Steps

In case you decided to have the LASIK surgery, you must find out if you are a LASIK candidate during a
visit to an ophthalmologist. Your visit will have two stages:

1. Eye examination.

The examination is painless and it’s needed so that the doctor could give you the correct
diagnosis. Based on the result of the appointment you will decide if the results of the surgery will
satisfy you and if you want to continue. Stop wearing contact lenses for at least 4 weeks prior to the examinations as
they change the shape of the cornea and the surgeon will not be able to correctly map your eye.

2. Correction surgery

The eye is prepared for the intervention with anesthetic eye drops. The painless surgery doesn’t
take longer than 5-10 minutes. The surgeon only supervises the actions of the computer. You will leave
the clinic as soon as the intervention is complete. You will return for checkups that will last a few minutes.

Are You A Good Candidate?

Is your answer YES to the following questions?

• 1. Are you at least 18?
• 2. Are your eyes healthy? They don’t have corneal scars or eye diseases.
• 3. Is your myopia mild to moderate?
• 4. Do you know the risks and the benefits of the intervention?
• 5. Can you pay for the surgery? This type of intervention is not usually covered by the health insurance.

Then you are a good candidate for a correction surgery. Please contact the closest medical
unit to get further information about the locations where the intervention can be done,
the costs and the specialists.

Is the Surgery A Risk to Me?

You are NOT  a good candidate for the surgery if:

• 1. You do not like taking risks.
• 2. You cannot afford the surgery.
• 3. Your situation raises additional risks (you are under 20 or over 65, you are a pregnant woman or you are breastfeeding).
• 4. You are a minor. This type of surgery is not approved for people under 18.
• 5. You participate in action sports (boxing, martial arts etc.).

If the ophthalmologist considered you to be a good candidate, talk to your doctor about
his experience with LASIK surgery. The complications and the results vary among surgeons and you
want to get the best results based on his experience. 1  On the whole, you must be realistic regarding
the results of the surgery. In most cases, the surgery will not eliminate the need for but will only
diminish considerably your contact lenses usage.

Resources:

1.  Vidaurri-Leal, JS. Complications in 5000 LASIK procedures. Refractive Surgery 1998 Reshaping the Future,
a publication of American Academy of Ophthalmology Subspecialty Day 1998 – Refractive Surgery; 61-64

photo by Gulzar2, Flickr

Will I Get Rid of This Everlasting problem?

The treatment of urinary tract infections will be decided by the specialist. Never take an antibiotic without an antibiogram! This simple test will determine the most efficient antibiotic for your bacteria and you will not be forced to take unnecessary medicine to which your micro-organisms are resistant. Many people think the UTI is an everlasting problem simply because their doctors did not made an
antibiogram and they were not given the correct drug.

Attention! Inform your doctor if you have an allergy.

The uncomplicated UTIs are treated with trimethoprim (Trimpex), trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (Bactrim, Septra, Cotrim), amoxicillin (Amoxil, Trimox, Wymox), nitrofurantoin (Macrodantin, Furadantin), and ampicillin (Omnipen, Polycillin, Principen, Totacillin). Newer drugs, more powerful and thus with more side effects to the organism are: ofloxacin (Floxin), norfloxacin (Noroxin),
ciprofloxacin (Cipro), and trovafloxin (Trovan).

The first UTI requires 1-2 days of treatment, but for recurrent infections the treatment can last up to 21 days. If the infection reached the kidneys and the patient has high fever, the drugs will be administered intravenously. In case of recurrent infections additional investigations are required to determine whether a congenital malformation is present: ultrasound scans of the bladder and
the kidneys and intravenous urography.

Women with recurrent urinary infection need to take extra cautions as they may be predisposed to the illness.

• 1. Wash the genital areas after intercourse and after defecating.
• 2. Wipe from front to back to avoid contamination with bacteria from the rectum.
• 3. Your doctor may give you low dose antibiotics to take before going to bed
• 4. Take showers instead of baths
• 5. Drink at least 8 cups of water per day.
• 6. Urinate when you feel the need to.
• 7. Urinate after sexual intercourse.
• 8. Do not use hygiene sprays and scented douches to avoid the urethra irritation.
• 9. Drink cranberry juice (Vaccinium macrocarpon).  A specific type of tannin which is present only in cranberries and blueberries prevents the adherence of E. coli to the walls of the bladder. Other names for this plant: American cranberry, bog cranberry.

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) account for about 8.3 million doctor visits each year 3 and the medical costs of the treatments are huge considering that the treatment for one person has been estimated to be $680.

Resources:

1. Jepson R, Mihaljevic L, Craig J. “Cranberries for preventing urinary tract infections.”
2. Ambulatory Care Visits to Physician Offices, Hospital Outpatient Departments, and Emergency Departments: United States, 1999u20132000. Vital and Health Statistics. Series 13, No. 157. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services; September 2004.
3. Martha Frederickson, Jennifer J. Neitzel, Elaine Hogan Miller, Sharon Reuter, Terry Graner, and John Heller. “The Implementation of Bedside Bladder Ultrasound Technology: Effects on Patient and Cost Postoperative Outcomes in Tertiary Care.” Orthopaedic Nursing 19 (May/June 2000) 3: 79-87.
4. Cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon) Aiton. In: Coates P, Blackman M, Cragg G, et al., eds. Encyclopedia of Dietary Supplements. New York, NY: Marcel Dekker; 2005:143-149.