Myopia Treatment Program at Two C Eye Care in Manvel, TX

Hey Ya’ll! 

I am excited to announce that Two C Eye Care in Manvel, Texas is equipped with technology that will predict if your child will develop myopia (nearsightedness = cannot see far away). In addition, there are FDA approved treatments to give your child the best outcome. 

What is Myopia?

Myopia is a condition where the eye grows too fast and too long which results in nearsightedness, or the inability to see far away. The condition normally onsets around the age of 6. The condition may continue to worsen until adulthood. As the prescription progresses beyond -3.00 diopters, it doubles the risk for retinal detachment, glaucoma, cataracts and myopic macular degeneration. The condition is a global epidemic, and 44.8% of the united states population are myopic. 

Causes

Myopia is caused by an excessive elongation of the eye. The trigger for elongation has been studied for the past 40 years, and disturbance in visual input was found to be the trigger for excessive elongation of the eye. New treatment restores this visual disturbance to slow down the elongation of the eye. 

Risk Factors

  • Not having enough outdoor exposure
  • Too much near work such as reading and computer work
  • Family History
    • Both parents are nearsighted = 50% chance of developing nearsightedness
    • One parent is nearsighted = 33% chance of developing nearsightedness
    • Either parent are nearsighted = 25% of developing nearsightedness

Signs and Symptoms

  • Blurry vision when looking at distant objects (e.g., front of a classroom, TV, street signs)
  • Squinting or partially closing the eyelids to see clearly, especially at a distance
  • Difficulty seeing while driving a vehicle, especially at night
  • Holding books or devices very close while reading
  • Headaches caused by excessive eyestrain
  • Excessive blinking and/or rubbing eyes frequently from eyestrain

Treatment

I am fortunate to be certified in many FDA approved treatment options for your child. There are two treatment options available for your child which includes specially designed soft contact lens (MiSight by Coopervision) and Orthokeratology(Abiliti by Johnson and Johnson). The treatment option will be chosen based on your child’s clinical findings. The treatment slows down the growth in hopes to halt or stop myopia. The goal of the treatment is to prevent your child from progressing to a -3.00 diopter in prescription. As mentioned above, once your child progresses to a -3.00 diopter in prescription or above, their risk for glaucoma, cataracts, retinal detachment and myopic maculopathy increases two times. If your child increases beyond -3.00 diopters, the risk increases the more your child progresses beyond -3.00.

Conclusion

The take away of this blog is that there is now TECHNOLOGY to predict whether your child will progress to develop nearsightedness BEFORE it happens. And, there is now FDA APPROVED TREATMENT to manage myopia!! Our optometrist office in Manvel, TX has technology to predict the nearsightedness, and our team is fully trained to treat your child’s nearsightedness. I want to start this campaign in the great community of Manvel, TX called #STOPMYOPIA. From a public health standpoint, I want to educate my community in Manvel, TX on this condition and new treatments available. There is more of a reason for you to bring your child in for an eye examination whether your child sees good, or not. Another take away is if both parents are nearsighted, there is a 50% chance of your child developing myopia, if only one parent is nearsighted, there is a 33% chance of your child developing myopia, and if no parents are nearsighted, there is a 25% chance of your child developing myopia. 

Dr. Jerry Cao at Two C Eye in Manvel, Texas is serving patients in Manvel, Iowa Colony, Rosharon, Alvin, Fresno, Arcola, and Sienna

Call us for a consultation at 346-978-0713

Click her to schedule online for a consultation

Scleral Contact Lens and Hybrid Contact Lens at Two C Eye Care (Specialty Contact Lens Specialist)

Hybrid Contact Lens, Scleral Contact lens, Gas Permeable Contact Lens

There is hope for better and stable vision! What do you mean you ask? This topic will apply to my patients who have the following listed below

  • High astigmatism patients who suffer from fluctuating vision in soft contact lenses
  • Keratoconus
  • Penetrating keratoplasty or corneal transplant surgery

In these conditions, vision is not usually correctable with glasses or soft contact lenses. The use of specialized scleral contact lenses and hybrid contact lenses will improve vision immensely, and allow patients to perform daily tasks. I will  summarize the conditions that will benefit from specialized scleral contact lenses and hybrid contact lenses and also talk about what is a scleral contact lens and hybrid contact lens. 

Keratoconus

Keratoconus is a slow, progressive, degenerative, corneal disease. The condition causes the cornea, the clear layer in front of the colored part of the eyes to thin and bulge. Despite the condition being widely studied, the causes are still not fully understood. A gene in the family line along with environmental factors is a strong risk factor for developing keratoconus. Environmental factors include allergies, eye rubbing, and contact lens wear which is believed to elicit keratoconus. As the condition progresses, it causes a reduction in vision that is uncorrectable with glasses and soft contact lenses. There is no cure; however, there are many treatment options to slow down the progression. Specialty contact lenses such as scleral and hybrid contact lenses are used to help restore vision. 

Penetrating keratoplasty (Corneal Transplant)

Penetrating keratoplasty is a surgery where the cornea is removed and replaced with a graft. After surgery, the cornea is not quite perfect and does not have a robust refracting surface resulting in blurred vision that is uncorrectable with glasses. Scleral and hybrid lenses provide the means to correct vision where glasses cannot. 

