Video – 2008 Eye Q Survey Shows That Most Americans Are Unaware That An Eye Exam Can Detect Signs Of Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, High Cholesterol, MS, Brain Tumors and More…

The above video is a report of the Annual AOA (American Optometric Association) American Eye Q  Survey for 2008.

It states that 81% of Americans wear contact lenses, eyeglasses or both.

Unfortunatley 26% of them have not visited their Optometrist or other eye doctor in 2 or more years.

Many eye care professionals – including each Eye Doctor at Visionary Eyecare in Pembroke Pines, Davie and Sunrise –  strongly recommend that you have a yearly eye exam because most eye and vision problems cause NO obvious signs or symptoms.  Often there can be a serious eye health problem such as a retinal hole, retinal tear, glaucoma, eye cancer, tumors in or behind the eyes  and many more that often Do NOT cause any noticeable vision blur, headaches, eye pain, eye pressure etc. Frequently these conditions easily go by unnoticed and you are unaware that there is any problem or issue without having a comprehensive eye exam done by your eye doctor.

Unfortunately, most Americans are unaware that eye examinations can detect more than just vision and eye health problems.  Through comprehensive eye exams and optometrist can detect signs of diabetes, high blood pressure, brain tumors, cancer, heart and cardiovascular problems, high cholesterol, Mutliple Sclerosis (MS) and more…

For more information – visit www.AOA.org

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EyeMed Network Discount Plans and Eye Exam Insurance – Eye Doctor Provider Serving Pembroke Pines, Sunrise and South Florida Surrounding Areas in Broward County

Great News!!! If you live in South Florida / Broward County then you need to know that we are Eye Doctor / Optometrist providers for the EyeMed Network Vision Care Insurance Plan to provide you with your discounted Eye Exam, Vision Exam,  Vision Testing, Eye Testing, Contact Lens Exam and more!

As EyeMed Providers and as always, we provide you with our state-of-the-art, computerized and high-tech eye examinations and contact lens exams. We also provide emergency eye care, laser vision consultations, cataract, glaucoma and retinal evaluations, as well as all types of eye health care.

We have offices in Pembroke Pines and Sunrise and conveniently serve ALL of the surrounding areas of Ft Lauderdale, Plantation, Davie,  Weston, Tamarac, Margate, Lauderhill, Coral Springs, North Lauderdale, Oakland Park, Pompano, Miami Gardens, Cooper City, Miramar, Dania, Hallandale, Aventura, Miami Lakes, North Miami Beach, Hialeah, Hollywood and more…

Here is a partial list of some of the EyeMed Discount Plans that we particpate in:

• • AAA
  • AARP
  • AETNA Vision One
  • Altius
  • American Heritage Life Insurance
  • American Legion
  • Ameriplan USA
  • Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS)
  • AT&T Retiree
  • Blue Cross Blue Shield Of FL (BCBS FL)
  • Cigna Healthy Rewards
  • Claire’s Stores
  • Clear Choice Health Plans
  • Coca-Cola
  • Conde Nast and Parade
  • Consumer Health Benefits
  • CVS
  • D&B
  • Darden Restaurants – ( Including Capital Grille, Red Lobster, Longhorn, Olive Garden, Bahama Breeze, Seasons 52 )
  • Earnst & Young LLP
  • Friendly’s Ice Cream
  • Home Depot
  • Humana (Select Plans including Dental Access, Discount Access and Vision Discount-Medicare)
  • International Paper
  • Kohl’s
  • Levi Strauss & Co
  • Local Government Center
  • Mail Handler’s Benefit Plan
  • Marriott Vision Discount
  • McDonald’s Gold Card Plus
  • Melaleuca
  • Metlife
  • Mutual of Omaha
  • Pep-Boys
  • Pepco
  • Pitney Bowes
  • Polo Ralph Lauren
  • Prevent Blindness America
  • Ryder Vision Discount
  • Siemen’s Corp
  • State Farm – Good Neighbor
  • Superior Dental Care
  • T. Rowe Price Retiree Discount
  • Texas instruments
  • The Coca-Cola Company
  • The Home Depot Discount Plan
  • Vision One
  • Winn-Dixie
  • Xerox Corporation
  • YUM! Brands (including Kentucky Fried Chicken / KFC, Taco Bell, Long John Silver’s, Pizza Hut)

Please call our offices to confirm that we are still participating in YOUR plan….as contracts come up – some plans are added and others are deleted.   Again, its always best to check with us first and remember that the list above is only a partial list!

