Video – Description of Cataracts. What Are Cataracts?

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The above video is from EyeMaginations and gives a great description of what Cataracts are:

Cataracts are a normal and common part of the aging process but, they do not have to interfere with your lifestyle.   A cataract is a cloudiness of the crystalline lens inside of your eye.  As your lens gets cloudier, your vision will gradually become more blurred.

The human eye may best be compared to a camera.  When you take a picture, the lens in the front of the camera allows light through and then focuses that light on the film in the back of the camera.  When the light hits the film, a picture is taken.  The eye works in much the same way.

In  youth, the crystalline lens of your eye is clear and allows light to pass through.   Light is focused by your cornea and your crystalline lens onto a thin layer of nerve tissue in the back of your eye called – the retina.   Your retina works like the film in a camera.  When the focused light hits the retina – a “picture” is taken and sent to your brain.

While a dirty camera lens blurs a picture, any significant cataract or cloudiness  in your crystalline lens will blur the images that you see.

When a cataract becomes significant – your vision can become quite blurry.  It is suggested if your vision drops below 20/40 or so….then it is common to be told to see an eye surgeon to have cataract surgery.

This surgery involves taking out the cloudy crystalline lens (cataract) and replacing it with a clear implant.  Often your surgeon can even do a calculation that can place your current eyeglass prescription into the lens implant.  The result after the cataract surgery can be much clearer vision and often there is no need for glasses after the surgery!

For more information – see your local Optometrist or  Dr Dawn Bearden or Dr Anna-Kay Tenn in Pembroke Pines 954-430-3808 or Sunrise 954-851-9949 for your yearly eye exam and they will be happy to discuss cataracts and cataract surgery options with you!

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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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Happy Birthday Dr Anna-Kay Tenn !!

We Want to Wish

Dr Anna-Kay Tenn

A VERY Happy

BIG Birthday!!

You Are a Fantastic Doctor and

We Love You VERY Much!!!

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Get Email or Text Message Reminders To Remind You When to Change Your Disposable Contacts and When To Have Your Yearly Eye Exam

Visit http://www.Acuminder.com to Sign Up!

Do you need help remembering when to discard your disposable contact lenses or when to see your eye doctor for your yearly eye exam?  Well you can go to www.AcuMinder.com and register for this FREE service to get reminders sent to you via Email, text message or a computer desktop widget to help you remember.  They even have a new Facebook application that will help you remember!

Getting an annual eye exam is very important in maintaining the health of your eyes as well as keeping your vision as clear and crisp as possible.  Also it is vital to discard your contact lenses every 2 weeks or when your doctor recommends the lenses to be discarded.

Here is a snippet from the www.Acuminder.com website:

A clip from the http://www.Acuminder.com website

Often contact lenses can feel “fine” and many patients come in and tell Dr Dawn Bearden or the other Visionary Eyecare Doctors that they don’t throw away their contacts until their vision gets blurry and/or their contact lenses start to bother them.  This can be very dangerous.

Contact lenses act like little sponges that can soak up bacteria, fungus, viral particles, mucus, debris, smoke and other environmental agents.  Even if you clean your contacts every night – these agents do build up on your contact lenses each and every day.  Cleaning them nightly often does not get rid of 100% of these irritants.  These irritants build up – day in and day out….so its important to discard the lenses and put in a new pair – even if your eyes feel “fine”.

When contact lenses are not discarded on schedule – patients can come in with distortions on the front of their eye (on their cornea)  or develop allergies to the contacts.  Most of the time, patients are not yet aware that these issues are even happening until its too late.  Some of these issues can lead to lifelong problems with wearing contacts.

Ask Dr Bearden, Dr Tenn or Dr McCulloh in our Pembroke Pines or Sunrise (Sawgrass Mall) office for a free Acuminder.com information card.  We will fill it in with your most recent exam date, the brand of contacts that you are currently using, your correct discard schedule, your eye doctor’s name and telephone number.  You will need this information when you register at www.Acuminder.com

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Pictures of the Patient Appreciation Event at Pembroke Pines Visionary Eye Care

Well, if you were there – we’re sure you had a great time….Free Gift, Free Chair Massage, Raffle for Free IPod!! Visionary Eyecare in Pembroke Pines created a really fun Patient Appreciation event along with Lenscrafters Customer Appreciation event….. and here are the pictures to prove it!

