Oh man, the thought of short-sightedness makes me sigh. I’ve had this dreadful eye problem ever since the age of 10!

Well, I can only blame myself for not following proper eye care regimes!

Nearsighted people, like me, have problems seeing distant objects clearly, although up-close tasks like reading is not much of a problem.

As myopia worsens, the distance at which you can see objects clearly becomes shorter and shorter.

Going about your daily tasks also becomes more difficult, especially without the aid of eyeglasses or contact lenses.

Personally, I dislike wearing eyeglasses (other than the occasional cool shades!). Contact lenses work better for me because I don’t feel as if I have to put something ‘on my face’. Then again, using contacts is not without its inconveniences as well.

In a nutshell, myopia occurs when the eyeball begins to stretch lengthwise, from front to back. As a result, light coming into our eyes focus at a point just before the retina. This is what causes the blur images we see.

Of course, the first thing you need to do is visit your eye doctor or optician to get your eyes checked and gauge the extent of your nearsightedness.

Usually, he/she will then prescribe you with a pair of eyeglasses or contact lenses that matches your degree.

If the myopia is very minimal, then it might be ok not to put on these eye aid all the time.

More often than not, at least in the initial years, people with myopia have to visit their eye care professional once every few months to get their eyes checked and get a new prescription.

But the condition will not worsen endlessly. For many, this eye condition will stablize at a certain point.

Personally, I will opt for refractive surgery instead. Such eye surgery will reduce your degree or allow you to see clearly without any eyeglasses or contact lenses.

There are several types of refractive eye surgery, the most common of which is LASIK. (For the geek in you, that stands for laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis). In this painless, 5-minute procedure, an excimer laser is used to shape your cornea such that light entering your eyes can focus at a point on the retina itself.

The other methods include PRK (photorefractive keratectomy, similar to LASIK), orthokeratology (using special contact lenses to reshape the eye temporarily) or the use of corneal rings (also to reshape the eye, permanently, but reversible).

If your resources allow, I would suggest going for surgery. Can you imagine how nice it would be to see the world clearly without ever having to wear eyeglasses or put on contact lenses?!

Comparatively, all that money spent on changing presciption eye aid would have made up enough money, even for LASIK. Joanna and I are saving up just for that! Oh, so exciting!

Nevertheless, it is always best to consult an eye care professional and see what option is best for you, because individual circumstances always vary.

Lim Zheng Yang has dedicated countless hours researching on eye care related issues He also specializes in information about eyewear. For more information about polarized sunglasses, kindly visit his site.

Contact lenses are the rage these days with more and more wearers discovering the comfort and ease of wearing contact lenses. It also enhances the looks of a person as contact lenses are worn on the eyes and can be a fine substitute for a pair of spectacles. Thus one can see one’s face without the hindrance of spectacles over the bridge of the nose that shades away the beautiful eyes.

What then are contact lenses? One might wonder. A contact lens is actually a thin piece of plastic or glass that is fitted over the cornea of the eye. Thus it can eliminate the need for spectacles as defects in one’s vision can be set right merely by wearing these thin pieces of glass or plastic over the cornea of the eye. Thus contact lenses can be worn easily by people with vision defects like myopia. Hyperopia, astigmatism, and other related problems.

These corrective measures to be worn over the cornea of the eye come in two different types. Contact lenses come with hard or soft lenses. They are defined as soft lenses as these contact lenses are made of soft plastic and are much preferred by the today’ wearer. They are very comfortable to wear, as they can hold water. Most times soft lenses are disposable lenses as well. Thus the busy wearer of today, who cannot be strapped to a routine of regular lens cleaning in addition to his or her other responsibilities, is rightly suited for wearing soft lenses.

The contact lenses that are made with a glass piece are usually the hard lens variety. These lenses are rigid and gas permeable. Some of these hard lenses may even have a colored tint so that locating these lenses for the wearer becomes easier.

They are also fitted with UV protection in most cases and can be fitted with bifocal lenses as well. The wearer of such a lens is blessed with durability though cleaning these lenses has to be a regular routine.

As these lenses are now made with silicone polymers, they allow oxygen to circulate freely to the cornea. They are meant for regular wear, but extended wear over the night is not recommended. Constant wear can limit the flow of oxygen to the cornea and in some cases can even lead to damage of vision.

