Thanks to advancements made in the field of eye surgery, the time taken for healing of the eye, post operation, has come down from weeks to just a day or two. This is one of the major benefits of laser eye treatment. A person undergoing such treatment can easily resume his or her normal activities in just two days. The risk factor is considerably less as compared to manual operation of the eye. Previously, the only means to correct refractive errors was to wear glasses or contact lenses.

Nowadays ophthalmologists can easily correct these refractive errors with the help of laser eye treatment, thereby eliminating the requirement for contact lenses or glasses. Our viewing process involves reflection of light from any object. This reflected light passes through the cornea and is projected on to the retina. From there the information is passed via the optic nerves on to our brain which processes it as an image. If the shape of the cornea gets distorted, it results in farsightedness or nearsightedness.

The cornea is so thin that it is impossible to cure errors on it via traditional surgery. It is in such situations that the benefits of laser eye treatment become apparent. In this type of surgery a controlled beam of UV (ultraviolet) is used to stimulate the tissue molecules of the cornea to the point where the tissue molecules targeted by the laser beam break down and vaporize.

The machine which carries out this procedure is software run and it attacks the tissues as per the information of the contact lens’ power. The light beams used by these lasers are on the cool end of the spectrum and are not harmful for the eyes if applied in short pulses. If anyone is worried about any damage their eyes might be subjected to, while undergoing laser eye treatment, they will be reassured by the fact that the laser beam cannot remove more than 0.25 microns of corneal tissue per pulse. This thickness is roughly 1/500 the thickness of a human hair.

Laser eye treatment is extremely fast and generally the entire process takes approximately half an hour. There is no need to wear eye patches post surgery. At worst the ophthalmologist might recommend the patient to use sunglasses for a few days and advise lubricating eye drops and antibiotics. In case of any pain, an over the counter pain killer can be used.

According to studies using a PC, laptop or mobile phone for text messaging can increase eye strain and fatigue. This can cause eye and headaches and in extreme cases it can even affect your vision. As a result optometrists are treating more and more people for digital related eye problems.

A national study of optometrists revealed the worrying fact that over 14% of patients’ eye problems were directly related to computer use. This figure is even higher amongst contact lens wearers.

Staring at a computer screen all day makes your eyes dry and this problem is exacerbated by contact lenses which also dry eyes. However, for most of us not using a computer for work is simply not an option. Luckily there are some things that can be done to alleviate the problem.

One of the reasons that working at a computer dries your eyes out is that you blink less often than normal. About three times less than normal in fact. In the case of contact lens wearers this can make the surface of the contact lens dry out which can be very uncomfortable.

You could try blinking more but chances are when you are concentrating hard on your work you will forget to do this. An alternative might be to use lubricating eye drops during the day to keep your eyes moist.

If you find that your vision is impaired by working at a computer and you wear contact lenses, it might be advisable to speak to your optometrist about the problem. He or she will examine your eyes and might be able to recommend a different make of contact lenses that might suit you better.

Optometrists advise those using computers for work to look away from their computer screens for 20 seconds every twenty minutes. This should reduce eye strain and soreness.

You might also try and adjust your computer to help alleviate your discomfort. The glare from computer screens can cause eye strain. You can combat this by using an anti-glare screen. You can also try and sit further away from your computer screen. According to optometrists, the ideal distance is between five and nine inches away from your face.

Laser eye treatment is a fairly safe procedure for correcting various eye impairments. The procedure has a 95% success rate. With the technological advances made in the last several years, laser eye treatment is now the recommended way of treating vision problems. In fact, laser eye treatment has become so popular that more and more people are deciding to undergo laser eye surgery so they can say goodbye to glasses and contact lenses for good.

However, like any other procedures, laser eye treatment does have some risks involved. About five percent of the cases experience any side effects of laser eye treatment.

A few of the common side effects or risks of laser eye treatment are:

Undercorrection or Overcorrection — Not all patients will respond to the laser eye treatment perfectly. Even after laser eye surgery, a doctor may still prescribe a patient to wear corrective lenses in order to have clear vision. A doctor may also recommend an enhanced laser eye surgical procedure to improve the initial procedure that resulted to undercorrection or overcorrection.

Eye Infection — Although the chances of the eye developing an infection from a laser eye treatment is very low, there is still risk of this happening. When an eye infection develops after laser eye treatment, the healing process may take slower.

Halo Effect — Caused by an optical effect when it is dim or dark, the halo effect may be experienced by a patient after laser eye surgery. A patient will see halos at night for about a week or two. The halo effect is caused by the untreated peripheral cornea. If you’ve undergone laser eye surgery and experience the halo effect for more than two weeks, let your doctor know immediately. You should also avoid driving for at least a week if you are experiencing the halo effect as a result of laser eye surgery.

Flap Loss — During laser eye surgery, a flap of tissue is created over the cornea. This flap of tissue may come off if a patient injures herself or directly touches her eye within 24 hours of the surgery. The flap of tissue needs to remain where it is for 24 hours. After 24 hours, the tissue will easily come off.

Dry Eye — Some patients who undergo laser eye surgery experience dry eye, a condition wherein the eye is not able to produce enough tears to keep the eye clean and moist. Patients who develop dry eye may have a burning sensation in or irregular blurring of the affected eye. Patients who develop this problem after surgery are usually prescribed with an intensive drop therapy.

The risks and side effects of laser eye treatment that were mentioned above are real, but they occur in less than five percent of patients. Each day, thousands of laser eye surgical procedures are performed successfully, with patients coming out of surgery with their visions restored.

