Optic neuritis is swelling of your optic nerve, the nerve that connects your eye to your brain. Symptoms include blurry or dim vision, colors appearing faded, pain in your eye socket and pain when you move your eyes. People who have had mumps, measles, flu or multiple sclerosis are more likely to get

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a non- invasive imaging test. OCT uses light waves to take cross-section pictures of your retina. With OCT, your ophthalmologist can see each of the retina’s distinctive layers. This allows your ophthalmologist to map and measure their thickness. These measurements

Some newborn babies have too many tears and too much mucus coming from their eyes. This is called overflow tearing. It is caused when the tiny tube that is supposed to carry tears from the eye to the nose is blocked and not draining properly. An ophthalmologist may recommend you massage the baby’s

PRK is a type of refractive surgery. With this outpatient procedure, a laser is used to reshape your cornea, improving how light rays are focused in the eye. PRK is used to treat myopia (nearsightedness), hyperopia (farsightedness) and astigmatism. It cannot correct presbyopia, the normal loss of close-up

Photokeratitis is when your eyes get sunburned. This happens when your eyes are exposed to UV rays from the sun or from an artificial source like tanning beds. Snow blindness is another type of photokeratitis that happens when UV light is reflected off ice and snow. Symptoms of photokeratitis can include

Pigment dispersion syndrome (PDS) happens when the pigment rubs off the back of your iris. This extra pigment floats around in other parts of the eye, besides the iris, where it is supposed to be. This can cause eye pressure problems and lead to pigmentary glaucoma. If you have PDS, you should see your

Pinguecula and pterygium are growths on the conjunctiva of your eye. Pinguecula is a yellow spot or bump on the conjunctiva, often on the side of the eye near your nose. A pterygium is a fleshy growth that may start as a pinguecula. It can grow large enough to cover part of the cornea. Both are believed

Plaquenil is a drug used to control symptoms from certain immune system diseases. If you take Plaquenil, it is important to see an ophthalmologist before and while you take this drug. This is because Plaquenil can cause damage to your eye’s retina. Your ophthalmologist will check the health of your

Posterior capsulotomy is a laser procedure you may need sometime after cataract surgery to restore clear vision. When your new lens was implanted in your eye during cataract surgery, it was placed in the eye’s natural capsule. Over time, this capsule can become cloudy or wrinkled, causing blurry vision.

Posterior uveitis is inflammation of the uvea toward the back of the eye. You are more likely to get posterior uveitis if you have had certain diseases or viruses. Symptoms include a red eye, pain in the eye, and floaters. This is a serious condition that must be treated immediately to save vision. Treatment

A posterior vitreous detachment is when the jelly-like vitreous in the middle of the eye separates from the back of the eye. A PVD is a normal process of aging. By age 70, most people will have one. Most people having a PVD don’t notice any symptoms. Other people will see floaters and flashes of light.

Presbyopia (“aging eye”) is when your eyes gradually lose the ability to see things clearly up close. It is a normal part of aging. To improve your vision, you can wear glasses that offer vision correction for both near and far (such as bifocals). You can also try monovision, where one eye is corrected

Multifocal, accommodative, and extended depth- of-focus IOLs (intraocular lenses) are types of artificial lenses that replace the eye’s natural lens. They are usually implanted after a cloudy natural lens is removed in cataract surgery. Sometimes these IOLs are implanted only to correct refractive

Eye injuries are common. About half of all eye injuries happen at home. Nearly 9 out of 10 eye injuries could be prevented simply by wearing protective eyewear. There are different kinds of safety glasses, masks and goggles designed for all kinds of uses. Follow tips for eye safety, at home, in sports

Your ophthalmologist has recommended you use a type of medicine called a prostaglandin analog. This kind of medicine is helpful in treating glaucoma. Glaucoma is a disease that affects your eye’s optic nerve, possibly leading to blindness. The optic nerve connects your eye to your brain so you can

Pseudoexfoliation syndrome (PXF) is when small clumps of protein fibers peel off from the lens inside your eye. This material floats throughout the entire body, but it is only known to cause problems if it builds up in the eye. This can lead to glaucoma and loss of vision. If you have PXF, you need to