Frequently Asked Questions
Why Does My Eye Twitch?
Mild twitching of the eyelid is a common phenomenon. Although these involuntary contractions of muscles are annoying, they are almost always temporary and completely harmless. The medical name for this kind of twitching is ocular myokymia. It is quite common and most often associated with fatigue. When your eye is twitching, it is not visible to anyone else. Our doctors often are asked what causes the twitching and what can be done to stop it. Lack of sleep, too much caffeine or increased stresses seem to be root causes. Often, gently massaging your eye will relieve the symptoms. Usually, the twitch will disappear after catching up on your sleep.
What is the difference between an ophthalmologist, an optometrist and an optician?
• An ophthalmologist (MD) has a medical degree and is licensed to practice medicine and perform eye surgery.
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An ophthalmologist has had at least 12 years of education and training beyond high school and is qualified to diagnose and treat all eye diseases; perform surgery; prescribe and fit glasses and contact lenses.
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An optometrist (OD) has a degree in optometry and is licensed to practice optometry. An optometrist has had at least eight (8) years of education beyond high school and is qualified to determine the need for glasses, contact lenses, and prescribe optical correction. In addition, an optometrist is responsible for determining the health of the eye and treating anterior segment eye diseases of the eye. Our doctors have all had hospital based residency training beyong the eight years of high school and offer the most up to date skills of diagnosis and management of eye disease.
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An optician usually has a combination of college (or two years of opticianry school) and on-the-job training. An optician is trained to fit and dispense eyeglasses or contact lenses based upon a prescription from a licensed ophthalmologist or optometrist.
Why do we need eye drops?
Imagine trying to look into a room through a peephole. It's not so easy. Now open the door. Much better! The eye drops "open the door" to allow the doctor to shine light in the eye and see what is inside without the pupil getting small.
This has a side effect of making it hard to focus–especially up close–for 1-6 hours (depending on the type of drop and the patient's sensitivity). Kids can go back to school afterward but they may have trouble reading or doing homework for several hours. Most adults will be able to drive home. It depends on how severely the vision is blurred by the drops. If you are not sure, plan to have someone pick you up.
How long will does an exam take?
Registration can take up to 15 minutes if you are a new patient filling out paper work (click here print and fill out your paper work before arriving). The history and initial examination takes about 15 minutes depending on the complexity of the history and cooperation of the patient.
Expect to wait about 10-15 minutes for the drops to work before you will are called back to the exam room for the final part of the exam.
The final part of the examination takes another 15 minutes depending on how many questions you might have.
Altogether this is an absolute minimum of one hour for a new patient, but if there are any delays, complexities, or special tests, you might plan to be here for two hours for a first visit.
At what age should I bring my child for their first eye exam?
Ideally, a physician did a quick screening for your child for gross abnormalities at the hospital when your child was born. Vision for an infant is almost adult like before they are one year old. We recommend that your child have their first eye exam at 6 to 8 months. A comprehensive eye exam can pick up subtle problems that, if left untreated, can cause severe, often irreversible vision loss.
Routine exams should be done again at ages 2-1/2 years as certain eye turns tend to develop then, and again at age 5 before they begin school.
How often should I have an eye exam?
As a rule, you should not go beyond one year to have your eyes examined, and the recommended care is an exam every year. Those with a family history of eye diseases, diabetic patients, and anyone whose general health is poor or who are taking medications that may have potential side effects on the eye may need to have their eyes examined twice a year. You and your doctor should determine the eye exam schedule that best meets your eye care needs.
Why should I have my eyes examined regularly?
In addition to ensuring proper eyesight, regular eye examinations allow your eye care doctor to detect and treat diseases at the earliest possible opportunity. Some diseases do not have symptoms in their early stages.
A good example is glaucoma - the most common cause of vision loss. Typically, glaucoma does not cause pain, and you don't notice a change in your vision at first. By the time your vision is affected, we can only prevent it from getting worse because the vision loss is not reversible.
If you have regular eye exams, your eye care doctor can more readily detect potential problems and prescribe proper treatments to prevent vision loss. Don't determine the need for an eye exam on whether or not you are seeing relatively well. Even though your vision may be clear, undetected changes can occur from high blood pressure, diabetes, eye tumors and retinal disorders. So, don't just rely on changes in your vision.
Remember, unlike the rest of your body, the eyes don't usually hurt when something is wrong.
What should I bring to my first exam?
It is important to have some basic information available at the time of your eye examination. First, be sure to have a copy of your vision insurance card if you will be using it for a portion of your fees. Additionally, the eye doctor will need some basic information in order to fully evaluate your eyes.
Take your most recent prescription glasses and/or contact lenses with you.
The doctor will also need to know your complete health history as well as that of your family. Take a list of all prescription medications that you take, including dosages.
Finally, have a list of questions or concerns that you would like to discuss with the doctor and are sure to let him/her know at the start of the exam if you are interested in specialty services such as contact-lens fitting or laser-surgery evaluation.
What credit cards do you accept?
All of our offices accept all major credit cards including American Express, Discover, MasterCard, and Visa.