Optometrist VS Ophthalmologist

Think about your Optometrist as your primary care doctor for your eyes. Optometrists spend 4 years getting their undergrad degree and another four years in optometry school. They then have 3 rounds of board exams to pass to receive their Doctorate in Optometry. Optometrists are your friendly family eye doctor.

Scope of practice (Texas):

• Glasses prescription
• Contact lens prescription
• Specialty contact lens prescription
• Glaucoma diagnosis and treatment
• Oral medication
• Oral steroid prescriptions
• Dry eye treatment
• Ocular surface disease diagnosis and treatment
• Diagnostic imaging of the retina
• Diagnosis of retinal detachments and holes
• Infection
• Hordeolum/stye
• Diagnosis of eye muscle problems
• Foreign body removals
• Cataract co-management
• Macular degeneration

This list is a broad overview of the Optometrist's scope of practice. Optometrists frequently co-manage these diseases with ophthalmologists and frequently refer to a local ophthalmologist for more specialized and invasive treatments.

An ophthalmologist is a specialist and/or an ocular surgeon. Ophthalmologist work with optometrists to treat and manage eye diseases. Ophthalmologists typically specialize in certain parts of the eye, like a retinal specialist, cornea specialist, etc. They also perform surgeries like cataracts, LASIK, eye muscle surgeries, and so much more. Opthalmogoist goes to traditional medical school after their undergraduate degree and then complete a residency in ophthalmology.

Styes eye infections are a common and uncomfortable form of eye infection. Find out what at stye is, what are the signs and symptoms and when to call your optometrist. There are serious complications for ignoring a stye.

Stye: infected oil gland affecting your top or bottom eye lid. oil glands are scientifically called meibomian glands, but oil glands with suffice!

Official name: hordeolum

Signs & Symptoms of a Stye

Signs: swollen bump on the outer rim of the eye lid where the lid meets the lashes; can look similar to a pimple; redness, and swelling of the eyelid; it can be localized or spread across the entire eyelid

• If it becomes severe and untreated swelling can extend down into the cheek

Symptoms: pain and/or tenderness, warm to the touch, can feel tight or pressure feeling in or around the eyelids; tenderness or soreness when you blink

When to see your optometrist

• Early signs of stye - at the first signs of mild tenderness on the eyelid and scant amount of localized swelling; start using an optometrist recommended heat mask on your eyes multiple time a day. This opens up your oil glands that are clogged and infected and will allow the bacteria to be released and flow out from the glands.

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