Dr. Erin Lorraine McCleary

Not at all. This is the normal drainage path of the tears and any medication instilled into the eye. Some medications - specifically steroids (i.e., Loteprednol) - have a funny or metallic taste. I would recommend closing off your tear ducts for a short amount of time after instilling the medication, to allow the medication to be more fully absorbed by the eye tissues. This will then have less, slower drainage of residual medication.

Be well,

Dr. EM

Unfortunately, there is no "cure" for color blindness. That being said, there are specialty lenses and tints that can be utilized to help distinguish colors when your son gets older. Many people with color deficiencies have full and unaffected lives. There may be some occupational limitations for those with color deficiencies such as electricians and pilots.

Typo correction: it should read REDNESS not redress [reliever]

Erin McCleary

My professional opinion is that steam baths are ok - and in some cases actually advisable - for eye health. I would make sure that you stay well hydrated and if, at any time, you feel that your eyes become uncomfortable, you can use OTC artificial lubrication (no redness-relievers), as needed. If any other discomfort persists, follow-up with your eye care provider.

Take Care!
Dr. EM

If you are getting headaches from your new eyeglass prescription, I would follow-up with the prescribing doctor. I would let them know when you are getting your headaches, their severity and any other triggers that you might think of. Sometimes, headaches are simply due to your vision. But, they can also stem from a variety of other reasons. Your eye care provider should be able to assess your symptoms and adjust your eyeglass power accordingly - if that is the only trigger to your headaches.

From a fellow-headache sufferer - feel better!

Dr. EM

The best natural remedy for children's vision is to go natural: increase outdoor time and simply eat a well-balanced diet filled with colorful fruits and vegetables. The brightly colored foods (orange/red peppers, blueberries, tomatoes, kale) are full of nutrients that are great for retinal development. Decreasing electronic device (all types) use, and increasing outdoor time will let the eyes defocus and will help prevent rapid progression of myopia, or nearsightedness.

Dr. EM

If your headaches are continuing even with your new glasses. I would 1) check in with your optometrist to make sure that the power does not need to be adjusted and consider 2) following up with your primary care provider. If the headaches have been ongoing, there might be something else going on.

The answer depends on the type of eye drops you are using. Generally speaking, artificial tears that are purely lubricants should be safe to use throughout the day. I always recommend caution when reaching for any drops that advertise "redness relief," as often these medications have chemicals which can affect your blood vessels, and may mask a true problem. If you find that you have to chronically use lubricating drops, and are not having ocular relief, make sure to mention it to your eye doctor. There are very many different therapies that we can recommend, use or prescribe to make your eyes feel more comfortable!

Here's to comfortable eyes!
Dr. EM

Computers (and cell phones and tablets) can be very visually fatiguing, especially when used for long durations. My first recommendation would be to try and work frequent visual breaks into your day. We often talk about the 20/20 rule: take a 20 second break, every 20 minutes and look 20 feet away. Just breaking the focusing system for a bit can go a long way towards relieving some eye strain.

Also, if you are a glasses-wearer, having a blue-blocking lens, or adjusting the screen color towards the red end of the color spectrum, can help with eye fatigue.

Lastly, some people who have very specific visual demands for their job may benefit from a special glasses prescription, specifically tuned for their visual focusing ability at a specific distance.

I hope you are able to find some relief soon!

Be well,
Dr. EM

The short answer: Glaucoma is a disease where the optic nerve (which transmits information from your retina back to your brain for processing) is unhealthy and not functioning correctly.

This disease can occur due to various reasons. Traditionally, we check for elevated (fluid) pressure within the eye. The thinking is that this fluid pressure can build up and injure the optic nerve and prevent it from working correctly. If the nerve does not work correctly, it can't transmit retinal information appropriately, and the brain therefore cannot interpret the vision, AKA loss of vision. However, this is only one way of developing glaucoma. Often times, glaucoma is inheritable, but can be individual and associated with other outside factors such as trauma to the eye.

