Back to School!

It seems as though summer just began and already it’s nearly time to get ready to go back to school. Have you scheduled your child’s annual eye exam yet?

If not, it’s time to do so! Appointment times fill up fast for back-to-school exams, and for good reason. Many parents today understand the importance of a back-to-school eye exam for their children. Vision is a crucial element of your child’s learning and development.

There are many instances where I have seen children who were diagnosed with a behavior or learning disability when, in fact, they actually were struggling with an undetected vision problem. An undetected vision problem can greatly hinder your child’s ability to read, learn, and progress in school.

A standard in-school vision test isn’t comprehensive enough to detect many of the vision problems our youth are struggling with. A professional, comprehensive eye exam with your friendly neighborhood optometrist can uncover a variety of potential vision disorders a standard in-school test may not by looking for such as color vision, eye alignment, visual acuity and even chronic diseases like diabetes.

These developmental years are essential to your child’s future visual health. And while many vision problems can be treated and corrected, a child’s vision problem may become permanent or much more difficult to treat the longer it goes undetected.

There is still time before school starts up, so call us today to get your child scheduled! If you’ve had a back-to-school exam with us before, share your experience in the comments below. We always appreciate our patients’ feedback!

How Can Dilated Eye Exams Increase Your Quality of Life?

Studies in the past few years have demonstrated that a simple vision chart eye exam is less meaningful in increasing the quality of life of individuals.

Why is this? Because a simple vision chart test will not catch many of the vision disorders or conditions patients may be suffering from. A dilated eye exam is much more likely to assess a multitude of conditions such as cataracts, macular degeneration, and glaucoma.

In fact, in 2012, the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force reversed its 1996 recommendation to only cover/require vision acuity screenings as part of Medicare, as it’s been proven that a dilated eye exam will actually save Medicare costs.

An annual comprehensive eye exam is essential to maintaining your ocular health, and I highly recommend scheduling an exam with me soon if you have not yet done so. Staying on top of any possibly eye conditions, particularly if you are a senior, is critical to any treatment that may be required.

If you have any questions, feel free to give the office a call or leave a question in the comments below. We enjoy hearing from our patients!

What is Color Blindness?

Color blindness is more common and less serious than you may think. Being completely color blind is very rare; it’s more likely that if someone is color blind they have trouble seeing red, green, blue, or a mix of those colors.

Most color blind problems are genetic and originate at birth; they usually don’t develop later in life (although it does happen sometimes). Color blindness occurs when one of your three types of cone cells is missing or doesn’t work correctly.

Symptoms of color blindness (or color vision problems) include:

• Seeing some colors but not others
• Having difficulty telling a difference between two colors (for example, not being able to differentiate red and green)
• Difficulty noticing the different shades in colors

If you or your child is experiencing any of these symptoms, schedule an appointment with our office. There are tests that we can perform to determine if you’re suffering from color blindness and what, if any, treatment can be done.

If you have an inherited problem, it cannot be treated or corrected, but if your color blindness is coming from a cataract, surgery may correct the problem. Other ways to ease the symptoms of color blindness include:

• Training yourself to look for other visual cues. For example, recognizing that the green light in a stoplight is at the top of the sign, while the red is at the bottom.
• Wearing glasses that block glare can help in some cases, as it is easier to see the contrast in colors without glare inhibiting your vision.
• Colored contact lenses may also help you differentiate or see colors better in some cases.

The first step is to schedule an exam. From there we can determine what, if any, treatment can be done and offer suggestions on ways to manage your color vision problem. If you’re experiencing these symptoms or have been diagnosed with color blindness, share your thoughts and suggestions in the comments below. We would love to hear from you!

Eye Makeup: How Does it Affect Your Vision?

I get a lot of questions from women about how safe eye makeup is for their eyes. The good news is, eye makeup is perfectly safe. The bad news is, there are still plenty of ways to make it unsafe for your vision. Improper application, improper removal, or simply applying too much eye makeup can all be hazardous to your vision.

So here are some of my tips to make sure you’re that when you’re playing up your peepers with eye makeup, you’re doing it as safely as possible.

