Starting the New Year with an eye health check
Happy New Year readers! Another year is upon us and I don’t know how to begin talking about everything that happened in 2013. First I started a bloggers community in Malaysia called the Butterfly Project. I have been keeping myself busy with this community of what is now a wonderful melting pot of bloggers from all walks of life in Malaysia. Combining my passion for blogging, organizing events and making people happy I wanted this to be something I can hold on to and be proud.
I am still blogging though and will continue to blog about the experiences I picked up so I could share them on my blog. Information should be shared, that is what I believe in. Staying humble so I keep my feet to the ground. I am a person who can’t drama much. Call it old age? Haha. 
help doctor! I can’t see!
Sigh speaking about old age; it’s high time I get my eyes check. The last time I did this was 4 years ago! Which isn’t too long because on average we should check out eyes once every 5 years. I think my eye power has also increased (sigh thanks to late night blogging and reading books in the dark). I wonder if I should do Lasik so I can make do with glasses. It makes me envious to know my fiancé has perfect vision while mine goes blur when the glasses comes off.
Also I hope to check if my eyes are healthy, not as in I can see but as in I am not in danger or risk of getting eye infections or eye related diseases such as glaucoma or cataract. My friend’s dad has glaucoma and even after getting surgery done, he still went blind in the end. Some say it can be inherited but early detection and treatment can help reduce the risk of permanent irreversible visual loss. Prevention is better than cure right? Which is why I booked a cab, and went to Vista Eye Specialist in Subang Jaya to have my eye health checked.
this is cataract
image source: http://www.varga.org
cataract extraction! scary arghh
image source: http://www.varga.org
glaucoma
image source: http://www.varga.org
Conjunctivitis
image source: http://www.varga.org
Corneal laceration
image source: http://www.varga.org
Foreign objects / growth
image source: http://www.varga.org
Now this is VISTA Eye Specialist latest location at USJ 25, Subang Jaya. There is a new mall there called One City. The Summit is nearby. VISTA is located at the Garden Shoppe, a row of shop houses just next to the One City Mall. Step right out the entrance and your eyes will spot the big VISTA logo and the colors of blue and green.
located outside of One City Mall, Subang Jaya
step right in now come on!
opening days and times
the waiting lounge is beside the reception table
registering my profile at the front desk
the facilities & waiting area
The place is like a modern mini hospital but
catered for all things EYE see (I see get it?)
meet Dr.Shamala Ganesan
For my eye health check, I booked an appointment with Dr. Shamala who is in charge of the Bangsar and Subang VISTA centers. It was my first time here so I felt a bit nervous! Everything looks so professional compared to my last eye health check at an optical shop. The nurse explained to me that I would be going for the VISTA’s Comprehensive Specialist Eye Check, which includes 6 eye health checks to be performed by their certified eye specialist. It would take roughly 3 hours to complete them all.
The first check would be the Vision Check, which is a simple eye test to check my eye power. It also tells me if I am suitable for laser vision correction or LASIK. Pretty fast and I am used to having my vision checked at optical shops.
vision check
At the same time I was given the Corneal Check to see if my corneas are healthy. Since I rarely wear contact lens, I don’t get dry eyes like my friends who wear them. Dry eyes can cause itchiness and lead to rubbing of the eyes, which might damage our cornea. Another scary corneal risk is the corneal infections that come with wear contact lens due to improper use or care. I have enough horror stories to make me wear disposable contact lenses to prevent corneal infections.
Next up was the Glaucoma Check, also known as the eye pressure check. The eye specialist took out a big eye gadget pretty much like the eye gear Cyclops in X-Men asked me to see into it, one eye at a time. She laughingly told me to get ready for the puff of air that would be released by the eye pressure check machine into my eyes to check my eye pressure. I should try to keep my eyes open when it happens otherwise the reading will be off. It was really funny when it happened! I was shocked and almost jump out of my chair. It happened again the second time for my other eye. What an experience.
Equally funny and shocking was the Cataract Check where this time it’s not a puff of air that would shoot into my eyes but a flash of light instead! My eyes are pretty sensitive to light so I had trouble trying to maintain eye contact with the machine. The light actually helps the machine to snap pictures of my cataract lenses up close and beyond. The eye specialist would check the picture to see if there is any signs of cataract on it e.g frosty, cloudy.
Cataract is ranked the leading cause of blindness in the world. A Cataract occurs when the lens become frosty or cloudy, usually caused by aging. If left untreated, the person will eventually become blind. Early detection with modern Cataract surgery and multifocal lens will restore back your vision.
my eyes was dilated for the this check!
(you can see my right eyes is bigger now haha)
Almost done, I have Retina Check and Optic Nerve Check the last two remaining checks before I go home. Gosh, I was so scared of the retina check session because I was told I needed to “dilate” my eyes for 30mins before they can check my retina. The dilation helps to scan the retina to check the blood vessels and retina area for any signs of Retina diseases as Diabetic Retinopathy, Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD), and Retina hole. All which can be treated if diagnosed early.
