Author: innexus

Healthy Living for Healthy Eyes

Everyone probably tells you to eat healthy, exercise, and spend time away from the screen. Sure, it’s good for your health, but does it help your eyes? Absolutely! Here are a few key areas of healthy living that are also essential to your healthy eyes and vision.

>Healthy Diet

To help keep your eyes healthy, make sure to load up on nutrients like omega-3 fatty acids, lutein, zinc, and vitamins c and e. Foods like green leafy vegetables, salmon or other oily fish, eggs and nuts, oranges, and pork contain these essential nutrients. Additionally, the vitamins and minerals found in these foods can help prevent many age-related problems such as macular degeneration and cataracts.

A well-balanced diet also helps maintain a healthy weight. Generally speaking, when you eat healthily and are at a lower risk of obesity, you have a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes, the leading cause of blindness in adults.

>Exercise

Exercise also impacts your eye health. By simply going for a walk, you can significantly lower the chances of developing cataracts, age-related macular degeneration, and glaucoma. When someone develops glaucoma, doctors usually treat it by lowering high intra-ocular pressure. Recent research has implicated that, by exercising, you can reduce the pressure in your eye, helping to lower your risk for glaucoma.

Staying Hydrated

Staying hydrated is another critical factor to consider in keeping your eyes healthy. When you don’t drink enough water, your body’s instinct is to conserve it in any way that it can. This conservation includes altering your eyes! Your body will decrease the number of tears produced when it doesn’t have enough water. When this happens, you may develop symptoms of dry eye or eye strain. So what can you do? Drink water! The average water intake per day is about eight, 8-ounce glasses of water, but make sure to consume more during warmer weather or intense exercise.

Habits to Avoid

There are a few bad habits most individuals do that are bad for your eyes.

Rubbing Your Eyes

First, make sure you don’t rub your eyes! Rubbing your eyes can break blood vessels under eyelids, causing bloodshot eyes or dark circles that make you look tired.

Overusing Eye Drops

Another problem that you may not realize is the overuse of eye drops. While eye drops may temporarily soothe your eyes, overusing them may cause your eyes to become irritated over time.

Do you have more questions about ways your lifestyle can help your eyes? Contact our office today and ask us your vision questions!

5 Reasons Eye Exams Are Important

Your eyes allow you to interact with the world around you every day and are a vital part of your daily life. By taking care of your eyes today, you are ensuring you will see your best for years to come. Let’s take a closer look at five reasons why routine eye exams are so important.

  1. Eye exams help children succeed in school.
  2. Myopia is becoming more common.
  3. Vision screenings should never substitute a yearly comprehensive eye exam.
  4. Glaucoma does not present symptoms in the early stages.
  5. Annual eye exams can help detect other health issues.

Eye Exams and School

During a child’s schooling, 80% of the information presented for learning requires good vision. By scheduling a yearly comprehensive eye exam, you are ensuring your child sees clearly and comfortably in the classroom. Even more, an eye exam is the only way to know for sure if your child is able to see their best for sports and other activities.

Reducing Myopia Progression

Myopia, or nearsightedness, is being diagnosed more than ever before, and at an earlier age, too. Children who become nearsighted early in life tend to experience a worsening progression of nearsightedness throughout childhood. This progression puts them at a higher risk of developing cataracts, glaucoma, and retinal detachment later in life.

By scheduling a routine eye exam, your doctor can evaluate your risks of developing myopia. When detected early, you and your eye doctor can dramatically slow the progression of myopia and decrease the chances of developing eye problems down the road.

Vision Screenings Vs. Comprehensive Eye Exams

While commonly provided, a vision screening test is not a replacement for a yearly routine eye exam. Vision screening tests only look to see if a vision problem exists. These tests cannot diagnose the vision problem you have but are able to signify a larger exam is needed. During a comprehensive eye exam, your optometrist will perform tests that evaluate your vision and eye health.

As you age, your risk of eye problems also increase. Routine eye exams are essential to detecting eye-related issues when merely getting a vision screening would not.

Reducing Your Risk of Glaucoma

Many people who develop glaucoma often don’t show symptoms at first. These individuals usually develop vision loss before they have learned that something is wrong with their eyes. This type of vision loss is irreversible if caught too late. With a routine exam, your optometrist can detect high eye pressure and other early signs of glaucoma before any serious damage to your vision occurs.

