Eye Disease Diagnosis & Management in Wasaga Beach, ON

Name: Georgian Bay Optometry Clinic
Address: 1026 Mosley Street, Wasaga Beach, ON, L9Z 2G7
Telephone: 705.422.0020

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Cataract Exam and Treatment

Cataracts are the leading cause of treatable vision loss in Canada.

Cataracts Form as We Age

As we age, the eye’s lens begins to change. Cataracts form in most people by the time they reach age 60. In fact, more than 2.5 million Canadians have cataracts.

Cataract Risk Factors

There is currently no definitive reason the medical community can determine why the lens changes as we age, only that it does.

Known risk factors include:

Medical conditions, such as diabetes/li>
Prior injury to the eye/li>
Extended usage of corticosteroid medications/li>
Family history
UV radiation (from sunlight and other sources)

Cataract Signs & Symptoms

Blurry vision (like looking through a shower curtain)
Faded colours, or inability to distinguish colours
Glare from light sources, especially at night
Hazy, cloudy vision

Types of Cataracts

There are several types of cataracts, including:

Subcapsular Cataract – Occurs at the back of the lens. People with diabetes or using steroidal medications are at greater risk to develop these.
Nuclear Cataract – Forms in the nucleus of the lens. In some cases, a nuclear cataract can cause “second sight”, where your visual acuity is temporarily increased. This effect wears off as the cataract develops.
Cortical Cataract – Occurs in the lens cortex (the tissue surrounding the central nucleus). Opaque white flecks begin to form around the centre of the lens (similar to the spokes on a wheel).

Diagnosing & Treating Cataracts

While many people assume that poor vision is an inevitable part of ageing, vision loss due to cataracts can be restored to very good acuity (between 20/20 and 20/40) with a routine and safe surgical procedure.

Cataract surgery is the most popular surgery performed in North America and is long-term successful in over 90% of cases.

Determining if Surgery is Right for You

The first step is a comprehensive eye exam to determine the type and development of your cataracts. Assuming your surgical viability, we will then refer you to an Ophthalmologist.

Cataract Eye Surgery

The Ophthalmologist will remove your clouded lenses and replace them with a clear intraocular lens (IOL) made of plastic. The IOL mimics the function of the original lens and is very successful in restoring vision quality.

The surgery is relatively painless, with mild postoperative discomfort for a couple of weeks.

Glaucoma Testing and Management

Catch and control glaucoma before it causes irreparable vision loss

What is Glaucoma?

Glaucoma is a serious eye disease that damages your optic nerve. The vision loss caused by glaucoma is progressive and irreversible.

Unfortunately, Glaucoma often develops asymptomatically (shows no symptoms) until vision loss has already occurred.

Glaucoma Types & Symptoms

Glaucoma is not a defined disease but rather a group of diseases. There are many types of Glaucoma; the three most common are:

Open-angle glaucoma – Open-angle is the most common type of glaucoma. It forms when the eye intraocular pressure (IOP) begins to rise due to clogged drainage canals within the eye.
Angle-closure glaucoma – Also called acute glaucoma or narrow-angle glaucoma. This form of glaucoma is much less common than the open-angle variant and is characterized by a rapid rise in IOP.
Normal-tension glaucoma – Refers to cases where Glaucoma has damaged the optic nerve despite IOP not being high.

Symptoms of Glaucoma

During Glaucoma’s initial development you may not experience any symptoms. The most popular variant – open-angle – happily develops without your noticing it until it is quite developed.

Symptoms include:

Blurred vision, difficulty focusing
Hazy, cloudy vision
Eye pain, often severe (indicates angle-closure Glaucoma)
Blind spots or tunnel vision

Diagnosing Glaucoma

The only way to catch glaucoma before it causes vision loss is to catch it preemptively. During an eye exam we test for glaucoma using advanced equipment and testing processes (such as OCT Imaging).

An annual eye exam will be sufficient for most people, though if you have a family history of glaucoma (or other eye diseases) it is recommended you have more frequent eye exams.

Preventative Care Saves Your Vision

It’s difficult for us to properly articulate the importance of preventative eye care. We find it incredibly distressing when people discover the importance of preventative care too late.

