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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Video – What Is Astigmatism? What Causes Astigmatism?

Video - What Causes Astigmatism?

Click the video above to learn what is the cause of Astigmatism. It is most commonly caused when the shape of front surface of your eye (called the cornea) is not perfectly round (like a baseball)  but, it is more oblong shaped (like a football).  When this oblong shape is located on the cornea then it is called “Corneal Astigmatism”.  Less often, the lens inside your eye (located right behind the colored part of your eye called the iris) can also be oblong shaped.  This is called “Lenticular Astigmatism”.

Most commonly, people are born with this oblong shape to their eyes and often it can become a bit worse as time goes on.  More rarely – astigmatism can be induced by a trauma to the eye.

Astigmatism causes a blur and distortion to your vision – for both distance and near objects.  The higher the amount of astigmatism – the worse the blur and distortion will be. Astigmatism can be corrected with a variety of options – glasses, contact lenses (called toric or astigmatic contacts) and laser vision surgery.

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A Treatment for Dry Eye – Punctal Plugs

There are several treatments for Dry Eye including using artificial tears, prescription eye drop medications like Restasis, eating a diet that is rich in Omega 3 fatty acids (salmon, fish oil supplement capsules or flaxseed oil) and punctal plugs.

Dry eyes are very common problem for many people.  Symptoms of dry eyes can include burning, dry eye feeling, itching, intermittent vision blur (that clears up when you blink) and excess tearing (the brain’s natural response to eye dryness).

Punctal plugs are used when you are producing very little tear fluid to properly bathe your eyes.  The plugs are inserted into your puncta (the opening of your tear drainage duct) to help preserve what little tears that you do have.  Punctal plugs keep your tears ON the surface of your eye (instead of draining out the drainage duct).

The procedure is quick and painless and can be done right in the office examination room.  The plugs are inserted painlessly in our office in about 5 minutes.

There are 2 types of plugs – collagen (disolvable) and silicone (non-disolvable – but still removable if you ever want them removed).

At Visionary eyecare we usually insert collagen (disolvable ) plugs into the lower puncta of each eye as a trial test.  The plugs will usually last for 3-5 days.  In about a week, we will bring you back for a follow up.  If you are happy with the amount of moisture in your eyes at your follow up – then we proceed to insert the silicone (non-disolvable) plugs into your lower puncta.

If you feel that you would like more moisture – then we will insert the collagen (disolvable) plugs into your upper AND lower puncta and bring you back for a follow up in about a week.  If you are happy with the amount of moisture then we will proceed to insert the silicone (non-disolvable) plugs into all 4 puncta (the upper and lower puncta in each eye).

These plugs can also be called Lacrimal Plugs….and they are NOT felt once they are inserted into your punctas.

The Picture Above shows a Collagen Plug in the Upper Puncta and a Silicone Plug in the Lower Puncta.

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Sudden Vision Blur …… The Unbeatable Event and A Patient’s Funny Story

New Patient – Tracy

First time patient,  Tracy, came into our Pembroke Pines office (next to Lenscrafters) yesterday.  She was very upset…telling us that she woke up and her vision was fine but, then the vision in her right eye got suddenly VERY blurry….and she could barely see anything !! This happened right after she put in her colored contact lenses.  She almost went to the emergency room but,  just at that very moment she happened to look down at the newespaper in front of her…… and saw an advertisement for Lenscrafters UNBEATABLE EVENT that is going on right now. Right then she decided to come in to our office (the Indepependent Doctor of Optometry next to Lenscrafters) to see an Eye Doctor instead of going to the ER.

Ralph, the optometric technician, had Tracy take out her colored contact lenses and then did all of the pre-testing on her.  He was concerned because the vision in Tracy’s right eye was EXTREMELY blurry.  Dr Bearden also became very concerned after she spoke with Ralph about Tracy (before she went in to see Tracy).

Sudden vision loss and/or blur is often associated with VERY serious visual health problems – like retinal detachment, angle closure glaucoma or other neurological eye problems.

After Dr Bearden saw Tracy – something did not seem quite right.  Tracy was not displaying any symptoms or vision loss associated with a retinal detachment or any other SERIOUS eye problem – she was just VERY blurry in her right eye – for seemingly no reason.  Dr Bearden looked at Tracy’s right eye under magnification with the slit lamp….and saw….a clear contact lens on Tracy’s right eye!?!?!  This was after Tracy had already “taken out” her colored contacts….

Dr Bearden told Tracy “There is a clear contact lens on your right eye”…..Tracy did NOT wear CLEAR contacts – she wore COLORED contacts.  So this was VERY strange.  Where on EARTH did a clear contact lens come from?!?!?!

Suddenly Tracy exclaimed “Oh my GOD….that must be my HUSBAND’s contact lens!!! He must have put it in my case with my colored contacts by accident!!”.  Her husband’s clear contact lens must have been stuck to Tracy’s colored contact lens when she put in her contacts that morning – and then remained on her eye when she took out her colored contacts in our office.  Tracy had unknowingly been wearing her husband’s contact lens in her right eye – with her own colored contact lens on top of it!!  Tracy’s husbands contact lens presription is about 5x STRONGER than Tracy’s – so this was the cause of her mysterious sudden vision blur.  Mystery solved!

Dr Bearden and Tracy were both laughing at the incident and they were also both relieved that this was not a serious vision problem….

Tracy was due for her annual contact lens eye examination anyway, so she just had her routine contact lens eye exam while she was in our office and her trip was not wasted!!

This is a funny story but, Tracy did the RIGHT thing – she came in to see an Eye Doctor when her vision became suddenly blurry.  Anytime there is a  SUDDEN loss of vision or SUDDEN vision blur – always seek care IMMEDIATELY from your eye doctor!!

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