LION'S CLUB RECYCLE FOR SIGHT

Edwards Eye Care is proud to participate in the recycling of old glasses for the Woodstock Lion's Club. Basic eye care and eyeglasses contribute not only to the improvement of the quality of life for all ages, but also to the process of national development.

The Lion's Club is dedicated to bringing basic eye care and eyeglasses to a world of people in need. They are humbled to have recycled and collected over 10 million pairs of eyeglasses, and to have distributed 6.5 million pairs of these eyeglasses to 67 countries across the globe.

Help us help them continue their mission!

The Risk of Readers

We have all seen them, dangling from a display in your local supermarket, the Over the Counter Reading Glasses or for short Readers.  They present as a small selection of inexpensive frames with seemingly many different lens powers to choose from.  “Oh, well that one doesn’t look too bad I guess?  I think I will try that one on, but what do the different numbers mean?  Wow, this one makes objects look really large and closer to me, I wonder if it is even my correct prescription?” 

I know that many of us have had this experience and wondered if these readers might give us better vision when reading or actually do the opposite and actually hurt our eyes over time.  Well, the answer is often yes and yes.  While a pair of over the counter readers may improve the reading ability of some, there are definitely many better options to meet the needs of your vision and help you function through all of your individual daily activities. 

Over the counter readers are usually made of a cheap plastic lens material that may not have the best optical quality for viewing your near work and also represent a one size fits all option with optical centers in the lenses that are not unique to you allowing for more distortion and eyestrain than is found with custom measurements.  A custom pair of near work eyeglasses are almost always a better option because of the availability of better lens material, custom measurements which allow you to view near objects directly through a custom optical center of the lens for less distortion, and an anti-reflective coating can also be added to your custom reading eyeglasses to cut down on glare and unwanted reflections when using your computer screen. 

A progressive lens or no line multifocal lens can also be a great option and holds one big advantage over near work glasses.  That is the fact that a progressive lens helps you see at many different distances or focal points, while readers will always be blurry in the distance – causing one to constantly take them on and off, wear them on top of their head, or even use the dreaded granny chain to hold them around their neck.  Some will even try to drive with readers and find their distance vision distorted but a dashboard that comes in and out of focus.  However, the biggest risk of readers is truly the patient that is self-diagnosing and avoiding the eye doctor.  This habit could not only result in selecting an improper near visual aid, but also effectively mask an underlying problem which an eye doctor could detect.  The moral of the story is that you only get one set of eyes and it is important that you see your best.  So please don’t trust your vision to just an over the counter – one size fits all product, find an eye care professional you trust to help you maintain healthy vision year in and year out.         

How to Save Your Vision in Today's Digital World

Today, most of us are fully immersed in the digital world around us. From our work computers to laptops and tablets to our smart phones that we never leave home without, we definitely always have an amazing amount of information at our fingertips. While technology has continually advanced to allow us access to this amazing flow of information, it can also put a tremendous strain on our eyes. Common symptoms that can result from excessive computer usage may include: eye strain, dry eyes, headaches, fatigue, blurred vision and loss of focus. The combination of these symptoms is often referred to as computer vision syndrome. March has recently been recognized as Save Your Vision month by many national eye care organizations and seeks to bring awareness to computer vision syndrome and how to best manage it. If you are one of the millions of Americans that now use some sort of digital device for more than 8 hours a day, you have probably felt your eyes begin to strain, dry out or become fatigued towards the end of the day. If this is you, then you have suffered from some of the symptoms of Computer Vision Syndrome. The barrage of symptoms from this syndrome can range from minor inconvenience to being totally debilitating and decreasing productivity completely. The best treatment for computer vision syndrome is often a combination of changing your digital work habits with the correct ergonomic setup and by taking frequent breaks to look off in the distance using the 20/20/20 rule. This is an easy exercise to relax your eyes so they do not overfocus up close by looking 20 feet away for 20 seconds every 20 minutes you are at the computer. There are also occupational computer prescription eyeglasses that can help you read the computer and other digital devices. This will not only improve your vision at your proper viewing distance, but also aid your comfort and productivity while using your digital devices. Dry eye treatment may also be needed to help your vision perform optimally when staring at a monitor all day. This is often due to the fact that we tend not to blink as much when working on a computer and the right lubricating eye drop or medication dry eye drop can sometimes make all the difference. To see your best and perform up to your potential at work ask your eye doctor about computer vision syndrome at your next eye exam.

Keep Driving Safely and Comfortably with Polarized Sunglasses

I always look forward to the cooler weather and watching the leaves change this time of year. But something I usually don’t expect is having to reach for my sunglasses more and more often. However, as the season has changed, you also may have noticed your day getting shorter and the sun setting earlier (especially on your evening drive home).
Hopefully like me, you have some polarized sunglasses you can rely on to reduce glare when you are driving, for a safe and comfortable ride home.

Most light reflected from surfaces such as a flat road or smooth water is generally horizontally polarized, meaning that this light is traveling in a horizontally oriented direction. Polarized lenses have a filter within them that blocks this reflected light and thus reduces glare.

Polarized lens technology has been popular with fishermen for years due to their ability to help eliminate the reflected glare off the water. Today many other outdoor enthusiasts have discovered the benefits of polarized sunglasses as well; including golfers, skiers, bikers, joggers, and more. Of particular benefit, these lenses can reduce eyestrain and fatigue from squinting on the golf course for enhanced sports performance. Also, when driving these lenses can help reduce glare off the hood of your car and the surface of the road.

When choosing a Polarized sunglass lens it is important to choose a lens that blocks glare from every angle, effectively manages blue light, and enhances colors for the best optical clarity available. For more information on polarized sunglases check out this article and link.