We implore you: care for your eyes. If you are an adult with normal vision, have them checked at least once every one or two years- your future self, enjoying the benefits of great eyesight, will thank you!

If you are over age 65, OHIP provides coverage for annual eye exams- please, use it! As well, certain conditions (such as diabetes) also impact your eyesight, and OHIP provides coverage for more frequent eye exams as a result.

Glaucoma Cannot Be Cured, But it Can Be Managed

Unfortunately, no cure for glaucoma exists, though its symptoms and impacts can be managed effectively through eye drops (and in some cases, surgical procedures). In fact, treatment is effective enough that we have to remind our patients to continue their prescribed treatments despite a lack of obvious symptoms.

The most common cause of vision loss from glaucoma is when patients fail to strictly follow their treatment.

Conjunctivitis (Red Eye)

Our optometrists can quickly help your conjunctivitis (pink eye/red eye) symptoms

How We Treat Conjunctivitis

First, we diagnose the cause of your symptoms. As conjunctivitis has several different causes, a diagnosis is required before administrating the appropriate treatment.

If a cause of bacterial infection – Antibiotics may be prescribed for strong cases of pink eye, or if the infection has persisted for quite some time. Viral infections cannot be treated via oral medication; your body will fight the infection naturally.
Allergic or environmental causes – We can help you determine what is causing your reaction so that you can take the appropriate steps to avoid contact.

We regularly treat patients for conjunctivitis and quickly test to determine its cause. We can treat the symptoms with eye drops and antihistamines to provide relief of your discomfort.

Treatment is Effective

Most forms of pink eye/red eye respond quickly to treatment, and a visit to our office is much faster than a trip to the walk-in.

More About Conjunctivitis

What is Conjunctivitis?

Conjunctivitis is often called pink eye or red eye because of how its symptoms present. These terms are sometimes used interchangeably.

It results when the conjunctiva – the thin layer of clear cells that on the white portion of the eye and inside of your eyelid – become inflamed.

Symptoms of Conjunctivitis

Your specific case of conjunctivitis may display a combination of all or some of the symptoms below:

Pink or red coloration to the white part of your eye
Tearing, watery eyes
Itchy, scratchy, burning sensation
Blurred vision
Sensitivity to light

Do Not Wear Contacts if You Have Pink Eye

If you have conjunctivitis, do not wear your contact lenses. The lenses may irritate the eyes further, exacerbate existing symptoms or prolong their duration.

Causes of Conjunctivitis

Conjunctivitis has several varied causes. For this reason, a proper diagnosis is needed to determine the appropriate treatment.

Causes include:

Pathogens – Pink eye/red eye can be caused by certain types of bacteria and viruses, though the bacterial variant is more common.
Allergens – Many people with allergies present conjunctivitis as a symptom.
Chemicals – Many chemicals found in hygiene products, detergents, soaps, and other parts of our lives can cause conjunctivitis. We can help you isolate which ones are irritating your eyes.

What You’ll find at Georgian Bay Optometry Clinic

Excellent Eye Care in Wasaga Beach

Many people still think that they need to commute to Barrie or the GTA to get the eye care they need. Our clinic – located in Wasaga Beach – has the equipment and staff needed to conduct comprehensive eye exams, specialized diagnostic testing, dress eyewear and sunglass styling and fitting, contact lens fittings, and more. Visit us in-store to see what we can do for you.

Excellent Eye Care in Wasaga Beach

A Family Focused Optical Clinic

Our Optometrics are local to the Wasaga Beach area and are raising their own families here. Many eye diseases are best treated when caught and addressed early. For this reason, we stress the importance of preventative eye care for all family members

A Family Focused Optical Clinic

Advanced Technology

At GBOC we have advanced Imaging equipment called the Cirrus HD-OCT (Optical Coherence Tomography). The OCT not only takes pictures of the eye, it can also take direct cross-sectional images of the retina and optic nerve thereby screening for eye disease such as macular degeneration, diabetic eye disease, and glaucoma. It is a very useful tool for early diagnosis and management of eye disease.

Advanced Technology