Maintain the Health of Your Eyes

Many vision problems have no symptoms until it's too late to provide treatment or after irreversible damage has occurred. Early diagnosis and treatment of eye conditions are important to maintain good eye health and to prevent vision loss.

We accept most medical insurances such as BCBST, BlueCare, Cigna Healthcare, Humana, Medicare, United Healthcare, UMR, and Wellcare). We recommend that you contact us if you are not sure if we accept your insurance.

For several articles on Nutrition, Exercise, and Eye Health, see www.BiblicalReliability.com under the "Wellness" tab. Call Brooks A. Harris, OD for more information.

     Preventing Vision Loss

We not only treat several vision and eye health disorders, we also try to help our patients prevent damage and vision loss with specialized nutritional supplements and procedures.

Disorders of the eye as Diabetic Retinopathy, Age-related Macular Degeneration and Glaucoma are caused by factors which cause poor circulation and damage to nerves and blood vessels which lead to varying levels of permanent vision loss. We use nutritional supplements which have been shown to strengthen nerves and blood vessels and improve circulation thereby greatly reducing the risk for nerve damage and vision loss and reducing the eventual need for eye surgeries and periodic injections in the eyes.

We also use special lenses, exercises and supplements to reduce eye strain which can lead to increased nearsightedness, headaches, eye irritation and pain, sensitivity to bright lights, night vision and driving difficulties, poor dark adaptation and reduced sharpness of vision.

     Dry Eye Disease

Dry Eye symptoms are some of the most common we see in our practice. Dry Eye Disease is caused by poor functioning tear glands and inflammation. Although Dry Eye Disease is a chronic condition, we now have at our office several products and procedures to relieve symptoms as burning, grittiness, foreign body sensations and watering.

We use Moist Heat Masks to heat the tear glands to thin the oil so it flows as designed to do. We have Lid Cleansing products and techniques to remove bacteria and debris which causes inflammation and disrupt tear quality. We also have an excellent Nutritional Supplement taken by mouth which reduces inflammation and helps produce better quality of tears. We also have a special preservative-free, all-natural Eye Drop which not only lubricates the eyes, but also has healing properties.

After Dr. Harris evaluates your eyes, he can discuss your disorders and the most appropriate treatment options for you.

     Eye Health Exams Can Detect Many Problems

Dr. Harris has been thoroughly evaluating and treating many vision and eye health disorders in Ripley since 1985. Since many people have vision and/or eye health problems they are not aware of, we thoroughly evaluate several aspects of your eyes during routine medical eye health exams.

Common Eye Health Disorders We Often Evaluate for and Treat:

If you have a specific eye health problem (such as an eye injury, pink eye/infection, painful, raw or swollen eye), we may evaluate and treat only that specific problem that day, then have you return for a more thorough exam later if needed. We schedule by appointment, but walk-ins are welcome if we have an opening to give you.

If you have a true eye emergency (such as a sudden recent loss of sight or a severe injury, or chemicals in the eye), we will try to see you as quickly as possible that day. We give you an option to schedule an emergency appointment on the same day.

Many prescription medications cause side effects to the eyes ranging from redness or drying out, to blurred vision, to tissue degeneration and blindness. Some medications, especially Plaquenil, can cause multiple disorders throughout the eye. For this reason, we perform many special tests too on a regular basis to monitor such serious side effects so we can save vision. (See “Special Tests” below)

Explanations of Our Examination Procedures

     Routine Medical Eye Health Examination Procedures

Visual Acuities - Let us see how well you are able to see distant and nearby objects, either without glasses or contact lenses or with your current prescription. If the vision is blurry after refraction, you may need special tests to look for eye health problems.

Confrontation Fields - This is a quick screening of your side vision to see if you have developed nerve damage from a tumor, aneurysm, stroke, or hemorrhage in your eyes or your brain. Special tests may be required if damage is suspected.

Pupil Evaluation (Size and Reaction to Light) - This test can also help detect nerve damage in your eye or brain.

Convergence Test - This tests your ability to keep your eyes aligned when reading. We treat with special glasses and/or exercises.

Pursuits and Rotations - This tests for nerve damage in the 6 muscles around your eyes, which control eye movements.

Tonometry - This measures the pressure in your eyes. High eye pressure increases your risk for glaucoma. (This test is mostly only needed for adults.)

Biomicroscopy (Slit Lamp) - This instrument magnifies the front of your eye between 16 and 25 times to look for signs of disorders such as pink eye, allergies, dry eye, foreign bodies, cataracts, glaucoma, and many more.

Ophthalmoscopy - This allows a good view of the back of the eye to look for tumors, tears, holes, and hemorrhages caused by an injury or disorders such as glaucoma, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, etc. Dilation of the pupils is often required (but not always). 

We use 4 different techniques for evaluating the back of the eyes:

1. Direct Ophthalmoscopy - Provides a 5% magnified view of the central retina to closely view the macula and optic nerve mostly. (No permanent picture to look at later or to compare to past visits)
2. Binocular Indirect Ophthalmoscopy - Provides a 10%, non-magnified view, but can view nearly the entire retina by scanning in all directions - normally requires dilation of the eyes to perform well. (No permanent picture to look at later or to compare to past visits)
3. Retinal Photography - Provides a permanent picture of 10-30% of the central retina and can be magnified for detailed analyses. Great for detecting and monitoring disorders in the very back of the eye (in the retina or choroid).
4. Optomap Retinal Scan - Provides a permanent, ultra-wide, panoramic picture of up to 87% of the entire retina in each scan, often without needing to dilate the eyes. Each scan can be greatly magnified for detection and monitoring of many disorders (as tumors, tears, holes, degenerations and hemorrhages) throughout the retina.

     Special Tests - Only As Needed - No Extra Fees

Pin-Hole Acuities - Helps determine if very blurry vision is due to pathology (disease) or just need glasses.

Glare Test - A test to demonstrate the blinding effects of some cataracts when bright light enters the eye.

Photo Stress Test - A test used to demonstrate the presence of abnormal edema (swelling) in the central retina.

Amsler Grid Test - Demonstrates disorders, such as macular degeneration and other disorders in the macula (central retina).

Exophthalmometry - Helps detect swelling or a mass (as a tumor) in the orbit behind the eyeball.

Worth 4 Dot Test - Detects minor misalignments of the eye due to pathology or a congenital defect.

Red Comparison Test - Detects nerve damage in the macula and/or optic nerve or brain.

     Special Tests Requiring Extra Fees

Color Vision Test (Extended) for Acquired Deficiencies - Detects color vision problems from disorders in the brain, optic nerve, or retina.

Visual Fields - Plots out areas of nerve damage in the eye or the brain possibly caused by glaucoma, tumors, injuries, strokes, etc.

OCT (Optical Coherence Tomography) - A scanning device that measures the retinal nerve thickness. Used to detect disorders such as glaucoma and macular degeneration.

Pachymetry - Measures the thickness of your cornea to determine your risk for disorders such as glaucoma and corneal disorders.

Gonioscopy - Provides a better view of the drainage area between your iris and cornea to determine your risk of disorders as glaucoma.

Photography (Retinal) - Provides a permanent picture of the retina. Single pictures provide more detail, while multiple pictures give a wide-angle view of nearly the entire retina. Stereoscopic pictures provide a 3-D view of defects too. Helps monitor disorders in the eye.

Photography (External) - Provides permanent pictures of disorders on the outside and anterior inside of the eye as cataracts.

Optomap Retinal Scan - Provides an ultra-wide, permanent, magnified picture of up to 87% of the entire retina in each scan, often without needing to dilate the eyes. Great for detection and monitoring of many disorders.