A Visual Representation of the Visionary Eyecare Blog
Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words!!
And sometimes that picture is made from a thousand words…..
Here are some visual representations of the Visionary Eyecare Blog from Wordle.
It visibly shows that our blog talks about the Eye, an Optometrist, an Eye Exam, Pembroke Pines, Sunrise, Eye Dr, Contacts, Dr Dawn Bearden, Dr Emily McCulluh, Dr Anna-Kay Tenn, Lenscrafters, an Eye Doctor, Vision, Eye Care, Eye Health and more….
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Just by scanning one of these images – a reader can immediately get a feel for what the Visionary Eyecare Blog is all about!!
OK…now we’ve seen some interesting things here at Visionary Eyecare…but, this stuff really takes the cake!
Eyeball Jewelry and Eyeball Tattoos….now we’ve seen everything!
These cosmetic eye fashion procedures take the phrase “Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder” to a completely new level….
Apparently, there is a company called JewelEye that makes cosmetic 3.5mm eye jewelry platinum implants in the shape of a heart or a half moon. The implant is inserted beneath the conjunctiva (which is the “skin” that covers the white of the eye) yet, on top of the sclera (which is the “white” of the eye).
WARNING THE VIDEO BELOW IS VERY GRAPHIC –
EYE SURGICAL PROCEDURE
Although Dutch eye surgeons at the Netherlands Institute for Innovative Ocular Surgery perform this 15 minute patented procedure (they say that they actually have a waiting list), in 2004 the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) spoke out against this type of cosmetic implant. An AAO member stated that these implants may cause scar tissue or allow bacteria to get under the conjunctiva which could erode the sclera (the white of the eye) or cause other vision threatening infections. The AAO commented that if these problems ocured – then it could become very difficult to remove the implant.
Another problem is that the conjunctiva is loosely attached to the sclera – so by placing an implant under the conjunctiva…in time, the implant may move around and not stay in place. This could irritate the patient’s eye and possibly cause vision problems.
Eyeball Tattoo
And another cosmetic eye procedure is the Eyeball Tattoo. Much like the JewelEye implant…the tattoo ink is inserted bewteen the sclera and the conjunctiva (the white of the eye and the skin that covers it) with a needle.
This procedure looks like it is being done in a tattoo parlor – which is a not a sterile operating room. The risk of infection is very high – which can lead to visual impairment.
Also, a needle being used that close to an eye in a surgically untrained hand can be very dangerous. One slip and the needle could scratch the front of the eye (the cornea). Worse yet, the needle could penetrate the eye – causing a retinal detachment which is vision threatening OR it could cause an infection inside the eye – which could lead to loss of the eye.
WARNING – THE VIDEOS BELOW ARE VERY GRAPHIC!!
Again, most eye doctors would advise NOT to have this procedure done – the multitude of RISKS FAR OUTWEIGH any positive cosmetic benefit.
Ask Dr Dawn Bearden… or any Eye Doctor or Staff member at Visionary Eyecare in Pembroke Pines or Sunrise….and they will always tell you that having an annual eye exam is very important. But why?!?!???
Is it because your eyeglasses prescription changes every year and you need to get new glasses?!?!??! Well, often the prescription can change from year to year BUT, there are MORE IMPORTANT reasons to have your eyes checked annually.
Martha Stewart recently interviewed Optometrist, Dr Rhonda Robinson, about annual eye examinations. Dr. Robinson explained that the reasons to have an annual eye exam change as a person goes through each life stage.
We are in a new age where the visual demands of children and teens are being stressed in completely different ways – iPods, cell phones, computers, Blackberries, MySpace & Facebook, texting….the list is endless.
Even SMALL changes in a prescription can make a HUGE difference in visual comfort.
Adults need to have a yearly eye exam to ensure good eye and systemic health. The majority of eye medical issues DO NOT cause any visual problems or blur…eye health issues like glaucoma, retinal holes and tears, tumors in and behind the eye etc may be completely asymptomatic. A comprehensive eye exam can also help detect systemic problems that you may be unaware of – like diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, multiple sclerosis, brain tumors and more…
Adults around 40 and over usually experience near vision blur called Presbyopia. Now there are a multitude of options to help correct Presbyopia and give clear near vision while reading – reading glasses, multifocal/bifocal/progressive eye glasses, multifocal/bifocal contact lenses.