• Throw your mascara out after 3-4 months, and don’t try to re-wet dried mascara with water or saliva.
• Don’t share cosmetics with others—you’re essentially sharing bacteria when you do this. If you wouldn’t share your toothbrush with your friend, don’t share your mascara either. (This is the exception to the rule, “sharing is caring.”)
• Don’t apply your makeup on the move—like in the car, for example (especially if you’re the one driving!). It increases the chances of your eye pencil or mascara scratching your eye.
• Avoid applying eye makeup when you have an infected or irritated eye.
• Wash your hands before applying makeup.
• Use a proper makeup remover before bed—leaving your eye makeup on overnight can lead to infected or dry, irritated eyes; and it’s also bad for your lashes. A quality eye makeup remover is a great option for safely removing your mascara, eyeliner and eye shadow.

Eye makeup is a great way to show off those beautiful baby blues—just follow these tips to be safe while you’re doing it. Have you found a great eye makeup remover or another great eye makeup product? Share your discovery in the comments below.

Protect Your Eyes from Fireworks

It’s that time of year again! The 4th of July, fireworks, and all the fun that comes along with the holiday. But did you know that July is also Fireworks Safety Month? There are more than 2,000 reported eye injuries from fireworks every year, but these accidents are almost all entirely preventable. Here are my tips for protecting your eyes (and your childrens’ eyes) from fireworks this year.

• Wear eye protection. Whether it’s eyeglasses, sunglasses or safety goggles, keep your eyes covered to protect them from any foreign matter—including sparks and flames.
• Supervise your children. So many accidents that we see are the result of unsupervised children, which is very easily preventable. Keep the fireworks out of reach when you’re not around.
• Maintain a safe distance from the fireworks you are lighting off. Keep sparklers and other fireworks pointed away from your face and eyes. And always light fireworks off outside in an open area, away from foliage and homes.
• In case of injury, seek medical assistance immediately. Sometimes, despite your best efforts, an accident may happen. Even “mild” injuries can worsen if untreated, resulting in more serious vision loss. Stay calm and avoid rubbing or rinsing the eye—just get to the nearest medical professional as quickly as possible.

We hope you have a safe and happy Independence Day! If you have a fun family tradition on the holiday, we’d love to hear about it. Share it in the comments below.

Outdoors vs. Indoors: What’s the Benefit to your Vision?

There has been a recent movement to get kids off the couch and out the door. From child obesity to the effect on the developing brain, video games and TV are being discouraged in favor of outdoor exercise and free play.

But did you know that outdoor play could also be beneficial to children’s vision? Studies show that being outdoors can significantly reduce the likelihood that a child will develop myopia (nearsightedness).  Up to 50% less likely, in fact.

So how much time does a child have to spend outside to get these physical benefits? It’s recommended they spend 1 hour a day in the wintertime and 3 hours a day in the summertime. Of course, you want to make sure your children as still protected by sunglasses and sunblock (not to mention appropriately supervised).

But beyond the obvious benefits like a lower risk for child obesity and more activity/growth for your child’s brain, it’s interesting to note that being outdoors helps in areas like vision as well.
So get your kiddos off the couch and out the front door! It’s good for their health in a myriad of ways. Do you have thoughts on the advantages of outdoor exercise for children? Share them in the comments below.

Tanning Beds: What’s the Cost to your Vision?

Now that summer vacation is in full swing, many of you are probably working on that perfect summer tan. There’s no doubt a nice tan is a bonus in the summer months, and thanks to tanning beds you can now get that sun-kissed glow year-round.

Much has been made of the damage tanning beds can do to your skin, but what about your eyes? How does the intense UV light affect your sight both short-term and long-term?

Unfortunately, the tanning goggles that you can get from your tanning facility do not offer you total protection from the harm of UV light damage. In reality, it’s best to avoid tanning at all—for both the health and safety of your skin AND your eyes.

Last week I talked about cataracts—remember, UV damage is a large contributor to their development. And skin cancer isn’t your only cancer risk with tanning beds—melanoma of the eye has also been linked of UV light, as has macular degeneration. These long-term effects may not show up until much later in life, when it’s too late to undo the damage.

Photokeratitis is a short-term example of damage from UV light. Photokeratitis is essentially a sunburn on the cornea of your eye (one of the most integral parts of your eye). While only temporary, photokeratitis can be painful, cause swelling to the eye, and even result in blurred vision.

The implications of UV damage to vision are not relegated to only the outdoors. The strong UV light from tanning beds can be even more damaging because of the high concentration of UV exposure. While my advice would be to avoid tanning beds altogether, if you’re going to continue tanning, be sure you are using tanning goggles and keep the amount of time you spend in tanning beds to a minimum. Your eyes (and your optometrist) will thank you!