“My eye has been red and irritated for a few days now, should I treat them with over-the-counter eye drops?” – Sam via email
Hi Sam, that is a good question, and one that our doctors hear all the time. There are so many causes of a red or pink eye that we would recommend you get your eye looked at. Eye redness and/or irritation could be from foreign matter (dust, eyelash, sand, etc.), allergies, eye dryness, infection (by virus or bacteria most commonly), or inflammation. To try to treat all of those things with an over-the-counter eye drop probably isn’t practical until you know exactly what needs to be treated. Even within a single category of irritation, there are many causes and those have many treatments. For example, dry eye can be caused by poor tear quality or lack of tear production. The treatment for those two separate causes are entirely different. Our doctors have the proper diagnostic agents, equipment, and know-how to determine exactly what is causing your red, irritated eye. Come on in and let’s get you figured out! Medical eye visits at Vista Eye Care can be billed to your medical insurance.
“Halloween is coming up and I am going as a zombie. As part of my transformation into the un-dead, I want to wear theatrical contact lenses. Is that a good idea for my eye health?” –Francisco via email
Contact lenses are considered prosthetic devices that are only available legally by prescription from an eye doctor. This is important because contact lenses that are improperly fit or prescribed can cause serious issues with eye health. If a contact lens is fit improperly, a wide variety of eye issues can result including infection, corneal ulceration, and even glaucoma. Vista Eye Care can special-order contact lenses for your costume that our doctors can fit you in properly to help assure that you have a safe and fun Halloween!
“My wife goes to her eye doctor each year because she wears contact lenses, but I have always seen just fine. At dinner the other night, I explained that I hadn’t had an eye exam since grade school and my friends recommended I get my eyes examined regularly even with any vision symptoms. Should I get an eye exam even though my vision is fine?” –Carly via email
Carly, you bring up a good point, and one that the eye care community is trying to be more vocal about. Because vision is the most precious of our senses, it should be respected and cared for. A healthy set of eyes, even eyes with fantastic vision, should still receive yearly eye and vision examinations. A wide variety of eye diseases have no symptoms in their early stages, and as with most bodily ailments, are easier to treat earlier than later. A comprehensive eye and vision examination at Vista Eye Care includes assessment of your vision (refraction) which measures your nearsightedness, farsightedness, and/or astigmatism as well as how your eyes perform in your place of work. We measure your pupil function, eye muscle function, and posture of the eyes. We assess the health of the front of the eye, measure your eye pressures, and assess the health of the back of the eye in relation to optic nerve health, macular health, and blood vessel health. Consistent eye care can help rule out macular degeneration, glaucoma, cataracts, dry eye, corneal disease, retinal disease, and ocular manifestation of systemic diseases. Furthermore, even in patients with perfectly healthy eyes, our doctors like to emphasize the importance of preventative eye care. We recommend annual eye and vision examinations for patients of all ages, and encourage you to make an appointment by calling us at (303) 450-2020, or by using the button below to schedule your appointment online:
