January is Glaucoma Awareness Month!

Glaucoma has often been referred to as "the silent thief of sight", due to the fact that many symptoms of the disease can affect you without your knowledge. This is because glaucoma causes damage to the optic nerve and can reduce your peripheral vision without you noticing any change.
Glaucoma is the leading cause of preventable blindness today and affects over 4 million americans. Glaucoma is 6 to 8 times more common in African Americans than Caucasians.

According to the Glaucoma Research Foundation, "The best way to protect your sight from glaucoma is to get a comprehensive eye examination. Then, if you have glaucoma, treatment can begin immediately."

New technologies are also helping detect glaucoma in patients earlier, leading to initiating treatments faster, and thus helping preserve vision. One type of this technology is found in scanning lasers that are able to effectively show the retinal nerve fiber layer and the optic nerve head. Two such instruments that effectively use this type of technology are the OCT, and GDX.
These instruments work by helping your eye doctor map out the retinal nerve fiber layer and thus examine your risk for glaucoma and track any progression of the disease. If you have a family history of glaucoma, are over 40 years old, or have other risk factors an annual comprehensive eye exam is a must to help rule out the presence of glaucoma.

Look to start the year off right with your annual eye exam!

The new year is a great time to look at making your health a priority. And your annual eye exam is a great place to start. Everyone knows how important their eyesight is, yet so many of us put off this essential exam.

A comprehensive eye exam can help detect many issues early leading to proper treatment and preservation of your eyesight. Childhood eye exams are also important to monitor proper visual development and function. With a proper exam your eye doctor can find abnormalities in your eyes and vision due to diabetes, hypertension, systemic autoimmune diseases, systemic arthritic diseases, and more if these are present.

To learn more about eye exam frequency recommendations from the American Optometric Association please click here.

Responsible contact lens wear can improve self image in children compared to glasses

Do you find yourself constantly reminding your child to wear their glasses? Does this often lead to a battle you know that you can’t win once they are away at school? If so you may take heart in knowing that contact lenses can have certain advantages over glasses in some younger patients. Though contact lenses are not a perfect option for every child, many children can benefit from the new technologies of the contact lens industry leading to a better quality of life.

Daily contact lenses are a great option for children as they allow these patients to wear a fresh contact lens each day without the hassle of remembering to store and clean the lenses properly. This simplifies the contact lens experience for children and their parents as they only have to remember to throw the lenses away each night before bed. In addition the less time a lens is on your eye and reused, the result is a lower chance of infection and potential allergic complications.

A former study shows that contact lenses can have a dramatic effect on self image for children. In our office I often see this in terms of younger patients feeling better about their appearance without glasses, or even in their ability to excel athletically with contacts aiding their vision. You can read the details of this study from The Ohio State University College of Optometry by clicking the above link.

Above all contact lenses are a medical device and may present a risk for certain patients. Therefore, the decision for your child to go into contact lenses should be agreed upon by the eye doctor, parents, and a responsible child to ensure safe and healthy contact lens wear.

Taking Advantage of New Progressive Lens Designs

Have you noticed that your computer and reading material are not as clear as they used to be? Do you feel like overnight you have lost the ability to focus on reading material up close? If so you may be suffering from a normal aging process known as presbyopia. This condition refers to a loss of the ability to focus on objects at a near distance that usually occurs around the age of forty when the lens in the middle of the eye has become less flexible.

The best technology for overcoming this condition in eyeglasses is known as a progressive lens. Progressive lenses are true multifocal lenses that provide a seamless progression of many lens powers for all viewing distances.

With progressive lenses, you can look up to see clearly across the room during an office presentation or when driving. You can also look ahead to view your computer in the intermediate zone and drop your gaze downward to read and do fine work comfortably.

A corridor of optimum vision runs vertically down each progressive lens. Your eye care practitioner will take careful measurements of your eyes and eyeglass frame in order to place the corridor in just the right location so your eyes can naturally access the various powers within the lens for comfortable viewing at all distances.
Progressive lenses also enable you to avoid the annoying image jump phenomenon that occurs with lined bifocals.

Thanks to today's modern progressive lenses it is also easier than ever to adapt to these lenses.

A recent exciting improvement in progressive lens technology has come in the technology of Free Form Progressive Lenses. Free Form is a computer-aided design and manufacturing process that allows for larger intermediate and near visual field areas when looking at your computer and reading material. This makes the lenses much easier to adapt to and adds to their overall clarity and reduced distortion thanks to a reduction of optical aberration level.

If your eyes are feeling tired at the end of the day and you are stretching things away from you so that you can read them, then this new progressive lens design could help you see more clearly at comfortably at all distances.

Dry Eye Syndrome

You may have noticed the sensation that your eyes feel more dry this time of year. As the heaters have been turned on and the humidity drops, dryness can often creep in. This dryness can be particularly bothersome if you are a person suffering from Dry Eye Syndrome or what is also referred to as Ocular Surface Disease.

A person suffering from Dry Eye Syndrome may often feel like they have burning, stinging eyes, redness, and a foreign body sensation. There are certain systemic diseases as well as eye and eyelid conditions that can exacerbate this condition. Some of the most common systemic diseases that put you more at risk for dry eye include Diabetes Mellitus, Thyroid disease, Lupus, and Rheumatoid Arthritis. In addition, lifestyle factors such as increased caffeine consumption, increased computer use, and certain medications can lead to dry eye if not properly managed.

Your eye doctor plays a very important role in the fight against dry eye by diagnosing and treating this condition in a number of ways. The first line of treatment is often properly managing any eye conditions (i.e. blepharitis) or systemic diseases (i.e. Diabetes). Once this is under control your doctor will emphasize the necessity to change any lifestyle factors that are increasing your dry eye symptoms, such as making sure your work environment is ergonimically friendly for your eyes.

Artificial tears can be found over the counter and help alleviate dry eye symptoms in the short term, but if you find yourself using these more than 4 times a day, you should talk to your eye doctor about the possibility of using a prescription eye drop for your irritated eyes. Omega 3 vitamin supplements have been shown to improve your tear film and alleviate many symptoms of dry eye syndrome. Still another option for treating dry eye include punctal plugs which keep your tears from draining as quickly and thus keeps the tear film on your eyes for a longer period of time.

There are many different ways that your eye doctor can effectively treat your dry eye symptoms so be sure to mention it if you have any of these symptoms the next time you are in the office.

Decorative Contacts can be a Dangerous Costume Accessory

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 aren’t approved for your eyes. Contact Lenses are medical devices that should not be worn without approval and a current prescription from an 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.

These are some important basics of 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 lens – then it is not worth the risk, because you only get one pair of eyes.

Happy Halloween!

Read more about safe lens wear by clicking here.

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.