Eye Care Blog

Many folks now are deprived of 20/20 vision because of various vision problems. The positive side is that most common visual problems such as nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism are correctable. While corrective eyeglasses and contact lenses have been into existence for many decades, laser eye surgeries including LASIK have a shorter history. But an obvious trend in the society is that LASIK is becoming a popular alternative taken by individuals suffering vision defects.

The fact is that not everyone likes wearing eyeglasses, even if spectacles nowadays have taken a new dimension that more and more fashionable elements can be added. There are still some styles of glasses that come in ugly appearance by incorporating thick lenses. In addition, eyeglasses will inevitably exert extra burden on the wearer’s nose. What’s more, wearing corrective eyeglasses requires the wearer to change a prescription at certain times, which means long-term expense.

Contact lenses are favored by some individuals because of their inconspicuous nature and the aesthetic enhancement. With the expanding lens options, the public can even get colored contact lenses from ordinary optical stores. By wearing colored lenses, they can achieve unnatural eye colors coming in fresh and ideal. But the most outstanding problem associated with contact lenses is that they always need bothersome lens care on a daily basis. Even with the availability of daily disposable contact lenses, it is still necessary to take good care of these lenses during insertion, staying in the eyes and removal.

Those shortcomings of either eyeglasses or contact lenses urge more and more people with visual defects to go to LASIK surgery. This advanced procedure has become quite mature after several years’ practice. Patients will not experience any pain during the procedure. The vast majority of patients can restore 20/20 visual acuity after the surgery. Before choosing a surgeon, patients should ask all relevant questions and get proper answers. It is the surgeon’s experience and expertise that really matters, rather than the price.

If you want to know more about vision knowledge, then feel free to visit http://vision.firmoo.com/vision-surgery

you will get some help about eye care clinics and eye doctors in following optical eyeglasses stores of Birmingham:Michelson Laser Vision Inc, Michael Callihan Md Assoc

Years ago, only eyeglasses could be used to correct vision problems such as nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism. And then corrective contact lenses followed. Nowadays, another modern solution is available that is called Atlanta LASIK surgery. LASIK corrects or treats vision problems in an amazing way that patients do not need to wear corrective eyeglasses or contact lenses any more after the surgery. Resorting to LASIK surgery, patients used to wear eyeglasses or contact lenses can get dramatic change in their lives.

Nearly all patients who have vision problems can choose LASIK surgery, even if some of them do not feel bothered by their current solutions to vision correction. It is true that some people have stable prescriptions and become accustomed to eyeglasses or contact lenses. But they can really get benefit from LASIK surgery which will permanently reshape the cornea using advanced lasers. This procedure is quite simple and involves almost no painless.

Before conducting LASIK surgery, the surgeon will use a topographer which involves noninvasive laser technology to get a topographic map of the eyes. The corneas of the eyes will be reshaped during the surgery. But which areas should be reshaped and how much tissue should be removed depend on the topographic map preoperatively. In this case, this measurement is indispensible. Before receiving such a topographic measurement, patients should stop wearing contact lenses for a specific period.

LASIK surgery will be performed with the patient wide awake and alert. In some cases, a mild sedative will be applied to ease the nerves. After creating a tiny incision called a flap in the cornea, the mid-layer of the cornea named the stroma will appear. The flap will be folded and an excimer laser will be used to remove micron-thick layers of tissue from the cornea. As mentioned before, the areas to be reshaped or tissues to be removed are determined by the topographic map. After proper tissue removal, the flap will be held back in place.

If you want to know more about Vision knowledge, then feel free to visit http://vision.firmoo.com/

Firmoo.comis the fastest growing online community to buy affordable yet high quality prescription eyeglasses, and buy prescription sunglasses etc. Firmoo’s return and refund policy makes your purchase with Firmoo risk-free.

Most people seldom go to see an eye doctor for an eye exam unless they find things in vision becomes blurry and when the poor vision lead to difficulties with study or work. All of them neglect the periodic optometric examinations which are an important part of routine preventive health care. Regular eye check decreases the possible eye problems and helps to find out early diagnosis. Therefore, regular eye examinations are recommended to everyone to take every two years, especially for those who have any prescription or current problems. The fact is that they are suggested to have an eye exam once or twice a year.