High amounts of astigmatism 

In some cases of astigmatism, the front part of the eyes is shaped like a football. Glasses will correct this condition. Soft contact lenses will also correct this condition; however, with higher amounts of astigmatism, fluctuating vision may occur. Specialized hybrid contact lenses will eliminate fluctuating vision problems for those wearing regular soft contact lenses. Soft lenses will bend and mold to the shape of the eye. The hybrid lenses work by creating a hard surface to correct the astigmatism.

Scleral contact lenses

Scleral contact lenses are large diameter contact lenses that vault the entire cornea. It is made of a gas permeable material and is rigid in nature. The scleral contact lens is filled with a saline solution and then inserted into the eye. The saline solution is entrapped between the scleral contact lens and the front surface of the eye, which acts to correct any corneal irregularity. Scleral contact lenses are replaced yearly, that is, you will be using the same contact lens for one year. Scleral contact lenses are not approved to sleep in. 

Hybrid contact lenses

Hybrid contact lenses are lenses that have features of both soft contact and rigid gas permeable lenses. The center of a hybrid contact lens is made of a rigid gas permeable material and the edge is a soft contact lens material. Hybrid lenses provide the comfort of soft contact lenses and the clarity of a rigid gas permeable contact lens. Hybrid contact lenses are inserted into the eyes like regular soft contact lenses. Hybrid contact lenses are replaced every 6 months, that is, you will be using the same lens for 6 months. Hybrid contact lenses are not approved to sleep in.

Scleral contact lens and Hybrid contact lens Training

Both scleral contact lenses and hybrid contact lenses do require a little extra training to become proficient in insertion and removal. Either myself, or our staff at Two C Eye Care in Manvel, TX will train you how to properly handle these specialized contact lenses.

Conclusion

To conclude, scleral contact lenses and hybrid contact lenses are used to restore or improve vision of patients who have kerataconus or who’ve had a corneal transplant surgery. These contact lenses are also beneficial for patients who want to be free from fluctuating vision due to regular soft contact lenses.

If you suffer from any of these conditions and would like a consultation, schedule an appointment at Two C Eye Care.

Click here to schedule online or call 346-978-0713.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us online by following the link: Contact Us

Thanks for reading!

Dr. Cao

Pediatric Eye Health Examination

Hello Parents! For this blog post, I wanted to inform ya’ll on the importance of yearly eye health examinations for your child. The number one question I get from parents I examine is, “Should I bring my child in for an eye exam?” The answer is YES!! Here at Two C Eye Care in Manvel, TX we are equipped to handle your little ones eye health examinations. I will go over the reasons why it is important to bring your child in for a pediatric eye examination. 

Eyes through a child without vision correction at Two C Eye Care in Manvel, Texas
Eyes through a child with vision correction at Two C Eye Care in Manvel, Texas

Children do not know any better

The first and foremost reason to bring your child in for a pediatric eye exam is that the majority of the time your child will not tell you that they are having eye problems. Sometimes, children just do not know they have blurry vision, eye allergies, or any other eye related problems. When your child doesn’t complain that can lead you to believe your child does not have any eye issues and results in delaying a pediatric eye exam. 

Lazy Eye (Amblyopia)

Lazy eye is an abnormal visual development that causes decreased vision. The medical term for it is amblyopia. Amblyopia can be a result of an eye turn, uncorrected refractive error, occlusive disease, and more. Strabismus is a condition where one or both of the eyes are not properly aligned, which can lead to amblyopia. Both of these conditions can successfully be treated if detected early, as I have managed many cases in the past where children have an improved vision. However if any of these conditions are left undetected and untreated early on, the consequences can be unrepairable. There are teenagers and adults who have irreversible decreased vision because of delayed correction. Treatment can be as simple as prescribing a glasses prescription. However, for more complicated cases, vision therapy or surgery is necessary for a better prognosis.

Blurry Vision

Blurry vision is another reason why parents should bring their children in for a pediatric eye exam. There are many issues other than needing glasses that can be the cause of blurry vision such as retinal diseases, optic nerve diseases, or congenital cataracts. Blurry vision is not something that all children understand because children might not know what clear vision looks like. For parents, some of the signs may be subtle and some may be very apparent. Nonetheless, it is best to bring your child in for a pediatric eye exam because an optometrist office will have the instrumentation and expertise to detect the causes of blurry vision.

Internal health

Other important reasons to bring your child in for their yearly pediatric eye exam at Two C Eye Care in Manvel, TX is to check his or her internal eye health. Disease of the retina, nerve, lens, and cornea are not uncommon and if left undetected and untreated can cause negative outcomes for your child’s visual health. Some of these eye conditions can be related to systemic health. Therefore, it is important to detect and treat ocular disease early to prevent or slow down the progression of visual impairment as well as maintain systemic health.

