It’s early morning. Your alarm clock goes off. You try to open your eyes to come to full consciousness. Then you groan — not because it’s so early in the morning, but because you just realized something awful. Your eyes are matted shut. They itch. And you realize you probably have pink eye. Now what?

No need to panic; just give us a call as soon as our office opens, and we’ll work you in for a last-minute appointment. While you’re waiting to see us, toss out your eye makeup (hopefully you don’t have a brand new tube of Chanel mascara), put out clean towels in your bathroom, skip your contacts in favor of glasses, and keep your hands away from your eyes.

Once you are here in our office, we’ll do everything we can to help you feel better as soon as possible. And luckily, we have a new way to quickly determine if pink eye is bacterial or viral, which can make treating easier. The RPS (Rapid Pathogen Screening) Adeno Detector is non-invasive and takes 15 seconds to administer. Results are available in about 10 minutes. FDA-approved, this test will reduce the unnecessary prescriptions of antibiotics to which viral pink eye won’t even respond.

If it’s bacterial, we’ll write you a prescription and send you on your way to recover. A bit of good news for those of you with medical insurance – since this is medically related, we bill your health insurance provider. You just have to pay your co-pay. 

Pink eye

There are different types of pink eye (conjunctivitis): allergic, viral, and bacterial. We have an exciting new test to help diagnose viral conjunctivitis. It is nice to have a definitive diagnosis so antibiotics are properly prescribed.

TIP: If you have viral or bacterial conjunctivitis, the discharge from the eyes is highly contagious. Be sure to wash your hands especially after touching your eyes and do not to share face towels with anyone.

Flashes/floaters

While most flashes and floaters are not retinal detachments, holes, or tears, the only way to properly assess their risk is to dilate the pupils and directly view the retina. Since retinal abnormalities do not cause pain, they sometimes go unnoticed. The Optomap Retinal Imaging system allows me to document changes in the retina at each visit. The patient can actually see what is happening to the retina when there is a problem.

TIP: Make an appointment ASAP if you have new floaters or flashes in your vision. Delaying the diagnosis of a retinal detachment may cause you to lose your sight.

Glaucoma

The most common form of glaucoma is associated with high eye pressure. Therefore we check pressure during every comprehensive exam. I personally never liked having air puffed in my eyes, so I use different methods of checking pressure. Most of you have experienced the light that “makes a funny noise” in the office, but now we have an even newer instrument. The iCare tonometer does not require drops or a puff of air. It is an easy way to check the pressure at any age.

TIP: Even someone with perfect vision can have glaucoma, so I recommend everyone have a comprehensive exam to assess their risk and record baseline data.