Complete EyeCare Center

A 3-story eyeball sculpture is coming to Chicago's Loop in July 2010!

For a CNN story on this unusual piece of public art click here.  Need we say more?

The colored part of your eye, called the iris, is what controls the amount of light that is allowed to enter the eye.  When your eyes dilate, the iris retracts and the central opening, or pupil, enlarges, letting more light in.  This automatically occurs when you are in darkness, and to a limited degree, when you are relaxed and happy.  Eye doctors can also provoke this response with dilation drops to get a wider view of the eye’s interior features.

Eye color is primarily determined by melanin within the iris stroma.  Interestingly, just as the ultraviolet component of sunlight triggers melanin production in the skin, it can affect the iris’s melanin content and cause subtle eye color changes.  Melanin is absent in the iris of a person with albinism so the iris may appear pink as blood vessels in the back of the eye are reflected through it.

Some clinical studies have examined the relationship between iris color, race, and age-related macular degeneration.  There seems to be a higher prevalence of the disease in people with light-colored eyes and skin.   Sunglasses with UV protection are highly recommended for everyone, but especially for those who fall into this potential risk group.

If you have  green eyes, you are a rare breed.  Statistically, green eyes are found in only 1 to 2 percent of all people. Brown eyes are by far the most common eye color.  More than 50% of the population shares that trait.  Brown is followed by hazel–a blend of brown and green or amber.  Blue eyes are significantly less common than either brown or hazel, yet it is predominant in certain geographic areas.

Your eye color may have been different when you were born.  Some Caucasian newborns have blue eyes that change as melanin production increases during the first year of life.  Eye color often stabilizes by the time an infant is 6 months old.  By the age of 3, the eyes produce and store enough melanin for the color to be fully established.

If you are not completely satisfied with the color of your eyes, there are now contact lens products that can enhance or even change them.  Most enhancement tints have transparency so they work best on light-colored eyes.  Opaque lenses allow even those with dark eyes to have a new look.  A wide variety of both types are available in our office.  (Call 319.385.9534 to schedule contact lens exam.)

Theatrical contact lenses are typically opaque and create special iris effects such as the appearance of a cat-eye shaped iris, or a white iris.  These are often popular with people wanting a dramatic costume effect for Halloween.  Watch for an upcoming post with more information about these lenses.