What are the Most Common Eye Conditions Diagnosed by Dr. Papernick?

People visit their eye doctor mostly for vision tests and for obtaining eye glasses or contact lenses to correct refractive errors such as nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism, and presbyopia. Eye conditions frequently bringing patients to Dr. Papernick that do not involve vision problems include:

Common Eye Conditions Diagnosed or Treated

Conjunctivitis

Also called "pink eye", conjunctivitis is an infection of the lining of your eyelids and the transparent tissue covering the white parts of your eyes. Most cases of pink eye are caused by bacteria infiltrating conjunctival tissue when you rub or touch your eyes with dirty hands. Pink eye can also stem from season allergies, irritants or undetected corneal injuries. Symptoms of conjunctivitis include discharge, itchiness, burning and extreme redness of the eye. Antibiotic eyedrops are typically prescribed to facilitate healing of conjunctivitis. 

Flashers and floaters*

Small, shadowy spots that unexpectedly appear in your field of vision and quickly disappear may be diagnosed as flashers and/or floaters. This phenomenon happens when tiny portions of your eye's vitreous gel break loose from the back part of the eye. Aging is the most common reason for experiencing flashers and floaters. Laser vitreolysis can help reduce the appearance of floaters when they start interfering with vision. **We diagnose floaters and refer you to a specialist who can treat your floaters. 

Night blindness

Trouble seeing at night while driving is a common symptom of nearsightedness that can be improved with corrective lenses. Other reasons for night blindness include cataracts, glaucoma or diabetes. Treatment for night blindness involves removal of cataracts and implantation of a new lens, glaucoma management using eye drops and blood glucose regulation for diabetes-related night blindness.

Dry eyes/watery eyes

When excessive tearing can't be attributed to environmental conditions (windiness, coldness), tear ducts may be diseased or damaged. Dry eyes can be caused by blocked tear ducts, aging, rheumatoid arthritis or eyelids that do not close and open properly. Depending on what is behind dry eyes or watery eyes, your eye doctor will recommend treatments ranging from eye drops to minimally invasive laser procedures.

Corneal diseases

Keratoconus is one of the more common corneal disorders mostly affecting older teenagers and young adults. In most cases, keratoconus resolves by itself by will need monitoring by an eye doctor.

Ensure excellent vision and the health of your eyes by calling 724-547-5711 today to schedule an eye exam.