Sports Eye Safety Resolution for Children is Adopted by the Florida House of Representatives

Children Wearing Protective Sport Eyewear

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.

Here is an excerpt from their website:

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.

For a copy of the adopted resolution, click here.

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 occur from 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.

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Video Tutorial – Insertion and Removal Of Your Contact Lenses

Here is a great video from Cooper Vision that is an in-depth tutorial for inserting and removing your contact lenses.

Some other helpful tips for successful contact lens wear include:

• Always wash and dry your hands before touching your contacts
• Always rub your lenses to clean them well after you wear them
• Remove your contact lenses immediately if they become uncomfortable
• Never insert a contact lens into an eye that is red, irritated or painful
• ALWAYS have a pair of back up spectacle eyeglasses and its a good idea to wear them in the beginning and the end of the day to give your eyes some “Open eye time” with no contact lenses on. Also its another good idea to wear your glasses 1-2 days a week to give your eyes a break from your contact lenses.
• Consult with your eye doctor before wearing your lenses overnight. The eye doctors at Visionary Eyecare in Pembroke Pines, Davie and Sunrise always recommend to NOT sleep in your contact lenses due to the increased risk of infection and other eye health issues associated with sleeping in contact lenses.
• Replace your contacts with a new pair as often as recommended by your eye doctor. If the doctor says its a 2 week lens….then it gets tossed 2 weeks after you open the lens.

• Do not skip your follow up visits or your annual contact lens exam – there may be problems with your contacts that you are unaware of and your eye doctor will be able to determine this before you can see or feel that there may be something wrong.

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What Kind Of Eyeglasses Do YOU Wear The MOST??

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Video – What is Astigmatism? A Video Description of Astigmatism

Astigmatism is a refractive error –  meaning that the light that is coming into the eye is not focused perfectly on the “film” in back of the eye (called the retina – which is a layer of nerve tissue).  The retina is much like a movie screen or the film in your camera – the image must be focused PERFECTLY on the retina for the eye to see clearly.  If the image is focused in front of the retina or behind the retina – much like a movie screen or camera film – the image will be blurry.  This unfocused image is sent by the retina to the brain – where it is perceived as blurry, cloudy or distorted vision.

Astigmatism is a refractive error caused when the front surface of the eye (the cornea) or the lens (which is located inside the eye behind the colored part of the eye – called the iris) is irregularly shaped and oblong – much like a football.  This irregular shape causes the light to be focused on 2 seperate points – either in front of or behind the retina.  This causes distortion of the vision and blur at all distances.  So objects at a distance and also nearby are blurry and/or distorted.  The higher the degree of astigmatism – the more distortion and blur you will have.

Several methods can focus the light perfectly on the retina for you.  Glasses, contact lenses (called astigmatic or toric contacts) or laser vision correction are aids that are available to help focus the light and images on the retina – which will get you to see clearly again!

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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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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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History of Vision Correction…Do You Know Who Invented the Bifocal??

Did you know that in 20AD a Roman named Seneca looked thru a globe of water in order to help him magnify the print in the ancient Roman Books?

Did you know that in 60 AD the Roman Emperor Nero wore eyeglasses with LENSES made of EMERALDS to view the gladiator games?

Did you know that in China (around 1430AD )judges used to darken their glasses for the purpose of concealing their eye expressions in court?

Did you know that in the late 1600’s they used to keep glasses on their noses by using silk ribbons tied to the rims of the glasses and then hung the ribbons over their ears….with weights on the end to help keep them in place?

Did you know that in the 1700’s wealthy American colonists would search through basketfuls of spectacles imported from Europe to find the ONE pair of glasses that had the right prescription in them?    Did you know that they paid as much as $200 PER PAIR for their glasses…in the 1700’s ?!?!?

Do you know who invented the Bifocal Lens??

CLICK HERE to view

The INTERACTIVE TIMELINE

of VISION CORRECTION

(The ABOVE link requires FLASH to operate properly – if you do NOT have FLASH on your computer, you can get it for FREE by clicking the link below)

Interactive timeline provided by www.eyedidntknowthat.info

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YouTube Video: If You Don’t Have Any Vision Problems…Why Should You See an Eye Doctor?

You don’t have any vision problems….your vision is perfect……so why should you get your eyes examined yearly…or at all??  Do you know anyone who has really good eyesight…and feels that there is no reason to go to the eye doctor because they don’t need eyeglasses??

Well, the above YouTube video is for YOU and THEM!

A common misconception is that the only reason to see an eye doctor is to get some glasses, contacts or to get their prescription updated.  Does this sound familiar??