Why? The Reasons are:

Regular eye exams guarantee you a near perfect vision. No matter you are a person who has any prescription or not, you do not want to have any eyesight problems. The best way to make sure that you have near perfect vision is to have a regular eye check, so that eye diagnosis can be found early, thus, early treatment can be applied. This is what we usually refer: to solve the problems in the bud. With eye check, your optometrist will provide you some good advice on the way to maintain and improve your eye health.

Regular eye exams provide precaution to computer vision syndrome. In modern world, a new eye condition called “computer vision syndrome”, for the frequent use of computer either at home or at work places, emerges. Those who have computer vision syndrome often experience headaches, blurred vision, tired eyes, and dry eyes, etc., All of those eye conditions are not in the consideration of eye problems in most people’s views, however, the fact is that they are eye problems. In such conditions, if you take regular eye exams, the eye doctor will give you corresponding suggestions to the syndrome.

Regular eye exams decrease the possibilities of certain eye diseases. Eye diseases are annoying, but if they are identified in the early stage, they can be treated without or no effect to your vision. Therefore, people should have regular eye exams even if their vision is in good condition because an exam can detect early-stage diseases–even if no symptoms are being experienced.

Regular eye exams also have impact on other health issues. Maybe you do not believe that eye health correlates to other underlying issues in the body, tumours, high cholesterol, blood pressure and diabetes, but the fact is that eye conditions have effect on those things. Therefore, eye doctor will usually advise patients to eat vegetables, like kale, broccoli and fish to maintain eye health.

Regular eye exams also are good for eyesight in children. Studies show that one in four children has vision problems, yet nearly half of parents with children 12 or younger have not taken their child to an eye doctor, plus kids always can not express themselves enough to identify a specific problem. However, with the help of optometrists, they diagnosis can be easily defined. Therefore, if you have children, you should give more care to their eyesight, for they are very vulnerable. Actually, children are more recommended to be checked regularly to detect any dyslexia or attention deficit disorder.

If you want to know more about vision knowledge, then feel free to visit http://vision.firmoo.com/eye-exams

Firmoo.comis the fastest growing online community to buy affordable yet high quality prescription eyeglasses, and buy prescription sunglasses etc. Firmoo’s return and refund policy makes your purchase with Firmoo risk-free.

Patients are filing through the doors of the new Penobscot Eye Care Facility in Brewer.

It features equipment to make frames right on site.

Optometrist Kathy Ward says sometimes they have eye wear ready to go before a patient’s appointment is over.

Ward says they wanted the new facility to be comfortable and convenient for patients.

“It’s a lot of advances over the old building. It is bigger, there’s more space. We have several more exam rooms and extra screening rooms for pre-diagnostic evaluations.”

Nickerson and O’Day of Brewer built the facility which, we’re told, was completed ahead of schedule and under budget.

Bates, who is an eye-care physician in 1860-1931, attributed almost all the vision problem to long-period of the eyes. He thought glasses are unnecessary or even harmful to the eyes, so a series of eye exercise are invented to enhance vision which have proved to be effective right now. People with blurred vision, eyestrain, lazy eye, or double vision all enjoy the improvement of eyesight after a long time eye exercise.

The saying that” the ways in which people strain to see are infinite, and the methods used to relieve the strain must be equally varied” obviously indicates that no simple one approach will work for everyone. So a number of eye exercise treatments are introduced in the following.

The first is the palming treatment. You are suggested to close your eyes for minutes to have a relaxation. Then cover your eyes with palm and massage the eyeball gently to deepen the relaxation. You can feel differently depending on the strain of eyes.

The second is the visualization treatment. You are suggested to think the top letter of an eye chart then visualize the smaller ones on the bottom, at last the smallest comma. It is better to image something black to strengthen the benefits.

