Beware the Risks of Decorative Contact Lenses this Halloween!!!!

AN EYE INFECTION FROM DECORATIVE CONTACT LENSES COULD BE A VERY SCARY SIGHT THIS HALLOWEEN!!!!

Over the last few years you may have seen decorative contact lenses as a halloween costume accessory for some enthusiasts getting completely into character. However, with celebrities such as Lady Gaga routinely wearing them in her music videos, the popularity of these lenses is likely to hit an all time high this Halloween. 

While these contacts may impress your friends or even win you a costume contest, it is important to know the risks involved in wearing contact lenses that are not approved for your eyes. Contact Lenses are medical devices that should not be worn without approval and a current prescription from your eye doctor. 

These decorative contact lenses often have many pitfalls when they are worn or cared for incorrectly, or when they are worn by an individual that should not be wearing contact lenses at all.

Here are some important basics of proper contact lens care to remember:
• Do not buy contacts without a doctor’s prescription. These are medical devices that fit your eye and if they do not fit properly or are the wrong material for your eyes then they can damage your eyes.
• Do not share lenses, wear them longer than the recommended replacement time, or sleep in contact lenses. Remember to wash your hands every time before handling lenses, change your contact lens case monthly, and always use the proper solution for your contact lenses.
• If your eyes are red, painful, creating mucus discharge, or if your vision is blurry make sure to contact your eye doctor as soon as possible. 

Above all remember to be safe this Halloween season, and if your eye doctor has not approved your eyes for a special decorative contact lens – then it is not worth the risk, because you only get one pair of eyes.

HAVE A SAFE AND HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

The Importance of Protective Eyewear for Sports Safety

When I was growing up there was not much of an emphasis on protecting the eyes during sporting competitions.  At that time many did not have the knowledge of how simple protective sports eyewear could help prevent eye injury and in many cases save vision and prevent blindness in the unfortunate event of a serious sports related eye injury.

Today, many more individuals and parents are diligent to make sure they and their children are properly protecting their vision during sporting activities, and furthermore there are many choices in today's protective eyewear market that allow athletes to play safely and look good at the same time.
Here are some important Tips from Prevent Blindness America on the importance of Sports Safety.

Eye Safety News

Tips for Keeping Your Kids' Eyes Safe During Spring/Summer Sports

Each year in the United States, 25,000 kids under 15 have sports-related eye injuries, most of which are preventable (source: Prevent Blindness America).

• Children in sports need protective eyewear, just as they need helmets and protective padding. Balls, bats and jabs from other participants can cause both temporary injuries and long-term vision problems — even cataracts and blindness. Choose protective eyewear with wraparound frames, to protect the eyes from all sides.

• Regular eyeglasses and sunglasses don't protect the eyes, because they are not strong enough to withstand flying objects and hard blows; your kids need protective eyewear as well. You can get it with or without a prescription, but be sure the lenses are both impact-and scratch-resistant.

• Sun exposure damages the eyes, so kids need protection from both UVA and UVB rays with either good-quality sunglasses or protective eyewear. If the labels don't specify UVA and UVB protection levels, you can find out how protective the products are by having your eye doctor check their UV blockage with a spectrophotometer.

These tips can help you and your family remain as safe as possible when engaging in sports this spring and summer.

Sports and Vision: Are Your Eyes Helping or Hurting Performance?

                We love our sports in Georgia and the warm weather can bring many opportunities to participate in new athletic endeavors.  While our love for sports will often lead us to buy the latest and greatest golf driver or baseball bat to help us hit a ball farther; we often may neglect our most important piece of equipment; our eyes.    

Having the correct eyeglasses/contact lenses prescription is paramount in this effort and prescription eyewear must be kept up to date in order to properly see during any athletic activity.  It is also important to know which eye is your dominant eye to determine how to line up objects in your field of vision. The dominant eye processes information faster and often sees more clearly than the non-dominant eye as well.  About 80% of the population is same side dominant; for example Right Handed and Right Eye Dominant while approximately 20% of the population is cross dominant (i.e. Right Handed and Left Eye Dominant). 

Knowing your ocular dominance is particularly helpful in side on sports such as baseball and golf where the athlete stands to the side of the ball as they hit it.  In this situation, an athlete who is cross dominant such as a left eye dominant right-handed batter/golfer is thought to have an advantage because the dominant eye is closer to the action and able to better visualize the ball as they setup and swing. 

                One simple test to find out your dominant eye is to focus on an object across the room such as a light switch. Then make a circle of space between your hands just large enough to see the light switch through your hands from a distance of about 12 feet.  Once you have the light switch in focus between your hands with both eyes open, close one eye and then the other.  The eye that can still see the light switch within the circle made by your hands is your dominant eye. 

After determining your dominant eye, this information can aid your ability to perform in your sport.  In baseball a right-handed batter that is right eye dominant may need to better position his head in order to get his right eye around and better see the ball out of the pitcher’s hand.  There are many applications to this knowledge and a good place to start is a comprehensive eye exam with your eye care professional.

Are Daily Disposable Contact Lenses Right for you?

Are your current contact lenses causing increasing redness, dryness, and overall irritation as you continue to wear them throughout the month? Daily disposable contact lenses can help stop these problems that may occur as protein deposits build up on less frequently replaced contacts.

Daily disposable contact lenses are a great option for any patient looking for the best comfort and healthiest contact lens available today. There is no healthier way to wear contact lenses other than to use a fresh contact lens each day and discard it each night.

The more frequently you can replace a contact lens the less your eye will be affected by anything absorbed into your contact lens material from the outside world, such as the local swimming pool or preservatives within your current contact lens solution. This makes daily disposable contacts the ideal choice for seasonal allergy sufferers that want to enjoy the freedom and convenience of contacts, as well as for athletes looking for a competitive edge on game day. Click here to learn more about daily disposable contact lenses, why I recommend them to my patients, and enjoy wearing them myself.