lens does change and causes vision problems. To read more about what a cataract is click here.
Cataracts can be removed whenever the patient and surgeon agree that they should be removed. Generally, the best time to remove the cloudy crystalline lens (AKA cataract) is when the vision is compromising your quality of life. This includes the inability to drive at night due to excessive glare. Other causes of blurry vision must be explored before cataract surgery. Macular degeneration can reduce the quality of vision, especially for reading. Removing cataracts will not improve the clarity in this case.

Maintaining Clear Vision

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Age-related eye diseases such as macular degeneration and cataracts commonly cause impaired vision and blindness in older adults. But lifestyle changes, including good nutrition, could help delay or prevent certain eye problems.
Besides adopting a healthy diet, you also can protect your eyes by avoiding intense ultraviolet (UV) light, quitting smoking and getting regular checkups that may help detect chronic diseases contributing to eye problems. Diabetes, for example, increases your risk for age-related eye diseases and may cause diabetic retinopathy.
Regular eye exams, too, are essential for maintaining eye health as you grow older. If eye problems and chronic diseases are detected early enough, appropriate treatment may prevent permanent vision loss.