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!
.
.

Testimonial: Patient – Judy McNab – Looses Glasses, Gets Eye Exam in Pembroke Pines and Dr Dawn Bearden Finds A Tumor in Her Left Eye

Judy McNab shares her full story

.

Judy McNab never really felt the need for yearly eye examinations until she started 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 into Visionary 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 Bearden recommended 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 but Dr 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.

.

Judy McNab – short video testimonial

.

These videos and many more educational videos and testimonials can be found on the Visionary Eyecare YouTube Channel…..CLICK HERE to check it out!

.

.

Fox News Video – Child Eye Exam Can Reveal The Cause of Learning Problems in School

Vodpod videos no longer available.

more about “Fox News Video – Child Eye Exam Revea…“, posted with vodpod

.

Parents: Don’t depend on a school vision screening or a Pediatrician vision screening as the only method of assessing your child’s vision. While screenings do help to pick up SOME vision issues – they do not pick up ALL of them. Your child may pass a screen and still have a significant vision problem.

Vision is the MOST important sense for learning. Unfortunately, if a child has a vision problem, has passed the screening and has not had a comprehensive eye exam with an eye doctor…there could be some problems in school . Often a child in this situation is labeled with a “Learning Disorder”. Another common issue is children that have Convergence Insufficiency (which is when the eyes can see clearly but, do not work well together to see near objects for reading) – they are often labeled “ADD”.

Parents be on the lookout for these issues in your child:

• Trouble Reading
• Complaints of Fatigue While Reading
• Tilt of the Head to See or Read
• Losing Their Place While Reading
• Sitting Too Close To The TV or Computer

Be aware that vision problems can not only cause problems with learning…..they can also impact a child’s social, emotional and physical development.

This video has a great recommendation:

Get your child to take a 20 second visual break for every 20 minutes they spend on the computer or watching TV. A visual break means to look away – to a far away object. This can sometimes help to combat the rapid progression of nearsightedness (mypoia) in many children.

.

.

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.

.

.

Video – Child’s Eye Exam as Seen Through the Eyes of a Child

Vodpod videos no longer available.

more about “Video – Child’s Eye Exam“, posted with vodpod

This is a great video (BEST VIEWED THROUGH YOUR FIREFOX WEB BROWSER) about a kid who is having his or her FIRST eye examination. When a child enters an eye clinic for the first time – there is usually some apprehension and fear (for both the child… and the parent!).

Viewing this great video with your child prior to having an eye exam can help explain some of the vision tests that the Eye Doctor and his/her support staff is doing. It will also help you and your child become more comfortable with what goes on during an eye exam. Believe it or not….an eye exam can be a lot of fun!

Visionary Eyecare provides eye exams for children at all 3 of our Broward County / Ft Lauderdale area Locations – Pembroke Pines (next to Lenscrafters), Davie (next to Pearle Vision) and Sunrise (Next to Lenscrafters and INSIDE the Sawgrass Mills Mall).

We are providers for EyeMed and this excellent video was provided by EyeMed Vision Care.

If you are having trouble viewing this video…

You can see the video on the right side of this blog under the sidebar category “Visionary Eyecare VODPOD videos” (It is called: Video – Child’s Eye Exam) ….you can find it if you look on the right side of the blog at the sidebar categories and scroll all the way down 🙂

……OR……

Open your Firefox Web Browser and go to www.VisionaryEyecareBLOG.com to re-visit this blog.

If you don’t have Firefox – CLICK HERE TO GET FIREFOX.

.

.

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.

.

.

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!

.

.

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.

. 

Patient Testimonial for Child’s Eye Exam: Sofia and Laura Talpos

Vodpod videos no longer available.

5 year old Sofia Talpos is Dr Bearden’s patient.  She has come in to visit Dr Bearden at Visionary Eyecare  several times in the past few months so Dr Bearden can fine tune her glasses while she is adapting to her very FIRST pair of prescription eye glasses.

Little Sofia REALLY enjoys visiting our office – she always has lots of fun while visiting Dr Bearden and often does not want to leave!!

The video ABOVE features Sofia’s mom, Laura Talpos, talking about her experience with Dr Bearden and Visionary Eyecare.

