YouTube Video: Our Patient Tells About His Eye Exam at Our Office in Sunrise / Sawgrass Mills Mall – He’s Had His Eyes Tested All Over The World and This Office Was The BEST

Our patient, Barry, gives a video testimonial about his eye exam experience at Visionary Eyecare (Independent Doctors of Optometry Next to LensCrafters) INSIDE the Sawgrass Mills Mall.

Barry has had eye exams ALL OVER THE WORLD – England, Australia, Asia etc.  He came to LensCrafters inside the Sawgrass Mills Mall looking to get a quick eye test done.  LensCrafters referred him next door to the Visionary Eye Care office.  Barry was used to paying a very minimal fee for a 10-15 minute eye test.  He had no idea that an eye exam could be so thorough and comprehensive.  When we started doing his eye exam – he was immediately “blown away” by the high-tech equipment, the thorough exam, all of the attention that was given to him and also the caring Optometrist who took A LOT of time to meet his exact needs to ensure that he was completely satisfied.

Barry decided to go ahead and get fit with bifocal contact lenses with Dr Dawn Bearden.  An accurate bifocal contact lens examination, done correctly, usually requires several follow up visits.  Barry lives in the Bahamas but, he was so impressed with the care at Visionary Eyecare – he decided TO CONTINUE TO FLY BACK AND FORTH to continue his eye care with the Eye Doctor here at Visionary Eyecare!!

Today he was so happy as he left our office – he now could see distance and read up close without wearing his glasses all of the time!  He could also now wear those cool non-prescription sunglasses over his bifocal contacts when he is out on his boat or driving in a car during his worldly travels.

Barry says that he will definitely always come back here for his eye care and recommend Visionary Eye Care to all of his friends.

Now THAT is a happy patient!
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Eye Charts for Children

Allen Picture Eye Chart

Around 10 million school children in America have vision conditions that can negatively affect learning. This can be prevented by taking kids to get their first formal eye exam with an Eye Dr in an Eye Clinic BEFORE they enter school.  A child’s first eye test with an Eye Doctor should be done between ages 3 and 4.  At Visionary Eyecare in Pembroke Pines, Sunrise (Next to Lenscrafters) and Davie (Next to Pearle Vision) – our Optometrists, Dr Bearden, Dr Tenn and Dr McCulloh,  begin to see children at age 4.

Allen Picture Cards

A child does NOT need to be able to verbalize or know their alphabet for the examiner to perform a comprehensive eye examination.

There are numerous eye charts for children!!

Lea Flip Chart

Allen and Lea charts have pictures or shapes on them that youngsters can identify.   The Broken wheel chart allows the child to tell the examiner which wheel on the car is “broken” .  The Tumbling E chart (also known as the illiterate chart) allows a child to just POINT in the direction that the “legs of the E” are pointing in.

Allen Picture Eye Chart

Often our children can not express to us when they are having problems with their vision.  They may not even realize that they are experiencing vision problems.   Sometimes children will try to compensate for vision issues by closing one eye, rubbing their eyes excessively, squinting, skipping over words or loose their place  when they are reading.

Kids may start having difficulty in school due to an “unknown” reason.  A recent study indicated that up to 60 percent of youngsters that have been identified as “problem learners” or “learning disorder” actually suffer from an undetected visual condition.

Tumbling E Eye Chart

A vision problem is not suspected in many children because they were able to pass the school vision screening or the pediatrician vision screening.  These children may still have visual issues but, they were not detected on the screening.  Only a comprehensive eye exam, done by an Eye Doctor (Optometrist or Ophthalmologist) will be able to detect subtle vision problems.

Broken Wheel Eye Test

Vision issues need to be detected and corrected before age 7 to prevent lifelong problems such as lazy eye (amblyopia), eye turn (strabismus), learning disabilities and behavior problems.

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Optomap Retinal Exam Can Help Detect Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, Retinal Holes, Eye Tumors and More…Featured on The Doctors TV Show

The Optomap Retinal Examination is currently available at Visionary Eyecare – the Independent Doctors of Optometry Next to Lenscrafters in Pembroke Pines and Sunrise (INSIDE the Sawgrass Mills Mall).