Detecting Issues During Your Annual Eye Exam

An eye exam can detect other health-related issues such as diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and even cancer. During your exam, your eye doctor will evaluate the health and condition of the blood vessels in your retina, which are predictors of the health of blood vessels throughout your entire body. By scheduling a yearly comprehensive eye exam, you can reduce your risk for diabetes, hypertension, and hypercholesterolemia.

So do you want to take a burden off of your eyes? Contact our office today and ask our staff any questions that you might have about scheduling your eye exam.

Why You Need Multiple Pairs

Thanks to our busy lives, multiple hobbies, and all the activities in between, having multiple pairs of eyewear handy is a necessity. Even contact lens wearers should have alternative pairs of eyewear. But some of us still haven’t jumped on that bandwagon. If you’re still on the fence, here are a few reasons why it’s a great idea to have at least two pairs of eyewear:

Misplacement

We’ve all been there, searching for missing glasses just when we need them the most. An additional pair of eyewear can’t guarantee they won’t keep slipping through the cracks, but it will significantly reduce the chances of having to go without. Lost a contact lens and don’t have a replacement? Backup glasses can hold you over until your new contact lenses come in!

Style

Think about it: a night out on the town is going to call for more stylish eyewear than the amber-tinted lenses you wear at your computer desk. Funky frames may better showcase your personality, but a more neutral pair may be needed for professional situations. Having different styles of glasses removes this dilemma by giving you situation-specific options.

Protection

Chances are, your standard glasses aren’t going to adapt and darken in reaction to sunlight (unless you have photochromic lenses), so it only makes sense to invest in a pair of prescription sunglasses to protect your eyes. Polarized lenses are a good option, especially since the tint can be tailored to your specific sport or hobby.

Contact Lens Wearers

Plano sunwear is a must have for all contact lens users. Contact lenses do not protect your eyes from the harmful UV rays of the sun. We recommend plano sunwear that blocks 100% of UV rays for anyone who wears contacts.

Schedule an appointment with our office if you’re interested in investing in a second pair of glasses! We will help you find the best frames and lenses for your lifestyle!

Nutrition and Your Eyes

The foods you eat and the dietary supplements you take affect your overall health and the health of your eyes. Nutrition and your eyes are linked together and can help prevent certain eye diseases along with other health problems.

Healthy Foods

Choosing healthy foods improves your overall health as well as your eye health. Dark green or brightly colored fruits and vegetables are essential parts of a healthy diet. These fruits and vegetables may also help to reduce the risks of developing eye diseases. Sugars and white flours may increase your risk of age-related eye disease, instead, opt for whole grains which do not have the same risks. Healthy fats containing omega-3 essential fatty acids are critical to your diet. These healthy fats can help prevent dry eyes and cataracts.

Hydration

Staying hydrated is essential to the health of your eyes. Drink plenty of water every day! We also recommend choosing healthy beverages and avoiding high sugar beverages. Proper hydration is linked to the reduction of dry eye symptoms.

Nutrients

Nutrients are an essential part of a healthy diet. These nutrients can be found in foods but can also be taken in supplements to ensure you are receiving the proper amount in your diet. Consult with your primary care provider before taking any dietary supplements. Here are a few nutrients that may have a link to eye health:

  • Vitamin A: may protect against night blindness and dry eyes
  • Omega 3 fatty acids: may prevent macular degeneration and dry eyes
  • Vitamin C: may reduce risks of cataracts and macular degeneration
  • Vitamin D: may reduce risks of macular degeneration
  • Zinc: may reduce risks of night blindness
  • Vitamin E: may reduce the risk of advanced macular degeneration

Aging Eyes

As you age, it is essential to consider all factors that could affect the overall health of your eyes. Not only should you adopt a healthy diet, but you can also do several other things to protect your eyes. One way to protect your eyes is to avoid overexposure to ultraviolet rays, which includes wearing sunglasses outdoors and staying away from tanning beds. Now is the time to quit smoking, not only is smoking harmful to your overall health it also increased your risks for many eye diseases. Finally, ensure that you are getting annual eye exams to detect any eye diseases before they cause permanent vision loss.

Nutrition and your eyes are highly connected, continue to find ways to feed your body the food and nutrients it needs to live a healthy life with healthy eyes.

Vision Changes As You Age

As we age, our bodies experience declines in overall performance, including the performance of our eyes. The age-related vision changes become more noticeable as we reach age 60 and older. Some vision changes are entirely normal and do not indicate disease, whereas others may be indications of major eye diseases. This is why eye exams become particularly important when you reach age 50!