Laura is such a fan of Visionary Eyecare…..that she has even been telling ALL of her friends who have young children about the importance of early and yearly eye exams…..one friend has even come in recently with her 5 year old son to have his first eye exam with Dr Bearden as well.

In the video BELOW, Laura and Sofia give away Dr Bearden’s SECRET to her success with Children’s eye exams and Peidatric vision care!!

.

Fox News Video: Contact Lens Dangers

Vodpod videos no longer available.

View this video and give us your feedback in the  comments area below!

.  

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.

.

Video: Contact Lens Tips for Insertion, Removal and Cleaning

This is a good video from Optifree that gives instructions on Contact Lens insertion, removal, proper cleaning and other instructions and tips for successful contact lens wear.

ALWAYS wash, rinse and dry your hands thoroughly each time you handle your contact lenses. This will help eliminate germs (bacteria, viruses, fungus etc) that can cause eye infections and vision loss.

Clean, Rinse and Disinfect your contact lenses after wearing them. Make sure that you DO rub your contact lenses (even if the solution says “No Rub”) – this will help in loosening any deposits, films or debris on your lenses.   Saline solutions are used to RINSE contact lenses (NOT to clean or store contacts) – use multipurpose solutions for cleaning and storing contacts.

Remove your lenses IMMEDIATELY if they become uncomfortable or your eyes become red and/or light sensitive. Discomfort and irritation can be an early warning sign of a problem.  If discomfort continues AFTER you remove your contact lenses – IMMEDIATELY contact your eye doctor.

DO NOT INSERT A CONTACT LENS INTO AN EYE THAT IS RED, IRRITATED, PAINFUL  OR UNCOMFORTABLE!!

Do NOT sleep in your contact lenses. People who sleep in their contact lenses have a higher risk of eye infections and ulcerations.

DISCARD your contact lenses as directed by your eye doctor (daily, weekly, bi-weekly, monthly etc). Wearing a contact lens longer than the approved wear time can cause infections and corneal distortions (the front of the eye can become warped with contact lens overwear).

Do NOT swim, shower or bathe in your contacts.  Tap water and pools can have organisms in them that can cause infections an even PERMENANT vision loss.

Have YEARLY Contact Lens Eye Examinations. Your eye doctor can re-evaluate and re-fit (if needed) your contact lenses for you every 12 months.  Sometimes contact lenses feel comfortable even if they are causing problems.  Your eye doctor will evaluate if the prescription needs to be changed to get you the most precise vision and they will also evaluate if the contact lens that you are wearing is causing problems that you may be unaware of.

CLICK HERE for more information about Contact Lenses from Visionary Eyecare’s website.

Video – Sunglasses are like Sunscreen for your Eyes: Protection from Aging Changes and Some Forms of Eye Cancer

********

CLICK HERE

TO SEE A FOX NEWS VIDEO ABOUT EYE CANCER AND PROTECTION WITH SUNGLASS WEAR

The sun can cause aging changes to your skin… and also to your EYES.

Macular Degeneration and Cataracts are aging changes that can be brought on earlier in your life by exposure to the sun its ultraviolet (UV) radiation.  Wearing sunglasses with good UV protection can be like wearing sunscreen for your eyes.

There are many different types of eye cancer that can affect any part of the eye.  A patient can get cancer on the Eyelids, the Conjunctiva (the “skin” over the white of your eye), the Iris (the colored part of your eye), the Optic Nerve (the nerve from the eye back to the brain), the Retina (the nerve layer inside your eye – responsible for your vision), the Choroid (the blood vessels beneath the retina) and more.

The types of cancers that usually affect the skin (aka on the eyelids….basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, melanoma etc.. ) can be the same types of cancers that particularly thrive in sunlight and UV exposure – just like any other type of skin cancer.

EVERYONE (including children) should be wearing sunglasses with UV protection any time they are outdoors. People who are particularly vulnerable are those with with blue eyes, light complexions, work outdoors, have had any PREVIOUS skin cancer or who are taking any medications that make them more light sensitive.

Routine yearly eye examinations are the KEY to early detection and treatment for any types of eye cancer and any other type of eye disease

Click on the FOX News link to see an informative Video about Eye Cancer and Protection Against Aging Changes with regular wear of good UV protection sunwear.  It tells a story of a man who found a weird eyelid freckle…

.