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Frequently Asked
Questions and Answers
Exam
Questions:
How
often should I have an eye exam?
What can you
really see "through" my eyes?
Does getting
"dilated" hurt, why do I need it?
Insurance
Questions:
What
insurance do you accept?
Can
my visit be billed to my Medical Insurance?
Will my visit be covered
100%?
Children
Questions:
At what age
can I bring my child in?
What should I look
for / problems with my child?
ADHD and vision
Prescription
Questions:
What
is Nearsighted or Myopia
Can
my nearsighted get worse and what are the fixes?
What is Farsighted or Hyperopia?
Does
farsighted-ness always have to be corrected?
What is Astigmatism?
Does astigmatism get
worse, what are the fixes?
What is Presbyopia (bifocals stage)?
Does presbyopia get worse,
what are the fixes?
Eye
Questions:
What is
Cataracts?
What is LASIK?
What is Blepheritis?
Optometry Questions:
What does an
Optometrist do?
How long does it take to
become an optometrist?
What is the
difference between an optometrist and ophthalmologist?
EXAM QUESTIONS
How
often should I have an eye exam
The American Optometry Association and our office recommends a
yearly exam. With yearly exams we are able to determine if you are
seeing your best and if any new health problems are occurring.
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What
can you really see "through my eyes"
A lot! We can see problems relating to genetic disorders, high blood
pressure, diabetes, macular degeneration, glaucoma, high
cholesterol, swelling, cataracts, rips-holes-tears, and these are
just to name a few!
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Does
getting dilated hurt, why do
I need it
While dilation does not hurt the first drop might sting a little. When we look
inside the eye the pupil closes due to the light, dilating allows us
to look further behind the eye to check for medical or retinal problems.
Most dilations take about 30 min to start and generally last
between 4-6 hours. You will be "slightly" blurry (this s
different for every person) but will be very blurry for near vision.
Because of this we always recommend bring in a driver especially if
this is your first dilation. Most people do not have any problems
with their dilation, however if you experience pain, discomfort, or
nausea please call my office immediately. You
may also not be dilated every year, this will depend on your health
and glasses prescription.
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INSURANCE
QUESTIONS
What
insurance do you accept?
Vision: VSP, EyeMed, Coast to Coast, BCBS Locals
Medical: In-network participating provider (accept
assignment)
Medicare and RR Medicare
BCBS PPO
Cigna PPO and OAP
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Can
my visit be billed to my medical insurance?
It can depending on the reason of the
visit and the diagnosis. We can bill any insurance for you. Our
office will bill the visit on your behalf. Please contact our office
for full details.
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Will my visit be covered
100%?
This is a very tricky questions.
Generally no, most insurances have some co-pay that must be paid by
the patient. Insurance coverage is also dependent on type, if you
have met your in-network or out-of-network deductible, plan type and
plan coverage. Ultimately it is always the responsibility of the
insurance holder to know their insurance coverage. Please contact
your insurance if you have any questions about a test or procedure
coverage.
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CHILDREN
QUESTIONS
At
what age can I bring my child in / what to look for
Almost any age. Dr. Tahir and Dr. Thomasson have seen infants as
young as 6-months. If you are concerned that your child my have a
vision problem, be safe and get him or her checked out.
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What
to look for in your child - Problems
While this list is anything but
conclusive, here are many of the common problems
.Symptoms requiring immediate attention:
- White pupil (sign of congenital cataracts)
- Bump or lump noted on the colored part of the eye
(iris)
- Sudden swelling or drooping of one lid with a red
eye
- Larger or smaller cornea, in one eye or both
- Unable to move eyes in all directions or if one eye
does not follow
Symptoms requiring urgent
attention:
- One or both eyes turned in or out
- One or both eyes occasionally turns out
- Redness, tearing, yellow discharge (sign of pink eye)
- Oscillating or twitching eyes
- One pupil larger than the other
Other symptoms requiring further investigation"
- Holding work very close
- Closing one eye when looking at objects
- Constantly tilting of the head
- Unable to "cross" eyes or follow a target
to their nose
- Eye flicks out or moves out when following a target
to the nose
- Squinting, rubbing of the eyes
- Complaints of headaches, poor reading, writing
skills, letter reversal, etc.
