Wednesday, December 12, 2012

National Glaucoma Awareness Month

As we get closer to the new year, what better resolution than leading a healthier lifestyle. One item on everyone's list for the upcoming year seems to be heading back to the gym - to improve their fitness level, or just eating healthier overall for a better quality of life. However, how many of you think about going to the eye doctor more often for preventative vision and eye healthcare? Though it may be down your resolution list a bit, making it a point to see your eye doctor for regularly scheduled eye exams is a must in order to keep seeing your best. It does not matter whether you wear corrective lenses or not, or even if you think your eyes are in perfect condition. Getting a regular eye exam is a necessary part of your overall healthcare regimen, and vital to make sure you are able to continue maintaining healthy vision. One national organization, Prevent Blindness America is helping promote the importance of regular annual eye exams by recognizing January as Glaucoma Awareness Month. Today close to three million people actually have Glaucoma, but some of them do not even realize it because there are often no warning symptoms. Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness in the United States of America and the first major leading cause of preventable blindness. Approximately 120,000 Americans are mostly blind because they suffer from Glaucoma, accounting for 9% to 12% of all cases of blindness in the United States of America. The condition is also 6 to 8 times more common to be found in African-Americans than in Caucasians. Glaucoma is an eye disease which damages the optic nerve (the pathway for vision between the brain and eye) in the back of the eye most often when eye pressure is elevated in an individual’s eye for an extended period of time. This process can often decrease peripheral vision without symptoms, thus earning it the moniker of “the silent thief of sight”. As such, annual eye exams are the number one deterrent from individuals suffering vision loss caused by Glaucoma and other preventable eye diseases. This is because even in a routine eye examination, your eye doctor can detect signs and/or risk factors of Glaucoma. Many patients are familiar with the dreaded “air-puff test” which is one method of measuring eye pressure, but there are also other methods – such as the Icare Tonometer which measures intraocular pressure (IOP) with no drops or puff of air required for a more comfortable and accurate assessment. If Glaucoma is detected early enough, there are many steps that can be taken in order to maintain the amount of healthy vision one currently has through topical (eye drops), laser, or even surgical treatments. So make sure you make an annual eye exam a part of your healthier lifestyle and keep seeing your best all year round.

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Edwards Eye Care Utilizes Advanced Retinal Imaging Technology

When starting our practice, Edwards Eye Care in Hickory Flat, we knew that it would be important to go above and beyond to give our patients the best eye care experience possible. To this end, we sought out some of the latest technology available to deliver superior patient care, such as the optomap retinal imaging technology. Now residents of Cherokee and North Fulton have access to fast, non-invasive, painless and comfortable technology that gives a broad view of the back of the eye; something no other device is capable of doing. The images provide our eye care team with information on numerous diseases that affect not only a patient’s eyes and sight but his or her overall health including cancer, hypertension, retinal detachment, glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy; which is the leading cause of blindness. Preventative eye care has never been more critical than it is today, because regular eye screenings play a vital role in preventing loss of sight and detecting systemic disease. A comprehensive eye exam, including an optomap retinal imaging test, can aid in the early-diagnosis of potential problems for people of all ages, including young children. Eyes have been referred to as the ‘window’ to a patient’s overall health and can reveal conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, stroke, rheumatoid arthritis and cancer. At Edwards Eye Care we are committed to improving the health of our patients, encouraging regular eye exams and making the eye examination process a pleasant experience. By offering our patients advanced retinal imaging technology like the optomap, we can meet those objectives and potentially drive patients to earlier diagnoses and improved overall patient health. The optomap retinal imaging test, is a patient friendly, quick and comfortable exam which captures and analyzes an image of virtually the entire retina in a quarter of a second. It takes only minutes to perform and allows the patient to view their retinal image with the doctor during the exam while also providing an annual permanent record for comparisons, tracking and diagnosing potential issues. The optomap retinal imaging technology has received worldwide recognition as an important eye care diagnostic instrument and was also recently featured on “The Doctors” program. For more information on how to take advantage of the opportunity to have optomap retinal imaging at your next comprehensive eye exam please call Edwards Eye Care at 770-479-0222 or request an appointment online at www.EdwardsEyeCare.com.

