Keratoconus
Keratoconus is an eye condition that causes the cornea to gradually thin and the natural pressure in the eye causes the area of thinning to bulge out into a cone-like shape. The cornea is the clear dome at the front of the eye. The cone distortion of the cornea abnormally redirects light leading to blurred and distorted vision and may also cause sensitivity to light and glare.
The condition typically starts in the teens though this may vary between individuals. It will gradually progress over time for a decade or longer. In some cases, there may be complications with the disease where the cornea may swell quickly due to a break down of the inner lining of the cornea (Descemet’s membrane) and possibly cause scarring. Some advanced cases of keratoconus may become scarred at the apex of the cone. Risk factors for keratoconus include family history of the disease, vigorous eye rubbing, a history of allergies in yourself or siblings or a history of connective tissue diseases
Treatment of keratoconus is dependent on the severity of the disease at present, the rate of progression and the lifestyle needs of the patient. This may involve spectacles, soft contact lenses, corneal or scleral rigid gas permeable contact lenses, corneal grafts, or corneal crosslinking. Corneal crosslinking (CXL) is a treatment used to stabilise a cornea with progressive keratoconus that is showing increasing cone steepness or corneal thinning.
Detection of the condition is possible in the early stages with a thorough and comprehensive eye examination. At Burleigh Optometrists, we are well equipped to diagnose and assess you for keratoconus and advise the course of action that is most suitable for you.
For more information: https://www.keratoconus.org.au
Corneal Grafts
A corneal graft or corneal transplant surgery is a surgical procedure where donor tissue from another eye is used to improve vision in a patient with diseased or damaged corneas. This procedure is carried out by an ophthalmologist and they may use the full or partial thickness of the donor cornea. Following the procedure, patients may still have residual irregularity. In these circumstances, we at Burleigh Optometrists will work with your surgical ophthalmologist to assess your eye health and visual needs to determine what visual aids you may need including hard contact lenses or spectacles.
Myopia
Myopia is where a person has blurry long-distance vision, often called ‘short-sightedness’ or ‘near-sightedness’. A person with myopia can typically see clearly up close – for example, when reading a book – but words and objects look fuzzy on a whiteboard, across the room, or when driving.
The rate of myopia is increasing across the world; from 22% of the world’s population in 2000 to 33% in 2020. Half of the world’s population expected to be myopic by 2050. Most myopia is caused by the eye length growing too quickly in childhood. The eyes are meant to grow from birth until the early teens and then cease, but in myopia the eyes grow too much and/or continue growing into the teenage years.
Myopia progresses fastest in younger children, especially those under age 10. This means that the most important opportunity to slow eye growth is when children are younger. Myopia management aims to apply specific treatments to slow the excessive eye growth to a lesser rate. Standard spectacles and contact lenses do not slow down the progression of childhood myopia. Our optometrists at Burleigh Optometrists will work with you to build the the most suitable management strategy for you or your child. Treatments we may prescribe include myopia control spectacles, myopia control soft contact lenses, orthokeratology (orthoK) and ocular medical treatment.
For more information: https://mykidsvision.org
Macular Degeneration
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a chronic, painless disease of the macula. The macula is the area at the centre of your retina at the back of your eye that allows you to see fine detail such as reading words or looking at faces. The retina is the sensory area inside of the eye.
Age-related macular degeneration causes a progressive loss of central vision, while peripheral vision remains intact. Though there is no total blackout loss of vision with macular degeneration, a person with macular degeneration may over time lose the ability to read words in a book, recognise faces and read street signs. Each individual has a different rate of progression of the disease – some may have very slow advancement and not notice significant visual changes, while other may have more rapid progression that leads to central vision loss.
There are two main types of age-related macular degeneration – dry and wet.
The dry form tends to be slowly progressive over many years. There is some evidence that nutrition and specific supplements may slow down the progression of macular degeneration in some people. Specifically the nutrients lutein, zeaxanthin, omega-3, vitamin C, vitamin E, zinc and selenium. Including foods that contain these nutrients in your diet may be beneficial. It is important to note that this is not a cure and the disease will still progress over time with the rate of progression varying between individuals.
