Prabhudesai Eye Clinic

Hi,

I am Dr. Nitin Prabhudesai, Ophthalmologist, Pune. I am practicing from last 25 years. Today we will be discussing red shoot eyes. Now, what exactly is it? There are many reasons for red shoot eyes. But the most common cause is conjunctivitis. The outer part of the eyes gets red and inflamed. Conjunctivitis is a common infection of the eye caused by some viruses and it is highly contagious. So, what one should do if he develops conjunctivitis? Basically, all the infection of eyes has to be examined by ophthalmologist whether they are infected or some other problem is there. We need to keep our eyes clean by using clear water and after taking consultation from the Dr start some antibiotics or anti-viral to control the infection. However, in spite of the medications which Dr gives, may take a few days for the red shoot to settle down if they are because of conjunctivitis.

In the meanwhile, as I said keep cleaning your eyes regularly and avoid touching your eyes with bare fingers and touching other parts of the house with the same finger. So, it is not only important to keep your eyes clean, try to keep your hands washed regularly. Red shot eyes can also occur due to eye inflammation commonly known as uveitis or episcleritis or oscillatoria. These are inflammation of the eye which is not caused by some infection but sort of an allergic reaction. These particular entities are difficult to diagnose and these should be diagnosed by an ophthalmologist with different instruments to determine the inner part of the eye, amount of inflammation and based on that Dr can advise you treatment. One thing to remember, as compared to conjunctivitis where the component of the pain may not be much. These other conditions can lead to severe pain and emersion of light.

So, if one has a red eye with pain, it can be conjunctivitis or more serious problem. Also, certain types of glaucoma called nano-angel glaucoma can present with red shot eye along with severe pain, headache, at times even vomiting. If one has these symptoms, it is important to rush your Dr and get yourself checked. Trauma in any form can also lead to bloodshot of eyes. The front part of the eye is quite fragile and slight trauma can lead to bleeding around the eye. The other causes of red shot of the eyes can be excessive running of the eye, improper sleep, less sleep or some form of allergy. Sometimes, you go for an eye examination and Dr may put the drop in your eye to see your eye properly and those drops may perse produce allergy and your eye may get red shot. So, if you develop this problem then it is better to avoid such drops and you should note that some drops were put into your eyes. So, these are some common causes of red shot eyes and I think these steps will be helpful to you to get it resolved your day to day life.

Thank You.

Hi,

I am Dr. Nitin Prabhudesai, Ophthalmologist, Pune. I am practicing from last 25 years. Today we will be discussing cataract. What do we mean by cataract? There is a crystal lens in an eye. This crystalline lens is used by the eye to focus on the light which falls on the eye from the front on the back part of the eye i.e. retina. So, it is common logic if this clear lens which we have since birth starts getting opaque the less light will go in the eye and vision would start getting blurry. So, this is what is a cataract. When a clear lens gets opaque, we call it as a cataract. Who can develop a cataract? Anyone can develop cataract but the commonest cause of cataract is the aging process. Hence most of us can start developing cataract from the age of 50-55 onwards. Rarely babies can be born with the cataract or young children can have some eye infection, can develop a cataract. Injury to the eye at any age can develop a cataract.

Systemic disease like diabetes can also produce cataract. What should one do if he develops a cataract? Permanent treatment for cataract is surgery. However, surgery depends on every individual's visual needs. The person who loses 10% of the vision may need surgery. On other hands, the manual worker may not need a cataract surgery immediately. So, we have to individualize the patient's need to decide the timing of the cataract surgery. What do we do in the cataract surgery? Commonly, we replace the opaque lens in the eye with a clear artificial lens. The common procedure to do this is called phacoemulsification. By this procedure, the patient recovers vision within a few hours of the cataract surgery. Before cataract surgery, we would routinely like to rule out any infection in and around the eye and to some extent in the body also. Systemic diseases like diabetes have to be taken care of before considering cataract surgery.