The third is the movement treatment. You are suggested to move your eyes back and forth or to transfer from the actual to mental world to get an illusion of the “swinging” and “shifting” objects. This method may seem a little difficult, so someone simplifies the process by just moving the eyes up to down, left to right and far to near repeatedly.

The next is the sunning treatment. You are suggested to expose your eyes in sunshine gradually by special training to relieve the strain on eyes. It sounds ridiculous right now, because we know eyes exposure to sunlight can damage your eyes completely, and that is why we invent the sunglasses. So please do not try this method.

The theories of Bates on eye exercise are generally anecdotal and they are not testified to be exactly right by medical research. But it is a historic event and he is great, because he helps us to realize the importance of eye exercise and inspire more people to join in the eye protection research to find out the most beneficial eye exercise. Actually, after Bates, there is a standard eye exercise carried out to help to improve the eyesight. Furthermore, there are various ways to enhance vision, including balanced diet, adequate sleep and eye exercise.

reference

·Bates Method: A Simple Way to Improve Your Eyesight (By Yaron Cheng)

·Bates Method: Natural Cure for Lazy Eye (By William Krause)

Optometrist Dan Stein has worked in the city for eight years and said he likes what he sees.

“One of the things I like about the Downriver area is that it’s more of a family-based or friendly area,” he said. “I’ve worked and I still help a friend in Birmingham, and I’ll tell you, patients here are so much nicer.”

Stein has been an optometrist for 30 years.

In 2001, he became owner of what was formerly known as Blaize Eye Clinic, 3101 Biddle Ave. The clinic’s name later was changed to Wyandotte Optical.

Before owning his Wyandotte office, Stein worked several years for corporate clinics.

He said that over time the demanding workload became too much to handle.

“The real truth is that I had a heart attack,” he said. “Some clinics are more interested in numbers, and it produced so much stress on me that I couldn’t relax and enjoy my patients. My wife said: ‘That’s it. You can’t handle people above you telling you what to do.’”

Today, he believes he’s stronger than he’s ever been.

“I run and jog and I use my athletic equipment,” Stein said. “I’m in better shape now than I’ve ever been.”

Stein waited two years until Dr. Albert Blaize was ready to retire before he assumed ownership.

“Not only did Dr. Blaize sell me the office, but he set me up with my wife,” he added.

Blaize’s name still can be found on the building, a tribute to the former eye doctor.

The office has four full-time employees and a part- time one. It is open from 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays and Thursdays; 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays; and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. by appointment two Saturdays each month.

Specialties are quality eye care and contact lenses, and Stein estimated that 25 percent to 30 percent of his customers request contacts. The office schedules between 40 and 50 patients each week.

Stein had an uncle who was an optometrist.

“I knew I wanted to be a doctor, but I didn’t want to be an M.D.,” he said. “Being an optometrist was a logical choice for me.”

He graduated from Illinois College of Optometry in 1975.

Stein is certified in visual therapy and diagnostic testing of children, which allows him to test binocular vision and amblyopic and visual perception difficulties.

His experience in primary eye care includes treatment of minor injuries and infections, advanced contact lenses, fitting and computer vision syndrome, a temporary condition resulting from focusing the eyes on a computer display for long periods of time.

Children who are ready for kindergarten should have an eye exam, Stein said.

“Some states are passing a law that before children can enter school, they have to have an eye exam,” he said.

Stein suggests that contact lens wearers have their eyes checked annually.

“The contacts are resting on your eyes, so you want to make sure the cornea and eyes’ lids are healthy,” Stein said. “There’s (a) tendency for people to ignore symptoms, but they should come in to make sure their eyes are healthy.

“Eyeglass wearers typically have their eyes checked every two years unless they have a medical condition, like being diabetic. Between myself and some of the eye surgeons in the area, we monitor some people for macular degeneration.

“With everybody using computers, there’s a high incidence of dry eye and other computer-related symptoms.”

Although Stein does not treat macular degeneration, he said the population is growing older and there are a growing number of patients with macular degeneration, cataracts and dry eye symptoms.

“We try to treat the dry eye and refer our patients to the cataract specialists in the area,” he said.

