Glaucoma is a silent eye disease. It is a condition in which your eye pressure gradually increases, physically damaging your optic nerve, leading to permanent vision loss. You typically won’t feel glaucoma or notice the subtle vision loss until it is much too late. We check your eye pressure and look at your optic nerves during every yearly comprehensive exam. If we are ever suspicious that you may be at risk to develop this disease, we would refer you to the local eye hospital department.

Macular degeneration is the breakdown of the macula, which is the area of the retina responsible for your fine, detailed central sight. This is typically a disease related to ageing, but it also has many lifestyle risk factors. If we ever detected changes in your macula, we would get an ultrasound of that part of the eye, and also test how well it is functioning with a visual field test. Anything that keeps you young and healthy keeps your eyes young and healthy! To keep your risks down for macular degeneration, make sure you don’t smoke, eat your dark leafy green veggies, and use great sun protection!

If you are ever diagnosed with diabetes, your GP will likely recommend extra close monitoring of your eyes. Diabetic eye disease is the number one loss of vision in working-aged adults. High blood sugar can affect every part of the eye, but the most common changes we see are in the retina. We would look for tiny bleeds in the back of the eye and refer you out for treatment if these bleeds became vision threatening. The best prevention of vision loss with diabetes is through lifestyle changes and by working closely with your GP to lower blood sugar of course! Let us help you be healthy today!

Binocular vision disorders can take on many forms. Essentially, the two eyes want to work together as a team! We always evaluate your eye efficiency during yearly exams. The symptoms of a poorly functioning binocular vision symptoms can include headaches, short attention span, losing place while reading, double vision, tired eyes, and many more. There are so many options to improve how your eyes function! We usually start with discussing vision therapy, anti-fatigue lenses, blue light filtering, visual hygiene (take breaks at the computer!), and prism glasses. This is especially important if you have ever been diagnosed with conditions like ADD and ADHD. Let’s make sure your eyes aren’t making your life harder!

Cataracts are a natural part of ageing. The lens of the eye gets yellow and cloudy over time. As this progresses, your vision gets cloudy and glare from bright lights become a big problem! Once you get to that point, we will walk you through your options relating to surgery. To keep your cataracts slow growing, use sun protection, don’t smoke, keep your blood sugar low, and eat your veggies! We love a healthy lifestyle.