Medical Eye Care
Medical Treatment of Eye Diseases
They say the eyes are the window to your soul. More importantly, your eyes are a window to your overall health. At Olympia Vision Clinic, we know that when you come to us for medical eye care and a complete eye exam, you think that we will be evaluating you for new glasses or contacts. This is true, but it’s only a small fraction of what we are looking at!
As optometrists, we can detect many diseases before symptoms arise, leading your primary care physician to early treatment.
Diabetes
Diabetic retinopathy is a complication of diabetes that causes abnormalities in the tiny blood vessels nourishing the retina. These vessels weaken, leak fluid and blood, and fail to provide nutrients necessary for good health in the retina. Left untreated, diabetic retinopathy can result in severe visual loss, including blindness. Click here to learn more about diabetes.
Hypertension or High Blood Pressure
The eye is the only organ where the blood vessels can be observed directly, making it an easy place to find vascular disease. If the vessels in the retina are changing, the vessels in the rest of the body are suffering as well.
With Hypertensive Retinopathy, the patient may notice blurred vision and think they need new glasses when, in fact, glasses will not help them. Close management with a Primary Care Physician and Optometrist are necessary, managing medications with a primary care physician can help keep your eyes at their best.
Before vien occlusion
After vien occlusion
This patient was seen for a complete eye health exam, and it was noted that there were some mild hypertensive changes to the vessels of the eye. Three months later, the patient returned with blurred vision. Upon closer inspection, one of the retinal vessels was blocked, resulting in blood in the retina (red smears) and cotton wool spots (white spots) from a lack of oxygen.
Multiple Sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a neurodegenerative disease of the central nervous system. While many of the tests performed at the complete eye health exam may seem silly, they are actually important neurological tests!
Up to 20% of patients have optic neuritis as the initial clinical presentation of MS. Symptoms include painful vision loss that occurs over hours to days and lasts a few weeks, blurred vision, pain moving the eyes, diminished color vision, blind spots, abnormal pupils, and optic disc swelling.
High Cholesterol
Like high blood pressure, viewing the vessels of the retina allows your Optometrist to see other systemic complications. When cholesterol builds up in the bloodstream, it forms sticky spots called plaques. Large plaques are concerning, as they can block arteries. When arteries are blocked in the brain, we call this a stroke; in the heart, it is a heart attack. In the eye, this causes blind spots. Managing medications with a primary care physician can help with early detection of arterial plaques.
Immune System, Thyroid Disease and Rheumatoid Arthritis
Autoimmune disorders can have devastating systemic and ocular effects. Symptoms may include dry or red eyes, foreign-body sensation, light sensitivity, pain, visual changes, and even complete vision loss. Because many of these diseases may initially present with ocular symptoms, a thorough, complete eye health exam should be performed.
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