To see or not to see

September 8, 2012 By

DEAR DR. GOTT: First I will tell you I am 84 years old. I have my eyes checked one time a year. I have had cataracts removed from both eyes. My concern is that I will have macular degeneration and go blind. All of my family has had that. Please tell me what I could do to stop that from happening to me. I have yearly exams, floaters and sometimes I have seen light flashes and shadows over the center of the eye. This happens when I go to bed and close my eyes. The next thing that happens when I shut my eyes, I can see faces or other things such as pretty flowers. I don’t tell anybody because it sounds crazy but it has happened for a lot of years. My sister also had this.

DEAR READER: There are two forms of macular degeneration, wet and dry. The most common form is dry which causes loss of vision in the center of the retina, the layer of tissue at the back of the eyeball. Fortunately, the dry form does not usually cause [Read more...]

Filed Under: Daily Column, Leading Letter Tagged With: ,

February – Vision Awareness

February 1, 2012 By

February is Age-related Macular Degeneration/Low Vision Awareness Month. Eye disorders and blindness don’t receive as much attention as they should. While not typically a threat to life, blindness and conditions that affect the vision can severely impact a person’s quality of life.

Problems with vision can occur at any time and we commonly associate many of those changes with advancing age. Advanced age is inevitable, but because of it we may be at higher risk for some eye diseases such as glaucoma, cataracts, macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy being the most common. The only means of detection is through early recognition and treatment that generally begins with a comprehensive exam and dilation of the pupils.
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Visual abnormality needs a second opinion

May 15, 2011 By

DEAR DR. GOTT: I am a 60-year-old female. My ophthalmologist diagnosed me with an eye condition called retinitis pigmentosa (RP).

I would like a second opinion. I know this is an incurable disease and I am rapidly going blind. Any information on slowing down the disease as well as diagnosing it would be greatly appreciated. If I am able to obtain a second opinion, what tests should I have to confirm the diagnosis? Should I have genetic testing done?

DEAR READER: You have damage to the retina, an area at the back of the inner portion of the eye that converts images to nerve signals and sends them on to the brain. Generally speaking, the cells that control night vision are likely to be affected; however, in some instances, retinal cone cells are damaged more.
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