LASIK laser eye surgery, or also known as a type of laser eye surgery, is deliberated to reduce people’s dependency on glasses or contact lenses. The undergoing of this is best known as LASIK, which stands for Laser-Assisted In Situ Keratomileusis. It improves short-sighted and long-sighted people, although short-sighted has a higher rate of success. More than 90% of people going through LASIK laser eye surgery can expect to achieve half of their vision to their full vision or better rejuvenated. People with long-sightedness still benefit from the surgery, although such success of curing short-sight is not guaranteed. The success of this shows that 98% of people, under all conditions, who take the surgery can legally drive a car without glasses or contact lenses.

An Excimer Laser is used to reshape the cornea by vaporising tissue to remove irregular shaping and so light is correctly focused on the retina, therefore improving eyesight and resulting in a clearer image. Local Anaesthetic eye drops will be applied to anaesthetise the eye, making this procedure almost pain free. Plastic, clear, shield-like contacts will be placed over your eyes to seal the surgery work and removed on your visit the following day. It is also immediate, so that when you walk out of the surgery you will be able to see clearer, although 4 days is advised, before the full effects of the surgery are noted, as the cornea will be slightly swollen and take 3-4 days to regenerate. It is a short procedure taking just 20-30 minutes and patients are accepted to leave in a little over and hour.

The technology of altering the cornea was first thought of in 1940 and took up to 1990 until the LASIK laser eye surgery was fully developed and began operating on people in 1992. Many thousands of Australians each year and millions of people around the world are now choosing, if not have already chosen to undergo LASIK eye surgery, the vast majority being very happy with the results and would recommend and repeat it.

Determining whether LASIK eye surgery is right depends on certain guidelines. You must be of 18 years or older and if you are over 55 years old, seeking advice from the clinic about this is advised as they will assess if you can undergo the surgery and make recommendations.

Medical eye conditions and general health issues such as pregnancy or breastfeeding should be consulted with the clinic also. Information seminars on LASIK laser eye surgery are extremely helpful if thinking about going through the procedure and you can usually find a local seminar by searching for it on the internet, or consulting your local clinic. Assessments can be booked at your chosen treatment centre and you will be advised of all the information and expectations from your individual surgery.

When we use contact lenses, where do they rest? It is in our cornea. Contacts are wedged from our eyelids. If anyone blinks, he can feel that there is a pressure that moves the contacts slowly and slithers over his cornea.

As the world is fast advancing, the way also to cure common eye problems is to have contact lenses. This kind of lenses does not only prescribe to those who have eye problems, but it also serves as a fashion trend of today. To those who have eye problems they have hard experiences in focusing light because their retinas are not functioning well. So they suffer imperfection or blurry sight.

It is not good to wear lenses without the prescription on your optometrist. Today wide varieties of lenses are being offered in the market. However, it totally depends upon the eye that they correct. If you have astigmatism the doctor will measure your eye, and they will fit it according to your size.

You need also to remember that there is a need for you to clean it in a proper cleaning material. Never rub it for it abridges the surface. It is good if you will soak it in a cleaning solution the whole night. Whenever you clean it, you need to use your finger tip.

There are common mistakes that users commit. When cleaning, they sometimes bend the lenses and often times they shuffle it. The lens that is for the right is sometimes worn on the left and the lens that is intended for the left can be worn to the right. This can create a big problem.

You can feel a headache problem if you have improper usage of it. It also matters to the workmanship of the products. Just be aware not to use if it causes some effects in your body.

If you are considering having laser eye treatment then it’s important that you understand the differences between the 2 most popular procedures which are Lasik and Lasek. In some instances your laser eye surgeon may insist that you are only suitable for either Lasik or Lasek based on the findings of the tests carried out during your laser eye surgery consultation. In this situation, you have no option but to go with the procedure that is advised by your surgeon. However, if you are suitable for both types of laser eye treatment, then it is important to understand the key differences between the 2 techniques so you can make an informed decision.

Lasik and Lasek are both types of laser eye treatment and involve reshaping the surface of your eye (cornea) to eliminate the prescription in your glasses or contact lenses. The reason you need glasses in the first place is because the light entering your eye is not focussed precisely onto the retina, which is what is required for perfect vision. If you are long sighted, the light entering your eyes falls behind your retina, whereas if you are short sighted the light entering your eye falls in front of your retina. Both Lasek and Lasik reshape the surface of the eye to ensure that the light is refocused permanently onto the retina.

The key difference between the 2 techniques is the way in which the surgeon accesses the part of your cornea which is to be lasered. During the Lasik procedure, your surgeon creates a flap (thin layer of cornea) using a micro-keratome (surgical blade) thus enabling the surgeon access to the inner layers of your cornea that need to be lasered during the Lasik surgery.

There is however no flap created during the Lasek procedure. Instead, the epithelium (outer corneal layer) is loosened with alcohol and then gently moved to the side. This enables the surgeon access to the inner layers of your cornea that are to be lasered during the Lasek eye surgery. This layer is then replaced back over the eye and smoothed over.

The vast majority of people choose to have Lasik (7x more popular than Lasek) and this is primarily due to the fact that the recovery period following surgery is much quicker when compared with Lasek. Most people can return to work and normal activities the day following Lasik surgery, whereas with Lasek it can be up to 1 week. There is also more discomfort involved with the Lasek procedure which is another reason people usually choose Lasik. People involved in extremely physical jobs or who play contact sports are usually advised to have Lasek. The reason for this is that your cornea is slightly weakened during Lasik as a result of the creation of the flap. There is no flap created during Lasik meaning there is no weakening of the eye.

In summary, Lasik eye surgery is the most common procedure, mainly due to the quick and painless recovery procedure. Lasek may be advisable in certain situations but this will be discussed with you by your laser eye surgeon.