Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with eye

Where can we get an advanced London Eye(s) Test?

Anonymous — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 17:17:22 -0800

Advice on where to go in London for more advanced eye problems? My wife is having problems with her eyes, black spots and a cloud on one eye. We want to get her eyes tested further....

She is an EU citizen with an EU health insurance card. We live in the Camden area, does anyone know of a suitable place in London where she could go and around how much it may cost?

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Recommendations for laser eye surgery in London

dmt — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 03:37:04 -0800

Recommendations for laser eye surgery in London I have been thinking about laser eye surgery for some time. Last month my optician confirmed that my prescription has been stable for long enough that I am now (at 33) a viable candidate. Obviously I’ll look to an ophthalmologist for a definitive view but I’m now interested in taking the next step.

So then, what was your experience with laser eye surgery? Did you use someone in London; were you impressed? What did it cost? Any recommendations on the various available procedures? My sense is that the various procedures are safe but I would really like to avoid halo effects while driving at night.

Finally – and this might be a deal breaker – I would be happy to use eyedrops for a period following the procedure but a year sounds like a hard act to follow; the rest of your life sounds positively onerous.

Additional details: shortsighted by 1.5 in both eyes with mild astigmatism.

Optic Neuritis

jara1953 — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 14:44:44 -0800

Looking for 1st hand experience of optic neuritis. Googled out and YANMD. Two Opthamologists, 2 neurologists and now my gf, 57, is in hospital as I write this, had MRI & CAT scan, and is also on intravenous steroids but has gotten no answers. Docs say it's not MS, and only see a couple arteries (?) that are normal for her age.

She has whiplash from years ago and previous to this her neck was reallly hurting, cracking and causing severe headaches. She's been under tremendous stress the past 3 weeks; her mom having surgery, work, car breaking down, etc.

We're getting desperate. Anyone been in her shoes? Thanks.

(What's the Story) Morning blurry?

XiBe — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 07:29:21 -0800

IKnowYouAreNotMyDoctor-filter: one blurry eye in the morning. Hello,

I've had a new eye behaviour since this Monday. Waking up, I quickly opened my eyes, only to discover a slight change of perception to my right eye, and a feeling as if opening my peeled something off my cornea - but it might just my brain trying to adapt a blurry right eye to a perfect left eye.

Yes, because I don't wear glasses or lenses - never have. I used to have very clear vision in both eyes (not perfect, mind you, but I could read easily some very far texts).

I slowly regained focus on my right eye, but since then I have a slightly blurrier vision in the right eye than my left. Next morning (yesterday), I woke up with no noticeable change. This morning, I again woke up with a blurry right eye, which improved in the next few minutes.

Yes, I am planning to see an ophthalmology, but it can take months before I get a appointment, so in the meantime I'm asking The Hive: have you ever witnessed such a behaviour (both the morning blur, and the slight loss of focus from one day to the next)? Should I be worried?

Details: I'm 32 and healthy, I work on a computer all day (have been for years with no issue)... and have slightly lacked sleep these last few days (what with being single again, y'know).

Thanks a lot for any insight.

I got HP printer ink in my eye, am I okay?

stlboi — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:59:04 -0800

I got HP printer ink in my eye, am I okay? So my HP printer squirted ink into one of my eyes somehow.

Half my eye was black!

I immediately removed my contacts and washed my eye out with water followed by a lot of flushing with eye drops.

Looks like all the ink is out (dont see anymore blackness) but now my eye is red/irritated.

I got the part number on the ink cartridge and looked up the MSDS on it:

http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/globalcitizenship/environment/productdata/Countries/us/ij_cc640series_us_eng_v11.pdf

Has this ever happened to anyone before? Do you think it will cause blindness or anything serious?

My eyes hurt.

srrh — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 21:24:21 -0800

My eyes have ached for the past week. What's going on? FIRST OF ALL: Unless the general consensus is that I am going to either die or go blind, I will not be going to a doctor until November 1st. I just got married, and due to some shuffling around of insurances, I will not have any coverage until then.

