Eye Health Solutions

    Eye problem? See your eye doctor! If an eye issue occurs, do you reach out to your optometrist or your primary care provider? Do you go straight to urgent care or even the ER? When in doubt, please reach out to your optometrist’s office. We have extensive training in ocular health and ocular emergencies and have the proper equipment and tools to aid in the correct diagnosis and treatment.  Most emergency rooms are not equipped with a microscope to evaluate the small structures of the eye, and you may end up waiting for a long time to be seen.  Our doctors are able to see you for any eye issues that arise between your annual exams and have an emergency phone number for after-hours care .  Remember to seek out your  eye  doctor’s office for these  eye   problems:   - Red eyes or “pink eye”   - Scratched eye   - Something in your eye   - Eye pain   - Itchy or burning eyes   - Swollen eyelids    - Brok...

Ultraviolet (UV) Safety Awareness Month Summer is in full swing and I would bet most of you are soaking up (or in!) the warmer weather. Most of us will apply sunscreen to protect our skin before heading outside, but are you grabbing protection for your eyes too? Increased exposure to sunlight can increase your risk of eye damage from ultraviolet radiation. In the short-term, one might experience bloodshot eyes, a gritty sensation, extra light sensitivity and blurry vision. Accumulated UV exposure over time can lead to cancer of the eye or eyelid, growths on the surface of the eye, accelerated development of cataracts, and irreversible vision loss in the form of age-related macular degeneration. Protect your eyes from sun damage with these reminders:    1. Wear proper sunglasses - Always check the UV rating on your sunnies. Select one that provides at least 99% UV  protection or blocks both UV-A and UV-B rays. - Don’t be deceived by cost or darkness of the lens. S...

  Did you know that today is National Lucky Penny Day?  I know, not quite on par with National Donut Day. I’ve never been a “lucky” person, but even if I were, one thing I would  not  be leaving up to luck are my eyes.  Think you have been blessed with “good eyes”? Do you know for certain? The CDC highlights this month as  Healthy Vision Month , a much more important national observance in my opinion.  If you haven’t had a comprehensive eye exam in awhile, this is your friendly reminder to schedule a dilated eye exam and make your vision and eye health a priority. According to the CDC, an estimated 93 million adults in the US are at high risk for serious vision loss, but only half visited an eye doctor in the past 12 months. Furthermore, the annual economic impact of major vision problems among adults 40 years and older is more than $145 billion.  https://www.cdc.gov/ visionhealth/basics/ced/ fastfacts.htm   Some eye diseases do not have any ...

                      Wondering if eye drops can replace readers??? Maybe you saw a segment on TV, or your friend mentioned a new eye drop they’re using to read the menu at dinner. You might be wondering… does it work? Back in October, the FDA approved the use of an eye drop called Vuity.  Let me fill you in! What is it? Vuity (pilocarpine 1.25%) is a formulation of a drug called pilocarpine, an old glaucoma medication. It is almost never used now to manage glaucoma because of its side effects and the development of more modern treatment options. Compared to commercially-available pilocarpine, Vuity uses a proprietary “vehicle” to cause less stinging with instillation. Who is it for? It was approved for patients aged 40 to 55 with presbyopia. Presbyopia is the natural aging of the lens in your eye that affects your ability to focus on near objects like books, cell phones, menus, etc.  This eventually ha...

I have been consistent for the past decade when these first came out that it made no sense to block a specific color. We are finally getting some studies that back this up.  Blue blocker study on eyestrain I know many people with their $10.00 "blue light" lenses feel like it helps but the research does not show this to be true. This is all placebo effect. Any claim that blue light from screens is harmful is completely false. When you go outside you get 100,000 times the amount of blue light from the sun that you would ever get from a screen.  Also, if you can see the color blue through your "blue light" glasses - what exactly are they even blocking? If you want to reduce computer eyestrain, get glasses that properly correct your prescription if you need them. Every 20 minutes take a 20 second break from looking at your screen and focus on something at a distance. Make sure you are addressing anything that could be causing dry eye issues, such as fans or vents blowin...

  Many of you have probably seen the viral videos of colorblind kids putting on glasses and seeing colors for the first time. They are emotional and we want it to be true. Here is one from ABC news.  Colorblind kid sees colors for first time Well, there is no doubt that the kid will see things "differently" than before, but that is much different than actually perceiving color the way most people do. Color vision defects happen due to genetics on the X chromosome that you inherit from your mother. Wearing a lens that simply filters light does nothing to change this. Also, there are many variations of color vision deficiency. How can one pair of glasses know which colors to correct? Also, how does someone who has never seen color normal even know they are seeing color normal? Well, finally science to the rescue. These folks proved it was not possible.  Science for the win It makes for a good story and also greases the wheels for Go Fund Me accounts but ultimately these are...

The title of this post is a great question. As an optometrist I did not think I would ever work from home but here I am listening to webinars, doing blog posts, and research from home. Ultimately we need to get back to seeing patients and delivering top quality eyecare. The answer to the question in the title is never. Our reality has been fundamentally changed and this was from a virus which although deadly, has a relatively low mortality rate. Imagine a virus such as H5N1 (avian flu) that has a mortality rate of 60%. Remember that one, it is still out there..... We can't live our lives in fear, we can only control what we can control. Hopefully we learn from this and we are better prepared down the road if something more dangerous or something similar comes along. To relate this back to eyecare and our office, I don't think you will ever see a kids play area or magazine rack again. Honestly, I would hope you do not see those in any office waiting room. We have removed ...