Eye Conditions Treated at Northview Eye Associates in Rice Lake, Spooner, and Hayward

Below are brief descriptions of a few eye conditions that our doctors diagnose, manage, and treat at Northview Eye.

Cataracts

Cataracts are a common eye condition that can cause increased glare at night and general reduced clarity of vision. They are an opacification or clouding of the lens in the eye. This clouding will interrupt the normal transmission of light to the retina of the eye and will cause blurred vision. Some of the most common causes of cataract development are UV light exposure and natural aging. Normally, cataracts will progress slowly and take many years of development before intervention is needed.

Luckily, there are highly accurate surgical procedures that can be performed to remove the cloudy lens and replace it with an artificial implant. This procedure is commonly called cataract extraction or cataract surgery. Your eye doctor can diagnose the cataracts and monitor them until you are ready for a cataract extraction. If you have experienced increasing glare at night and blurred vision, you may have cataracts and should schedule an appointment for a comprehensive eye exam.

Dry eye

Dry eye is another eye condition that is common and can be treated by your eye doctor. There are multiple types of dry eye, but the most common is evaporative dry eye. When the glands of the eyes do not produce the right combination of tears, it can leave the tear film vulnerable to evaporation. Interestingly, this causes our eyes to excessively water to compensate for the evaporation of our tear film.

The first signs of dry eye often occur before the eyes start to feel dry. If left untreated, the dry eye can progress and start to cause uncomfortable eyes and also impact the vision in severe cases. Yearly eye exams are the best way to monitor for the start of dry eye.

Blepharitis

Blepharitis refers to an inflammation of the eyelid and is common in patients that struggle with poor lid hygiene. Many times blepharitis is associated with a chronic bacterial infection that can cause eye discomfort and affect our tear film. This condition is closely related to dry eye as it often affects the glands that are responsible for secretion of oils into the tear film.

Blepharitis is often times sub-clinical, but if left untreated can progress and cause irritation and redness of the eyes as well as dry eyes. There are a few treatments for blepharitis, most of which focus on lid hygiene. Occasionally your eye doctor will need to prescribe an oral antibiotic medication to help manage and treat the blepharitis.

Strabismus

Strabismus is the technical term for a “lazy eye”, or “eye turn”. This condition is often diagnosed in young children and can cause permanently reduced vision if not treated properly. Most often, strabismus is caused by a problem with the ocular muscles that align the eyes. A misalignment can cause problems with the development of clear vision.

There are many different types of strabismus and multiple ways to treat the condition as well. Most treatments involve the use of glasses, and often exercises to help train better control of the eye muscles. Other more invasive treatments involve surgical procedures to correct the muscle imbalance.

Amblyopia

Amblyopia is a medical eye condition that refers to reduced clarity of vision, usually in one eye. This process starts at a young age and is most commonly caused by strabismus (eye turn), or a large magnitude of uncorrected refractive error. Fortunately, this condition is often preventable with proper intervention during the ages of vision development. Vision development occurs from birth to about age nine in most people.

Common treatments include glasses to correct the vision and eye exercises focused on the development of visual acuity. This process is called vision therapy. Vision therapy is a dynamic method that involves in-office as well as at-home training to help regain visual acuity and visual comfort.

Computer Vision Syndrome

Computers have become more prevalent in our daily lives. From work to home, we are frequently using computers, tablets, and cell phones. This increase in screen time can cause “computer vision syndrome” in many people. Harsh illumination from screens and high demand on our focusing system and eye muscles can cause fatigue and eye strain.

This condition is typically treated with glasses that help us to focus and to reduce the exposure to harsh light emitted from screens. Your eye doctor can help guide and make recommendations for the right kind of lenses to relieve your strain from computer and screen use. Make an appointment with us today to discuss the options.