Safe & Healthy Contact Lens Wear

While contact lens wear is really quite safe, it is important that they be properly prescribed, fit and cared for in order to allow patients a safe and healthy wearing experience. Seeta EyeCenters’ Andreas Wolter, M.D. shared some tips for wearing contact lenses and maintaining healthy vision. “We remind patients that contact lenses are a medical device and even those worn purely for cosmetic purposes, should be prescribed and properly fit by a licensed eye care professional," explained Dr. Wolter. "Too many patients forget this and end up buying and wearing contact lenses without proper medical guidance and a valid prescription. Then, often without even realizing it, they put themselves at risk for serious, even blinding eye infections."

Following the instructions given to you by your eye doctor carefully and completely can go a long way to help avoid contact lens problems and complications. "Our experience clearly shows that by not following instructions on proper wear and care, contact lens wearers are more likely to have discomfort and may actually put themselves at greater risk for infection or other serious complications, such as microbial keratitis," said Dr. Wolter. “We often find that improper storage, handling and disinfection of contact lenses really predispose patients to unnecessary risk.”

Some good contact lens care, handling and disinfection tips to follow include:

• Always wash your hands with soap before inserting or removing your contact lenses.
• Always empty the storage case of disinfection solution after removing your lenses, and fully refill with fresh solution before storing them.
• NEVER clean your case with tap water.
• REGULARLY-even daily- clean your case.
• REGULARLY-at least monthly- replace your case.

If you or someone you know has questions about contact lens care, handling and disinfection please feel free to call Seeta Eye Centers and schedule an eye examination by calling 845-454-1025, visiting Seeta Eye Centers or facebook.com/seetaeyecenters.

Seeta Eye Centers is conveniently located for patients from Westchester County, Rockland County and throughout the Hudson Valley, Dutchess County and Orange County including Poughkeepsie, Fishkill, Middletown, Kingston, New Paltz, Newburgh, Beacon, Bedford, Catskill, Cornwall, Eastchester, Ellenville, Florida, Goshen, Harriman, Harrison, Highland, Highland Falls, Kerhonkson, Mahopac, Monroe, Montgomery, Mount Kisco, New Rochelle, New City, Scarsdale, Saugerties, Spring Valley, Tarrytown, West Point, White Plains, Woodstock, Yorktown Heights and Yonkers, NY.

NY Doctor on Eyes & Colon Cancer

NY eye doctor Andreas Wolter, M.D. of Seeta Eye Centers in Poughkeepsie, Carmel and Fishkill asked, “What could a colonoscopy for colon cancer risk possibly have to do with your eyes?” As it turns out-plenty! The retinal pigmented epithelium (RPE) is a layer of the retina which can sometimes be thicker than normal at birth-or “hypertrophic.” Congenital Retinal Pigment Epithelial Hypertrophy (CHRPE) is usually found before patients reach 30 years of age and although they may enlarge with time they usually do not lead to malignancies like colon cancer.

“During regular eye exams when we find these areas of retinal pigmented epithelial hypertrophy typically they do not cause any vision problems or symptoms and are pretty unremarkable,” commented Dr. Wolter.

However, there is an association between people with Gardner's Syndrome-Familial Colonic Polyposes-or polyps of the colon, and CHRPE. If your eye doctor has told you that you have Congenital Retinal Pigment Epithelial Hypertrophy-perhaps called “Bear Tracks” or “Pigment Spots” or “Retina Freckles”, it is important to carefully explore and review your family history reasonable with a Gastroenterologist who will likely schedule you for a colonoscopy. A study in the American Journal of Gastroenterology concluded that patients with such “freckles” should be referred for colonoscopies. CHRPE has a “statistically significant” correlation with hereditary colon polyps known as Familial Adenomatous Polyposis, or FAP. It may be that the freckles are caused by the same genetic mutation that produces the polyps. 

Thus-when we are over 50 years of age, the reasons to have yearly eye exams includes not only detecting cataracts, glaucoma, age related macular degeneration (AMD) and other eye diseases, but regular eye examinations may very well be a reminder to be screened via colonoscopy to help detect early risks and potential indicators of colon cancer.

Patients who wish to learn more about Bear Tracks, Retina Freckles, Pigment Spots or CHRPE should feel free to call Seeta Eye Centers and schedule an eye examination by calling 845-454-1025, visiting Seeta Eye Centers or facebook.com/seetaeyecenters.

Seeta Eye Centersis conveniently located at 23 Davis Avenue Poughkeepsie, New York 12524 and 664 Stoneleigh Avenue, Suite 100, Carmel, New York 10512.