By and large, with a little precaution, one can find the contact lens that is ideally suited for one’s lifestyle and go about one’s work unhindered by the hassle of having to carry a pair of glasses as one of the essential items in one’s bag.

http://www.contactlenseclub.com/contacts/ & Contact Lens provides detailed information on contact lens, color contact lens, acuvue contact lens and more.

If you are new to contact lenses, there are two things that you will need to learn - putting your contacts in and taking them out. Even if you may have got in some practice with your optician during your fitting exam, you will find things to be totally different once you step in front of your mirror at home and try to do it by yourself.

The first thing you will become aware of is that it can be difficult to put your contacts in. If you are putting them in for the first time, it can be a little tricky getting them in your eye. With a few days or a few weeks to practice, you’ll be more than comfortable with your lenses.

Always keep in mind that no one is perfect, it takes all of us time to get good at it. Here are a few tips that will help you with inserting and removing your contacts.

Putting in contacts

Before you put your hands on your contacts, you should make sure that you clean your hands thoroughly, and that you dry them off. Once your hands are clean, put the contact lens on your index finger.

Next, place a drop of solution in the center of the lens. Now, use your other hand and pull down your lower eye lid with your thumb then look up with the eye you will be inserting the contact lens into.

Take your index finger with the contact on it and place it into your eye. Do not close your eye immediately, rather leave it open a few seconds to let the contact settle. After a few seconds, close your eye and your contact should be perfectly in place.

If it feels uncomfortable, take it out and try again. It may take you a few tries; although the more you put them in the better you will get at it.

Taking out contacts

Same as before, you want to make sure that your hands are clean and dry. When you are ready to take them out, look up with your eye then use your fingers to grab the contact by the sides and pull it out.

You can normally get it out on the first try, with a little practice. Once the contact is out, blink a few times to clear your eyes. If it does not want to come out, put some drops in your eye to moisten it up, and then try again.

Contact lenses are easier to use than most people may think. Once you have worn contacts for a few days or a few weeks, you will find that it becomes second nature to put them in and take them out. Once you have got the hang of it, you will be able to put them in and remove them in a matter of seconds.

Alex Fir shares a wealth of information on his website Contact Lenses Center. To learn about contact lenses care as well as extended wear contact lenses visit his site now.

Laser eye treatment is the ideal solution for people who have been wearing eyeglasses or contact lenses for a long time. If you are tired of wearing contacts or eyeglasses, you may want to consider going for a laser eye treatment.

Laser eye treatment involves correcting your vision with a laser so you can see better again without the need to wear contact lenses or eyeglasses. You can benefit from laser eye treatment if you have vision impairments such as far-sightedness, near-sightedness or astigmatism.

If you are interested in having laser eye treatment, you need to visit your optometrist to discuss the treatment. However, to help your optometrist to correctly assess your eyes, stop wearing your glasses or contact lenses four weeks before your visit. The contacts or eyeglasses can affect the shape of your cornea. Your optometrist needs to be able to give a correct assessment of your eyes before recommending the laser eye treatment.

List all the questions you have about laser eye treatment when you go in to your optometrist for consultation. He or she will be able to answer your questions and explain to you aspects of the laser eye treatment hat you may be concerned about. Remember, before deciding to undergo any kind of treatment, it is best to know everything you can possibly can about the treatment you will be receiving.

For more extensive information regarding LASIK eye surgery visit Vision-Doctor.com, a website that specializes in laser eye surgery information and helpul information on obtaining discount contact lenses at http://www.vision-doctor.com

When you want to get operated on, you choose a surgeon who has specialized in that field of medicine.

Like for your heart, you’d choose a cardiologist and in the same way for your eye surgery needs, you’d choose an ophthalmologist.

Let’s take a look at what they do for your eyes.

Besides your routine eye check-ups, they offer an entire plethora of eye care including medical treatment of eye problems and illnesses or diseases.

Just like any other doctor such as an optician or optometrist, this eye care professional also goes through quite a few pains to be able to treat you and your eyes well.

After four years of undergraduate study and four years of medical school, a degree of M.D or D.O is obtained.

They then complete a year of internship and then go on to 3 years training in a residency program.

The program needs to be approved by the ACGME.

Sub-specializations are offered which allows them to check and operate on specific sections of your eyes.