Stein treats minor injuries and infections, but if there is someone with a major eye problem, he would examine the patient and refer them to a specialist.

Maintaining state-of-art equipment is important to Stein and his staff. He offers digital retinal photography.

“Today’s technology allows us to see more of the retina in more detail,” he said. “Using technology, we can find retinal diseases and other disorders a lot faster before they start causing major problems. I think today’s society demands that we stay on top with state-of-the-art technology. I’ve been doing this for 30 years, and it’s kind of fun seeing new technology and using it.

“I have a lot more fun using the newer equipment to find glaucoma sooner, and it can save a person’s sight when we can get them the help they need.”

In the three decades Stein has worked in the eye care industry, he has noticed consumers are getting more health conscious and the profession is getting more technological.

“We’re offering better care than they ever had before,” he said.

Stein credits a personable and knowledgeable staff for the success of his business.

“We have one of the largest frame selections in the area, thanks to Pat Phanawong,” Stein said. “She works really hard on that.”

Phanawong, a Wyandotte resident, is an optician at the clinic with more than 20 years’ experience.

Stein said a large percentage of his patients are referred.

“I have a phenomenal staff,” Stein said. “They do a very good job of taking care of each patient like they are family. They are genuine. They do it because they want to, not because they have to. They are an extension of me. We want to make sure people get the care they need.”

When you can not see clear or can’t focus on things, you probably need a pair of eyeglasses. Today’s optical industry is actually a part of fashion clothing industry, and you can shop for fashion frame for your glasses just like shopping for clothes and apparel.

Designers from fashion industry are entering the world of designing of all types of fashion frames, so virtually you can find any fashion frame for any taste and styles to meet your face and personality. A good pair of fashion frame can make you the center of some attentions both on the street and in the office, which also greatly enhance your glamour and uniqueness.

If you are stern or formal looking, look for fashion frames which suit you the best; if you are vivid and lovely, look for stylish and trendy frames.

Men can choose from variety of fashion eyeglass frames. Fashion frame made of high quality metals will be the choice of priority. These fashion frames show perfect finishing, durability as well as lightweight, give people a look of maturity, strength and confidence.

Women’s choices are even more exciting. It all depends on your affordability, taste and liking. A bold and thick fashion plastic eyeglasses frame makes you lovely and sprightly. Women may also choose metal eyeglass frames to show your tact, or a rimless fashion frame to show most of your natural beauty of your eyes and face.

Choices for fashion eyeglass frames are endless. For women, choosing fashion frame, just like choose cosmetics and clothes, is never a boring job.

Age-related decline in eye is common among people in their 60s or older. Some eye problems such as presbyopia and cataracts are quite normal, while more serious age-related eye diseases such as glaucoma, macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy may affect old people’s daily lives.

Presbyopia is to some content inevitable in people above 40, which causes individuals difficult in managing up close tasks. As people grow older, presbyopia also advances. As presbyopia develops, people may be forced to keep more than one pair of eyeglasses or change glasses with a higher prescription. Solutions to presbyopia include reading glasses, multifocal contact lenses or eyeglasses, monovision LASIK and conductive keratoplasty.

About half of all 65-year-old Americans suffer some degree of cataracts, and the number of cataract patients will reach 30 million by 2020. There are so large a number of cataracts cases that this eye disease has been considered as a normal ageing change. Cataract surgery is the most widely applied treatment, which removes cloudy cataracts on the lens. Multifocal lens implants during a cataract surgery can restore vision at all distances.

Common age-related eye diseases include macular degeneration, glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy. Age-related macular degeneration has been the leading cause of blindness in American seniors. People in their 80s develop glaucoma at a 12 percentage. The National Eye Institute estimates that 40% of the 10.2 million of diagnosed diabetic patients have some degree of diabetic retinopathy.

Natural aging involves various subtle changes in vision and eye structures, including pupil size, tears production, peripheral and color vision, vitreous and so on.