Be sure to use your benefits before the end of the year….use your Flex Plan Spending!

Below is information about our offices for your convenience:

Pembroke Pines Office (Next to Lenscrafters)     954-430-3808

Located on the SE Corner of Palm and Pines (near Bank of America)

CLICK HERE for Directions/Map of Pines Office

CLICK HERE to Schedule Appointment ONLINE for Pines Office

Sunrise / Sawgrass Mills Mall (Next to Lenscrafters)  954-851-9949

Located INSIDE the Sawgrass Mall (between Brandsmart and JCPenny Outlet)

CLICK HERE for Directions/Map to Sunrise (Sawgrass Mall) Office

CLICK HERE to Schedule Appointment Online for Sunrise (Sawgrass Mall) Office

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Video – Eye Anatomy: The Cornea…and Contact Lenses, Degenerations and Keratoconus

Your eye is like a camera.  There are 2 structures that focus light – much like the lens of a camera.  These 2 structures are the cornea and the lens.  The cornea is the clear front surface of your eye that is located in front of the colored part of your eye (called the iris).

If you are a contact lens wearer – the contact lens sits on the cornea.  Not all corneas are the same size.  Some are more curved or “steep” and others are more “flat”.  It is important to be properly fit for contact lenses by your eye doctor.  If a contact lens is not properly fit, the contact can cause serious problems for the wearer – including corneal distortion, corneal swelling, corneal ulcers, inflammation and more.

A corneal topographer is an instument that can detect any corneal distortions caused from a contact lens.  A contact lens may look and feel “fine” but, it can still be causing problems that you may be unaware of.  Many times sleeping in your contact lenses or overwearing your contacts (wearing a 2 week contact for more than 2 weeks) can cause corneal distortions.

Cornea With Keratoconus

At Visionary Eyecare in Pembroke Pines, Sunrise and Davie- we perform a corneal topography on ALL contact lens patients. During the contact lens eye exam we use the corneal topographer to monitor the health of the patient’s cornea before fitting with a new contact lens and also to monitor the corneal health year to year for established contact lens wearers.

Corneal Topography can also detect some corneal degenerations and corneal dystrophies like keratoconus.  Typically a person with keratoconus has a lot of astigmatistm, distorted vision and possibly sensitivity to light.  The cornea starts to protrude in a “cone-like” fashion.  Most of the time a specialty contact lens can help these patients see clearer and may prevent the corneal dystrophy progression.  In advanced cases, the apex of the cornea may thin so drastically from keratoconus that a corneal transplant may be necessary.

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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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See the Inside of Your Eye …. the Way Your Eye Doctor Sees It!

Vodpod videos no longer available.

MOUSE OVER THE ABOVE IMAGE

TO SEE INTERNAL EYE STRUCTURES!

Your Eye Doctor needs to see the internal eye structures of your eyes to determine if your eyes are healthy.

You can move your mouse over the image above to see what your Eye Doctor sees during your Dilated eye health exam.  The doctor can see your optic nerve, your retina, your macula and your blood vessels inside your eyes.   Your doctor is looking for eye health changes like bleeding in your retina, tumors in your retina, macular degeneration, glaucoma, retinal holes, tears, detachments etc.

Most eye health issues DO NOT cause symptoms until it is too late…that is why is it VERY IMPORTANT to have an eye exam every 12 months – even if your vision is not blurry and  has not changed at all.

Examining internal eye health can also help your Eye Doctor determine if you may have any SYSTEMIC problems going on that you may be unaware of – such as: Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, Cancer, High Cholesterol, Brain Tumors, Multiple Sclerosis,  Sickle Cell Anemia…and many, many  more.

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