Every Visionary Eye Doctor – Dr Dawn Bearden, Dr Anna-Kay Tenn and Dr Emily McCulloh – enjoyed seeing many previous patients again for their annual eye exam at our Pembroke Pines Eye Clinic.

We’ll keep you posted if we do another Patient Appreciation Event!

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Congratulations To Dr Emily McCulloh on Her Marriage to Mr Brady Hollingsworth

Congrats and much love to our wonderful Eye Doctor … Emily McCulloh … who was recently married to Brady Hollingsworth on September 27th!

Dr Tenn (our other awesome Optometrist) and Ralph Justiz (our Optometric Technician from the Visionary Eyecare office in Pembroke Pines) traveled to Oklahoma to share this special day with Dr Emily McCulloh.  Dr Anna-Kay Tenn served as a beautiful bridesmaid in the wedding.   Both – Dr Emily McCulloh and Dr Anna-Kay Tenn work at our Pembroke Pines, as well as, our Sunrise (inside Sawgrass Mills Mall) eye clinic locations located next to Lenscrafters.

Here are some pictures from the special day…

Dr Anna-Kay Tenn and Dr Emily McCulloh

Ralph Justiz and Dr McCulloh

First Dance of Dr Emily McCulloh and Brady Hollingsworth

Dr Emily McCulloh - the Beautiful Bride on Her Special Day

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One Cause of Red Eye – Subconjunctival Hemorrhage

“I woke up this morning and my eye was really red – like there was blood on the white of my eye!”

This is a very frightening looking condition affecting patients.  They come in with a  red eye – like a bright red blood patch on the white of their eye –  but, there is no pain, discharge or blurriness to their vision.   Sometimes the eye may feel a little bit “scratchy” or irritated but, that is usually rare.  Sometimes they are caused by trauma to the eye but, most of the time they occur without any injury sustained to the eye – they just seem to appear “out of nowhere”.

It is called a Subconjunctival Hemorrhage – or “Subconj Heme” for short.  It is caused when one of the tiny blood vessels on the white of your eye ruptures and that tiny drop of blood gets trapped between the white of your eye (the sclera) and the clear skin that covers the sclera (called the conjunctiva).  Sometimes this blood vessel breakage can be caused by a strong cough, vomiting, lifting something heavy, constipation strain, a stong sneeze etc.  This “trapped” blood usually takes about 7-14 days to clear up.  It is sort of like a bruise under the skin (but here the “skin” is the clear conjunctiva)….first the color is red and bright then over time it may turn different colors over time and become a bit yellowish before it completely clears up.

If you are on a “blood thinning” medication – it can cause the blood vessel to take a longer time to stop bleeding and a small blood spot can quickly become a much larger one due to the delay in clotting.  Many times a patient may be taking aspirin, coumadin or warfarin (these are blood thinning oral medications) or some type of herbs that can cause cause blood thinning and bleeding risks like St John’s Wort, Cayenne Pepper, Garlic, Ginger and Ginkgo.  People with high blood pressure and/or diabetes can also be at higher risk for developing a “Subconj Heme”.

It is always a good idea to go to see your eye doctor if you have a red eye and think you may  have a subconjunctival hemorrhage.  Many red eyes look alike and the doctor can tell you if you really have a subconj heme or if the redness is being caused by an eye infection or other serious condition.  If it is a subconj heme then the doctor can determine if you need to be sent for further investigation of possible blood/bleeding disorders.

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Visionary Eyecare – Maps of 3 Locations in Broward County

We have 3 Locations in Broward County to Serve You:

Pembroke Pines (Next to Lenscrafters)

954-430-3808

CLICK HERE FOR DETAILED MAP

Click HERE to Make an appointment ONLINE for Pembroke Pines Location

Sunrise (Next to Lenscrafters)

954-851-9949

(INSIDE the Sawgrass Mall – in between JCPenny and Brandsmart)

CLICK HERE FOR DETAILED MAP

Click HERE to Make an appointment ONLINE for Sunrise Location

Davie (Next to Pearle)

954-434-9045

CLICK HERE FOR DETAILED MAP

Click HERE to Make an appointment ONLINE for Davie Location

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Wild Eyes Special-Effect Halloween Contact Lenses

WildEyes special-effect contacts include these designs:
1. Icefire, 2. Wildfire, 3. Zoomin’, 4. Jaguar, 5. Zebra, 6. Cat Eye, 7. Knockout, 8. Black-out, 9. Red Hot, 10. White-out, and 11. Hypnotica.

