March is Workplace Eye Wellness Month

 

Approximately 25,000 Americans visit the emergency room due to a workplace eye injury each year.

For those of you not in an office setting, use proper eye protection such as non-prescription and prescription safety glasses, goggles, face shields, and welding helmets!

If a chemical gets splashed into your eye, get yourself to an eyewash station or jump in the shower to give your eyes a thorough rinsing. Remove your contact lenses if you are wearing them and do NOT rub your eyes. Then immediately get seen by your eye doctor or the emergency department!

Not all work injuries are associated with “outdoor” jobs – they can happen indoors too! Studies have shown that Computer vision syndrome is absolutely real and is characterized by dry eyes, headaches, eye stain, and neck/back pain.  To keep your eyes comfortable, follow these steps:

1. Check screen position: Ensure your screen as at a right angle away from a direct light source

2. Consider prescription computer glasses to ensure better comfort.

3. Blink often! Use an over-the-counter artificial tear (Systane, Refresh) to keep those eyes lubricated.

4. Drink lots of water!

5. Adhere to our 20-20-20 rule: Every 20 minutes, look 20 feet away for 20 seconds. This will give your eyes they break they need to reduce that fatigue!

6. Schedule your regular comprehensive eye examination.  I cannot emphasize enough the importance of these exams. If you have any concerns or are experiencing changes with your eyesight, please do not delay in giving us a call (775-783-1111) and scheduling an appointment!

Thanks for reading,

Dr. Brewer

What You Need To Know About Halloween Contact Lenses

Halloween will be here before you know it! I thought this would be a good time to discuss the dangers of costume/decorative contact lenses that people may consider to spice up their Halloween costumes!  What is the risk with these costume lenses?  It’s just one day, what’s the worst that can happen? The answer is excruciating pain and permanent vision loss - It’s not worth it folks!

These type of cosmetic contact lenses change the way your eyes look and can be made with or without vision correction. It is illegal in the United States for any contact lens to be purchased without a current prescription. Those lenses are not FDA regulated and you just can’t be sure of what you’re receiving.

According to the AAO, there are about 13,500 emergency room cases due to contact lens injuries annually. That is alarming and mostly avoidable with a little education!

So what exactly can these costume contacts do? They can cut, scratch, cause an allergic reaction, or cause infection from their poor fit on your cornea, uncleanliness, or by the materials they are made of.  Even if those corneal ulcers or abrasions heal with various medications, they can leave behind extensive and irreversible scarring that will impair your vision. These lenses are also less breathable due to all the paints/pigments or materials utilized. This limits oxygen and nutrients to important structures within your eye, which will lead to further complications.

Treating these injuries may require surgical intervention like a corneal transplant which are not always a success.  They are expensive surgeries and may require a person to be on eye drops for the rest of their lives.

Contacts are NOT a “one size fits all”, they are medical devices that need to be properly fit by your eye care provider. Even certain costume contact lenses can be worn safely if you see your doctor beforehand and adhere to their advice.

Be safe and have a spooktacular Halloween!!!

- Dr. Brewer

20/20 Is Not Enough!

Many children are labeled as having behavioral or attention deficit problems. Sometimes this is a misdiagnosis and what is actually causing their inability to concentrate on schoolwork is a vision related learning issue.

I was surprised to learn that less than 15% of kiddos get their eyes examined before starting school, especially since 80% of what they learn is visual – it’s through their eyes! One out of four kids struggle academically because of undiagnosed vision problems. The majority of these problems are very treatable and can allow these kids to perform at their full potential.

Just because your child passed the vision screener at school or at the pediatrician’s office and was told they have perfect 20/20 vision, doesn’t mean they still can’t be struggling with visual problems. Even with 20/20 vision, it may not be enough to sustain concentration and process information. There are 17 visual skills (see below) that are required to succeed in school and in sports. It is important that every child have a visual health examination by an Optometrist to look for these skills as a simple vision screening may fail to pick up.

Dr. Lyons and myself are proud providers of the InfantSEE program, where kiddos between 6-12 months are given a FREE comprehensive eye examination to ensure everything is developing properly. Check out http://www.infantsee.org/ for more information!