Dr Dawn Bearden and Visionary Eyecare have moved out of Lenscrafters and have RELOCATED to Fort Lauderdale Eye Care & Eyewear in East Fort Lauderdale. New website is www.FLEyecareEyewear.com and new phone is 954-763-2842. New address is 1489 SE 17th St Suite 2J Ft Lauderdale FL 33316. Click here for map of new location
Dr Dawn Bearden is now “tweeting” for Fort Lauderdale Eye Care & Eyewear under the name @FLEyecare on Twitter .
When you follow @FLEyecare on Twitter you will always find interesting “tweets” about eye health care, eye health tips, inspiring quotes, health news, any new blog posts that were recently posted on our blog, real time conversations with local South Floridians, eye related trivia, Twitter Tips and much more!!
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Click the Twitter Logo...
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Twitter is the FASTEST growing social network in history. According to Mashable – The Social Media Guide (@Mashable), Twitter has grown a staggering 1382% in the past year. In January 2009 alone, Twitter grew 50% in ONE month. Wow. This is a POWERFUL social media platform for those who understand how to harness its power.
Most people have the perception that Twitter is for people tweeting about what they ate for breakfast….this is NOT what Twitter is all about. You can connect with people in your local community or all around the globe who are experts in fields that you may be interested in learning about. People like Robert Kiyosaki (@TheRealKiyosaki), Donald Trump (@DonaldJTrump), Oprah (@Oprah), Anthony Robbins (@TonyRobbins), Larry King (@kingsthings) and more…all tweet regularly. Its truly a wealth of knowledge.
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If you’ve never checked out Twitter….go to www.Twitter.com/FLEyecare and check it out. Maybe you will even decide to jump in, give it a try and start Tweeting – its a lot of fun and very educational!
Time.com (in partnership with CNN) recently reported that a prototype of a “bionic” contact lens has been created and Time has listed this as one of the Best Inventions of 2008.
Here is an excerpt from the article:
The University of Washington’s Babak Parviz has created a prototype “bionic” contact lens that creates a display over the wearer’s visual field, so images, maps, data, etc., appear to float in midair. The lens works using tiny LEDs, which are powered by solar cells, and a radio-frequency receiver.
We think this is really “kewl”.
Maybe one day during your eye exam you can ask one of the Visionary EyecareDoctors to be fitted for a contact lens that would allow you to see a map while you are driving or see an excel data sheet floating in mid air (that only you can see) during a really important presentation. Wow! Now that is definitely a huge step up from just plain old colored contact lenses or bifocal contact lenses….this is the next evolution BEYOND just seeing 20/20.
Check out the video below to see more of TIME’s Best Inventions of 2008 – including futuristic swimwear worn by Michael Phelps, DNA test kits, a very sporty and fast electric car and lots of different kinds of robots….
Vodpod videos no longer available.
more about “TIME’s Best Inventions of 2008”, posted with vodpod
As reported on Twitter by Prevent Blindness America and Prevent Blindness Florida (@PBFlorida), the Florida House of Representatives adopted HR 9095, a resolution recognizing the seriousness of sports-related eye injuries in children and the importance of sports eye safety to protect the children of Florida.
Eye injuries are the leading cause of blindness in children in the United States, and 90% of these injuries can be avoided with the use of protective eyewear. Prevent Blindness America applauds the Florida House of Representatives for their commitment to children’s eye health. For more information about sports eye injuries and how you can protect your child’s sight, visit the children’s sports eye safety section of the Vision Learning Center.
Dr Dawn Bearden, Dr Anna Kay Tenn, Dr Emily McCulloh and Dr Alyx Lin at Visionary Eyecare in Pembroke Pines and Sunrise routinely ask about children’s sports and hobbies during the medical and social history portion of the eye exam. Children under the age of 12 are routinely given a prescription for polycarbonate lenses for their eyeglasses. This polycarbonate material is more impact resistant – which is important for children due to their active lifestyle. If a child participates in any impact or ball sport – then the eye doctors at Visionary Eyecare will also recommend sports goggles for eye safety.
