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.

Tis the Season for UV Protection

While spending the Memorial Day weekend at the beach this year, I couldn't help but notice the lack of sunglasses for so many beach goers. It always amazes me that everyone on the beach remembers to protect their skin with sunscreen while in the sun, but the majority have not thought about the importance of sunglasses for eye protection.

UV-A and UV-B rays produced from the sun represent the largest danger to your eyes in both the short term and long term. Large amounts of UV radiation over a short period of time can result in photokeratitis, or a "sunburn to the eye". This can be extremely painful giving extreme light sensitivity, burning eyes, and excessive tearing to someone on a summer vacation, and can also be common in snow skiers without sunglasses. Over the long term, conditions such as cataracts and macular degeneration are more common with extended UV exposure.

A high quality pair of polarized sunglasses will block 99 percent of UV rays and help reduce glare when outdoors. These tips from the AOA explain how to properly protect your eyes from the sun this summer.

A Glaucoma Test in a Contact Lens?

Advances in technology are all around us today, and if you want to stay on the cutting edge then you have to keep up to date with the latest information and constantly be on the lookout for what's next in your industry.

Eyecare is no different and if you are standing still then you will be left behind, so it is important to keep an eye on some of the emerging technologies out there to see if the knowledge behind the technology, the practicality of its use, and the evolving industry's practices can combine to support its overall implementation.

The picture above represents an interesting technology that is on the horizon, it is a contact lens that measures your intraocular pressure throughout the day. The information yielded from this contact lens could be particularly valuable in the area of glaucoma management because the main area of treatment in glaucoma is controlling intraocular pressure.

Glaucoma, which is an eye disease where eye pressure is often elevated causing optic nerve damage and peripheral vision loss, can present with varying intraocular pressure readings throughout the span of an entire day. Thus, monitoring intraocular pressure through a contact lens in someone with suspected glaucoma or one who is being treated for glaucoma would present a wealth of information to possibly help prevent damage to the eye from glaucoma and related eye diseases.

Read more about this exciting technology now being studied in Europe, by clicking here .

How often should one have their Eyes Examined?

When was the last time you had your eyes examined? It is a common question and you are likely to be asked it the next time you come into the eye doctor's office. But how often should you have your eyes examined?

The short answer for most individuals is every year. However, if you have diabetes, hypertension, or a family history of eye disease you may need to be followed more closely. A family history of macular degeneration, glaucoma, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, cataracts, and other conditions are particularly important to tell your eye physician at the time of your visit.

Childhood eye exams are also important to monitor proper visual development. Some conditions that might place a child more at risk for eye disease include premature birth, family history of retinoblastoma, congenital cataracts, high refractive error, and strabismus.

To see a detailed list of eye exam frequency recommendations from the American Optometric Association please click here.