These types of eye diseases usually come with age. Diabetes can cause small blood vessel leaks or bleeding in the eye, as well as swelling of the macula, which can lead to vision loss. It is estimated that one-third of the population who have Diabetes are not aware of it.
So how to dilate my pupils – the window of the eye? First I was given a numbing eye drop (I WAS FREAKIN OUT?! WHY NEED NUMBING EYE DROP?) Which apparently will make my dilation process comfortably. I didn’t feel any sensation when the drops were administered to my eyes. After a while, I was then given “dilation” eye drops, which would dilate my pupils in daylight. Eye specialist told me after my pupils are dilated; I should stay around for at least 2 hours before going back. I couldn’t see clearly with my pupils dilated! It was fuzzy, no wonder she said I needed to wait a couple of hours. One should not drive back in this condition! Not good. Only a minority has this problem. Most people will not be able to read or see up close well but distance is still fairly good.
Dr.Shamala checking my optic nerves
With my pupils now dilated, it was time for the Optic Nerve Check. It’s just like the Vision check but using light to see the “optic nerves” in my eyes up close. The Optic Nerve is part of the eye that carries stimuli from the rods and cones to the brain. Problems such as inflammation (Optic Neuritis), tumors and swelling can lead to symptoms such as blurred vision, loss of color vision, floaters, headache, eye pain or discomfort, nausea and vision loss.
Alas I finally completed all 6-eye health checks and it was time to talk to the doctor! Like are my eyes all right? Am I doom? Am I getting glaucoma?! Should I wear contact lens or glasses, which is better? So many questions so little time! Arghhh….
Dr.Shamala teaches us about the importance of eye health
the stages of Glaucoma
Talking to Dr. Shamala, I learnt that it is important to have an eye health check as early as 5 years old because eye problems such as lazy eye can be reversed if spotted early. Lazy eyes become irreversible after 10 years old. It’s when your eyes seems to be “out of position”, how’s that for my explanation? Haha. People would call that cockeye or a squint as it can be triggered by lazy eye.
Lazy eye is when we have a perfectly normal eye with a refractive error but not corrected fully with glasses. The child sees things blurry and thinks that is normal. The brain records the image with low definition. If this goes beyond 10 years old, the visual pathway in the brain will be permanent. The high definition vision can never be attained.
Should anyone in the family have glaucoma, which in most cases are hereditary; one should go for eye check annually.
Glaucoma is ranked as one of the leading causes of vision impairment in the world. It happens when the pressure in the eyes becomes too high and damages the optic nerves leading to vision loss. Most people have no initial symptoms of chronic Glaucoma, but you can develop peripheral vision loss, headaches, blurred vision, difficulty adapting to the darkness and halos around lights. The best way to prevent is through early diagnosis and treatment.
the white mass is scarring from an eye infection
Other important eye related issues are infections caused by wearing contact lenses or merely by foreign body or dust entering the eyes. Wearing contact lenses not suitable for your eyes (not based on your eye ball curvature) will cause issues as well. Dr. Shamala advised that contact lens wearers should go for an eye health check regularly to make sure their eyes are healthy during the period of contact lens use.
For children, it is important to educate them not to rub their eyes vigorously! The risk of damaging one’s cornea and inflammation is high when we rub our eyes without care.
what happens when you have cataract?
I got really scared when Dr. Shamala shared about eye infections, particularly contact lens wearers who neglect or who are not very good in keeping their contact lens or storing them at an inappropriate place (bathrooms are full of germs!). Infections and ulcers can occur and it will be very painful. This can lead to scarring of the cornea and vision impairment. Not a good sight. Google images of eye infection and you will get a shock of your life!
Now that’s an eye opener and Dr. Shamala bid me goodbye. Told me to take good care of my eyes and come back again for my next eye health check. Luckily my friends are around and they sent me back because I still can’t see with my eyes dilated! It returned to normal after 2 hours hehe.
More about VISTA Eye Specialist:
VISTA is one of the leading providers of vision correction and eye care since its establishment in 1999. We offer screening, consultative services and treatment related to the eyes. There are 7 VISTA Eye Specialists in the Klang Valley and these are the services you can find:
• Shortsightedness: Lasik & Contact Lens
• Cataract Procedures
• Reading Vision: KAMRA
• General Eye Care & Vision Evaluation
• Glaucoma Management
• Diabetic Eye Disease Management
• Age Related Macular Degeneration Management
• Laser Procedures (YAG, Argon)
• Paediatric Eye Care
In line with our tagline – ‘from blur to clear’, VISTA is committed to improving patients’ quality of life through quality vision care, thereby employing approved technology and clinical practices to provide safer vision correction procedures and achieve consistent results.
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