Georgia Vision Institute FAQs

Nearsightedness (myopia) means you see nearby objects clearly but objects faraway look blurry. Farsightedness (hyperopia) means distant objects are clear an object closer up become less clear.

Astigmatism is caused by an irregular curvature of the cornea or lens, making vision blurry at all distances. A cornea without an astigmatism is nice and rounded like a baseball, and when you have an astigmatism this round surface is distorted and changed into more of a football shape. This cause the light that comes into your eye to be distorted, blurry or out of focus as well as causing glare, sunburst appearance around lights especially at night. It can be corrected with glasses, contacts, or surgery.

Follow the 20-20-20 rule: every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds. Adjust screen brightness, maintain proper posture, and use artificial tears if eyes feel dry. You can also use glasses that have a blue light filter in the lens to help, as well as making sure you prescription is current and verifying you do not need any assistance seeing up close or at intermediate or computer screen distance.

There’s no cure for age-related macular degeneration, but treatments like medications, injections, and lifestyle changes can slow its progression. These treatments work best when ARMD is caught early which is why regular ee exams and follow ups are so important.

Most contact lenses are not safe for overnight wear. Sleeping in lenses increases the risk of serious infections unless they are specifically approved for extended wear.

Driving after being dilated is completely up to you if you feel comfortable driving or not, but most people are able to drive while dilated. You will have severe light sensitivity, so it is recommended you get the dilation glasses offered at checkout even on non-sunny days.

• Holding things farther away to see them clearly
• Needing brighter light for reading
• Eye strain or headaches after close work

 
That’s where readers (reading glasses) or progressives (multifocal lenses) come in. They give your eyes the extra focusing power your lens used to provide naturally.

Readers: just magnify up-close vision, best if you only need help for near tasks.

Progressives: give you distance, intermediate (like computer), and near correction all in one pair, so you don’t have to keep taking glasses on and off.

So, it’s not that your eyes are suddenly “going bad” — it’s that the lens inside them is aging (the same way hair grays or skin changes). Glasses are just a tool to restore the focus you used to have naturally.

Dilation is the process in which we use specific eye drops to temporary enlarge your pupils. This is important because without dilation the doctor can only see a small area of your retina (or back of the eye.) Your retina houses all of the important anatomy needed for vision like your macular, optic nerve and blood vessels. When your eyes are dilated your eye doctor can check for early signs of conditions like Macular Degeneration, Glaucoma and even Diabetes.

No, we use different tools at our offices to best determine your eye pressure. We now use a handheld device called an ICare Tonometer. This device comes in very close to your eye and makes gentle quick taps on the surface of your eye. You may feel a slight tickle on your eyelashes that makes you want to blink and this is completely okay! Most patients barely feel this quick routine test.

An Ophthalmologist is a medical doctor (MD). An ophthalmologist can diagnose and treat complex eye diseases, and they are the ones who can operate on your eyes, so your eye surgeons.

An optometrist is a doctor of Optometric Medicine (OD) that specializes in primary eye care. They are equipped for routine eye exams, glasses, and contact lens prescriptions. They can also catch early signs of eye diseases and treat them accordingly. Our Optometrists will treat many eye diseases, but if more specialized care or surgery is needed, they will send you to one of our Ophthalmologists.

Adults: every 1-2 years or as advised. People with risk factors (diabetes, family history of eye diseases, etc.) more frequently, or if you notice any changes in your vision, it is time to schedule an appointment.

A cataract is a clouding and crystalizing of the natural lens inside your eye, which can cause blurry vision, glare, and difficulty seeing clearly. Cataracts usually develop slowly and are common as people age.

Not everyone with a cataract needs surgery right away. The decision to have cataract surgery depends on how much the cataract is affecting your daily life and vision. If you think you are having symptoms related to cataracts it is important to get an exam, so the doctor can evaluate whether you need cataract surgery or not.

A refraction refers to the process of using a phoropter to find the right prescription you need for corrective lenses. This is the machine we put in front of you and ask, “which is clearer one or two?”

This process evaluates how light is focused on the retina (the layer at the back of the eye), effectively measuring your visual clarity and detects any refractive errors. This is also how you get a prescription for glasses or contact lenses, and most non vision insurances do not cover the charge for the refraction.

Once you have had your appointment, everything we did that day gets sent to your insurance. Not all insurances cover everything that we do in full, and it may vary from appointment to appointment and from insurance to insurance as well. When this is the case, this is not something the insurance makes us aware of at the time of your appointment, but when we send what was done at your visit to your insurance at times they come back to us and say certain items of the visit were not covered and, in this case, this would be the patient’s responsibility to cover those charges.

There are multiple ways to pay an outstanding balance. The most convenient option would be going to your patient portal and paying there, but you can also mail in a payment with the instructions on the statement. You can also call and pay the balance over the phone or in person if you are more comfortable with this method.

Yes, please have your insurance information available and ready for our staff when calling to schedule an appointment. This expedites your process, and gives us a chance to give you the most accurate information in regards to how much your exam will be and if we are in network with your insurance. If you do not provide your specific insurance information, there is a chance we are not in network with your plan and when you come in for your appointment, your visit may not be covered.

In order for our providers to fill out the form, you must have a specific visual field test that is not done during a routine exam since it is an out-of-pocket charge that is not covered by insurance. The charge for the test is $154. Please request to be scheduled for a DMV visual field test.

our natural lens that has become cloudy (the cataract) is removed and replaced with a clear artificial lens called an IOL (intraocular lens). This is done through a tiny 2.4mm incision and your natural lens that has crystalized will be broken into tiny pieces using ultrasonic waves and suction to break apart and remove the lens entirely. The total process on the day of surgery takes around 1.5-2 hours, but the surgery itself takes only around 10 minutes. You will spend around an hour in pre-op getting dilated and getting relaxation medication, then you will get set up for the surgery itself, the doctor will come in and perform the surgery, and you will be sent to discharge.

We do not put anyone to sleep for cataract surgery. You will be given ample numbing drops to where your eye is completely numb, and you will receive relaxation medication to make you less aware of what is going on and not care as much, but we want you to be awake. When you fall asleep, you move your eye and body which is not good during surgery since we are operating under a high magnification microscope which amplifies all movement. You will not see what is going on, you will see lights and colors flashing, most say it looks like a colorful light show.

• You may notice your vision is much better almost immediately, or it may be very blurry at first this all depends on the person. It also may be clear right after surgery and get blurry over the next couple days which is completely normal as well. This will gradually get better over the next week or so as your eye heals and the inflammation goes down.
• You will be given a schedule to use your post op drops and you will take these as instructed for a few weeks to prevent an infection as well as helping with inflammation.
• No heavy lifting, which we say mean no lifting anything that makes you tense up and strain to lift it. No rubbing the eye and you will be given a shield to where the 24 hours after surgery and at night for a week to prevent you from accidentally scratching that eye.
• Many people say they were surprised by how quick and painless it was — and that they wished they’d done it sooner once they saw the difference in their vision