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Modern Eye Care, Old Fashioned Service

My wife Anne and I are thrilled to have opened our new eye clinic this month – Edwards Eye Care- in beautiful Cherokee County. After practicing optometry in the metro Atlanta area for the past five years, we had been searching to find the perfect community to start our own eye care practice. Little did we know that the perfect area would turn out to be just a few miles from our family in Woodstock, Georgia. We are now settling in to our new eye care office in Hickory Flat and are truly excited about the future of our practice in this growing area. When we began talking about the vision for our practice, we knew that we wanted to be in a family friendly environment where we could make a positive impact on the community. While we do provide quality eye care services and products, we know our job is not complete until all our patients know the importance of annual comprehensive eye care in order to maintain proper vision and overall health. The comprehensive eye exam is so important because through routine visits eye doctors are able to diagnose an eye disease such as glaucoma or macular degeneration in its early stages to save vision, or even pick up on a systemic condition like diabetes or hypertension through viewing the retina which can in some cases save lives. As a secondary emphasis of our practice, we knew that giving patients a comfortable experience within our eye care office would be important to alleviate anxiety that can sometimes accompany a visit to any doctor. To this end, we designed our practice to incorporate comfortable elements of the home environment in order to put our patients at ease when coming to our office. As you walk in you will notice traditional craftsman architectural elements that complement our large selection of designer eyewear within our optical. When entering the exam rooms, a patient will notice the newest technology available to monitor proper eye health, such as the Optomap Retinal Camera, which takes a wide view image of the inside of the eye. These elements were all carefully thought out to provide our patients with the best eye care experience available. We are excited to have found the right community for our family and our practice. We look forward to serving the eye care needs for residents of Woodstock, Canton and the surrounding Northside area for years to come. Thank you for your support and we look forward to meeting your family soon. For more information on our practice or to schedule your next eye examination please call 770-479-0222 or visit www.EdwardsEyeCare.com.

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Edwards Eye Care Opening Soon!

Coming very soon! Annie and I are excited to announce the opening of our own eye care practice on Monday October 15, 2012 in Woodstock, Georgia. We would like to give a huge thank you to all those that have helped us along the way. We are very excited to offer comprehensive eye care services and products to the residents of Woodstock, Canton, and surrounding areas. To find out more information about our office please visit http://edwardseyecare.com/ or call 770-479-0222 to schedule your next eye care appointment. We are now scheduling patients for mid October and beyond. You can also follow our practice for updates and exclusive offers on facebook at www.facebook.com/edwardseyecare.

Monday, April 2, 2012

Spring is here and eye allergies are in full swing

Have itchy, red eyes been an all to common occurence for you since the beginning of spring this year? You may be suffering from eye allergies. While it is estimated that 50 million Americans suffer from all types of allergies, approximately 4 percent of allergy sufferers report that eye allergies are their primary allergy, and these can often be caused by many of the same triggers or allergens as indoor/outdoor allergies. For some, eye allergies can prove so uncomfortable and irritating that they interfere with job performance, impede leisure or sports activities, and even curtail vacations. What are eye allergies? Eye allergies may also be called “allergic conjunctivitis” by your eye care professional. This is a reaction to indoor and outdoor allergens (such as pollen, mold, dust mites or pet dander) that get into your eyes and cause inflammation of the conjunctiva, the tissue that lines the inside of the eyelid and helps keep your eyelid and eyeball moist. Eye allergies are not contagious. Other substances called “irritants” (such as dirt and smoke, chlorine, etc.) and even viruses and bacteria, can compound the effect of eye allergies, or even cause irritation symptoms similar to eye allergies for people who aren’t even allergic. The eyes are an easy target for allergens and irritants because, like the skin, they are exposed and sensitive. Certain medications and cosmetics can also cause eye allergy symptoms. By way of response to these allergens and irritants, the body releases chemicals called histamines, which in turn produce inflammation. To read more about eye allergy symptoms and treatments please click the following link to read a recent article from all about vision.

