Lasik Eye Surgery - The Importance Of The Doctor Patient Bond

Since the development of laser eye surgery, millions of people all over the world have taken advantage of it. And, as a result, these millions are often able to see much better without the crutch of having to wear glasses.

There are millions more, however, who probably would like to have the procedure but are afraid. Much of this fear is due to publicity generated by those eye operations that have not gone smoothly. Even though most laser eye operations end with a successful outcome, some have resulted in the patient having ongoing eye problems. And, in a few unfortunate instances, the procedure has resulted in blindness.

As you might expect, all of this attention has raised awareness in patients thinking about the procedure. No longer are patients just trusting blindly in the skills of the surgeon. They are asking more questions about the risks involved. They also want to know things such as exactly how the procedure will work, post operation complications, the chances of them needed future corrective surgery as they age, and their success rate with previous patients.

As a result, surgeons and their assistants have found themselves spending more time answering questions than they did 5 or 10 years ago. But this is not necessarily a bad thing. Even though these professionals are spending more time pre-operation, they find that they are actually spending less time with post operations problems, because the patient has already been told, in detail, what to expect.

In addition, because the patient and surgeon have both listened to each other, the level of trust between them has greatly improved. And, this trust bond that develops between doctor and patient is a mutually beneficial thing.

From the patient's standpoint, studies have shown than patients who have a strong, positive, and trusting bond with their doctor, actually improve at a faster rate than those who do not have that bond. They also are less likely to have post operative depression syndrome.

But, this doctor/patient bond is good for the doctor as well. Patients who feel cared about generally like to reciprocate. And the way that most patients choose to do this is by recommending this surgeon to their friends and acquaintances. This means that over the course of their career, the surgeon and his office can look forward to a thriving business - built by referral. And all this, simply by treating the patient with care.

You can find more information on laser eye surgery with topics such as lasek vs lasik and Phoenix lasik on our website.

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The Importance of Eye Tests As a Health Check Up

The importance of regular eye tests cannot be understated. Even if you don't wear contact lenses or glasses, an eye test can catch a whole range of conditions early before there is significant damage to your vision.

For those who do wear glasses or contacts, an eye test makes sure the prescription is up to date. It is particularly important for parents to take their kids regularly for eye tests as eyesight problems can significantly impact academic achievement, sports achievement and self-esteem.

Some of the conditions which an eye test checks for are:

• Refractive error: commonly referred to as near-sightedness, farsightedness or astigmatism, essentially having bad eyesight. They can be corrected with eyeglasses, contacts or surgery.

• Amblyopia: when the eyes are turned or when one eye has a different strength than another. This is a common condition amongst children which if not treated, can result in permanent damage.

• Strabismus: commonly referred to as cross-eyes. Eye tests check for eye alignment and so can easily spot abnormalities here. Left untreated, Strabismus can cause depth perception problems and lead to amblyopia.

• Eye teaming problems: also an alignment disorder, which is also known as binocular vision. It can cause eyestrain, headaches, affect reading and other near vision tasks.

• Focusing problems: These can range simply incompletely developed focusing skill in a child to normal decline of focus ability in aging adults (presbyopia).

• Eye diseases: diseases such as glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy don't have symptoms in their early stages.

Interestingly enough, an eye test not only ensures your eyes are healthy and disease free, it can also guard against a number of other conditions, which is why it is so important to go for regular check ups.

Eye doctors are usually the first health care professionals to detect chronic systemic diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure. That is because they have a clear view of the eye's blood vessels where they can see symptoms of these health issues. A study in 2011 indicated that thanks to eye exams, millions of dollars had been saved annually by early health intervention for persons with conditions such as cholesterol, hypertension, and diabetes.

An eye doctor will check your eyes inside and out during an eye test to make sure there are no early symptoms of any of these conditions. In many cases, detecting the signs early can result in quick treatment and significantly reduce the risk of permanent damage or the deterioration and loss of eyesight.

Mandy Waters writes regularly on eye health and eye wear related topics such as glasses.

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