Here are some examples of people who we have helped with products and services available at Lakeshore Eyecare Center. We are very proud to serve our community and will do our best to answer all of your questions and help you in any way we can!
A 6-year-old boy was brought in by his mother because he failed an eyesight screening at the pediatrician.
Mom had not noticed any vision problem with her son. Lazy eye was in his father's family history. The LEC doctor diagnosed 20/20 right eye vision and 20/200 left eye vision due to extreme farsightedness. This is caused when one eye grows slower than the other and this is called a "hidden" lazy eye because it is not obvious to an observer. Glasses were prescribed to compensate for the vision difference and some eye patching was done, but his left eye was limited to 20/50 vision because of too long a delay for glasses treatment. An eye doctor should examine all children by the age of three to assure vision has developed properly in both their eyes.
A 45-year-old woman came in for an eye exam commenting that she had placed reading glasses all around her house because she couldn't see to function without them.
She was frustrated with her "older" eyes and the wearing of glasses on the end of her nose! The LEC doctor explained her vision problem of presbyopia and prescribed attractive mutifocal glasses for her to wear. The doctor also explained the option of her wearing a reading vision contact lens on one eye. This is called a monovision fitting. She wanted to try this too and after a 2-3 week trial period of wearing the contact lens she was very pleased with the visual freedom this allowed. She was thrilled to have these two options for her vision needs.
A 31-year-old man came in complaining of a significant irritation to his left eye for 4-5 days.
He worked on cars as a hobby and thought he might have a metal particle in his eye. Sure enough, the LEC doctor diagnosed a metal foreign body stuck to his cornea, which had begun to deposit "rust" in the corneal tissue! The doctor easily removed it with the use of a microscope but the rust area needed to be burred off with a special tool because of its toxicity to the eye tissue. A bandage soft contact lens was then fitted on his injured eye to allow healing along with a prescription for antibiotic eyedrops and a pain medication. Three days later the LEC doctor removed the bandage lens and his eye was totally healed and comfortable.
A 53-year-old woman presented for a diabetic eye exam six months after her physician had recommended it.
She had been diabetic for 7 years and wore glasses but had no complaints of her vision. She admitted to not following her physician's diabetic medication orders or regularly testing her own blood sugar levels. The LEC doctor reviewed the Optomap retinal scans with her, which showed early diabetic retinopathy (blood vessel hemorrhages) in both eyes! We checked her blood sugar at 305 - not good. A referral was made back to her physician for reassessment of her diabetic treatment. She now knows that diabetic eye disease is the #1 cause of blindness and it has no symptoms in the early stages.
A 67-year-old trifocal lens wearer mentioned at her routine exam that she couldn't see right when reading in bed, which she loved to do.
The LEC doctor did an exam and recommended a devoted pair of full lens reading glasses that would be prescribed for her special vision activity. The doctor explained that looking through a full lens would be so much more comfortable for her rather than trying to look through the small reading portion of her trifocal lens. This approach would also allow her to be more comfortable in those reclined positions. A LEC optician used the doctor's prescription and helped the lady choose glasses from our value eyewear selection to minimize the expense of these "bedroom glasses." About a month later the lady sent the doctor a note saying how pleased she was with these new glasses!
A 23-year-old woman came in complaining of eye irritation when wearing her contact lenses.
She had some significant allergies for which she took medications. She was an athletic person with many sports interests as well as lots of outdoor activities so glasses were too limiting for her lifestyle. The LEC doctor did a comprehensive exam and determined that her eyelids were developing allergic cysts that occur when wearing dirty contaminated contact lenses. The patient admitted to poor eye hygiene methods and replacing her disposable lenses only when she felt like it. The doctor recommended daily disposable contact lenses for her. She tried two lens brands and really enjoyed how much better her eyes felt wearing fresh lenses each day.
A 59-year-old woman came in for a routine exam because she had a history of glaucoma in her family.
She had no symptoms of her vision and her eyes felt comfortable. She was in good health. The LEC doctor performed an exam and found her eye pressures to be in the low 20s and that there was a suspicious notch in the optic nerve of her left eye. The doctor ordered a full glaucoma workup to determine if she was indeed developing glaucoma. The evaluation determined that she did not yet have glaucoma but she would be considered a "glaucoma suspect" because of these positive eye findings. The LEC doctor explained to her that yearly re-exams to monitor her eye pressures and optic nerves in the future were very important because early stage glaucoma has no symptoms.
A 72-year-old man came in for an exam complaining of poor driving vision, which was especially bothersome at night.
His wife came along to this exam and she commented that she didn't feel safe being in the car with her husband driving. The LEC doctor did a comprehensive exam and determined that the man had 20/50 vision in both eyes due to cataracts and that new glasses would not be helpful. The doctor also explained that nighttime driving vision is unsafe because cataracts cause the "starbursting" effects from oncoming car headlights to multiply, potentially causing a vision decline to 20/200 levels. The good news from the exam was that the man's retina showed no signs of macular degeneration and no glaucoma. This means with successful cataract surgery on both eyes that his vision will be back to normal for safe and comfortable vision. A referral was made for cataract surgery and six weeks later after a very successful surgery and healing the couple was on their way driving to Florida for their winter season. And yes, he did most of the driving!
A 44-year-old patient presented wondering if there was a way he could wear contact lenses instead of reading glasses.
His natural distance vision was good but for his work in sales he always needed to put on readers to be able to see printed material. The LEC doctor did an exam and suggested he try two approaches to a contact lens fitting. The first would be to determine eye dominance for wearing one reading vision contact lens. The second would be to try wearing the lens continuously to minimize the hassle of applying and removing the contact lens each day. Over the course of six weeks, he found visual freedom using a single contact lens on his left eye. The doctor monitors him yearly for corneal eye health, as continuous wearing of contact lenses can be more risky for eye health. This approach has proven successful for him wearing the contact lens for 3-4 days in a row.
A 64-year-old woman complained of a constant feeling of eye fatigue.
She felt this way by mid day and especially when reading in the evening. She said her eyes just wanted to close and that she could hardly keep them open. The LEC doctor performed her eye exam and determined that her glasses prescription was correct for her vision but that her upper eyelids were extremely heavy and droopy causing the feeling of fatigue. This condition is called blepharochalasis and, in many cases, is a family trait. The doctor explained that eyelid surgery would greatly help her vision fatigue symptoms. Visual field testing was done to determine the degree of lid droop confirming that medical insurance would cover her eyelid surgery. A referral was made to a plastic surgeon for a blepharoplasy consultation. Surgery was done and today she is seeing much more comfortably and she looks a little younger too!