Optometrists have accepted vision therapy, which is a medical treatment for optical muscle disabilities, as a feasible treatment used for eye related problems; claiming the treatment can strengthen vision and give the patient the opportunity to understand visuals quicker and clearer (Press). Vision therapy originated in the 1950s and over the past 25 years, has gained popularity, mainly because of new technological innovations in the field of treatment. Generally, vision therapy is prescribed as a measure mainly for people between the ages of 3 and 18. With the results from a comprehensive series of eye tests, the optometrist can work with the patient using special instruments—prisms, filters, occluders, and eye lenses—and strengthen the eye muscles, thus improving sight. According to optometrists in favor of vision therapy, these methods of treatment using these instruments function as safer routes to repair eye disabilities. Although vision therapy can yield favorable results, the practice as a treatment for innate eye disabilities has been in hot debate lately; as it can exceed $8000 and insurance companies do not cover the treatment. For decades, insurance companies have refused to accept vision therapy as a legitimate method for repairing eyesight (Boink). Concomitant with lack of insurance, the cost for a full treatment can exceed $8000, and doctors cannot guarantee a successful outcome. Recently, parents of children with eye related disabilities, such as amblyopia (lazy eye) and strabismus (cross-eye), and doctors have attempted to cooperate with public schools to allow families access to school-funded doctors to practice vision therapy. With a tight budget, most schools cannot afford to supply vision therapy, and a... ... middle of paper ... ... for Amblyopia?” Postgraduate medicine 112.4 (2002): 16. Proquest. Web. 4 Jan 2014. Mann, Judy. “Bill Would Bring Needed Low-Vision Therapy.” The Washington Post: 0. Jul 19 2000. Proquest. Web. 4 Jan. 2014. “NovaVision, Inc.; Vision Restoration Therapy to be Available at 3 California Clinics.” Hospital Law Weekly (2005):42. Proquest. Web. 5 Jan 2014. Press, Dr. Leonard J. “An Eye Doctor Answers Questions (FAQs) about Vision Therapy, Visual Training, Eye Exercises, Pediatric Optometrists, Developmental Optometrists, Ophthalmologists.” N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Dec. 2013. Saxena, Rohit, Diguijay Singh, and Praveen Vashist. “Glaucoma: An Emerging Peril.” Indian Journal of Community Medicine 38.3 (2013): 135-7: Proquest. Web. 7 Jan 2014. Seltzer, Jo. "Ophthalmologists Express Skepticism About Vision Therapy." Stlbeacon.org. N.p., 30 Nov. 2010. Web. 1 Mar. 2014.
Vision loss from glaucoma is permanent but can be prevented with early detection and treatment. Since the symptoms of the disease are usually unnoticeable, regular eye examination are important especially for persons over the age of 35 and those in high risk group.
With no treatment needed, glaucoma is a leading cause of blindness in the United States, while simultaneously being the number one leading cause in Africa (Glaucoma Research Foundation). According to the American Optometric Association, “Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases causing optic nerve damage. The optic nerve carries images from the retina, which is the specialized light sensing tissue, to the brain so we can see.” They go on to say that when dealing with glaucoma, one’s eye pressure plays a vital role in damaging the delicate nerve fibers of the optic nerve. “When a significant number of nerve fibers are damaged, blind spots develop in the field of vision. Once nerve damage and visual loss occur, it is permanent.” The National Institute of Health states that due to shallower anterior chamber depths, this defect hurts the lives of people mostly from East Asian descent. The Foundation continues to say that blacks are among the people who are three times more likely to have glaucoma while woman in general are two times more likely to developing angle closure glaucoma.
My interest in the career of optometry stems from my first experience in the optometry office to receive my first pair of glasses when I was in middle school. I distinctly remember the moment when my optometrist slipped my new glasses over my eyes for the first time. Suddenly, everything in the room came into sharp, clear focus. I knew that the glasses would help me see the board in school, but I was astonished to find that I could see small details about the room, as it had never before occurred to me that I should have been able to see these details. I was also surprised that I was even able to see the expressions on the faces of people who were standing far away from me. It was one of the most incredible, freeing, and empowering moments of my life. As I walked out of the optometry office, I felt
It is a rare condition that affects 2 % of Americans. Signs of pathological myopia include: Bending or distortion of straight lines, altered color perception, reduced contrast sensitivity, and increasing gloss of central vision. It is a quick severe progression of myopia and loss of vision is the end result. There is an increased risk of retinal detachment and other degenerative changes in the back of the eye (bleeding from abnormal blood vessel growth). If any of these things occur the risk of cataracts could increase. Treatment calls for a combination of a drug and a laser procedure called photodynamic therapy. It is reported to be the seventh ranking cause of legal blindness in the United States of America the fourth ranking cause in Hong Kong and the second in parts of China and Japan this form of myopia frequently progresses in adult life, with small intermittent steps of elongation being observable at any age. The adult progression appears to be due to the stretching of the walls of the eye. Genetically weak elements of the scleral wall are prone to thinning and stretching. One of the major forces at work in this stretching process appears to be the normal intra-ocular pressure (Ward
Glaucoma is a common and important health problem. It is one of the leading causes of blindness in Western Society (Hoskins & Kass, 1989). It is responsible for ten percent of all blindness in the United States and continues to be the second or third most common cause of blindness in the world (Bunce, Fraser, & Wormald, 1999). It is estimated that two million people in the United States have been diagnosed as having glaucoma. Glaucoma is known to affect about two percent of Caucasians beginning at the age of 40 with an increasing risk for those over the age of 60. This risk is especially high if a member of the family has glaucoma or diabetes. Further, there is a higher risk of a glaucoma diagnosis for African Americans over the age of 40.