Monday, January 23, 2012

FAQ: Contact Lenses

Do patients experience discomfort or pain when using contact lenses? Most first time wearers are surprised when they experience how properly fit contact lenses feel in their eyes. I recommend a trial period for first time contact lens wearers and these patients will often comment that after a few days of this initial adjustment period with a properly fit contact lens they no longer even feel the contact lens in their eyes. Can I wear contacts when I participate in sports? Absolutely, competitors in every area of athletics have discovered the advantages of wearing contact lenses. Unlike eyeglasses, contacts don't steam up from perspiration, don't smudge and don't become foggy when you transition from cold to warm temperatures. They provide distortion free depth perception and allow you to appreciate full peripheral vision. Properly fit contacts stay on your eyes, even during strenuous exercise. Can I swim with contact lenses? We really discourage patients from swimming in contact lenses. Water, even chlorinated pool water, contains a number of agents that can cause very serious corneal infection, and this risk is increased if you are wearing contact lenses. In the same way, we don't recommend that patients shower with their contact lenses or use hot tubs. Can I wear soft contact lenses if I have astigmatism? Yes. Patients with astigmatism can wear a special type of soft contact lens called a toric lens that will correct your astigmatism. Some newer lenses are also simply called lenses for astigmatism rather than toric lenses. Patients with a large amount of astigmatism may also benefit from wearing a specialty contact lens such as a rigid gas permeable contact lens or a synergeyes hybrid contact lens. I currently wear reading glasses over my contact lenses in order to read. Is there an alternative so I don't have to wear glasses at all? Yes. Multifocal contact lenses are available both in the rigid gas permeable material as well as the soft lens material. It offers the best of both worlds allowing patients good vision both close up and in the distance with no to very minimal dependence on reading glasses. Monovision is another option for contact lens wearers that want to avoid reading glasses - where one eye is corrected for viewing distant objects (usually the dominant eye) and the other eye (usually the non dominant eye) is corrected for reading and close work. If my disposable contact lenses are still comfortable beyond their replacement period, can I continue to wear the same pair? No. In order to maintain optimal eye health, it is important to adhere to the wearing schedule prescribed by your eye care professional. Lipid and protein deposits can accumulate on the contact lens over time, leading to chronic irritation. The main advantage of wearing disposable lenses is that you are able to put a fresh new pair of contact lenses in your eyes at a regularly scheduled interval - this leads to healthier lens wear and the most optimal vision possible.

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Glaucoma Awareness Month and Annual Eye Exams

It's a new year and what better resolution than leading a healthier lifestyle in 2012. One item on everyone's list this year seems to be heading back to the gym - to improve their fitness level, or just eating healthier overall for a better quality of life. However, how many of you think about going to the doctor more often for preventative health care screenings? Though it may be down your resolution list a bit, making it a point to see your eye doctor for regularly scheduled eye exams is a must in order to keep seeing your best in 2012 and beyond. It does not matter whether you wear corrective lenses or not, or even if you think our eyes are in perfect condition. Getting a regular eye exam is a necessary part of your overall health care, and vital to make sure you continue with healthy vision. Prevent Blindness America is helping promote the importance of regular annual eye exams by recognizing January as Glaucoma Awareness Month. Close to three million people actually have glaucoma, but half of them do not realize it because there are often no warning symptoms. Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness in the United States of America and the first major leading cause of preventable blindness. Approximately 120,000 Americans are mostly blind because they suffer from glaucoma, accounting for 9% to 12% of all cases of blindness in the United States of America. Glaucoma is the leading cause of blindness among the African-American population in the U.S. as well. The condition is 6 to 8 times more common to be found in African-Americans than in Caucasians. Annual eye exams are the number one deterrent from individuals suffering vision loss from Glaucoma and other preventable eye diseases. This is because even in a routine eye examination, your eye doctor can detect signs and/or risk factors of glaucoma. If the condition is detected early enough their are many steps that can be taken to maintain the amount of healthy vision you currently have through topical (eye drops), laser, or surgical treatments. So make sure you make an annual eye exam a part of your healthier lifestyle in 2012 and keep seeing your best this year and beyond.