These fields include:

• Anterior segment surgery

• Cataract

• Cornea, ocular surface, and external disease

• Eye trauma

• Glaucoma

• Neuro-Ophthalmology

• Ocular oncology

• Oculo-plastic surgery

• Ophthalmic pathology

• Pediatric-Ophthalmology/Strabismus (squint)

• Refractive surgery

• Retina and Vitreous

• Uveitis/Immunology

To practice, a license from a state regulatory board is required that states that the person is qualified to practice medicine and surgery.

A certification from the American Board of Ophthalmology is also required which will ensure that they’ve taken and passed the prescribed two-part rigorous examination that tests their knowledge, skill and expertise.

This way, the board makes sure your eyes are in safe and trustworthy hands.

Lim Zheng Yang has dedicated countless hours researching on eye problems related issues. He also specializes in information about eyewear. For more information on eye protection, kindly visit his site.

Do you have color blindness?

If you can’t make out the what’s displayed on an Ishihara color chart, chances are, you have protanopia, deuteranopia, or tritanopia.

What’s that again? Haha, I don’t mean to be too scientific here. Protanopia, deuteranopia, or tritanopia are just terms to describe people’s inability to distinguish between red-green, blue-yellow, and the green range respectively.

When someone is blind to colors, he/she is not able to distinguish between different colors.

Men are almost 20 times more likely to suffer from this than women. That makes about 8% of the male population and 0.5% of the female population. This is largely because women will only be affected if both parents have the defective gene.

While this eye problem is usually passed down through the genes, some may acquire it too if they suffer from certain degenerative eye disease.

People who have such eye disorders are usually only partially blind to colors and find it difficult to tell the difference between green and red.

Those who are completely color blind can only see in black and white, as well as different shades of grey.

However, this eye problem has nothing to do with visual acuity. So unless you are looking for a job where being able to recognize colors is important (like those traffic related ones), this shouldn’t pose a big problem to you.

Lim Zheng Yang has dedicated countless hours researching on eye care related issues, including, but not limited to, eye problems, eye surgery, eye doctor, eyewear etc. For more information about eye operation, kindly visit his site.

More and more people are turning to medical tourism to meet their health care needs. And who can blame them? With skyrocketing costs and seemingly endless waiting lists, medical travel is a worthy option to consider. World-class facilities, highly qualified doctors, and state-of-the-art technology are common among many medical destinations.

With the amazing advances in lasers, combined with the creation of new and safer refractive surgical techniques within the past ten years, there are more people heading to their friendly eye doctors to have their vision improved.

Corrective laser eye surgery is a great procedure to couple with medical tourism. It is relatively safe, quick, and the recovery time is short. There is minimal post-operative pain involved.

Let’s take a look at the four most popular corrective laser eye surgery procedures:

- Laser-Assisted In Situ Keratomileusis (LASIK) is for nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism eye conditions. This is the most common corrective laser eye surgery. In this procedure, a surgical incision is made to the cornea, creating a flap that is folded out of the way, allowing the surgeon to use the laser for correction. Since a flap is created on the cornea, healing is faster because the flap is replaced and allowed to reattach to the cornea. The entire procedure only takes about 15 minutes, with only 30 to 60 seconds of actual lasering. Many patients experience better vision as early as the day after surgery.

- Laser Epithelial Keratomileusis (LASEK) is similar to LASIK, except that the flap is created in the epithelium, rather than in the cornea.

- Photorefractive Keratectomy (PRK) is for persons who are nearsighted, who have mild to moderate farsightedness, and astigmatism. The surgeon uses the laser to remove tiny tissue on the surface of the cornea.

- Conductive Keratoplasty (CK) uses a probe as thin as a strand of human hair, utilizing radio frequency (RF) energy. The surgeon uses the probe to reshape the cornea by shrinking small areas of the tissue.

How do these corrective laser eye surgery procedures improve one’s quality of life? Patients who had these procedures were surveyed and noted the following:

- Ability to see on waking

- Freedom from glasses and contact lenses

- Improvement in personal safety

- Better participation in sports and fitness activities

As with any surgery, there are risks involved, and the wise patient will do well to be aware of any and all possible side effects and complications. Some of the most common risks involved in corrective laser eye surgery are:

- Loss of vision

- Dry eyes

- Eye discomfort (usually during the first 24 hours after the surgery) - Irregular astigmatism

- Corneal haze or glaring

- Overcorrected or undercorrected vision

- Inability to wear contact lenses in the future

- Loss of corneal flap, requiring a corneal graft

- Scarring

- Infection

- Glare around lights, including difficulties with night vision and night driving

Some people who may not be good candidates for corrective laser eye surgery includes those suffering from rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, glaucoma, diabetes, cataracts, and herpes infections of the eye.