E. H. L. Leung and M. Hollins, Understanding Blindness: An Integrative Approach, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1989.
Robert, a 65 year-old male, has trouble reading fine detail, especially out of his central vision. He complains that his vision is blurred and that it is harder to see while operating a motor vehicle. In addition, sometimes objects appear wavy or crooked, which impairs his vision. His worst symptoms were that he occasionally lost the ability to distinguish between the features of familiar faces and he had a localized blind spot. Robert is not alone; many people suffer from symptoms related to loss and distortion of the visual field. He suffers from macular degeneration, the leading cause of decreased vision loss in the United States, especially for people over the age of 50 (Philippi, 2000).
Heiting, Gary, and Mark Mattison-Shupnick. " Bifocals and Trifocals for Vision Over 40. " All About The Vision.
Myopia, or nearsightedness, is the most common ocular disorder in the world and affects people of all ages. Nearly 30 percent of the US population is currently affected by myopia and based on the National Eye Institute’s latest projections, 39 million Americans will be affected by 2030 and over 44 million by 2050.
Amblyopia is a condition in which visual acuity in one eye is greatly reduced. It is caused by lack of stimulation or disuse during visual development (Rose, 1998). Because the eye is not fully developed at birth (Jarvis, 1992, as cited in Rose, 1998), infants need stimulation to complete the visual neural pathway. When one or both eyes are inhibited, for example due to misalignment of one eye (strabismus) or a large difference in refractive power between two eyes (anisometropia), the neural pathway for the inhibited eye develops abnormally, or does not develop at all. At approximately six years of age eye development is complete (Stager, 1990, as cited in Rose, 1998). Before visual development is complete amblyopia can be treated. If it is caught and treated at an early age, normal vision can be preserved (Rose, 1998).
The difficulty with glaucoma is that everyone is susceptible to it, and that the effects of glaucoma are not felt until vision loss occurs. This inability to diagnose glaucoma makes it difficult for patients to get the proper attention that they need. Currently there are no cures for glaucoma or its effects, only to try and stop it from causing further damage. The main step that patients should take with glaucoma is early diagnosis, but with many of glaucoma's effects being unnoticed, many victims will not get treatment until their vision has already been seriously damaged. With such effects as loss of peripheral vision or blurred vision, a patient then would proceed to get treated through the use of eye drops, medications, or surgery to reduce the pressure in the patient's eyes. This reduction in pressure is only temporary, and if treatment is stopped, the pressure would build up after a short period of time. This reduction of pressure can be costly and has no effect on the vision already lost. To treat this disease people are going to have to look to the future of
The human eye is one of the most complex organs in the body that can be easily taken for granted. It is an organ that is susceptible to various disorders such as glaucoma, which can eventually lead to impaired vision and blindness. Glaucoma is one of the leading causes of blindness. Currently, there are no cures for glaucoma. There are, however, treatment options such as medications, laser procedures and surgery to slow the effects of glaucoma to prevent the progression of blindness from occurring. Throughout this paper, various treatments for glaucoma will be presented as well as the best nursing practices centered on evidenced based research.
This past year, I actively participated in vision week with the Pre-Optometry Club. Throughout the week, our organization raised $1,200 through various activities such as “Pie in the Eye,” to donate to the Leader Dog foundation. Being able to see the reactions of the puppy raisers at our very own Leader Dog for the Blind banquet further solidified my decision to pursue optometry and empower those who are visually impaired to lead a more productive and fulfilling life. In addition to this, job shadowing my local optometrist, Dr. Matthew Martin, O.D., gave me first hand experience with patient interaction. Dr. Martin excelled in treating all clientele, but I particularly noticed his ability to connect with children. Prior to the end of a pediatric appointment, Dr. Martin would present his patients with balloons animals. This reassured them that regular visits to an optometrist should be something to happily anticipate. Being able to build a relationship with his patients at such a young age displayed that he was not only their doctor, but also a friend. I watched as he brought each patient’s eyesight into focus, and knew that this was something I could wake up to and practice each
During my post-secondary education, I have taken courses such as: Introductory Biology I and II, Genetics, Psychology, Human Anatomy and Physiology which will be an asset as part of optometry school. Taking these courses have allowed me to develop an understanding of the structures and functions of the human body, the various ocular diseases and mutations related to recessive and dominant genes that can lead to eye disorders. This knowledge will help me in my career as a future optometrist, by carefully examining and implementing treatments for various eye disorders by having a foundation knowledge in how to overcome infections and abnormalities of the eyes, by understanding how antibodies work against viruses and
My passion and pursuit in optometry developed at an early age as a result of meeting countless number of people who suffered with poor or loss of vision due to their illness. As a child I could not grasp how one illness evoked another, it was only when I learned about the science behind the human body that I seriously began analyzing my childhood experiences. Further studies in Biology and Chemistry allowed me to develop analytical skills and Physics and Math promoted my deduction skills in following logical processes to infer results. I have learned that the history of optometry is a heroic narrative that speaks of a similar quest to identify the links that connects these health issues to eye disease; therefore, I have built an overwhelming sense of belonging to this