Sports goggles are excellent for protecting your eyes (in BOTH adults and children) while playing any type of impact or ball sport such as basketball, racquetball, soccer, baseball, softball, tennis, rugby etc. Many eye injuries can occur from a ball or racket hitting you in the face near the eye – or an impact with another player’s elbow, knee, head etc. while playing the sport.
Some serious eye health issues that can occurfrom these impacts include retinal detachment, subconjunctival hemorrhage (bright red blood spot on the white of the eye), ocular inflammation (iritis/uveitis) and even cataracts or glaucoma that can occur YEARS after the injury to the eye.
In persons under 25 years of age, ocular trauma is the number one cause of visual loss.
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 theOptomap Retinal Scan and the benefits of this technology during your yearly eye examination to preserve BOTH your eye health and your systemic health.
ALL patient records from Both Visionary Eyecare Locations will be moved to the above location in Ft Lauderdale on the dates listed above.
In March, Lenscrafters held its annual “Summit” in Nashville, Tennessee for the company’s top executives and leaders. Dr Dawn Bearden not only manages 2 Independent Doctor of Optometry Offices Next to Lenscrafters (In Pembroke Pines and Sunrise) but, she also serves on the Lenscrafters Optometric Advisory Council. Dr Bearden was invited to the Summit along with other leading Eye Doctors affilitated with Lenscrafters.
Lenscrafters, who’s new brand story is “Lenscrafters Loves Your Eyes“, recognized several leaders of the company. Those who received awards had delivered above and beyond exceptional service and had a positive impact on the company, their peers, customers, patients and the public. Dr Bearden was honored with one of these few distinctive awards.
Dave Reaves, VP of Lenscrafters and Dr Dawn Bearden
Here are some excerpts from the award:
What does someone who creates a Mind Blowing Patient Experience look like to me?
For those of you who don’t know her, she is an amazing clinician, entrepreneur and a Guru when it comes to using the internet for promoting eye care.
Spend two minutes on her website and you’ll be emotionally connected to her, her practice, her patients and her cause: educating the public on the importance of preserving sight.
This individual provides a consistent and a thorough eye exam experience that keeps her patients coming back year after year. Which is great news, especially in those cases when her drive to deliver a consistent and thorough eye exam turns out to be life saving too.
Lenscrafters Summit Recognition Award
This is a story that is connected to this Doctor’s strong leadership. Not only did she provide life-saving care to her patient, she then used her website and her blog to educate her peers and the public about the importance of annual eye exams with her story about her patient, Judy.
Judy is now this doctor’s patient for life and an advocate for the importance of annual eye exams.
Judy McNabnever really felt the need for yearly eye examinations until shestarted to need glasses in her 40’s and 50’s. Like most people, she thought she did not need to see an eye doctor if she did not need to wear eyeglasses or contact lenses.
One day she came intoVisionary Eyecare in Pembroke Pines for an eye exam because she lost her glasses. She was not having any problems with her eyes, no eye pain or pressure, no headaches, no vision problems….nothing. She just wanted to quickly get an eye examination so she could get a new prescription to buy a new pair of glasses at Lenscrafters.
During the eye exam at Visionary Eyecare (the Independent Doctors of Optometry next to Lenscrafters in Pembroke Pines), Judy was able to see 20/20 in the examination room, her eyes looked perfectly healthy during the dilated retinal examination and also on the digital photographs taken of the inside of Judy’s eyes. During the examination, Eye Doctor – Dr Dawn Beardenrecommended that Judy get a visual field (peripheral vision) test as a baseline – because Judy was over the age of 40 (much like a baseline mammogram is done at age 40) . This test is an advanced test that is not part of the routine eye examination and would take extra time and cost Judy extra money (unfortunately – unlike a baseline mammogram- most medical insurances and vision plans and will NOT pay for this preventative testing as a baseline). At first, Judy did not want to take the time to do the additional test butDr Bearden explained that visual field testing could uncover early and subtle eye health issues that sometimes a routine eye exam could not. Judy was convinced and did the additional visual field test… and the results came back positive – TWICE.