It’s important to remember to have a companion in your medical travel to drive and/or accompany you to and from your procedure.

After weighing pros and cons, it’s good to know that there are world-class eye care facilities, offering inexpensive, modern treatment in many medical destinations, such as India, the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. When costs may be reduced by half and a nice vacation in a desirable destination gets thrown into the deal, why not consider medical tourism for corrective laser eye surgery?

http://www.medical-travel-asia.com is dedicated in telling the world that Asia is THE place for medical tourism and the right place to come and seek medical help. Asia has so many things to offer to the world, we simply want to tell people WHY.

On top of that, we also happen to know where are the best beaches here in Asia to recuperate after a surgery. Come to Asia if you are seeking medical treatment, get well, and take back some beautiful holiday memories at the same time.

However, http://www.medical-travel-asia.com is NOT engaged in rendering medical service or advice and the information provided on this website is not a substitute for a professional medical opinion. Our website is purely for educational and informational purposes. If you have a medical problem, please contact a qualified health professional.

LASIK eye surgery has been performed on more than one million of people in the world. Almost all of them are satisfied with the results - they have been able to eliminate the dependence on corrective eyewear and most of them even don’t need prescribed glasses or contacts to see and read anymore.

Having heard of such results, you may begin contemplating LASIK eye surgery. But unfortunately, LASIK surgery is not for everyone. Many people are considered as good LASIK candidate, but some people do not meet the criteria. You have to visit your doctor and consult with him or her, take a comprehensive eye and health examination, answer some questions and your doctor will then determine whether you are eligible for LASIK eye surgery or not, because it is very important to ensure the successful of the LASIK procedure that will be performed later.

The best candidates for LASIK are those with mild to moderate levels of myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism and a combination thereof - myopia with astigmatism or hyperopia with astigmatism. As technology is evolving rapidly, the future LASIK eye surgery is expected to treat severe refractive errors.

The next criterion is that you must be over 18 years old and have had a stable glass glasses or contact lenses prescription for at least two years. Some doctor may reject patients who are younger than 20 years old because their visions are still unstable. Potential candidates should be free from certain diseases such as diabetes, ocular herpes simplex, glaucoma, keratononus, cataracts or any eye diseases.

You are not eligible for LASIK if you are pregnant or nursing and have fluctuating hormones. Also an ideal candidate must be a fast healer and have no disease that may affect wound healing such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and HIV. If you are currently taking certain medications such as retinoic acid and steroids that may prevent proper wound healing, you are not a good LASIK candidate.

If you have meet all the conditions needed, it is also important for you to understand the benefits, outcomes, risks and complications of LASIK. If your expectations are too high and unrealistic and you are not a risk taker, you will be rejected by your doctor for LASIK eye surgery.

Besides the criteria from doctor, you also have to consider the LASIK cost, if it is affordable or not and whether your health insurance covers this type of surgery. Usually, the cost is ranging from $1,500 to $2,000 per eye and it may costs more if you choose Wavefront LASIK or bladeless LASIK (IntraLase). Of course it is better for you to ask and discuss the price with your doctor.

After all, if you are eligible for LASIK eye surgery, it is completely up to you to decide whether you choose to continue to the next step of LASIK procedure or just stop there because you are not willing to bear the risks.

Lina Lee is a successful webmaster and publisher of LASIKWeb.info, a website that provides complete guide and infomation about LASIK Surgery. Also find out if you are a good candidate for LASIK Eye Surgery by asking the 50 tough questions for your LASIK surgeon.

Not only does your favorite pair of sunglasses make you look cool and fashionable while out shopping or playing some sort of sports, but they also have a wide variety of colors, styles and function. So which lens should you use. It really depends on what you are doing. Some people just want to look like their favorite celebrity and do not really care about colors and styles. Others know exactly what they want and have a more specific purpose. At least be sure to purchase a pair of sunglasses that block 100% UVA & UVB light rays.

