I have this itchiness and redness around my eyelids for the last week. Sometimes when I wake up I have flakey skin around my eye lashes. What is it? What do I do?

It appears that you are suffering from blepharitis which is an inflammatory reaction of follicles of the eyelid. Blepharitis can be bacterial, allergic, or secondary to the dirt/deposits around the eye. Common symptoms include redness of the eyelid or eye itself, flaking skin, crusting of lid margins, or sandy sensation in the eye. If untreated,… Continue reading I have this itchiness and redness around my eyelids for the last week. Sometimes when I wake up I have flakey skin around my eye lashes. What is it? What do I do?

Do eye exercises like the “See Clearly Method” actually help improve your vision?

In theory, yes. Eye exercises like the “See Clearly Method” are aimed at strengthening the small muscles that constrict and dilate your pupils as well as the muscles that control the shape of the lens (for accomodation). These muscles (especially the ones that control the shape of the lens) become lax over time which results… Continue reading Do eye exercises like the “See Clearly Method” actually help improve your vision?

I have a pain in my left eye that’s been on and off for a few weeks. It feels as if there is a bump stuck under my eyelid. I can’t see anything on my eyelid, my eye isn’t swollen or red, it just hurts sometimes. What do I have and what can I do?

It sounds as if you either have a Stye or a Chalazion on your left eyelid. Styes and chalazions are both caused by the clogging and inflammation of the sebaceous glands that line the inside surface of the eyelid. Styes resemble a pimple and are painful, usually self limited to 1-2 weeks, resolve spontaneously, and… Continue reading I have a pain in my left eye that’s been on and off for a few weeks. It feels as if there is a bump stuck under my eyelid. I can’t see anything on my eyelid, my eye isn’t swollen or red, it just hurts sometimes. What do I have and what can I do?

My mother went blind from diabetes. I have diabetes too now. What are the chances I will go blind too?

Diabetes is a systemic disease that results in elevated sugars in the blood.  Damage to your eyes is a result of damage to the small blood vessels in your eyes as a result of the high blood sugars; this is known as “diabetic retinopathy.”  With good control of your blood sugars and good control of… Continue reading My mother went blind from diabetes. I have diabetes too now. What are the chances I will go blind too?

My mother was diagnosed with melanoma on her hand and it had spread to the eye. She is on chemotherapy but was also told to get surgery for her “intraocular” melanoma. Wouldn’t chemotherapy work for the eye too?

Intraocular melanoma is a rare tumor often remaining asymptomatic for years and presenting as progressive and painless visual loss.  Ultrasound of the eye is the most sensitive test for diagnosing the lesion and MRI is often performed to determine the extent of tumor invasion.  Chemotherapy for her melanoma will not treat the intraocular melanoma as… Continue reading My mother was diagnosed with melanoma on her hand and it had spread to the eye. She is on chemotherapy but was also told to get surgery for her “intraocular” melanoma. Wouldn’t chemotherapy work for the eye too?