DR. CALDER ANSWERS FREQUENTLY ASKED EYE CARE QUESTIONS

Here are answers to some of the most frequently asked questions Dr. Peter Calder, an ophthalmologist at Berks Eye Physicians and Surgeons, hears:

COVID CONCERNS: One of the biggest COVID-19 related concerns patients have has to do with glasses fogging up when wearing a facemask. While antifogging sprays can help, the main thing is to make sure you have a tight seal between your mask and your nose to keep your breath from going up and fogging your glasses. Parents, meanwhile, are concerned about how virtual schooling will affect their children’s vision. Calder said it is important for children take a break every couple of hours and get outdoors, both because sunlight is needed for their eye growth, and because their eyes need to focus on things at a distance. “The eye was never made to focus on just

one distance. It’s supposed to focus on all distances,” he said.

WHEN TO SEE A DOCTOR :

Calder said that in addition to regular check-ups, you should seek out an eye doctor if you experience pain, redness, decreased vision or light sensitivity. Also, if you get flashes and floaters, your eye doctor will want to see you right away because it could indicate a tear in the retina in the back of the eye or a retinal detachment. Early detection and treatment can mean you won’t lose vision. Also, if you experience transient loss of vision (it lasts just a few minutes), it could be an indication of hardening of the arteries, especially the carotid arteries in neck.

Another transient loss of vision problem is eye migraines, which patients often describe as having a bright light in their vision, in a zigzag shape, that lasts 15 or 20 minutes, sometimes followed by headache. If this happens more than once a week, an eye physician might be able to help by going over triggering effects. Also, people on steroids for prolonged periods are at increased risk of cataracts and may notice their vision is blurring. Steroids can also cause glaucoma, so it is important to get checked if using steroids.

SAFETY : It is important to wear goggles for safety, especially if grinding or sawing metals. Calder said if somebody gets a bad injury, it can be repaired, but the eye is never going to be the same as it was, so taking precautions matters. Another big eye safety concern is the

use of bungee cords. “I am very, very cautious around bungee cords,” Calder said. “If I release them I turn my head because I don’t want that to hit the eye.” The same goes for lighting a grill or working with car batteries. Proceed with caution. CONTACT LENSES : Calder said contact wearers should clean their lenses with disinfectant and run the lens case under extremely hot water and let it air-dry. Use fresh disinfectant every night and don’t sleep with the lenses in because the eye doesn’t get enough oxygen and cells on the surface of eye can die, leading to a corneal ulcer. These can be treated with antibiotics but sometimes result in a scar that could affect your vision. If contact wearers experience pain, redness, decreased vision or sensitivity to light, they should take their lenses out and

schedule an appointment right away.

ALLERGIES : Allergy sufferers want to know what to do for their watery, itchy eyes. Calder recommends cool compresses to get rid of swelling. Over-the-counter artificial tears and Pataday drops might help. If those don’t work, a doctor might prescribe a brief course of mild steroidal eye drops.

SHINGLES VACCINE :

Calder highly recommends his patients get the shingles vaccine, because shingles around the eye can lead to long-lasting, terrible pain, and if it gets in the eye it can lead to blindness.

DRY EYES : Dry eyes are one of the most common complaints Calder hears. They result from inflammation of the eye lids probably caused by exposure to dust, dirt and pollen in the air over many years. Some

allergy, cold and sinus meds also can cause dry eyes. Calder said if the symptoms are mild, over-the-counter artificial tears should help, combined with gel drops at night. Soaking with a hot washcloth for five minutes in the morning also will help. Also, over-the-counter gelfilled masks, lid scrubs and hypochlorous acid (Hypochlor) spray will help get rid of inflammation.

STYES : Styes are caused when the oil glands in the eyelids get irritated and inflamed and the oils become thick and block the glands, resulting in a red knot on your eyelid. Treatment options include hot soaks, lid scrubs and artificial tears. Rather than just using a warm wash cloth, which cools down too fast, Calder recommends hard-boiling an egg and wrapping it in a warm wash cloth and putting it over your eye. “It fits

right in there,” he said. “It’ll slowly cool off but will deliver a lot of heat. If you can get it early, that will get it to drain and it’ll go away.”

READING GLASSES :

Calder said if you are struggling to read, getting headaches or experiencing eye strain, by all means, get reading glasses. He said there is no evidence to support the argument that if you start using reading glasses, they’ll make it worse. There’s also no evidence to support the opposite: that if you try to avoid using reading glasses, it will delay the changes. “We think it’s genetic and sort of programmed in and will happen whether you wear reading glasses or not,” he said. “It may seem like it is changing rapidly at first, but it does slow down.”