Occasionally, the artificial eye can acquire protein build ups or other irritants that may require its removal and cleaning. Before you begin this process, make sure that you thoroughly wash your hands with an antibacterial soap in order to lessen the chances of infecting the socket. To remove the artificial eye, simply pull down the lower lid and look upward, which allows the prosthesis to slide out over the lower lid. Make sure you place the palm of your free hand on your cheek to catch the prosthesis as it slides out. There are also suction cups available to help with the removal of an ocular prosthesis if needed. Once removed, it is important to keep the prosthesis wet with either water or saline solution so that any secretions on the eye do not dry on the surface of the prosthesis.

If needed, you can also clean out the eye socket with a saline solution while the artificial eye is removed. Using a bulb syringe and sterile saline solution, both of which can be found at any drug store, simply flush the eye socket to remove any debris or build up. Once the artificial eye and the eye socket have been cleaned, the ocular prosthesis can be reinserted by holding the prosthesis between the thumb and forefinger and with the other hard, lift the upper eye lid. Then, gently slide the top of the prosthesis under the upper eye lid and hold in place while you pull down the lower eye lid with your other hand so that it slips over the bottom of the prosthesis holding it in place.

Artificial eyes are relatively low maintenance prosthesis and actually benefit from limited care due to decreased risk of damage or infection. For this reason, an ocular prosthesis is easy to care for and maintain and although the concept of removing an eye might seem overwhelming at first, it is rarely required and quality ocular prostheses are designed for simple removal, insertion and maintenance.

Cataracts are common. About a third of people aged over 65 have cataracts in one or both eyes. Getting older and exposure to bright sunlight are the main reasons people get cataracts. Having diabetes, smoking and drinking too much alcohol may also increase your risk of cataracts.

A cataract operation can help you see better and stop your poor sight interfering with your life. Not everyone with a cataract needs an operation. Doctors usually suggest the operation when your cataract interferes with your daily life rather than when your eyesight reaches a particular score on a sight test. In the past, people were advised that their cataract had to be ‘ripe’ (very bad) before it was worth having an operation.

This is because cataract surgery was a big operation that took a long time to recover from, and the artificial lenses used then were not very good. Now, with safer, quicker operations, cataracts are generally removed earlier, before they cause serious problems. And modern lenses are better.

Sometimes a cataract should be removed even if it does not cause problems with your sight. This is because there is another eye problem that needs treating and the cataract is in the way. Examples of other eye problems are diabetic retinopathy and macular degeneration. They are problems with the blood vessels in the eye. If you have cataracts in both eyes, it’s normal to do them one eye at a time, usually a couple of months or more apart. This is because the treated eye can be sore and needs to settle down for a while.

For greater Chicago Illinois and Southern Wisconsin eye care patients, the Eye Care Center of Lake County will be convenient with its located offices in Gurnee, Vernon Hills and Lake Villa Illinois. Patients seeking any aspect of general, medical, surgical, laser or optical eye care services will find the Ophthalmologists, Optometrists and staff of the Eye Care Center of Lake County to be friendly, professional and experienced.

The Eye Care Center of Lake County staff performs general eye examinations for eyeglasses and contact lenses, examinations for cataracts and cataract surgery, lens implants including near vision presbyopia correcting multifocal intraocular lenses (IOL) such as the Crystalens® Lens Implant, the ReZoom™ Lens Implant and the Acrysof® ReSTOR® Lens Implants, laser eye surgery for the Laser Vision Correction of nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism, such as LASIK surgery, medical and laser treatment of glaucoma, medical, laser and surgical treatment of diabetic retinopathy as well treatment of age related macular degeneration (ARMD) including recent advances such as Avastin® and Lucentis® Injections.

Lutein is also present within the retina of our eyes and helps to protect them by filtering out the dangerous blue light from the rays of the sun; it also prevents free radicals killing off those cells.

Many various studies have been undertaken on this nutrient and results have shown that introducing an intake of lutein into the daily diet has in many cases improved vision.

It has definitely answered the question will lutein improve vision. But what is even more interesting is that the participants of the study that were already taking various other vitamins and minerals along with lutein showed an even greater improvement on vision and protection.

Other important eye protection nutrients are zeaxanthin which is present in the second part of the retina the macular and also bilberry extract.

How Does It Work
Within our eyes we have the retina, and within the retina is the macular area and together they are responsible for our central vision. Basically if our cells in these areas get destroyed then it would inhibit us from doing many things we now take for granted. Ie: driving, reading, drawing, writing. Those are just a few.

A thick layer of lutein protects our vision while we are young, just as a thick layer of zeaxanthin protects the macular, but as we age this layer thins and I am afraid that we cannot reproduce it naturally therefore we have to rely on diet and supplements. The more dark green leafy vegetables we eat in our diet the more lutein remains.

However, the more junk food we intake the thinner and thinner our lutein becomes until we really do leave our precious eyesight in danger.

Pretty simple isn’t it. Either we supplement our own lutein or we put ourselves at risk.

Now if you don’t want to eat just plates of green vegetables everyday, then choose a supplement, it’s far easier and you also know that you are getting the right amount too.

One last important thing to remember is get a multi vitamin nutritional supplement because as already mentioned, the benefits are much higher.