This incredible technology allows your Eye Doctor to scan the internal lining of your eye called the retina and save this image on the computer for year to year comparisons.  The retina has about 1 million nerve fibers in it and is an extension of your brain.   The retina is also the ONLY place in the human body where a doctor can observe working nerve fibers and blood vessels WITHOUT cutting into the body.  Subtle eye health changes can be documented, monitored and compared each year.

Your retina can show early signs of systemic problems that can cause damage to nerves and blood vessels such as Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, High Cholesterol and more.  Your retina can also demonstrate eye health issues such as Glaucoma, Retinal Detachment, Macular Degeneration and Eye Tumors and/or Eye Cancer.

Most of the time the patient does not need to have their eyes dilated in order for the Optometrist to obtain a good Optomap retinal scan – so this is a big benefit.

The TV show called “The Doctors” aired a segment discussing the Optomap Retinal Scan and the benefits of this technology during your yearly eye examination to preserve BOTH your eye health and your systemic health.

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Online Eye Test for Dry Eye

CLICK HERE TO TAKE THE DRY EYE TEST

Do you think that you may have Dry Eye??

Ask yourself the following questions:

• Do you have a lot of burning in your eyes?
• Do you have a lot of tearing in your eyes?
• Do you experience a lot of itching in your eyes?
• Do your eyes feel like there is something in them – like an eyelash or hair – even when there is not?
• Do your eyes feel sandy or gritty?
• Does your vision intermittently blur and when you blink it clears up?
• Do you do a lot of work at a computer?
• Do you do a lot of reading?
  
• Do you do a lot of work outdoors?
  

If you answered YES to any of the questions above – then you may have Dry Eye.

Click on the “DRY EYE TEST” at the top of this post to help to determine if you do have dry eye.

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If you DO have dry eye or answered YES to any of the questions in the above list – schedule an appointment to see your eye doctor. Your eye doctor can help determine what treatment, if any, is best for you.

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Common treatments can include using artificial tears in your eyes frequently throughout the day, fish oil capsules or eye vitamins or capsules to be taken orally, punctal plugs to be inserted or a prescription for a medication like Restasis that can help you produce more tears.

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Online Eye Test For Astigmatism

Astigmatism is a visual condition caused when some surfaces of the eye are oval shaped….like a football or an egg.  These surfaces in the eye that are oval shaped can be the cornea (the front of the eye) or the lens (inside the eye). Most often astigmatism is caused by the cornea being oblong or oval shaped.

This oblong shape causes the light rays that enter the eye to be distorted and not focus properly on the retina in the back of the eye.  If you have uncorrected astigmatism, you can have various symptoms such as blurry vision, eyestrain, tired eyes, headaches or fatigue.

Here are several links to websites that have online testing for astigmatism. Check them out!!

CLICK HERE for ONLINE ASTIGMATISM TEST #1

CLICK HERE for ONLINE ASTIGMATISM TEST #2

CLICK HERE for ONLINE ASTIGMATISM TEST #3

CLICK HERE for ONLINE ASTIGMATISM TEST #4

Astigmatism can be quickly and easily corrected with eyeglasses, contact lenses (called astigmatic or toric contacts) or Laser Surgery (called Lasik).

If you feel that you may have astigmatism and you need correction OR if has been more than 12 months since you have seen an eye doctor…..its time for you to schedule an eye exam!

Astigmatism Diagram courtesy of:

Click on the WebMD Logo above

to check out more information on Eye Health!

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Online Eye Test: Find Out If You Need an Eye Exam

CLICK HERE

to take the

FREE

ONLINE EYE TEST

This QUICK test will determine if YOU need to have

an Eye Exam!!

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Online Eye Test: Find Your Blind Spot in Each Eye!

Everyone has a BLIND SPOT in their vision of each eye.

Take this FUN test to check it out for yourself !!

Look at graphic of the cross and the circle at the top of this post.

Sit at your computer with your nose pointing in between the cross and the black circle.

