Dr. Russell Philip Edwards, M.D.

It depends on your vision. In most states in the USA, you must see at least 20/40 in your better eye in order to pass the DMV vision test. If you have a cataract and do not feel safe driving because of your vision, you should not drive. You should contact your ophthalmologist and ask if your vision is good enough for driving.

No. But they can be a sign of inflammation or bleeding inside the eye. A tear in the retina can lead to floaters. If they are new, a dilated examination by an ophthalmologist should be undertaken. If there is a loss of peripheral or central vision such an examination should be undertaken soon.

No. you need extra measurements for a contact lens fitting. Usually you will need to have a trial contact lens fitting in the office as well. An eye exam is usually intended to examine your eyes for health (glaucoma, cataracts, and other eye and sometimes systemic disorders.)

Yes

Technically, you are less nearsighted. This wouyld be considered an improvement, but you will still need glasses for many visual tasks requiring good distance vision, such as driving.

Astigmatism is a kind of focusing problem. It is treated with glasses, contact lenses, or refractive surgery. People with progressive astigmatism sometimes have a disorder called keratoconus which frequently requires treatment beyong glasse or, contacts. LASIK is not used to treat keratoconus.

You shoulod consult with an ophthalmologist if glasses are not meeting your needs.

An ophthalmologist is a medical or osteopathic doctor who specializes in eye and vision care. Ophthalmologists complete 12 to 13 years of training and education, and are licensed to practice medicine and surgery.

see https://www.aao.org/eye-health/tips-prevention/what-is-ophthalmologist

The primary risk is the possible development of a pterygium. Pterygia are more common in surfers, skiers, sailors, farmers, and are more common in southern climates. Other risks include eyelid skin cancers, and rarely cancer on the surface of the eye. UV blocking sunglasses may reduce risk.

Cataracts are treated by surgically removing the cloudy lens (the cataract) from the eye and replacing it with a plastic lens. Most patients do very well with this and end up with excellent vision.

Generally, visual recovery is fast. You can expect near normal vision the day after surgery. You will need to use some medicated eye drops for a while after the surgery and will have some activity restrictions for several weeks, v=but for the most part, you will be abo=le to resume most of your daily activities and return to work a day or two after treatment. (This depends on what your "usual" activities are.

Your question should have been answered by the surgeon or his staff when you underwent your pre-operative evaluation.

Subconjunctival hemorrhage is when one or more blood spots appear on the white of your eye. The eye’s conjunctiva contains a lot of tiny blood vessels that can break. If they break, blood leaks between the conjunctiva and sclera. This bleeding is the bright red spot that you see on the white of your eye.

If you have no other bruising, blood in your urine or stool, it is probably of no consequence. Still, it's probably a good idea to have it evaluated by an ophthalmologist to be sure it's not something more severe. See https://www.aao.org/eye-health/diseases/what-is-subconjunctival-hemorrhage

An ophthalmologist is a medical or osteopathic doctor who specializes in eye and vision care. Ophthalmologists complete 12 to 13 years of training and education, and are licensed to practice medicine and surgery. This advanced training allows ophthalmologists to diagnose and treat a wider range of conditions than optometrists and opticians. Typical training includes a four-year college degree followed by at least eight years of additional medical training.

An ophthalmologist diagnoses and treats all eye diseases, performs eye surgery and prescribes and fits eyeglasses and contact lenses to correct vision problems. Many ophthalmologists are also involved in scientific research on the causes and cures for eye diseases and vision disorders. Because they are medical doctors, ophthalmologists can sometimes recognize other health problems that aren't directly related to the eye, and refer those patients to the right medical doctors for treatment. see https://www.aao.org/eye-health/tips-prevention/what-is-ophthalmologist

It is an examination to look for diseases or other disorders of the visual system. The exam will include evaluating the visual acuity (i.e. what is the smallest letter you can see from a measured distance), checking the peripheral vision, the reaction of the pupils and looking at the eyes carefully with a special microscope. Sometimes special tests are done including optical coherence tomography, photographs of the ocular contents, visual field testing.

An ophthalmologist diagnoses and treats all eye diseases, performs eye surgery and prescribes and fits eyeglasses and contact lenses to correct vision problems. Many ophthalmologists are also involved in scientific research on the causes and cures for eye diseases and vision disorders. Because they are medical doctors, ophthalmologists can sometimes recognize other health problems that aren't directly related to the eye, and refer those patients to the right medical doctors for treatment. see https://www.aao.org/eye-health/tips-prevention/what-is-ophthalmologist.

A vitrectomy is a surgical proceedure in which the vitreous (and the hemorrhage in it is removed. This procedure should impvoe the vision as the hemorrhage will be gone. The vitreous is replaced by a saline-type fluid at the time of surgery and the eye will continue to make fluid to maintain the proper volume and pressure inside the eye. Your surgeon can explain to youthe expected benefits from the surgery as well as go over risks and the consequences of not undergoing surgery.

They can, but it's a good idea to have him examined to be sure that there are no serious problems.

Loss of vision, pain, glaucoma, infection, cataract, chronic ocular inflammation are all possibilities. See https://www.aao.org/eye-health/tips-prevention/iris-implants-risk-eye-damage

Absolutely they can.

They frequently are more noticable in bright light.

No

When macular degeneration is severe, people can lose the ability to see things straight ahead; they may no longer be able to recognize faces, read, etc, but they do not lose their peripheral vision from AMD. Nutritional supplements (using the AREDS2 formulation, easily found in the eye care section of a pharmacy or most supermarkets) can slow the progression of dry macular degeneration. If there is a sudden change in the vision, it may have have developed into the wet form; that should trigger an urgent return to her ophthalmologist.

If there is little or no astigmatism, then contacts ususally let you see just as well as with glasses. There is a risk of developing complications from contact lens wear, but the risk is small if you care for the lenses properly.