Dr Bearden immediately referred Judy to an ophthalmologist for a secondary evaluation. At first, Judy did not really want to see the ophthalmologist…..she kept telling Doctor Bearden that her vision was fine and she was not having any problems or symptoms….but, Dr Bearden INSISTED that she go for the secondary evaluation. Judy did see the ophthalmologist, who then referred her to Bascom Palmer in Miami to see an eye doctor that specializes in eye tumors and eye cancer.
Judy was diagnosed with a tumor in her left eye and had laser treatment to help destroy the tumor in her left eye. This was in 2005. Now in 2009 Judy still has good vision in her left eye (she is able to see 20/25 in that eye). Luckily, the tumor did not spread to anywhere else in her body and the surgeon was able to treat the tumor without having to remove Judy’s eye.
Judy shares her experience in the above and below videos. She reminds us all that YEARLY eye exams are very important to help detect eye health issues that you may be unaware of… since many eye health issues DO NOT CAUSE SYMPTOMS and can only be detected by a COMPREHENSIVE eye exam.
Erik Nunez is a South Florida resident and was a patient of Dr Dawn Bearden a few years ago in the Pembroke Pines office. When he was due for his last eye exam he just happened to be out of the country and visiting his family in Argentina. Erik had his eye examination from an eye doctor in Argentina and was never able to see out of his glasses very well.
He returned to Dr Bearden to “get fixed” and here is his video testimonial (also available on our Visionary Eyecare YouTube Channel).
According to a study published in “Diabetes Care” – almost 13 percent of all adults aged 20 or older have Diabetes and 40 percent of these people have NOT been diagnosed with either diabetes or pre-diabetes.
Non-Hispanic Blacks and Mexican Americans had TWICE the rate of Diabetes than Non-Hispanic Whites.
So this demonstrates that you may have diabetes and you may not even know it – often there are no symptoms until the diabetic disease had progressed.
Yearly Eye Examinations with your eye doctor (Optometrist or Ophthalmologist) can often help detect early diabetic signs – even when you are not yet having any symptoms. When an eye doctor examines the inside of your eyes during a dilated retinal exam or through the use of retinal photography he or she can see signs of diabetes which include bleeding and swelling of the retina (the nerve layer that lines the inside of your eyes).
Bleeding And Leaking In Diabetic Eye Disease
Common signs of diabetes include increase in hunger, thirst and an increase in urination frequency. If your blood sugar is very high – you can even see a sudden increase in blurry vision.
Diabetes can damage the eyes and cause a permanent decrease in vision… and also increase the risk for stroke, heart attack, kidney damage, impotence and numbness in your fingers and toes.
If you are over 20 and have not had a physical recently – now may be a good time to call your Primary Care Doctor and schedule one…especially if you have been very hungry, thirsty or going to the bathroom a lot!
If it has been more than 12 months since your last visit to your Eye Doctor – pick up the phone and schedule an appointment….for yourself….. and your family members!
We hear about this thing called RSS or RSS feed but, most people do not know what this is.
There is also that little orange button that seems to be popping up everywhere on the internet – again a mystery as to what it is and what it does. It is called a RSS chicklet that looks like this:
The video above does a GREAT job in explaining RSS and what the little orange chicklet thingy is all about.
Its a great way to bring your favorite blogs and news posts to you on a regular basis – instead of you hunting around on the internet and interesting for new material to read about!
Here on the Visionary Eyecare Blog: The Eye Journal….we do have an RSS feed and also that little orange chicklet – just look over on the right sidebar of the blog. You can use this technology to subscribe to this blog to get updates about new educational and informational blog posts about eye health and vision care.
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 treatmentscan include using artificial tears in your eyes frequently throughout the day, fish oil capsules or eye vitamins or capsules to be taken orally, punctal plugsto be inserted or a prescription for a medication like Restasis that can help you produce more tears.
Visionary Eyecare's Blog: "The Eye Journal" 