Our Services

Dr. Steensma treats most types of general eye diseases and injuries, including:

• Dry eyes
• Allergies
• Eye infections
• Conjunctivitis (Pink eye)
• Corneal ulcers
• Conjunctival hemorrhages
• Styes
• Episcleritis
• Corneal foreign bodies
• And corneal abrasions

Common symptoms often seen in our office are:

• Red eyes
• Burning eyes
• Itching eyes
• Sore eyes
• Tired eyes
• Light sensitive eyes
• And seeing spots

Medications frequently prescribed are:

• Restasis
• Lotemax
• Alrex
• Zymaxid
• Zylet
• Tobradex
• Pred Forte

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We now have on-line ordering of contact lenses. You can order 24/7; you get the lenses faster; and and we cut the cost way back (Even lower than most of the national on-line sellers). CLICK HERE

If you run out of lenses before you can receive your lenses in the mail, call us.  We may have trial lenses we can give you to hold you over. Wearing old, dirty lenses is never good for your eyes.

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There are several different ways of wearing contact lenses:

Daily wear with the lenses replaced after two weeks.  The lenses are removed and cleaned each night.  This is the most common mode.   Disposable lenses are usually replaced every two weeks.

Extended wear with the lenses replaced after one week.  The lenses are not removed or cleaned at night.  This is the simplest mode but does have a much greater chance of health complications.

Daily wear with the lenses replaced every day.  There is no cleaning required.

Social occasional wear for those times you just don't want to wear your glasses.

Sport occasional wear for those activities in which glasses just don't work well like basketball, golfing, and swimming.

We will help you to determine if contacts are a good option for you and will be happy to answer any questions you may have.

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One thing that sets our office apart is Retinal Photography.   Dr. Steensma takes photographs of the inside of the eyes (Retinal Photography) on everyone.  Most eye doctors take retinal photographs only when their is an abnormality that they want to document.  We use it as a tool to detect problems earlier than normal. Because they are high resolution digital images they can be enlarged several times and can reveal details that we normally do not see.

Also current photographs can be easily directly compared to previous photographs and any change is readily apparent.

It is so helpful that we do it on all patients routinely.

 

Refractive surgery is a way of improving your vision without glasses or contact lenses.

Dr. John Davidson is one of the best "Refractive Surgeons" in California and he performs refractive surgery at the NVision Laser Eye Center in Camarillo.  The NVision Laser Centers has an agreement with their patients called "Vision for Life".  If you see Dr. Steensma every year for your annual eye examinations, and your eyes change requiring another LASIK procedure, it will be free.

Dr. Steensma will provide much of the pre-surgical and post-surgical care. Optometric participation is beneficial for the patient, the optometrist and the surgeon. For the patient, continuity of care is maintained and eye care becomes more convenient and accessible. Co-management affords Dr. Steensma the opportunity to maintain his role as primary eye care provider during and after the procedure. He will do the pre-op exam and then provide follow you care for a year after the surgery. The surgeon is allowed to work at his highest skill level doing surgery, not follow up visits.

Currently there are 3 types of refractive surgery:

- PRK (Photo-Refractive-Keratectomy)

- LASIK (Laser-In-Situ-Keratomileusis)

- ICL (Implantable-Contact-Lens)

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What are Cataracts?

The lens inside your eye is made of protein and water aligned in a very exact manner. In a normal eye, light passes through the eye’s lens and falls on the retina, forming an image.  Over a lifetime oxidation disrupts that exact alingment of proteins making the lens more cloudy. As the cataract becomes more cloudy, light becomes more scattered so the image formed is blurred. Cataracts are part of the normal aging process (about 90 percent of people older than 65 years old have a cataract).  Diabetes, UV exposure and some medications can produce cataracts sooner than expected based on age.

Early Cataracts: If you have early cataracts, Dr. Steensma will make every effort to provide you with the best vision possible. When it is no longer possible to make your vision good enough for your daily needs, he will refer you to Dr. John Davidson at the NVision Laser Center for cataract surgery.  Dr. Davidson is one of the best Cataract surgeons in Ventura County.  He has had more experience with the new advanced IOL's than any other cataract surgeon in the county. Most cataract surgeons still use the older fashioned standard IOL, not the new advanced IOL's.

Surgery is the only cure for a cataract. When the cataract is removed an Intra-Ocular-Lens (IOL) is implanted where the cataract was. The IOL replaces the patient’s natural lens and restores the patient’s ability to see.

The cataract is removed by making a small incision in the eye with a knife.  Then the cataract is chopped up and sucked out of the eye with an instrument.  The incision is so small, in most cases sutures are not needed. The entire procedure typically takes about 15 minutes and is performed under local anesthesia on an outpatient basis.

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