Summer for many people means fun in the water. But swimming and other water activities with contact lenses are contraindicated for safety reasons. There are no contact lenses approved for use in the water and soft contact lens manufacturers place specific warnings about wearing contact lenses in the water. Contact lens wearers are especially prone to a devastating eye infection from the Acanthamoeba organism which is found in lakes, hot tubs and other contaminated water sources. Some eye doctors suggest air tight goggles over the contacts but these are not fail safe. Prescription glasses and goggles may not be comfortable or practical for all water activities.
Many patients have found LASIK or other vision correction procedures the answer to increasing their enjoyment of water sports and other outdoor activities. But to take full advantage of a summer of spectacle independence, you’ll need to plan now. That’s because LASIK has it’s own set of restrictions. First, wavefront guided LASIK generally requires at least one to two weeks out of your contact lenses (glasses only) before the procedure. Then, you’ll need to stay out of the water and avoid contact sports for one to four weeks after.
So, if you’ve been looking forward to summer and would like to enjoy such activities as swimming, surfing and yes, even scuba diving why not call today for a free, no-obligation consultation to find out if there is a vision correction procedure that is right for you. We are centrally located for Cary, Raleigh LASIK candidates and we offer convenient evening consultations.
Posts Tagged ‘raleigh’
LASIK Now for Summer Fun Later
Sunday, March 7th, 2010LASIK Eye Surgery for Emergency Workers
Sunday, February 7th, 2010Concerned about being able to see, has had an increase in emergency personnel having the lasik surgery procedure done. Usually they will choose the Lasik with IntraLase Method.
While LASIK has always been a safe and effective procedure, the IntraLase Method offers patients the benefits of LASIK without the blade. With its enhanced safety profile and superior visual outcomes, the IntraLase Method has been the procedure of choice for the US military and is quickly becoming the procedure of choice for policemen, firemen, EMTs and other rescue personnel.
Dr. Dean Dornic of the Laser Eye Center of Carolina has noticed an uptick in emergency personnel from the Raleigh Durham area seeking LASIK vision correction surgery.
“Glasses and/or contact lenses may not be practical for emergency personnel.” said Dornic. “It’s also common for a contact lens wearer to seek LASIK before shipping out overseas for relief efforts such as is currently going on in Haiti where hygiene may be an issue.”
Being able to see without worrying about losing glasses or discomfort from contact lenses allows many emergency workers to perform their jobs safely and more efficiently.
Trust but Verify
Saturday, October 10th, 2009There are a lot of claims out there by LASIK providers. Of course everyone claims to be the best or offer the best technology. Most of the time, claims about results or number of procedures are completely unsubstantiated making it difficult to compare. If having the highest percentage of 20/20 is your yardstick for success, then CustomVue LASIK from AMO and offered by the Laser Eye Center of Carolina boasts the highest percentage of 20/20 results (98%) ever reported to the FDA and is therefore the best laser and the best LASIK technology. Patients can arm themselves with unbiased information available from the FDA website, All About Vision.com, the Academy of Ophthalmology website and other reputable unbiased sources in helping them to decide where to get their LASIK Eye Surgery in the Raleigh Durham NC area.
Not All Custom LASIK is CustomVue
Sunday, July 12th, 2009Raleigh area LASIK candidates can be confused by advertisements for “custom LASIK”. Patients considering LASIK and who understand that the results of custom LASIK are in general, better than conventional LASIK, may mistakenly believe that all providers who offer custom LASIK are offering the same service.
Unfortunately, some providers of wavefront optimized LASIK advertise their procedure as “custom”. This is a distortion of the original meaning of custom LASIK which refers to wavefront guided LASIK.
Although a thorough understanding of the difference would take much more room than can be spent on this blog, needless to say, the visual performance of wavefront guided LASIK tends to be better than wavefront optimized. This has been born out by numerous studies and is the reason that NASA and the Department of Defense prefers wavefront guided LASIK.