The pupil becomes smaller and less responsive to changes in ambient lighting as people age. As a result, older individuals always need more ambient light for comfortable reading. They may get help from photochromic lenses or lenses with anti-reflective coatings. Aging also makes the eyes to generate fewer tears, especially in women after menopause. Artificial tears can be prescribed to ease symptoms such as burning and stinging caused resulted from dry eye.

Older people also suffer peripheral vision loss, which is quite harmful during driving. Older motorists need more attention when approaching intersections. Color vision and color sensitivity declines are also quite common in old people, which result from the aging of related retinal cells that are responsible for color perception. Unfortunately, there is no effective treatment for decreased color vision. Aging may bring vitreous detachment, resulting in spots and floaters as well as flashes in the visual field. These symptoms may signify a detached retina that is likely to cause blindness.

Treatments of age-related vision changes involve some other factors. eye exams from professional optometrists or ophthalmologists are important to detect vision problems. And old people should tell their doctors about family vision history, current taking medications and other conditions that may be associated with vision health. Eye health also requires a healthy diet and smoking quitting.

Over one million people suffer eye injuries each year in America, most of which could have been prevented. The consciousness of eye care should be held by everyone. It is an advisable choice to wear protective safety glasses for eye care when people do sports and recreational activities. Also, people should pay more attention to children’s eyecare, supervise kids when they are playing with toys or games to avoid hurting their eyes from some projectile toys such as pellet guns. If people have an eye injury, get medical attention from an eye care doctor as soon as possible.

People also should attach importance to the influences of environments on their eye health. Just like the skin, eyes are damaged by UV rays coming from the sun, whether it is sunny day or overcast. According to eye care professional, people should always wear sunglasses which can offer UV ray protection for eyecare in daylight hours. When it is smoky, people should follow eyecare practitioners’ advice that try not to rub eyes, for not transfer dust and ash from hands to eyes.

People who do any of these things which require staring at one place for a long time such as working on a computer really need eye care. It is important to take frequent brakes and look at things farther away for a moment. There are some special eyecare films offered for computer screens to minimize the harm from looking at monitor for long period of time. As is pointed put by some eye care experts, people should make sure the lighting is correct for the activity they are doing-a bit dimmer for computer work and bright for reading.

Frequent check-ups with eyecare professional will be good for eyes health. If people have some eyes problems, some eye care products may help people for eyecare such as eye drops, which can use to relieve dry eyes. Also, people can do a number of eye care exercises, which can make eyes to stay in good shape and help with any inherent problems.

Omega-3 fatty acids are increasingly recommended for healthy eyes. This type of essential fatty acids is thought to maintain good blood flow, which is critical for enough oxygen and nutrients supplement to the eyes. Omega-3 fatty acids are polyunsaturated fats so that they can reduce unhealthy cholesterol in the body.

Among various foods, cold-water fish is the best source of omega-3 fatty acids. The American Heart Association says that people should consume weekly at least two servings of cold-water fish such as salmon, mackerel, herring, sardine and tuna. High intake of fish is thought to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. In addition, choosing “unpolluted” fish is also necessary. Some farmed fish may contain environmental toxins such as mercury, polychlorinated biphenyls and organochlorine pesticides.

Fish oil supplements offer same benefits as whole fish. These supplements can be preferred alternatives for people who don’t like fish. What’s more, fish oil is free of toxins. Flaxseeds, flaxseed oil, walnuts and dark green leafy vegetables can also be good sources of omega-3 fatty acids, but they are harder for the body’s absorption.

Another type of essential fatty acids is omega-6 fatty acids, including linoleic acid, gamma-linolenic acid, and arachidonic acid. Sources of these acids include sunflower oil, corn oil, canola oil, safflower oil, certain seeds, meat and animal products. Since excessive omega-6 fatty acids are harmful, you should replace cooking oils plentiful in omega-6 with olive oil, in order to lower omega-6 level.

Hydrogenated oils in processed foods and deep-dried foods contain much trans-fatty acids, which affect the body’s normal absorption of omega-3 fatty acids. These trans-fatty acids have altered structures and may bring potential diseases including cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity and so on. Experts suggest that a healthy diet should avoid hydrogenated oils, margarine, fried foods and other foods containing trans-fats.