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We all know Botox as the miracle wrinkle treatment that reduces signs of wrinkles along the face, but anti-aging is far from the only purpose of Botox. Believe it or not, Botox offers a range of medical uses that improve your vision health and help you enjoy a better quality of life. Here’s what you should know!

What Is Botox?

Botox is formulated with botulinum toxin and injected into the body to relax targeted muscles. It begins to work over the span of a week and lasts about three or four months before another treatment is needed. Each eye consists of six muscles, and two of the muscles move the eye from side to side, giving Botox the potential to be a powerful solution for any muscle-related eye problems.

Reduce Crossed Eyes

The muscles in the eye keep your gaze straight by working against each other, basically pulling at each other with equal strength to keep the eyes looking in the opposite directions. However, some people suffer weakness in one muscle that allows the stronger muscle to pull the eye in the opposite direction. This results in crossed eyes, called strabismus. Botox resolves crossed eyes by relaxing the stronger eye muscle and giving the weaker one a chance to recover its power. (more…)

It’s not uncommon for vision to weaken with age, especially at night, but this is a dangerous trend. If your own diminishing vision makes it difficult to drive at night, it’s important to see your eye doctor for the right treatment.

Why Is Driving At Night More Challenging?

Night time driving isn’t easy. Sudden glares of light from cars, street lamps, and traffic signals force the eyes to constantly adjust to new levels of light with only split seconds in-between. This places strain on the eyes and makes even common routes feel unfamiliar. Many people find that their daytime vision remains strong while their nighttime vision weakens.

Th eyes actually work by sensing light with two different types of cells called rods and cones. While cones thrive in strong sunlight, rods prefer low light. This means that as the rods weaken with age or due to another health condition, your night vision will suffer. In addition, since the eyes contain fewer rod cells than cone cells, and since the light receptors within rods can’t regenerate as rapidly, night vision – especially while driving – can become challenging. (more…)

You have probably given plenty of thought to the way that wrinkles are changing the appearance of your skin, but have you ever contemplated the role that your eyelids play on your face? It is very common for the eyelids to droop with age and make you look much older and fatigued than you are. Fortunately, cosmetic eyelid surgery, also known as blepharoplasty, is a minor procedure that can have a major positive impact on the appearance of your face.

Age Causes Unwanted Eyelid Droopiness

It’s nearly unavoidable for the skin to lose its firmness as you age. Your body produces less and less collagen and elastin each year after the age of 30. Since collagen and elastin are the two most important components of healthy skin, their growing absence leaves the skin with no choice but to become stretched and weak.

This causes the eyelids to stretch, and the muscles supporting them become weaker. Stores of fat create a saggy, droopy appearance to your eyelids that once used to look effortlessly perky. In addition to affecting your upper lids and bags under your eyes, droopy eyelids also limit your field of vision. (more…)

We’ve all endured temporary headaches after stressful days at work or long days of squinting into the sun, but chronic headaches are a monster of their own. Chronic headaches and migraine pain is often debilitating, robbing patients of their quality of life. If you can relate, your vision could be to blame.

Vision Problems Translate into Headache Pain
Your body is one complex and interconnected system. This is especially true for your eyes and your head. If you haven’t visited the eye doctor recently or have neglected basic eye care, you could have an eye condition that is leading to your headaches. Vision-related headaches occur in many forms, including as dull pressure behind the eyes, throbbing in the temples, and a light pounding at the top of the head.  

For example, most people with astigmatism must squint in order to focus their vision on a specific word or object. Without the right glasses or contacts, astigmatism causes constant squinting, which in turn puts tension on the eye muscles, which then forms headache symptoms. Farsightedness, also known as hyperopia, is another common vision problem that causes headaches to develop. If you are farsighted, it requires extra effort and straining to see clearly, which again places too much strain on the eye muscles and causes headaches to form in the skull. (more…)

Just like the rest of your body, your eyes will become weaker and less agile with age. The vast majority of Americans rely on glasses and contacts in order to maintain a full range of vision, but that reliance can become frustrating, especially if your prescription continually changes as your eyes become progressively worse. LASIK is a laser vision correction procedure that has the ability to save your sight and minimize or even eliminate the need for glasses and contacts.

What Exactly Is LASIK?

LASIK stands for laser in situ keratomileusis. It is the most common laser eye surgery used to achieve vision correction because it improves unaided visual acuity. The ultimate goal of LASIK surgery is to see clearly without the need for contacts or glasses at all.

The LASIK procedure occurs in a few steps. First, the laser creates a thin flap in the cornea. An Excimer laser is then used under that flap to reshape the cornea by removing ultra thin layers one at a time. The flap automatically attaches itself back to the corneal bed without the need for stitches. In the end, the laser corrects the refractive error that had led to nearsightedness and astigmatism. (more…)