Its time to start thinking about enhancing your Halloween costume and Wild Eyes Contact Lenses are the perfect finishing touch to any spectacular costume!  The most popular Wild Eyes color contacts around Halloween are the Cat Eye contact lenses and White-Out contact lenses (made popular by Marilyn Manson…a Florida native).

Costume contact lenses are stylish to wear and they are designed for fun but remember, that they are still medical devices that will be placed onto your eyes.  They must fit you properly and be well taken care of to keep them very clean so you don’t get any eye infections.  Contact lenses that do not fit properly or are not cleaned can cause very serious eye problems. So, it is important to remember that you need your eye doctor to accurately fit them on your eyes and give you a prescription for them.  Even if you don’t currently need wear glasses or contacts to see clearly – you still need a prescription for them to ensure they FIT your eyes properly.

Have lots of fun with your costume contact lenses but, NEVER SHARE OR SWAP these or any type of contact lenses with anyone else – this can lead to pinkeye and other potential serious eye infections that could lead to blindness!

Never buy your costume contact lenses from a place (like a Flea Market) that does not ask you for a valid prescription from your eye doctor. Some of these lenses sold in these places are not FDA approved.  You ALWAYS need a prescription from your eye doctor to ensure that the contact lenses fit you properly, feel comfortable and won’t cause you any serious eye problems.

Have FUN and BE SAFE!

Happy Halloween!!!

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Diagram of Your Eye

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PLACE YOUR MOUSE OVER THE MAGNIFYING GLASS

AND USE IT TO MOVE THE MAGIFIER OVER

EACH PART OF THE EYE

Vodpod videos no longer available.

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Get YOUR Vision and Eye Health Questions Answered!!

Lots of Our Patients Often Have the

SAME BURNING QUESTIONS….

What is Astigmatism??

Why do I now have problems reading up close when I turned 40??

What are those black floating spots in my vision??

What is a Cataract??

I need bifocals….can I wear contact lenses??

What is Glaucoma??

How often should I get my eye exam if I feel my vision has not changed??

What is a Retinal Detachment??

What is Myopia (Nearsightedness)??

What is Macular Degeneration??

My child passed the Pediatrician and/or School Vision Screening – does he/she still need an eye examination if he/she is not complaining of vision problems??

I have astigmatism….can I wear contact lenses??

What is Farsightedness (Hyperopia)??

Well, here is YOUR chance to get all of YOUR questions answered by Dr Bearden and the Visionary Eyecare Doctors – Right HERE on Our BLOG!!

Just leave a comment (Below this post – click on “Comments”) with your burning Vision and Eye Health question(s) and we will write future posts based on the questions that you ask….

Check back often to see if your question has been answered…..OR……… subscribe to our blog  via email (or RSS feed) and get all updates of new BLOG posts sent to you automatically.

CLICK HERE to subscribe to our Blog Via Email.

Its THAT easy!

You are also welcome to visit our Vision Library on our Visionary Eyecare Website for LOTS of Vision and Eye Health Educational Information!!

CLICK HERE to go to our Vision Library….

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ONLINE Appointments for Your Eye Exam….right HERE from our BLOG!

Is your vision getting a little bit blurry?? Do you need new eyeglasses or contact lenses??  Do you have a red eye??  Do you want to talk to an Eye Dr (Optometrist) about Laser Eye Surgery??  Well, you don’t need to CALL our eye clinic to make an appointment….

Did you know that you can make an Appointment Online for an Eye Exam, Eye Health Check and Vision Testing….right HERE from our Blog – 24 hours per day / 7 days per week??  Well you can!

Just check out the column on the right under “ONLINE Appointments At Visionary Eyecare” and click on the office where you would like to schedule your appointment OR click below on the office where you would like to schedule your appointment.   Its THAT easy!

Pembroke Pines Office (Next to Lenscrafters)   Located at 9910 Pines Blvd in Pembroke Pines (The Southeast Corner of Palm and Pines)

Sunrise/Sawgrass Mall Office (Next to Lenscrafters)   Located inside the Sawgrass Mall – in between JCPenny and Brandsmart