Several of us get blurred vision daily, thousands have blurred vision at some point in their life. While several of us think that blurred vision is not a sign to be alarmed it could be a sign of an underlying condition. Getting it check out early can often prevent serious problems later.

When you are visiting your doctor it is best to let he/she know that you are having problems with blurred vision they can do a much more thorough check of your vision and tell you if you should be concerned.

Below you will find several reasons you maybe experiencing blurred vision:

Blurred vision is a symptom of Diabetes: Over 50% of those with Diabetes Melitius are unaware that they have it. The diagnosis can be done with simple tests through blood, or urine. Many people dismiss this symptom because it doesn’t generally accompany pain or stop you from seeing necessarily. However if there is a chance that it could be diabetes or you have a family history it is wise to tell your eye care professional or primary care physician.

Blurred vision is a symptom of Keratoconus: Keratoconus is a progressive condition that can lead to decline in vision. While Keratoconus is a serious diagnosis if found early it can be controlled. New technologies have recently helped those with Keratoconus stop the progression and in some cases reverse the damage done by this progressive disease. Reporting your symptoms to your eye care professional can catch it when there is time to improve the quality of your vision.

Blurred Vision can also be a symptoms of:

Cataracts

Glaucoma

Nearsightedness

Farsightedness

Astigmatism

Migraines

Dry Eyes

Although many of these conditions seem serious blurred vision can also be a sign of something as simple as dry eyes. Getting a regular yearly eye exam will help detect problems before they become issues. The true is many of these conditions can be corrected and treated by your general eye care professional. For more information visit www.boxerwachler.com

     TIP 1 - Personally meet with the LASIK surgeon BEFORE day of surgery

This is important to see if there is a comfort level with the patient and surgeon.  Is the surgeon rushed and seems like there are more important matters he/she needs to get to?  If you have follow up questions, how easy is it to reach surgeon – is surgeon email or cell phone made available for concerns or questions?  People generally know their gut feeling when they meet someone else.  If you get a bad gut feeling, listen to it and seek another doctor. 

Tip 2 - Research the surgeon’s experience

Run a Google search on the surgeon to find out if there are numerous complaints.  Look up the surgeon on your state medical board to see if there are any issues with the medical license.

Tip 3 -  Seek third-party assessments of surgeon and lasik center

Are there just a few happy patients on the website or is there a plethora of patients commenting?  Social media sites allow unbias, unfiltered patient assessments of lasik center.

Tip 4 -  Evaluate the lasik center in person

When you visit the lasik center, is it clean and tidy or does it look like the kitchen of a “greasy spoon” diner?   The latter might be fine for bacon and eggs, but not for eye surgery.  Are the staff caring, polite, and genuinely interested in helping you?  Everything in a medical practice trickles from the top down, so if the staff are rude and insensitive you can bet the doctor probably is like that too.

Tip 5 - Make Sure these Four Essential Tests Are Part of the Evaluation

1) dry eye check – if dry eyes are found on lasik testing and NOT addressed, it increases risk of dry eye problems after lasik

2) pupil size check – some studies have shown increase risk of halos and glare from large pupils, while other studies have failed to show an association.  Either way, pupil checking is a must.

3) corneal mapping (topography) – the shape of the cornea can eliminate a patient from being a lasik candidate and indicate appropriate alternative procedures like PRK or Visian ICL.  Lasik done on a misshapen cornea that was not evaluated with corneal mapping can lead to double vision.

4) corneal thickness (pachymetry) – lasik on corneas that are too thin can weaken the strength of the cornea causing it to bulge out and turn into a condition called keratoconus that may lead to triple or quadruple images in vision.

Learn more at: www.BoxerWachler.com