With that out of the way, here's what's going on. I have always been quite nearsighted, and I wear glasses for driving, TV watching, video game playing, or any activity where I need to see further than 5 or 6 feet. My vision up close is fine. Nothing has changed with regards to my vision.

I work in an office environment, with shifts that vary between 8 and 12 hours. I spend most of that time looking at computer screens, though not all of it, because I do fulfillment and inventory work in our warehouse during my downtime. All of my past jobs have been computer jobs, and I've spent lots of time playing on computers and video games as a kid, and never experienced any type of eye strain.

So, last week on the end of my 1st 12 hour shift (I have 2 8 hours and then 2 12 hours), I noticed my eyes really aching, especially if I looked at anything close-ish (within 5 feet or so). The pain was still there, but very dulled, if I looked far away. When I went to sleep that day, it took me hours to drift off, because the pain in my eyes was so bad. It felt as if they were constantly focusing and refocusing. It was distracting and extremely painful.

When I woke up that night, the pain was the same, or maybe even worse. Looking at anything within 5 feet of my face was almost excruciating. However, my drive to work that night was very relaxing for my eyes, and they felt somewhat better after getting to work. I researched eyestrain and read about an exercise where you focus on something near, far, near, far, near, far, then slowly blink a few times. It seemed to relieve the pain quite a lot, though not totally. Maybe down to 20% what it originally was.

Since then, the pain has been intermittent. It has not gotten back up to the terrible flare it was originally. At most, it has been about half as bad, and sometimes it's no problem at all. It doesn't seem to matter if I'm in a bright room or dark room, whether I'm looking at a screen or something else. The pain is still at its worst if I look at something within 5 feet or so, but it can be somewhat mitigated (though not totally) if I wear my glasses at all times, rather than just for distance viewing.

Apart from my eyes aching, my face is very sore because I seem to be constantly squinting. When I notice myself squinting, and relax my face, the eye pain comes back worse. This does not change whether my glasses are on or off, or if I'm looking near or far. Also, the pain is equal in both of my eyes, and, again, there have been no changes whatsoever in my vision.

WHEW. I think I've covered all my bases here, but if there's any other relevant information I should add, please let me know. What do you guys think? If it's just eyestrain, is there anything I can do to permanently relieve it? If it might be something more serious, is there anything I can at least do to lessen the pain until November?

Thanks so much for any help you can provide.

How to make a Residents costume?

Zero Gravitas — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 12:57:01 -0800

Please come up with suggestions for making my own Residents costume. So, I've been playing with the idea of making one of those huge eyballs that form the centerpiece of the costume. The rest of it is obviously relatively trivial to obtain. In case you don't know, The Residents are one of the weirdest bands ever, are awesome in a very, very, special way, and have been going for something like 40 years now. Moreover, the costumes are super-awesome (in fact that's probably the reason I gave them a chance) and I'd like to own one for various costume parties and suchlike.

That eye is a bit of a headache. Firstly, where could I get a plastic or plexiglass globe like that reasonably cheaply? Secondly, what would be the best way to get the veins and iris and various parts of the eyeball on the plastic?

No more blind spots

catlet — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 05:30:12 -0800

A friend requires cataract surgery in the near future, and has some questions about his options for MeFites who've pondered the same issues. (I have seen this thread and pointed him to it - juggler, have you had your surgery yet? What did you decide to do?)

My friend is 43. He has been mildly nearsighted since 12 and has worn glasses/contacts for distance vision since then, but has never had problems with very close vision. The cataract in his left eye is quite advanced, the right one less so; he is planning to have both done, but has not chosen his replacement lenses yet.

Single focus lenses: It appears that he could choose to have single focus close-focus lenses in both eyes, or single focus distance-focus lenses. If you have two close-focus lenses, how well can you see small things up close, like tiny iPhone screws or needles to thread? If you have two distance-focus lenses, can you read without glasses and do other close work? Is there a reason to choose one over the other? If you could do it over, would you get the same focal distances?

Multi-focus lenses: What kind of lens did you get? How happy are you with your overall vision? Was it worth the extra expense? He has BCBS insurance and will probably have to pay above the coverage cost to get multi-focal lenses.