Cover your LEFT eye and stare at the cross with your RIGHT eye.

Now SLOWLY move towards the computer screen while still staring at the cross with your RIGHT eye.

At somewhere around 10-14 inches from the computer screen – the black circle will disappear and the area where the black circle was…will now be all white – this is your BLIND SPOT.

If you move closer to the screen or farther away –  the circle will re-appear.  At just the right distance – the circle will disappear.

Now try the OTHER eye…but this time cover your RIGHT eye and look at the CIRCLE with your LEFT eye…..move closer and you will see that the CROSS now disappears!!

Your eye has an inner lining which is made of a sheet of nerves.  This sheet of nerves is responsible for your vision and what you see and it is called the RETINA.  There is a “hole” in the sheet where the Optic Nerve enters the eye.  This area is called the Optic Nerve Head.

Photoreceptors are cells in the retina that detect light and allow you to perceive “vision”.  On the optic nerve head there are NO photoreceptors.  Thus, there is no light or vision detected at this spot in the retina.  This is your “Blind Spot”.  Every eye has a blind spot….your blind spot in your right eye is slightly on your right and your blind spot in your left eye is slightly on your left.

Your brain automatically “fills in” the blind spot area for you…..

Now try it AGAIN with the above green and yellow graphic….but this time you will notice that when you move to just the right distance , the circle will disappear and your brain will fill in your blind spot WITH YELLOW when you are looking with your right eye (left eye covered)….and your brain will fill in your blind spot WITH GREEN when you are looking with your left eye (right eye covered)!!  Your brain automatically matches the surrounding colors when it “fills in” visual information for you.

Cool huh??

Your brain can even “fill in” missing information for you…..in the above graphic, you’ll notice that when you cover your left eye and look at the cross with your right eye – the brain will “fill in” your blind spot (the area where the circle is).  You will see that your brain fills in the line for you.  Keep looking at the cross – don’t look back at the circle – or you will will see the circle again.

Try it AGAIN with the above graphic while looking at the cross with your right eye (cover your left eye) – your brain will put a red circle where your blindspot is….it is “filling in” the “missing information” !!

Amazing.

Graphics from Serendip….check out their very informative  website at http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/blindspot1.html

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Online Amsler Grid Test for Macular Degeneration and Other Macular Disorders

The Amsler Grid test is a simple screening test used to assess the area in the back of the eye that is responsible for your most detailed vision (used for reading, seeing facial details etc).  This area is called the Macula and it is located in the center part of the retina (the nerve lining inside the eye – used for sight).

If there are any diseases or degenerations (like Macular Degeneration) that are affecting the Macula – then the Amsler grid test will usually provide early detection that there may be a problem going on.

HOW TO USE THE AMSLER GRID:

Position yourself at about 14-16 inches (about 40 cm) away from the grid.

If you have glasses that you use to read with – make sure you are looking thru the reading part of your glasses

Cover the left eye and use only your right eye to see the grid.

Stare at the white dot in the center of the grid with your uncovered eye.  Keep your eye focused on the dot.  Don’t move your eyes around to see any other part of the grid except for the white dot.  Use your side vision (peripheral vision) to see all the other parts of the grid.  “Glue” your sight to that white dot – don’t move your eye around at all.

While staring at the white dot:

• Can you see all 4 corners of the grid?
• Can you see all 4 sides of the grid?
• Are any of the lines WAVY or MISSING or DISTORTED?   (All lines should look perfectly straight, all intersections should form right angles and all the squares should be the same size.)
• Are ther any holes or “missing areas” in  the grid?

Then cover the right eye and repeat the steps with using the left eye to see the grid.

If you answered “YES” to any of the above questions then you need to see your eye doctor immediately. The eye doctor will examine the back of your eye and your macula VERY closely to determine if there are any medical issues causing these changes on the Amsler Grid test.

If you have been told that you have macular degeneration or any other macular disorder, you should be doing the Amsler Grid test at home DAILY.

The Amsler Grid is a great way to monitor your macular health but you should always have yearly eye examinations with dilation when dictated by your doctor.

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