A comprehensive eye exam is MOSTLY about checking the HEALTH of your eyes.  A lot of eye health problems – diseases and disorders of the eyes (like glaucoma, retinal holes and tears etc) – do NOT cause any kind of symptoms (like blurred vision, headaches, pain, feelings of “pressure” in and around eyes etc…).

Just because you can see clearly, see colors correctly and don’t notice any vision problems does not necessarily mean that your eyes are healthy.

Did you know that a comprehensive eye exam can ALSO provide early detection of some SYSTEMIC problems.  All sorts of systemic problems – like Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, High Cholesterol, Brain Tumors etc….can be detected during a comprehensive eye exam. If your eye doctor suspects that you may have a systemic problem then, he or she can refer you to your primary care doctor for further evaluation and testing to determine if you have the systemic disease.

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Optometrist, Ophthalmologist, Optician … What is the Difference?

Many people often ask – What is the difference between an Optometrist and an Ophthalmologist??

… OR …

What is the difference between and Optometrist and an Optician??

Well, HERE is the answer for you:

Optometrists are Doctors of Optometry.  They act as Primary Care Doctors for your eyes. They are experts in vision care, eye health and eye function. They prescribe glasses and contacts and can diagnose and treat eye diseases (like pink eye, glaucoma, eye allergies, eye ulcers, styes, eye inflammation etc.) with various forms of medication.  They are also trained to remove certain types of foreign bodies in the eye.  They usually have 4 years of college education, 4 years of Post-Graduate Doctorate work in Optometry School and some Optometrists elect to do a 1 year Post-Doctorate Residency.

Ophthalmologists are medical Doctors of Ophthalmology that deal primarily with the diseases of the eyes, which they are able to treat with medicine and surgery.  Most ophthalmologists act more as Seondary Care providers for your eyes – since most are eye surgeons.  They can also prescribe glasses and contacts – but, you’ll find that most ophthalmologists concentrate their practices primarily around eye surgery and treating various eye disease.  They usually have 4 years of college and 4 years of medical school and then they complete a Post-Doctorate 3 year Residency in Opthalmology to learn about the eye, eye disease and various ophthalmic surgical techniques.

Opticians are experts in optics, optical lenses and frames.  Opticians fill the prescriptions for eyeglasses and contact lenses that have been prescribed by Optometrist and Ophthalmogists.  They fit, sell, dispense and repair eyeglasses.  In some states they can also fit contact lenses.  Their education requires a high school diploma and 2 year Opticianary program (or a 3-5 year Opticianary apprenticeship).

Click on the above video from the American Optometric Association to learn more about the profession of  Optometry.

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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

When Should Your Child Have His or Her First Eye Exam??

This is a question that we get a lot!!

A common misconception parents have is that a vision screening at their child’s school and/or a vision check at the Pediatrician’s office is the same as an eye exam.   Vision Screenings are not the same as an Eye Exam because Vision Screenings are vision tests that are designed to ONLY check to see if a child is able to read the eye chart…they do not check for visual development problems or eye health issues.

Many children may have eye health or vision problems and still be able to pass a school vision screening or Pediatrician vision screening. Some eye health or vision problems may go undetected with a vision screening….many of these vision problems need to be detected long before age 7 to prevent permenant lifelong vision problems such as lazy eye (amblyopia) or eye turn (strabismus).

Your child should have an eye exam at ANY age if a problem is suspected.  Believe it or not, an eye examination can be performed on an infant, as young as one day old.  A pediatric eye doctor (Optometrist or Opthalmologist) can determine if a infant or very young child has any vision or eye health problems by using computerized testing – there is no need for the child to be able to communicate verbally during the exam.

At Visionary Eyecare we like to begin seeing children at age 4. Visionary Eyecare has 2 South Florida eye clinic locations in Broward County for your convenience – Pembroke Pines (Next to Lenscrafters), and Sunrise (Next to Lenscrafters – INSIDE the Sawgrass Mills Mall).   If you think your child has a vision or eye health problem BEFORE age 4 – please give us a call at any of our locations and we will be happy to refer you to a pediatric optometrist or ophthalmologist that can perform an exam on your child.

When scheduling an eye exam for your child – it is important to ask if the doctor’s office is set up to deliver vision tests to examine children.  Not all eye doctors are equipped or feel comfortable performing eye exams on young children.

It is essential that your child has an eye exam by an EYE DOCTOR at least by age 4 or 5 – before entering kindergarten.  Many forms of blindness or lazy eye (amblyopia) can be prevented if detected early AND corrected.