Signs that you should bring your child to the eye doctor

Signs that your child could be having eye related problems include:- squinting- eye rubbing- skipping lines when reading- needing to move to the front of the classroom- not being able to focus after some time at the computer or reading- frequent blinking- a head tilt

At what age should your child see an eye doctor

It is recommended to bring your child in for an eye exam at the age of one, three, before going into kindergarten, and then yearly.

Conclusion

To conclude, the main takeaway for reasons to bring your child in for his or her yearly pediatric eye exam:

  • Children do not know that they have eye issues
  • Untreated or delayed treatment for amblyopia can lead to permanent visual impairment
  • Blurry vision can be a sign of many different causes, and if undetected and untreated can lead to poor irreversible outcomes
  • Diseases of the retina, nerve, lens, and cornea are not uncommon in children and should be checked to prevent irreversible consequences

I hope this helps answer any questions you have about your child’s eye health. I look forward to seeing your child their eye health exam! If you have any additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact me through the form in the link provided. https://twoceyecare.com/contact-us/

Thanks for reading,

Dr. Cao

Photochromic Lens Treatment

Photochromic lenses at Two C Eye Care Optical in Manvel Texas

Greetings!!! I have not posted a blog in a while but I will make it a goal to start posting and hope that I can educate ya’ll about anything related to the eyes!

For this blog post, I wanted to talk about the photochromic lens treatment. Before we start, photochromic lens treatment is a self tinting lens add on. It allows your lenses to darken when they are exposed to UV and when they are not exposed to the sun, they revert back to clear lenses.

A pair of glasses are not just a pair of glasses. There is a lot of that goes into a pair of glasses and I will go into other lens options in later posts. First off, I want to let you know that photochromic lens treatment is not a substitute for sunglasses and it does not darken fully when you are in the car. The benefits of a photochromic lens options are to help decrease squinting when in sunlight, protect your eyes from UV rays, and to provide you with the convenience of sun protection without having to worry about switching to a different pair of glasses.

Concerns

The one concern I have heard from patients it that it does not revert back to clear lenses right away when going back inside. I want to assure you that it does change fairly quickly when going back inside. Yes, it does take a very small amount of time to revert, but the shift from dark to clear will not impede your vision in anyway. I myself have photochromic lenses. After coming back inside from getting the mail, I am able to go back to my computer and do my work without any issues. The conversion is seamless and I don’t even realize the tint is reverting back to clear.

Another concern that I have heard from patients is that photochromic lenses are just not dark enough. As I mentioned earlier, photochromic lenses are not a replacement for sunglasses. Photochromic lenses are not as dark as sunglasses, but they do help with keeping your eyes from squinting when you are out in the sun and definitely do help if you are sensitive to the sun.

Benefits

The benefit of photochromic lenses are to provide you with the convenience of the self tinting technology without having to do anything. Where it is helpful is when you are out in the sun for a short period of time and it would be a hassle to switch to your sunglasses. Here are some situations where it is helpful; going to get to the mail, walking into the restaurant from your car, walking into the grocery store from your car, and the list can go on. I also want to add that they photochromic lenses do come in a darker tint; however, the lenses have a slight tint even when you are not in the sun.

Conclusion

I definitely recommend photochromic lenses would not leave this option out for my own glasses. Again, it is not a replacement for sunglasses and is an element to add to your everyday glasses. I would still recommend prescription sunglasses versus using your glasses with photochromic lenses if you are out in the sun for long periods of time.

The benefits of photochromic lenses:
◦ Convenience of self tinting technology
◦ Helps reduce squinting in the sun
◦ UV Protection

I hope this post helps you in understanding the benefits and concerns about photochromic lenses.

If you have any questions regarding this topic, please don’t hesitate to contact us. https://twoceyecare.com/contact-us/

Thanks for reading!
Dr. Cao

WE ARE OPEN AND ACCEPTING NEW PATIENTS!!!!

Hey Manvel, TX, we invite you to come see us for all your eye care needs. We are a full service clinic providing eye examinations, contact lens examinations, and treatment of eye infections/injuries. We offer a wide variety of glasses for all budgets. Take advantage of our grand opening specials below. Come by to take a look at our glasses selection and get more details about our promotions.

Two C Eye Care Family Halloween Costume Contest on Facebook

Two C Eye Care Manvel, Tx Halloween Costume Contest

Halloween is just around the corner and we would like to host our first annual family Halloween costume contest!! Anyone of all ages can participate as long as you are a Manvel, Texas resident. The prize is a free pair of sunglasses and two winners will be chosen. To participate, share a photo of yourself wearing your costume onto our facebook page, and the two people who get the most likes are the winners. It is that simple! For more information visit https://www.twoceyecare.com/halloweencostumecontest. Good luck ya’ll!!!

Two C Eye Care Coming Soon to Manvel, Texas

Retail building under construction. Two C Eye Care in Manvel, Texas
Dr. Jerry Cao is the optometrist at Two C Eye Care. As an eye doctor, he is excited be a part of and to serve the Manvel, TX community. He will treat all of your eye care needs from glasses, contact lenses, routine health examinations and any ocular disease treatments including eye infections, eye allergies, removal of foreign bodies within the eyes, and much more. Please stay tuned for more updates as construction is currently underway at Two C Eye Care in Manvel, TX.