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Are you considering LASIK to improve your vision, but wonder if you are a good candidate? You are not alone – more than 700,000 people in the United States underwent LASIK surgery in 2020. They are now enjoying improved vision without the use of glasses or contact lenses.

Laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) is an elective surgical procedure that can improve your vision. It works by reshaping the transparent outer layer of the eye, known as the cornea. When light enters the eye, the cornea bends the light and focuses it on the back section. Light-sensitive tissue lining the back of the eye, known as the retina, absorbs the light and sends this information to your brain. There, your brain translates these messages into the images you perceive. 

If you are like many people considering LASIK to improve your vision, you might wonder if there is a cost for a LASIK consultation. You will be glad to know that, at Illinois Eye Center, LASIK consultations are free!

Consulting with an eye surgeon is the first step in getting LASIK, and it is one of the most important. The two main goals of a consultation is to gather information that helps your eye doctor determine if you are a good candidate for the laser vision correction procedure and to provide you with the information you need to make an informed decision about undergoing LASIK.

Ah, spring is in the air! What could be better than seeing the tulips blooming in a spring rain? Being able to see the flowers without the hassle of rain all over your glasses, of course!

You spent the entire winter struggling with glasses that would fog up every time you stepped inside from the cold. And, remember last summer when you had to take off your glasses to play sports or garden because you were afraid of breaking them? Now that spring is here, isn’t it time to get rid of your glasses and finally get a clear view of the world? You bet it is, and Illinois Eye Center is here to help by offering you a great deal on LASIK.

The LASIK Institute at Illinois Eye Center LASIK Coordinator, Jessica Scarcliff, recently sat down for an interview about her personal experience with LASIK eye surgery. Like many other people, she found it challenging to wear contacts or glasses because it is always difficult to know how your eyes are going to be feeling from one day to the next. Her eyes would get dry after working in front of a computer in contacts all day and the Illinois rain and snow was always accumulating on her glasses.

LASIK can provide a wide variety of benefits to those who undergo the eye surgery, but it does have its downsides. Understanding the pros and cons of the LASIK procedure can help you decide if this vision-correcting procedure is the right alternative to glasses or contacts.

Pros and Cons of LASIK

Pro: Living without glasses or contacts

The best benefit of undergoing the LASIK procedure is better vision without the use of contacts or glasses, of course. Patients are always glad to enjoy their favorite activities without the inconvenience of glasses or contacts.

Are you finding yourself more dependent on reading glasses as you get older? Monovision may be right for you.

As we grow older, our risk of developing presbyopia increases. Presbyopia is a condition that makes it progressively harder to focus on nearby objects. Presbyopia can make it hard to read a book, for example, or dial a cell phone.

Typically beginning in your 40s, presbyopia is the result of age-related changes that affect proteins inside the crystalline lens within your eyes. The lens is flexible, so it can change its shape to bend light rays to give you sharp vision. The composition of the proteins made the lens soft and flexible in young people, but changes in the protein composition makes the lens harder and less flexible. When the lens loses its flexibility, it loses its ability to change shape and bend light rays – this diminishes the eye’s ability to focus on near objects.

2020 go by in a blur? Was it because 2020 was the craziest year ever, or was it the result of eye problems, such as nearsightedness (myopia), farsightedness (hyperopia), or astigmatism? Maybe it was a little bit of both – there’s nothing more frustrating than dealing with a challenging situation with blurry vision.

The good news is that Illinois Eye Center has come up with a plan to make 2020 just a little better – we’ve decided to take 20% off the cost of your LASIK surgery when you schedule your free consultation by December 31, 2020.

Dry Eye is a condition that occurs when your eyes are unable to produce enough tears to lubricate the eyes, which leaves them healthy and comfortable. Without this natural production of tears, your eyes are left irritated and without the tears they need to naturally function and stay healthy.

When you receive LASIK surgery, your eyes do become more vulnerable to Dry Eye Syndrome. Today, we will be discussing how LASIK can cause dry eye, and how to treat it if you happen to get the condition post-LASIK.

At the end of a long day on the farm, Aaron likes to look out over the fields to see what he has accomplished. To appreciate the view fully, though, Aaron relies on contacts for sharper vision.

Like many of us, Aaron never liked wearing glasses, even as a kid. He was an active young man who likes to play golf and other sports; glasses always seemed to get in the way. Fortunately, his parents agreed to let him try contacts while he was in high school. Contacts never posed a problem for Aaron, so he ditched his glasses almost completely for several years.