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Meet
Dr. Todd Lewis
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Graduated from
Wittenburg University in 1986 with a degree in Biology and Psychology. |
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Graduated
from Indiana School of Optometry in 1990. |
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Practicing
since Summer of 1990 |
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| When the normally
clear lens within your eye becomes cloudy and opaque, it is called
a cataract. Cataracts vary from extremely small areas of cloudiness
to large opaque areas that cause a noticeable loss of vision. |
| Cataracts are
most often found in persons over the age of 55, but they are also
occasionally found in younger people, including newborns. |
No one knows
exactly what causes cataracts. It is known that a chemical change
occurs within your eye that causes the lens to become cloudy. This
may be due to advancing age or it may be the result of heredity, an
injury or a disease.
 Excessive
exposure to ultraviolet radiation present in sunlight, cigarette smoking
or the use of certain medications are also risk factors for the development
of cataracts. Cataracts usually develop in both eyes,
| Can
cataracts be prevented? |
| Currently,
there is no proven method to prevent cataracts from forming.
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| What
are the signs/symptoms of cataracts? |
| Although
cataracts usually develop without pain or redness, some indications
that a cataract may be forming include blurred or hazy vision,
the appearance of spots in front of the eyes, or the feeling
of having a film over the eyes. |
but often at different
rates. |
| Presbyopia is
a vision condition in which the crystalline lens of your eye loses
its flexibility. This results in difficulty in focusing on close objects. |
| Your eye stops
growing in your early teens. The lens, however, continues to grow
and produces more and more cells. Eventually the lens loses some of
its elasticity and therefore loses some focusing ability. |
| At what
age does presbyopia occur? |
| It varies from
person to person. Although presbyopia may seem to develop suddenly,
the actual decline takes place over the course of many years. Presbyopia
usually becomes apparent to people in their early to mid-forties.
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| What are
signs/symptoms of presbyopia? |
| Some signs/symptoms
of prebyopia include the tendency to hold reading materials at arms
length, blurred vision at normal reading distance and eye fatigue
along with headaches when attempting to do close work. |
| Can prebyopia
be prevented? |
| Unfortunately
not. Presbyopia is a natural part of the aging process. |
| How is
presbyopia diagnosed? |
| A comprehensive
eye examination by a doctor of optometry will include testing the
quality of your near vision. This will determine the extent, if any,
of presbyopia. |
| The tears your
eyes normally produce are necessary for overall eye health and clear
vision. Dry eye occurs when your eyes do not produce enough tears
or produce tears which do not have the proper chemical composition.
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| Dry eye
symptoms can result from the normal aging process, exposure
to environmental conditions, problems with normal blinking or
from medications such as antihistamines, oral contraceptives
or antidepressants. Dry eye can also be symptomatic of general
health problems, or other diseases or can result from chemical
or thermal burns to the eye. |
| What
are signs/symptoms of "dry eye"? |
| The most
common signs/symptoms include stinging, itchy, scratchy, and
uncomfortable eyes, and sometimes having a burning feeling or
a feeling of something foreign within the eye. You may experience
increased dry eye symptoms on awakening. Some people experience
an overly wet eye. This is a natural reflex to comfort a dry
eye. |
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| How is
"dry eye" diagnosed? |
| During the examination,
your doctor of optometry will ask you questions about your general
health, your use of medications and your home and work environments
to determine any factors which maybe causing dry eye symptoms. This
information will help your doctor decide whether to perform dry eye
tests. These tests use diagnostic instruments, which allow a highly
magnified view of your eyes and usually use special dyes. These tests
allow your doctor to evaluate the quality, the amount, and the distribution
of tears to detect signs of dry eyes. |
| What does
20/20 vision mean? |
| 20/20 vision
is a term used to express normal visual acuity (the clarity or sharpness
of vision) measured at a distance of 20 feet. If you have 20/20 vision,
you can see clearly at 20 feet what should normally be seen at that
distance. If you have 20/100 vision, it means that you must be as
close as 20 feet to see what a person with normal vision can see at
100 feet. |
| Does 20/20
mean perfect vision? |
| No. 20/20 vision
only indicates the sharpness or clarity of vision at a distance. There
are other important vision skills, among them peripheral awareness
or side vision, eye coordination, depth perception, focusing ability,
and color vision that contribute to your overall vision ability. |
| Is 15/15
vision better than 20/20? |
| No. 15/15 vision
means normal sharpness of vision at 15 feet, just as 20/20 indicates
normal acuity at 20 feet. For consistency, optometrists in the U.S.
use 20 feet as the standard to express sharpness of vision. Other
countries express visual acuity in their own way. In Britain, for
example, optometrist express visual acuity in meters (6/6 is considered
normal). |
| Why do
some people have less than 20/20 vision? |
| Visual acuity
is affected by many factors. Less than optimum clarity may result
from vision conditions like nearsightedness, farsightedness, or astigmatism,
or from eye diseases. |
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Please
Call Today For More Information
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