The wet (neovascular) form of age-related macular degeneration tends to progress more rapidly with change in vision as soon as fluid is present in the macula and worsening within weeks to months. Dry macular degeneration becomes wet macular degeneration when abnormal blood vessels break through and grow under the retina. These blood vessel leak fluid and/or blood leading to distortion and rapid loss of central vision. There are treatments available for wet age-related macular degeneration, with earlier detection allowing for better vision following treatment.
Age-related macular degeneration is the most common macular disease and accounts for half of all blindness and severe vision loss in Australia. All comprehensive eye examinations with our optometrists at Burleigh Optometrists will involve a thorough examination of your macula and an image is taken with an OCT and retinal camera to detect early changes at the macula.
For more information: https://www.mdfoundation.com.au
Diabetic Retinopathy
Diabetic retinopathy is caused by damage to the small blood vessels in the retina from diabetes. It is the leading cause of avoidable vision loss and blindness in working-age Australians. Most people with diabetes will develop diabetic retinopathy over time. The severity of the condition determines the effect on your vision and is greatly influenced by how well your diabetes is controlled.
Diabetic retinopathy typically starts with non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy where there is damage to the small blood vessels in the retina due to increased blood glucose levels. These damaged vessels leak fluid or blood and some may become blocked and form microaneurysms. These changes may or may not affect your clarity of vision, but the severity of the non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy determines the frequency of review as severe disease is likely to progress to proliferative diabetic retinopathy.
Proliferative diabetic retinopathy occurs when there is growth of new fragile blood vessels in areas of the retina that are lacking oxygen supply. Unfortunately, the fragility of these vessels causes them to leak and bleed, affecting vision and causing scarring if left untreated. The scarring of the retina can contract over time and lead to a retinal detachment and blindness. This makes close monitoring of non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy essential to ensure timely referral for treatment of early proliferative disease.
Diabetic macular oedema is when the damage to the small blood vessels causing fluid to leak is located in or around the macula. This can occur at any stage of diabetic retinopathy. The fluid accumulating in the macula leads to distortion of your central vision and may eventually lead to loss of central vision if left untreated.
At Burleigh Optometrists, our comprehensive diabetic eye assessments include dilated eye examinations, imaging of the retina and OCT of the macula to ensure early detection of diabetic retinopathy. It is our passion to work with you and help to educate you about the eye health implications of your diabetic condition.
For more information: https://www.mdfoundation.com.au/about-macular-disease/diabetic-eye-disease/overview
Glaucoma
Glaucoma is the name for the groups of eye diseases that cause damage to the optic nerve leading to vision loss. Vision loss from glaucoma is usually painless and gradual with half of patients who have early glaucoma unaware of the disease until significant peripheral vision loss has occurred. Damage to the optic nerve and the subsequent vision loss from glaucoma is irreversible, making early detection and preventative care essential as there is no cure for glaucoma.
Increased risk for glaucoma developing include family history of glaucoma, high eye pressure, aged over 50 years old (however, there are younger people who can also have glaucoma), diabetes, moderate to high short or long-sightedness, prolonged use of corticosteroid medication, migraine suffer, past eye surgery, past eye or head injury, high or low blood pressure and sleep apnoea. It is important to note that some people may develop glaucoma despite having none of these risk factors.
Glaucoma is a complex disease that requires a thorough examination of the eyes and critical analysis of the patient’s whole eye and systemic health. Determining whether a patient has glaucoma requires assessment of the optic nerves with a slit lamp and retinal camera, OCT of the optic nerves, the drainage angle, the thickness of your cornea, and intraocular pressure. If any those results are suspicious, performance of automated perimetry (visual field test) shows if there has been any loss of peripheral vision.