Special bonus question: Anyone with the new Crystalens accommodating lens? TruncatedTiller, you posted that your wife has them - is she still happy? How does it compare to her natural vision?

Thanks, hivemind. If you prefer e-mail, drop me a note at metacatlet @ gmail or MeMail, and I will pass it along.

Is it worth getting an Extended Service Plan for PRK?

JeremiahBritt — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 08:20:59 -0800

Getting PRK done next month, which comes with a one year warranty for free "touch ups". For an additional $400 I can get a 10-year warranty, but does PRK regress passed the first year? I'm not a candidate for LASIK.

Other details:

I'm going to Eye Doctors of Washington in DC, after shopping around and going to consults at 4 other places in the area.

The cost without the warranty is ~$3600 (reduced due to insurance matching).

I am severely myopic and have astigmatism, which increases the chances I'll need a touch up, but if I do, it will most likely happen within the included guarantee.

We will probably move from the area within a couple years, maybe even to the other coast, so touchups would actually cost $400 + travel + hotel.

Those who have had PRK, have you noticed any degradation after your vision stabilized in 6 months?

$400 doesn't seem like a lot for piece of mind money, but moving (increasing the actual cost) and the low rate (anecdotally from friends) that have degraded make it seem like a worry tax.

I'm afraid perceived value (it's my frikken eyes) may be clouding my judgment of actual value.

Saw this question, which had answers relating low-to-no degredation, but was specifically LASIK.

I'm aware that this may result in opinion answers, but I respect your opinions.

What is the best eye protection for tennis players?

cheapskatebay — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 13:15:17 -0800

What is the best eye protection for tennis players? I'll be taking my first tennis lesson in a week. I'm excited but I also want to be sure I protect my eyes as much as possible.

Is there a type of goggles available in prescription form (or that covers glasses) that would be particularly suitable for tennis? Something more fashionable than my old Rec Specs would be ideal, but safety is my primary concern.

There seems to be a fair number of options when I've searched the internet for tennis eye protection, but a lot of the racquet-sport goggles seem to be marketed for squash, not tennis. If some or all of the racquet-sport goggles are suitable for tennis, great; if there's anything specifically good for tennis, I'd also be interested in learning that.

Eye fitness

devnull — Fri, 29 May 2009 01:59:45 -0800

Why are there no eye gyms? I've often heard opticians say that the reason someone needs glasses is that they sit in front of a screen all day. The person's eyes get used to focusing on near objects.

It seems sensible then that as an alternative to glasses, eye exercises should be more common place.

For what reasons would this be or is this a bad idea? (I'm not looking for the "because then they would sell less glasses angle")

Retinal tears and detachment 101?

loquacious — Thu, 28 May 2009 23:35:00 -0800

Retinal tears and detachments 101. Please tell me everything you know or have experienced from symptoms to treatment and aftercare. I'm pretty sure I've been experiencing the symptoms of threatening retinal detachment/tears for a few months now. I'm getting "floaters" that only move a little bit side to side or up and down and then always "settle" back to the same shape and position - which are probably, now that I really think about it, wrinkles. Wrinkles in my damn retina. Because the goo in my eyes is shrinking. Argh.

To get this part out of the way: Yes, I'm a fucking idiot. Yes, I'm going to go try see a doctor at an ER without insurance real soon now, and try and try again - unless it suddenly worsens in which case I'll go right now.

This isn't a "should I see a doctor for this?" question. The answer is "Yes, you idiot."

So, please... please tell me anything and everything you know about symptoms, diagnosis methods, treatment options and aftercare. I guess the real question is: What am I in for?

Good eye treatment for a smooshy faced cat.

MaryDellamorte — Wed, 13 May 2009 17:55:49 -0800

What over-the-counter eye drops/ointment can I give my Himalayan cat to help his sometimes red and irritated eyes. I have a Himalayan who has the all too-common problem of watery, leaky eyes but sometimes his eyes get red and irritated. Has anyone had any luck with a particular kind of eye treatment?