Vision problems can be categorized into lower order ones (nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism) and higher order aberrations: the type that cause visual distortions, night time halos and starbursts. Wavefront optimized LASIK simply means there is an effort made not to induce new aberrations. Wavefront guided LASIK means that there is an effort to correct any preexisting distortions /aberrations and is the reason some LASIK patients will note that there vision is actually better after LASIK than it was before with their best glasses or contact lenses.
Raleigh area LASIK candidates may want to investigate data submitted to the FDA on LASIK. They will discover that the LASIK technology with the highest ever rate of 20/20 results was accomplished by CustomVue on a VISX Star laser and is the same technology employed here at the Laser Eye Center of Carolina.
LASIK: Corrective or Cosmetic?
Friday, June 26th, 2009Not a week goes by that a patient doesn’t ask me if LASIK vision correction is covered by their medical insurance. Medical plans that pay for refractive surgery are the exception to the rule and there are several plans such as Blue Cross & Blue Shield and VSP that offer significant savings to their participants but all too often, patients bear the entire cost of the procedure. That is because the insurance industry has taken the stance that LASIK is cosmetic. The truth, however, is that while many patients may look better out of their glasses, the real benefit is that they function better.
Refractive Errors are a Defect
It is an enigma to me how our myopic ancestors functioned or even survived before the correction of refractive errors were possible. Nearsighted individuals clearly were at a competitive disadvantage. I would not want to be a poorly seeing mid-evil warrior!
Marco Polo brought the concept of eyeglasses back to Europe from the Orient. But eyeglasses and contact lenses are prosthetic devices just as are hearing aids and ankle braces. For many years, man has strived to permanently correct their vision with drugs, eye exercises or surgery. As it turns out, surgery has proven to be the only, permanently successful solution. Over the past 50 years strives have been made to make vision correction more precise and safer. The fact that a much higher percentage of ophthalmologists have had LASIK than the general population is testament to the perceived success of these goals.
Drew Carey had LASIK
Scores of professional athletes including football players, baseball players and members of the National Basketball Association have had LASIK. Over 80 professional golfers have had LASIK; Tiger Woods being the most well known. Many athletes feel that being free of glasses or contact lenses improves their game and are not having the procedure performed to improve their appearance. The U.S. Military has seen the advantage of laser vision correction and now provides it for many of their enlisted personnel. Likewise, many active patients find glasses or contact lenses impractical for many activities of daily living.
A growing number of models and entertainers have had LASIK. This might, at first glance, support the concept that laser eye surgery is cosmetic. Obviously appearance is important in this line of work. But if LASIK was being performed as a cosmetic procedure, how do you explain the fact that Drew Carey and Elton John do not really need their trademark eyeglasses; both having had LASIK sometime back? Clearly they feel that reducing dependence on glasses has benefits other than changing the way they look.
Not Just for the Rich and Famous
In recent years, the cost of traditional LASIK has come down. But the educated consumer should not just search out the lowest price. Doing so means that that the individual may not be benefiting from the improved success rates and safety of such advances as wider treatment zones, smoother treatment surfaces, pupil trackers and wavefront technology. Be sure that you are dealing with an experienced refractive surgeon who makes use of the latest technological advances, that the laser room is environmentally controlled and that strict infection prevention controls are in place.
Don’t despair if your medical insurance does not cover your laser eye surgery. Flexible medical spending accounts and insurance discounts offer real savings. Low or no-interest financing options can help fit LASIK vision correction into most people’s budget. Vision correction is a recognized income tax deduction. Many patients who have had their vision corrected feel that it was one of the best investments they have ever made. More patients are candidates for vision correction today and success rates are higher than ever. LASIK eye surgery is not just cosmetic and there has never been a better time to have your vision corrected than right now.
Patients in the Raleigh NC area can take advantage of our complimentary LASIK consults to discuss whether LASIK is right for you.