According to the American Optometric Association (AOA), infants should have their first comprehensive eye exam around 6-12 months of age. Children then should have additional eye exams at age 3, and again at age 5.

Call our office if you have questions. Thanks for reading!

Sincerely,

Dr. Brewer

Here is the list of those 17 skills! (Courtesy of COVD.org)

1	Eye Movement Control	The ability to move both eyes together to point at an intended target or follow along a path, like a line of text
2	Simultaneous Focus at Far	Forming a clear image of something in the distance
3	Sustaining Focus at Far	Keeping an image of something in the distance clear
4	Simultaneous Focus at Near	Forming a clear image of something close to the eyes
5	Sustaining Focus at Near	Keeping a clear image of something close to the eyes
6	Simultaneous Alignment at Far	Lining up both eyes at the same point the distance
7	Sustaining Alignment at Far	Holding both eyes lined up at the same point in the distance
8	Simultaneous Alignment at Near	Lining up both eyes at the same point up close
9	Sustaining Alignment at Near	Holding both eyes lined up at the same point up close
10	Central Vision (Visual Acuity)	This is where "20/20" vision comes in!
11	Peripheral Vision	Being able to see what's on either side of you while your eyes are pointed forward
12	Depth Awareness	Being able to tell that things are further away or closer up than each other (also know as depth perception)
13	Color Perception	Being able to tell different colors apart (if you are not color-blind)
14	Gross Visual-Motor	Moving yourself through space without bumping into things by using information from your vision
15	Fine Visual-Motor	Writing, sewing, texting, and doing other small and close-up activities with accuracy by using information from  your vision
16	Visual Perception	Being aware of your environment and what is going on around you in your visual field (the area you can see)
17	Visual Integration	Bringing together your vision and your other senses to accomplish complex tasks, like reading while walking a balance beam

SPECtacular Trunk Show!

It is that time of year again!  Update your look at our 8th annual trunk show.  For eight years we have been filling our optical with thousands of frames for this three-hour fashion party.  Join in the frenzy to save 40% on every frame in our office or just come and enjoy wine and appetizers and say hello!  Either way, you do not want to miss out on this event held on April 27 fro 4-7 PM at our office at 1644 Hwy 395, Unit B-1 in Minden.  Click here for more details!

Fabulous Fall Event

Are there times you'd rather not wear your glasses?  Have you ever wondered what you would look like with blue eyes?  Do you prefer glasses that feel like they aren't there?  Do you like saving money?  Do you like wine, chocolate and cute gifts?  If you answered yes to any of these questions, you should come to our Fabulous Fall Event coming up November 3 at our office from 4-6 PM.

We are providing a contact lens experience for those interested in trying them out before committing to a customized contact lens medical service.  We also realize that not everyone enjoys contact lenses, so we are excited to launch a new frame line in our office called Line Art.  These beautiful frames showcase the minimalist look with a little pizzaz.

Call today to reserve your spot and invite your friends!  775-783-1111

What the heck is a Trunk Show????

A trunk show is a special event within the fashion world where designers put on a special presentation of their products for exclusive buyers. The name comes from the fact that these representatives will literally show up with trunks of merchandise to display and sell.

Valley Eyecare & Eyewear Gallery’s trunk show allows you to personally view entire collections from the attending designers - this means every style and every color! Trunk shows allow us to multiply your frame options by adding the styles and colors that we do not regularly stock in the office.

Come check out the newest designer eyewear styles from Vera Wang, Zac Posen, Etnia Barcelona and more while you sip complementary wine and nibble on hors d’oeuvres. Additionally, you will save 40% on every every frame purchased during the show.  Don't miss this SPECtacular event happening at our office from 4-7 PM Thursday, April 28!

EYECARE ABOUT READING

Valley Eyecare & Eyewear Gallery places a high value on learning.  This year we would like to help provide local first graders with new books to take home when school lets out for the summer.  Want to join us?  Simply drop off a new book appropriate for a first grade student at our office, and we'll take care of the rest!