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ADHD
(ADD) and vision
Many of the above symptoms, headaches, loss of attention span, poor
reading, letter reversal, poor writing skills, etc. can be related
to vision problems. Children with poor eyesight may seem
uninterested, restless, have poor attention span, etc. should
have a complete eye health examination before simply starting on ADD
medication. Call our office to schedule a comprehensive eye health
examination for your child.
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PRESCRIPTION
QUESTIONS
Myopia
(my-O-pee-ah) or Nearsightedness
Myopia, also known as "nearsighted"
causes your distance vision to be blurry. When you think of
"nearsighted" think of being able to see near (and hence
not far). Myopia
happens for many reason including; your cornea has to much
power, your lens has to much power or your eyeball is longer than averse
size.
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Can
my Myopia get worse, and what are the fixes
Yes, generally as you are growing up your prescription might get
"a little worse." However in some rare cases people have "progressive
myopia" which is generally due to a genetic factors.
You can also have "functional myopia" at any
age to stress responses to close tasks such as reading, computer
use, etc. Fixes
include: glasses, soft and RGP (hard) contact lenses, and surgery (LASIK,
lens replacement, etc).
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Hyperopia
(hy-per-O-pee-a) or farsighted
Hyperopia, also known as
"farsighted" causes your vision to be blurry at distance.
When you think of "farsighted" think of not being able to
see far. This may occur for many reasons including; your cornea does
not have enough power, your lens is to weak, or your eyeball is
shorter than average size.
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Does
farsighted-ness
always have to be corrected
It depends on the amount and age of the patient. If, for example, a
child is symptom-free
and they have a small amounts of farsighted-ness we may leave it
uncorrected. If
however, symptoms appear or the amount changes we can correct this
with glasses, soft and RGP (hard) contacts, and laser surgery.
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Astigmatism
(ah-STIG-ma-tis-um)
If the eyeball, lens, or cornea is not perfectly round a person may
have astigmatism. In fact, 85-90% off all prescriptions show some
amount of astigmatism. This can occur with being farsighted,
nearsighted or alone. Uncorrected astigmatism generally
causes blurred and distorted vision.
Astigmatism causes annoying problems such as; tiled or
distorted objects, eyestrain, headaches, eye fatigue, sensitivity to
light, and poor visual concentration.
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Can
my Astigmatism get worse, what are the fixes
Astigmatism
tends to progress slightly faster as you get older because the eye,
cornea, and lens age. Fixes include,
eyeglasses, special astigmatic (toric) contact lenses,
or laser correction.
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Presbyopia
(bifocals)
Ahh, the dreaded "bifocals." As you age, your near
focusing ability decreases. This
happens to everyone, even your friends that tell you they can read
without their glasses. Presbyopia my seem sudden but actually occurs
over a few years. One misunderstanding
is presbyopia is weakening of the eye muscles but really it
is loss of elasticity of the lens in the eye.
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Does
presbyopia get worse, what are the fixes
Presbyopia constantly changes and you will require periodic years
updates. As we age, the lens gets weaker requiring us to wear
stronger glasses. As noted above, wearing correction for presbyopia
does not cause your eyes to weaken, that will happen regardless.
Fixes include, bifocals, trifocals, progressive addition lenses
(no-line), and now new surgical lens implants.
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OPTOMETRY QUESTIONS
What
does an Optometrist do
Optometrists (like Dr. Tahir and Dr. Thomason) are the major
providers of eye care seeing almost
85% of all patients who seek eyecare! We examine, diagnosis,
treat and manage diseases and disorders of the eye and its
associated structures. We also diagnosis systemic problems. We
prescribe, fit and dispense medications, glasses, contact lenses,
co-mange cataract, LASIK and other surgeries. We provide TOTAL eye
health and vision care for all ages!
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How
long does it take to become an Optometrist
4 years of high school, 4 years of college and than 4 years of
optometry school. License renews every 4 years requiring continual
education and CPR training.
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What
is the difference between and Optometrist and Ophthalmologist.
An
Optometrist is the doctor of choice for routine eye health
care, glasses/ contact lens prescriptions, and vision examinations
and other levels of care including glaucoma, macular degeneration,
diabetes, cataract etc. An
Ophthalmologist is an eye surgeon specializing in certain parts
of the eye which require repair or replacement. Many optometrist and
ophthalmologist work together to provide the utmost care to their patient
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