For some people, they may be told they are glaucoma suspects. To be a glaucoma suspect means that there are signs that your optometrist has seen during testing that appear to be glaucoma-like, but you have suffered no clinically detectable loss of vision. Your optometrist will closely monitor for changes in these signs and may detect glaucoma in its earliest stages so that you may commence treatment before any noticeable vision loss has occurred.
Despite there being no cure for glaucoma and no way to restore vision already lost from glaucoma, there are treatments available to slow down and even stop progression of the disease. The earlier the diagnosis, the more effective the treatments. These treatments include the use of lasers, prescription eye drops, surgery, and/or management of systemic health concerns. Glaucoma specific treatments focus on the reduction of your intraocular pressure (IOP). Reducing the pressure in the eye takes the stress off the optic nerve to slow down or prevent further deterioration of the optic nerve.
At Burleigh Optometrists, every comprehensive examination will include thorough assessment of your eye health including slit lamp examinations, retinal photography, OCT, intraocular pressure assessment, and, if required, corneal thickness measurements and automated perimetry for early detection of glaucoma.
For more information: https://glaucoma.org.au
Dry Eyes
Dry Eye disease is a condition where your tears do not provide sufficient lubrication for your eyes. There are many reasons your tears may be inadequate and unstable which leads to varying symptoms dependent on the underlying cause. The instability can lead to inflammation and damage the eye surface.
Dry eyes can feel uncomfortable or lead to symptoms of blurry vision or tired eyes. Common symptoms include grittiness, stinginess, wateriness, itchiness, burning, or blurry vision. Some environments may exacerbate these symptoms such as windy days, air-conditioned rooms and being in an airplane. Some tasks such as looking at screens for extended periods of time may also cause dry eyes. In some cases, medications or general health issues may also cause dry eyes.
People may have similar symptoms, but different underlying causes. Appropriate treatment of the underlying cause is required to provide relief for your individual case of dry eyes. At Burleigh Optometrists, our optometrists will perform a thorough assessment of your eye surface with consideration of your general health to determine what you need to treat your dry eyes. Treatment may include eye drops, eye ointments, eye lid cleansers or in-room treatments of Blephasteam with meibomian gland expression.
Eye Allergies, Itchy Eyes and Hay Fever
Eye allergies develop as a response to something in the environment. It may present with itchiness, redness, burning and watery eyes. It occurs when the body’s immune system becomes sensitised and overreacts to an allergen that has come into contact with the eye surface. Common allergens may be pollen, dust, pet dander, perfume or smoke.
Some people may experience heightened eye allergies during seasons they experience other hay fever symptoms such as sneezing or stuffy nose from nasal allergies. Management of exposure to allergens can reduce the intensity of your eye allergies. Some tips for managing allergies include closing windows during high pollen periods, wearing glasses or sunglasses outdoors to protect the eyes and washing your hands after petting animals.
Treatment of the symptoms of eye allergies is dependent on the severity and the cause of your allergies. This may include eye drops such as lubricants, decongestants, anti-histamines, mast cell stabilisers, corticosteroids, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and immunomodulator drops. Our optometrists at Burleigh Optometrists are therapeutically endorsed and able to prescribe prescription eye drops that are most suitable for you.
Blepharitis
Blepharitis is inflammation of the eyelids. It usually affects both eyes along the eyelid margins. Blepharitis is most commonly caused by infection of the eyelids by bacteria or microbes or blockage of glands in the eyelids, though some diseases and medications may also cause blepharitis.
Blepharitis is a chronic condition that can be difficult to treat. It can flare up in waves over time and can cause you significant discomfort. Some signs and symptoms of blepharitis include redness along the eyelid margins and of the eyes, crustiness of the eyelids, greasy eyelids, flakey eyelids, swollen eyelids, itchiness, irritation and watery eyes. Blepharitis can often lead to dry eyes, styes and recurrent conjunctivitis.
At Burleigh Optometrists, an assessment with our optometrists can help you manage your blepharitis to minimise the discomfort of your symptoms. Treatment can include specific eye lid cleansers dependent on the cause of your blepharitis and in room treatments of Zocular Eyelid System Technology (ZEST).