Ask an EyeMD

General

1. What is a technician in an ophthalmologist’s office trained or permitted to do to and for the patient?
2. I’m having a lump on my bottom eyelid removed and the eye doctor said he has to send it to the lab to be examined under a microscope to see what it is. What are those people called?
3. What is a xanthomas and how is it treated?
4. Can a stye begin as a red spot just inside of the lower lid?
5. I’m experiencing the symptoms of eye sensitivity to light, pain under my eyeball, pressure on my eye, and difficulty keeping my eye open. Do these symptoms point to anything that can be a cause of major concern?
6. Is dilation required for the regular check-up of an 11-year-old who has mild myopia?
7. Is it possible to get an acurate exam with someone who is not able to follow instructions?
8. I cut the white part of my eye with my sharp fingernail and now there is a blood spot. Will it be OK or should I see an Eye M.D.?
9. How do you remove whiteheads and red scaly bumps from your eyelid?
10. A bluish-gray discoloration in the white of the eye is a symptom of what?
11. What is the reason for different colors of cups or hoods of eyedroppers?
12. Is there any blood in a nevus?
13. If a person’s eyesight is all right but he or she is not able to open eyes in normal day light, what sort of disease is this?
14. I have periodic checks done of my eye “freckle” and it shows no change. Should I be concerned?

1. I have plateau iris and had a laser iridotomy performed four weeks ago. Yesterday my pressure was 35 and pilocarpine was prescribed morning and evening. What are my chances of these working and if they don’t, what is the next step?
2. I was diagnosed with high pressure in my eyes. Could certain cholesterol medications be the cause?
3. Why would there be some loss of peripheral vision when the eye pressure reading is satisfactory? I had a small hemorrhage several months ago. Could that be a factor?
4. I have just had laser treatment and am using Azopt and Zioptan drops. Will they interfere with the 2MG Coumadin I take daily?
5. My doctor measured my cornea thickness and said it was thick enough to deduct points off my eye pressures. Is that true?
6. Can a slit lamp exam detect glaucoma? 
7. Does alcohol affect eye pressures?
8. Is it normal for your eye to be red after laser surgery to lower the pressure in your eye?
9. I had laser treatment for narrow angle glaucoma two weeks ago. I’m now experiencing light sensitivity in that eye and my eye continues to water and is red. How can I treat this?
10. How many types of glaucoma are there? I’ve been told I may have a more rare type of it. My only symptoms are loss of peripheral vision.
11. I had glaucoma surgery and developed scar tissue. Now there is a bleb that will not heal. Can this harm my vision?

1. How long should contact lenses (hard, RGP lenses) be discontinued before cataract surgery measurements are taken?
2. Can you have cataract surgery on an eye that has had a corneal transplant?
3. I have had filters put in my eyes for glaucoma and now I need to have cataracts removed. Are there any risks to undergoing cataract surgery with the filters in place?
4. Will pink eye damage my lens implants?
5. I’ve had Bell’s Palsy, and am about to have cataract surgery. Should I be worried and are there any precautions that I should take?
6. My mother is 90 and she recently had her cataracts removed. They placed lenses for one eye far away and one for close. Is there an easy way for her to get used to using one eye for each?
7. If I have my cataract lens set for distance, can I use contact lenses for reading without blurring distance vision?
8. Does the time come when a person waits too long to have a cataract removed?
9. What are the risks of cataract surgery when wet and dry AMD are present?

1. I have map dot fingerprint corneal dystrophy and I’m concerned that routine eye exams may cause flare-ups. What can I do?

Retina

1. If you have macular edema that is being treated by injections, can you drink wine?
2. Can cataract surgery make my macular degeneration worse?
3. Can sunlight glare from snow cause AMD or contribute to it?
4. When I look at a grid the lines look wavy. Is that a problem?
5. What is the incidence of retinal tear or detachment after a sudden onset of PVD following an iridotomy?

Neuro

1. My wife has glaucoma and is on many medications for it. She has had 3 cornea transplants and the third one is taking hold, but her vision is unstable. Lately she has been seeing images that are outlined in red.

Pediatrics/Strabismus

1. What can be done for a 10-year-old who just discovered he had a lazy eye?
2.  My 7-year-old son has been involuntarily looking up toward his eyebrows. I asked him why and he said his eyelids are tired. It’s happening almost constantly now. What is this?
3. What is vertical diplopia an indicator of?