There are literally hundreds of eye conditions which may affect your vision. No matter if you are older or younger, eye conditions are generally not limited to any one specific age group. Despite the fact that you may be more prone to certain eye conditions as you age, this does not mean that you are immune to it while you are younger. Alpine Eye Care understands that your eye care is of the utmost importance to you and as such, we do our best to prevent, find and diagnose a variety of eye conditions and diseases that may be affecting your vision.
Some of the most common eye conditions suffered by people of all ages include:
Red Eye
Red eye usually refers to hyperemia of the superficial blood vessels of the conjunctiva, sclera or episclera, and may be caused by diseases or disorders of these structures or adjacent structures that may affect them directly or indirectly.
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Detached Retina
Retinal detachment is a disorder of the eye in which the retina peels away from its underlying layer of support tissue. Initial detachment may be localized, but without rapid treatment the entire retina may detach, leading to vision loss and blindness. It is a medical emergency.
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Diabetic Retinopathy
Diabetic retinopathy is retinopathy (damage to the retina) caused by complications of diabetes mellitus, which can eventually lead to blindness. It affects up to 80% of all patients who have had diabetes for 10 years or more. Despite these intimidating statistics, research indicates that at least 90% of these new cases could be reduced if there was proper and vigilant treatment and monitoring of the eyes. The longer a person has diabetes, the higher their chances of developing diabetic retinopathy.
Click here to read more about a Diabetic Retinopathy >>
Eyelid Conditions
Eyelid Conditions such as Dermatochalasis, Blepharoptosis, Entropion, Ectropion, Blepharitis can affect your vision.
Click here to find out more about each Eyelid Condition >>
Tears
Tears are necessary to keep our eyes moist and healthy. Tears lubricate eyes and make it possible to see the world clearly. When you blink a tear film spread over the eye, this film is made up of three distinct layers.
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Farsighted (Hyperopia)
Making it more difficult to see close up, glasses or lenses will be necessary to correct the situation – please visit the refractive surgery page to learn more about treatment.
Nearsighted (Myopia)
Making it difficult to see far away, this is also fixed by wearing glasses or contacts and can be repaired with surgery – please visit the refractive surgery page to learn more about treatment.
Keratoconus
Keratoconus is a degenerative disorder of the eye in which structural changes within the cornea cause it to thin and change to a more conical shape than its normal gradual curve.
Fuchs’ Dystrophy
Fuchs’ dystrophy is a slowly progressing corneal disease that usually affects both eyes and is slightly more common in women than in men. Although doctors can often see early signs of Fuchs’ dystrophy in people in their 30s and 40s, the disease rarely affects vision until people reach their 50s and 60s.
Astigmatism
This can be fixed with glasses or contacts as well as refractive surgery – please visit the refractive surgery page to learn more about treatment.
Blepharitis
Blepharitis is chronic inflammation of the eyelid, the severity and time course of which can vary. Onset can be acute, resolving without treatment within 2–4 weeks (this can be greatly reduced with lid hygiene), but more generally is a long standing inflammation varying in severity.
Corneal Abrasions
Corneal abrasions are generally a result of trauma to the surface of the eye. Common causes include jabbing a finger into an eye, walking into a tree branch, getting grit in the eye and then rubbing the eye or being hit with a piece of projectile metal. A foreign body in the eye may also cause a scratch if the eye is rubbed. Injuries can also be incurred by “hard” contact lenses that have been left in too long. Damage may result when the lenses are removed, rather than when the lens is still in contact with the eye. In addition, if the cornea becomes excessively dry, it may become more brittle and easily damaged by movement across the surface.
Lazy Eye (Amblyopia)
More common in children, this can be more easily treated if caught early.
Eye Allergies
Often causing red and itchy eyes, this is a manageable condition.
Pink Eye (Conjunctivitis)
More common in school age children, pink eye is highly contagious but is easy to get rid of with the right medication
How Do We Help
As a highly qualified and experienced eye care facility, Alpine Eye Care offers our the highest quality staff as well as the newest technology to assist us in diagnosing your vision problems. By seeing the symptoms early and doing what is necessary quickly, you may suffer less irreparable damage and enhance your quality of life. If you are interested in scheduling an appointment to talk to a doctor about your vision, contact Alpine Eye Care for more information.
You Have a Choice
When you need a hospital for your eye care, we hope you will choose one in your community such as Otsego Memorial Hospital, Mercy Hospital Grayling and Cheboygan Memorial Hospital. These hospitals are here for your convenience and they support your community and ultimately you – please make them your first choice. When you keep your business local: businesses benefit, jobs benefit, schools benefit and the entire community benefits. We support our community and we hope you will too.