What's wrong with my eyelid?

Girl Scout of Death — Mon, 04 May 2009 09:12:03 -0800

I woke up with my eyelid half-swollen shut. Given the circumstances, how should I treat it? I lost a contact lens last night. Figuring it was stuck under my upper eyelid, I panicked and spent a good deal of time trying to get it out, mostly by lifting my eyelid and trying to see what was underneath. Didn't find the contact lens, so I'm pretty sure it must have fallen out at some point.

I went to bed with my eye a little red and watery, which isn't too different from any other night, since I have really bad seasonal eye allergies. When I woke up this morning and got in the shower, I rubbed my eyes, and the eyelid in question felt... puffy and squishy, but not painful at all. If anything, it's a little numb. I can see just fine, I don't have a fever, and it hasn't gotten any worse or better since I got up 4 hours ago. The eye itself is still quite red, and leaking a lot, but again, that's usually the case for me in May. It's not bothering me too much, although it looks pretty gruesome. Here's a picture.

I'm pretty sure it's not a stye or a chalazion, since there's no bump anywhere.

Is my eye just irritated from the rubbing/prodding/allergies, or is this something more urgent? I don't have health insurance, so I'd rather not go to the doctor unless there's cause for alarm. How long should I wait for it to get better, and what can I do to reduce the swelling in the meantime?

(I did read this question.)

Look into my eye

devnull — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 02:50:03 -0800

Which eye do you look at when you are talking with someone? Are you even conscious of this? Do you switch? How do you decide?

How to remove folded stuck contact lens?

nihraguk — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 10:49:11 -0800

I have a contact lens that has folded on itself and is stuck in the extreme upper corner of my eye. How do I get it out? The usual methods haven't worked. The lens has been in there for the last 3 days or so. After a lot of saline solution I spotted it sitting on my eyeball, but repeated attempts to move it with my finger didn't work. More saline and eyeball poking led to it shifting to a much harder to reach corner of my eye. I've tried:
- closing my eye and using my finger to gently shift the lens around through the lid
- blinking furiously
- lots of eye drops
- putting a finger on my eyeball while eye is closed and looking in all directions
- looking in all directions while eye is open

Any other suggestions? Should I see an optometrist?

Momentary tunnel vision caused by orgasm: wtf?

Anonymous — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 11:22:19 -0800

What would cause me to experience a flash of light in my peripheral visual field during orgasm, and should I be concerned about it? 28, female, in good health as far as I know. I've been trying to Google for more information on this phenomenon, but clearly haven't been able to come up with the right search phrases.

An extended description of the experience: sometimes when I orgasm, I experience a flash of light just before or during the event. This just started happening a few months ago. Usually it happens in my dominant eye (left), but if I concentrate hard enough, I can get the same thing to happen in my right field of vision.

This is not like the "seeing stars" that you might get from a blow to the head, as far as I can tell. In fact, it reminds me a lot of the tunnel vision experience, except that it only lasts a second or so, and instead of of darkness/grey-out, the ring around my field of vision is bright. Sometimes it's just a small ring of light blocking out my peripheral vision - sometimes if I concentrate, I can get it to block most of my visual field. It doesn't happen all the time, but it also doesn't seem to have anything to do with holding my breath or tensing my muscles in any specific way (although to be fair, I'm probably not a very good objective observer).

It's been a fun game learning how to make it happen whenever I want, but some small part of me is concerned that it's happening at all. I'm severely nearsighted, but get my vision checked regularly - a younger sibling was diagnosed with a freak case of wet-form macular degeneration a few years ago (everything is fine with them for now), and so I'm kind of paranoid about eye problems. At my check-up six months ago: nothing unusual. This doesn't seem to happen at any other time except during orgasm, and I've noticed no other vision or neurological symptoms.

Is this something to worry about or just a fun little bedroom bonus?

How to not blind self using cheap $199 specials?

Darke — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 18:00:28 -0800

How can I find the best LASIK eye doctor in the NYC Metro region? I've just been cleared for laser eye surgery by my optometrist, and can't seem to find any sort of way of determining who is likely to blind me and and who can do an awesome job.