Another important point in this surgery is a type of lens. Usually, the lens is made up of acrylic. Most of the time surgeons would prefer to use a foldable lens in the eye because it can be implanted through a very small opening of the eye. Also, there are many types of lens available. We call them unifocal lens or a multifocal lens, and toric lens. So, what do these lenses mean? The unifocal lens is to clear your distance vision. A multifocal lens is designed with different refractive indexes. So, you can use the same lens for both far and near visions. The toric lens is designed for astigmatism along with the spherical power. This has been decided by the Dr after having a discussion with you the type of work you are doing and based on that lens is decided. Also, there is a question of economics because a certain type of lenses may be costly. These surgeries are done in local anesthesia or topical anesthesia.

The recovery is quite fast. In a few days only, the patient recovers a good vision. The patient may also have to use anti-inflammatory drops and sudden anti-biotic drops along with lubricant drops for about 3-4 weeks. After a period of a few days, the patient is able to perform his routine activity along with the washing off his face. Nowadays, we don't have to avoid looking at the light, going into the kitchen. Most of the activities can be done in a few days of the surgery. Once the surgery is performed, the Dr make watch the patient for the 1st month. Once we see that the patient's eyes are absolutely fine, the patient can stop taking his medications. Hence, in the modern days, cataract surgery is quite predictable and modern technology is very safe also.

Thank You!

Hi,

I am Dr. Nitin Prabhudesai, Ophthalmologist, Pune. I am practicing from last 25 years. My specialization retinal surgery. I would also like to see patients who have common eye problem Today we will be discussing the treatment known as Lasik. Lasik is basically a refractive procedure. Now, what do you mean by the refractive procedure? We have some form of optical problem. The common problems are myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism. At a younger age, we use glasses to correct these problems. But as you get older and glass power stabilizes, we can use laser correction to correct these problems. And the most popular form of laser correction is known as Lasik. Lasik is one of the most used procedure and it has been used in millions of cases. It is very stable. However, one should remember that Lasik is not for all. Every person who intends to undergo in this treatment needs to have a thorough eye check-up. Ophthalmologist determines that the eye is fit for procedure and the refractive error is not unstable. In a sense, that he should not have the change in glass power for last at least 1 year.

This treatment cannot be taken for below 18 years of age. And after that, it can be done at any age. But it is more useful for youngsters who do not have glasses for reading purpose. In Lasik, what we basically do, the transparent part of the eye which is called cornea, so to change the glass power we need to change the thickness of the cornea with the help of the laser. We have to make the changes very precisely and perfectly. So, once we decide that person needs Lasik treatment, we make him undergo for some tests to make sure that cornea can accept the changes what we intend to make. If the cornea is Ok with the form of treatment we are deciding then we advise the patient to undergo the treatment. Also, we need to see that the patient should not have dry eyes. Because if it is dry then the patient is not a good candidate for this procedure. Also, with few diseases like diabetes, hypertension, though they are uncommon at a younger age, can have contraindications with this treatment. Once we decide that person is fit for Lasik treatment then the person has to undergo a routine evaluation to rule out if any problem is there.

The treatment takes only a few seconds where we create the flab of the upper part of the cornea, then all the base of the flab to be used for the laser to reshape the cornea and then place the flab back to its position. this makes the procedure very simple, fast and safer. The patient recovers fairly clear vision without glasses the next day. Does the patient have to take care of the eye after Lasik treatment? Yes, immediately after following the treatment, the patient has to use certain drops for up to 4 weeks and we expect that he does not do any adventures activities like diving in sea water, bungy jumping for a few weeks of the following treatment. Because the meanwhile the flab of the cornea heals well. After that patient will not be having any other problem throughout life. We also advise the patient to use lubricant drops for the next few months because Lasik may induce some amount of dryness which gradually recovers with the use of lubricant drops. So, we have discussed the maximum points of Lasik. If you have any concerns about it, you can contact us through Lybrate.

Thank You.