A few potential measures one can take to lessen the risk of glaucoma: 1) stop smoking or don't start smoking, 2) maintain good cardiovascular health - which includes measures to reduce the risk of diabetes, and 3) be cautious to prevent eye injuries.

The human eye can continue to grow throughout life, and can be influenced by things like near work and undue visual stress. Occasionally, vision disorders that are inheritable - such as myopia - can be progressive because of the underlying structural problems within the retina itself.

If a person has very high amounts of myopia, this could be cause for concern of excessive thinning of the retina and subsequent problems with best-obtainable vision. This should be evaluated annually with a dilated retinal examination.

If you are a person who spends a lot of time on near work and/or computers, I would suggest trying to take visual breaks so as to relax your visual system. Letting your eyes defocus throughout the day may help in preventing progressive changes in your vision.

Lumigan is a prostaglandin medication. Common side effects include, but are not limited to: iris and eyelid skin pigmentation (darkening of skin), red eyes, possible stinging / burning upon instillation and potential atypical eyelash growth.

There are no specific food items to avoid when using this medication. Nor do you need to avoid sunlight, as with some other systemic medications.

Should you experience any pain, change in or loss of vision, contact your eye care provider.

This could be a problem with 1) your contact lenses or 2) the surface of your eye.

I suspect that the fit of your contact lenses needs to be re-evaluated, potentially changed. Alternatively, if a person is having pain and redness in the eye upon contact lens removal, the cornea may be inflamed. This would require stopping contact lens wear for a designated period of time and potentially using a medicated eye drop.

Please follow up with your eye care provider before there is permanent injury to your eye!

Fluctuation of vision throughout the day, and at various distances, is often the hallmark of dry eye or ocular surface disease. In this scenario, the tear film which wets the surface of the eye (and creates a smooth focusing surface) is not functioning correctly. This could be due to too-quick evaporation, which leaves dried-out splotches on the cornea or simply not enough fluid to lubricate the cornea in the first place. This condition can be managed through many different types of treatments, inclusive of eye drops, warm compresses, supplements and occasionally, prescription medications.

Alternatively, fluctuating vision could be associated with more serious, systemic conditions such as diabetes and/or other vascular anomalies.

Regardless of the underlying cause, I would consult a local eye care provider to ensure that you are receiving the most appropriate solution.

Very often with age, the "jelly" of the eye (vitreous) thins out and can sometimes separate from the back of the retina. Typically, this change is benign. However, occasionally this separation could take along with it a piece of the retina causing either a hole or tear. If this is the case, and it is left untreated, it could advance to a retinal detachment which could have dire visual consequences.

I would certainly follow-up with a local eye care provider as soon as you are able.

And for the record - even if your vision is 20/20, you should still have a complete eye exam at least every 2 years to ensure that the ocular health of the eye is maintained. There are eye and vision conditions that don't necessarily have up-front symptoms, but if go undetected, could lead to permanent vision changes.

Be well!

Astigmatism is usually present in most people's eyes, but to varying degrees.

This could be due to a couple different reasons. Allergy (environmental /
seasonal) is a possible cause. There are little cells in the lining of the
eyelids that can release histamine when in contact with an allergen. This
then causes an inflammatory cascade which may include tearing to help aid
in flushing out the allergen. Alternatively, if a person has very dry eyes,
their tear film may be inadequate, or evaporate too quickly. This could
then cause a reflexive tearing episode to try and remedy the ocular
irritation. In either case, something atypical is occurring on the ocular
surface and it should be evaluated by an eye care professional.

This does not sound good! A properly fitting contact lens, on a healthy ocular surface, should not be painful. My suspicion would be either a poorly fitting contact lens, or potentially an ocular surface issue. Often this includes, but is not limited to, allergies, sensitivities to materials and/or solutions, or other inflammation. Also, a torn or cracked contact lens may cause similar sensations.

I would seek out an eye care professional who has experience with contact lens fittings and treatment of ocular surface disease.

Erin McCleary