*LENS TINT
A gray lens will help sharpen colors. A green lens is said to be the least change of color perception than any other colors. A brown lens helps cut down blue rays, but for some images may not appear clear and crisp. Amber lenses help cut down glare and help make things appear more clear. Some Hunters and Sharpshooters like the effect of these lenses. There are many colors and shades to pick from so take some time to figure out what is best for you.

*SCRATCH RESISTANT LENSES
Picking out a good quality pair of sunglasses usually will insure that the lens is of good quality as well. Plastic Lenses that are scratch resistant will have a coating to help cut down on scratching. Of course getting yourself a good quality Microfiber Cleaning Bag or Cleaning Cloth will also help protect your shades. Do not forget that a glass lens will be even harder to scratch!

*POLARIZED LENSES
You have probably noticed that fishermen love Polarized Sunglasses while fishing. Using Polarized Sunglasses not only cuts down on the glare coming from the water and other highly reflective surfaces, but they also give you better depth perception when looking straight down into the water. Fish are much more visible and when your in a tournament every advantage counts. Driving in snowy conditions certainly can be hard on the eyes and some say that wearing Polarized Sunglasses while driving thru the rain can give one much better visibility. Make sure you do not forget the kids. Protecting their eyes is just as important as protecting you own if not more so.

Check us out! Polarized Sunglasses at discount prices. Free shipping!

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Originally, contact lenses were designed to be used by people with vision problems who dislike, or are just tired of wearing framed glasses. That was then, this is now! Today, contact lenses are purchased for aesthetic purposes as well.

If you would like your eye color to match the color of your dress, with contact lenses, this is easy to do. No longer limited to transparent lenses, contact lenses allow one to virtually change the color of their eyes, either to bring out their inner radiance, or simply to perfectly complement their makeup. And don’t limit this aesthetic use to women only, many men use them for reasons similar to a woman’s.

Here is a brief description of the variety of contact lenses available on the market today.

1. Prescription Contact Lenses - Even though contact lenses are being used for a variety of purposes these days, it is important to remember that these lenses are medical devices prescribed by a doctor. Prescribed contact lenses will perfectly match your vision needs, and have the lowest incidence of infection.

2. Disposable Contact Lenses - Disposable contact lenses are those that are replaced regularly; some every two weeks, others more often than that. Two specific variants which fall into this category are frequent replacement contact lenses, and reusable contact lens. Frequent replacement usually means that these lenses are changed monthly, although some brands will last up to 3 months. Reusable contact lenses will only require replacement every 6 months or so.

3. Colored Contact Lenses - Fast becoming a consumer favorite, these lenses come in many different colors, shades, and hues. There are four categories in this classification, and they are: light-filtering tints, visibility tints, opaque color tints, and enhancement tints. Colored contact lenses are very versatile, and can come in their regular form, or with a different grade for people suffering with astigmatism. They can also be manufactured in the same way as disposable contact lenses.

4. Toric Contact Lenses - Toric contact lenses are special spherical type lenses that are soft and made of breathable plastic. This is a custom made lens and can be very expensive. The main difference between a regular contact lens, and a toric contact lens is their design. Toric lenses are created with curves at different angles. This design is very helpful and accommodating for people with eye problems such as hyperopia, myopia, or astigmatism.

5. Extended Wear Contact Lenses - Extended wear, in this case, means overnight wear. Extended wear lenses are designed to allow oxygen to reach the cornea making them perfectly suitable for overnight wear. In fact, most may be worn continuously for 7 days without removal; with available lenses that can extend that time to as much as 30 days.

6. Special Effects Contact Lenses - Feeling adventurous? Have some fun by matching your eye color with that of your Halloween, or theatrical costume. These special effect contact lenses allow you to comfortably do just that. Want wild and crazy eyes? Maybe a jaguar’s eyes. How about electric blue eyes that show both ice and fire? You can even find special effects contacts of your favorite sports team logos.

The popularity of contact lenses is easy to understand. They have been made more exciting and fun, without sacrificing their real medical purpose. So, if you want to change over from your frame glasses don’t hesitate. Enjoy the options, and versatility offered by contact lenses.

Carl DiNello is an Article Author whose articles are featured on websites covering the Internet’s most popular topics. To read more on this topic, please visit Contact Lens Resources!

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