How do you center yourself, if you were off center to begin with?

kanemano — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 11:53:27 -0800

I have been blind in one eye since the age of two, so I know nothing of this whole binocular vision thing that people keep talking about, I have made it to forty without feeling I have missed anything (except the whole 3D magic eye posters from the early 90’s) but last year I started taking yoga and now I feel unbalanced, as if I am leaning to the side with the good eye, as a possible result I have developed tendinitis in the leg on my dominant side, Has anyone else have the result of feeling off balance from yoga and how do you realign yourself to a position that wasn’t plum to begin with. I just started a new job so I will have to wait a few weeks for my health insurance to catch up before I can start going to physical therapy.

What tool did the optometrist use?

Pantengliopoli — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 09:30:07 -0800

What did the optometrist use to make my vision so much better, and how does it work? Not the fancy bells/whistle machine with all the cool gears and lenses. Before that, he used a simple piece of plastic to block one eye and leave a hole for the other. After testing vision with that, he flipped a second piece of plastic over the hole -- from what I could tell, the second piece was just a thin sheet of opaque plastic with a bunch of small holes in it. No lenses or anything, just little holes.

With that covering my eye, I could see the smaller print much more clearly. How does that work? Does it replicate the eye squinting by reducing visual "noise" or something? I'm fascinated.

Best course of action after cutting open ones eye.

demon666 — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 15:19:12 -0800

In the event that I cut my eye open while shaving with a straight razor, what steps can I take to improve the chances of keeping my eye. My current plan is to close my eyes, tilt my head back, then make my way to the phone to call 911. Any input would be appreciated.

source for translucent sheet of film similar to what they use for "blue blocker" sunglasses?

debu — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 16:58:26 -0800

Does anyone know where I could order a pre-made glass/plastic sheet or a resin to coat a translucent piece of plastic or glass? Something similar to the color and tint they use on the lens of those cheesy blue blocker sunglasses. I need to make a screen with this tint for the front of a computer monitor. Maybe there is something pre-made as well?

Help me prepare for PRK recovery

Kololo — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 22:15:33 -0800

Have you had PRK eye surgery? Please tell me about your recovery experience. I'm scheduled for PRK surgery next friday (my corneas are too thin for me to be eligible for Lasik), and I've managed to freak myself out based on the following two things:
1) A few years ago, I had a corneal ulcer where the entire top layer of my cornea was essentially gone, and it was the most intensely painful and traumatic thing I've ever experienced.
2) I've somehow only read blog posts about PRK recoveries that take weeks or months or somehow go otherwise awry.

So, what i want to know, other than general expectations, are:
a) How long did it take for you to be, well, a functioning human being, in that you were comfortable going out, meeting friends, etc
b) How long before you could stare at a computer monitor for extended periods of time? (I'm concerned about going back to work.)
C) How long did it take for your vision to completely heal, and for you to have 20/20 vision? (Or enough to function at work.)
d) Do you have any tips to conquer pain, discomfort, the urge to rub your eyes, and the boredom of not actually being sick or tired, but needing to keep your eyes closed for the first few days?

Thanks!

Baby Got A Black Eye

jasondigitized — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 16:27:24 -0800

My 8 week old baby is starting to develop a swollen lower right eye-lid. It is starting to look like a black eye. The opthamologist thinks it is a developmental cyst, and told us just to keep an eye on it. Today, it is starting to cause her eye to close slightly. My wife is in tears. Anyone have an opinion on what is going on here, what the options are for a 2 month old, and also, what will make us not freak out.

Do I need to use two tubes of antibiotic eye ointment?

Mayor Curley — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 18:05:34 -0800

The pediatrician says my two-week-old baby has a potential eye infection-- her left eye isn't draining properly yet. The pediatrician prescribed erythromycin ointment. Coincidentally, about three weeks ago, our cat was prescribed erythromycin for her eye infection, which is now long cleared. I still have about four-fifths of a tube. Is there any reason that I shouldn't use the cat's ointment on the baby? It seems like a waste to open another tube of the stuff.