NY Ophthalmologist on Contact Lens iPhone App

Andreas Wolter, M.D., a NY Ophthalmologist at Seeta Eye Centers reviewed an iPhone app to help contact lens wearers. “An app is available for use on iPhones and iPads that provides a convenient way to keep track of how many times you have worn your reusable contact lenses. No more having to wonder if it's time to replace your contacts. This is a nice way to help keep your contact lenses safe and your eyes healthy,” commented Dr. Wolter. “Proper lens replacement is critical to your eyes' health when wearing contacts. The app is available at iTunes for contact lens wearers to have a look at.”

If you or someone you know has a question about contact lenses please call Seeta Eye Centers and schedule an eye examination by calling 845-454-1025, visiting Seeta Eye Centers or facebook.com/seetaeyecenters.

Seeta Eye Centersis conveniently located at 23 Davis Avenue Poughkeepsie, New York 12524 and 664 Stoneleigh Avenue, Suite 100, Carmel, New York 10512, for patients from Westchester County, Rockland County and throughout the Hudson Valley, Dutchess County and Orange County.

Lucentis®, Diabetic Macular Edema & Vision Loss

Lucentis® eye injections work to treat diabetic macular edema, or swelling of the macula-a leading cause of vision loss associated with diabetes. “This is really good news for our diabetic patients who are experiencing diabetic eye problems,” commented Andreas Wolter, M.D. of Seeta Eye Centers in Poughkeepsie, Fishkill and Carmel, New York. Lucentis® has been used for some time to is to treat “wet” age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and now Lucentis® is the first drug FDA approved to treat diabetic macular edema. More than 500,000 people in the U.S. have diabetic eye disease and before Lucentis® had to have laser treatment to address this complication of diabetic retinopathy.  “The use of Lucentis® to treat diabetic macular edema gives us a great tool and a significant advantage is managing vision loss from diabetes,” commented Dr. Wolter. “As we well know, the key to preservation of eye health and vision for diabetics is early detection, diagnosis and treatment.”

If you or someone you know has questions or needs an eye exam for diabetic eye disease or the problems from diabetic retinopathy and diabetic retinopathy please feel free to call

Seeta Eye Centers and schedule an eye examination by calling 845-454-1025, visiting Seeta Eye Centers or facebook.com/seetaeyecenters.

Seeta Eye Centersis conveniently located at 23 Davis Avenue Poughkeepsie, New York 12524 and 664 Stoneleigh Avenue, Suite 100, Carmel, New York 10512.

Driving Safely after Cataract Surgery

Cataract Surgeon Andreas Wolter, M.D. of Seeta Eye Centers remarked on how cataracts and cataract surgery impact driving safely, particularly with regard to differences between men and women. “An interesting study on cataract surgery and driving was reported in Clinical & Experimental Ophthalmology whereby motor vehicle accidents involving men decreased by 15.3% in the 12 months following cataract surgery but the frequency of postoperative crashes didn't change significantly for women,” noted Dr. Wolter. “We know all too well that delaying cataract surgery often results in patients modifying their lifestyles and activities. This is especially the case as people restrict their driving in response to health and vision changes. We need to hear from patients about their driving habits and whether they have had to change them as their cataracts develop-then we can help,” said Dr. Wolter.

If you or someone you know has a question about cataracts, cataract surgery, lens implants or driving please feel free to call Seeta Eye Centers and schedule an eye examination by calling 845-454-1025, visiting Seeta Eye Centers or facebook.com/seetaeyecenters.

Seeta Eye Centersis conveniently located at 23 Davis Avenue Poughkeepsie, New York 12524 and 664 Stoneleigh Avenue, Suite 100, Carmel, New York 10512.

Why Do Women Need Bifocals Sooner?

“Women often puzzled by why it seems that they need bifocals or reading glasses before men they know of the same age,” remarked Andreas Wolter, M.D., a NY Ophthalmologist at Seeta Eye Centers. Recent research reported in Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science (IOVS) found that women tend to need bifocals sooner to correct their near vision and the onset of presbyopia-the age related near vision focusing problem. The studies show that presbyopia, the inability to see at a close distance that occurs with age, is more common in women. While men and women need bifocals as they age, the need is more common among women and tends to hit them at younger ages than men. It is believed that while men and women appeared to actually have the same focusing ability when looking at nearby objects, because women are generally shorter than the men, with proportionally shorter arm lengths, they needed to hold objects closer to their faces when reading and thus required the near vision presbyopia correction of bifocals, reading glasses or even bifocal contact lenses sooner.

Patients who wish to learn more about near vision focusing problems, presbyopia, bifocals or reading glasses should feel free to call Seeta Eye Centers and schedule an eye examination by calling 845-454-1025, visiting Seeta Eye Centers or facebook.com/seetaeyecenters.

Seeta Eye Centersis conveniently located at 23 Davis Avenue Poughkeepsie, New York 12524 and 664 Stoneleigh Avenue,Suite 100, Carmel, New York 10512 for patients from Westchester County, Rockland County and throughout the Hudson Valley, Dutchess County and Orange County.