Presbyopia

Presbyopia is an ordinary loss of focusing ability, typically noticed after the age of 40. The lens inside your eye hardens as you age and causes difficulty focusing on objects up close. The first signs of presbyopia are often holding a phone or reading material farther away from your eyes. As you age, presbyopia will worsen. Eventually, it requires reading glasses, progressive lenses, or multifocal contact lenses to focus on objects up close.

Structures of the Eye

As individuals age, the structures of the eye can lose strength or desensitize which causes your vision to change. These are often subtle changes over time and make slight impacts on vision.

Pupil Size

Muscles that control pupil size and reaction lose strength over time, causing the pupil to become smaller and less reactive to light.

Dry Eyes

Our bodies produce fewer tears as we age. Women after menopause may experience worse dry eye symptoms than others.

Peripheral Vision

It is normal to experience some loss of peripheral vision. The average decrease in the visual field is 1-3 degrees per decade of life.

Color Vision

The cells responsible for color vision decline in sensitivity as we age, which can cause colors to appear less bright.

Vitreous Detachment

The gel-like substance in your eye, called vitreous, begins to liquefy as you age. It is potentially causing spots and floaters in your vision.

As you age, you should expect vision changes. However, the only way to ensure those changes are normal and not due to eye disease is through comprehensive eye exams with your eye doctor. Additionally, the standard recommendation is for individuals over age 50 to have annual eye exams to protect the health of their eyes.

Bad Habits: Aging Your Eyes

Do you feel like your eyes have aged? Some bad habits can make your eyes appear more aged than they are. The best way to preserve your eye health and appearance is to cut these bad habits out of your life!bits out of your life!

Rubbing Your Eyes

There are tiny blood vessels under their skin around your eyes, excessive rubbing can cause these vessels to break. As a result, you may notice dark circles, puffy eyes, premature crows feet, and drooping eyelids. We recommend you refrain from pulling or tugging this skin because it is very sensitive. If your eyes are irritated, place a damp cloth on them instead of rubbing.

Not Wearing Sunglasses

Protecting your eyes from the harmful UV rays of the sun helps your eyes to stay healthy and young. If you don’t wear sunglasses, you could damage the eyes or sunburn the eyelids. Additionally, you increase your risk for eye diseases such as cataracts, macular degeneration, pinguecula, and pterygium. To keep your eyes healthy, youthful, and safe wear sunglasses that block 100% of UV rays.

Smoking

Smoking is linked to eye diseases such as cataracts, macular degeneration, uveitis, dry eye, and diabetic retinopathy. This is a bad habit that drastically ages your eyes. Smokers are four times more likely to go blind than nonsmokers. Quitting smoking, no matter what your age, reduces your risk of developing severe eye conditions.

Not Sleeping Enough

Your eyes can appear aged if you don’t get enough sleep. Consequently, a lack of sleep can cause red bloodshot eyes, dark circles under the eyes, eye twitching, dry eyes, and blurry vision. Not sleeping is a bad habit for your overall health and wellbeing.

Dehydration

Not drinking water can make you dehydrated. When you are dehydrated your eyes do not produce enough tears. As a result, you may experience symptoms of dry eye.

Not Visiting Your Eye Doctor

The last bad habit you need to change is not visiting your eye doctor. Many eye diseases can go undetected and cause harm before you are even aware of changes in your vision. Some eye diseases have no warning signs and can cause irreversible vision loss. Regular visits to your eye doctor are the best way to protect the health of your eyes, detect vision problems, and find possible eye disease. Don’t forget to inform us of any family history that can help to protect the health of your eyes.

Eliminating these bad habits from your life can help to improve eye health and maintain a youthful appearance. Give us a call today to schedule your regular eye exam.

Eye Allergies in Every Season

Eye allergies are caused by the same substances that give you a runny nose and sneezing. Individuals with seasonal allergies typically experience various reactions to their allergens such as sneezing, itchy eyes, or a headache. Symptoms of eye allergies include itching, redness, burning, and clear watery discharge. Additionally, you may notice dark circles under the eyes and puffy eyelids. It is essential to manage your allergies to prevent these allergy symptoms and other eye infections related to seasonal allergies.

Winter Allergies

Indoor allergens are the most common cause of eye allergies during the winter months. Spending more time inside with the house closed up tends to worsen these allergens. We recommend using mite-proof bedding to limit exposure to dust mites. Frequently wash bedding, blankets, and furniture to decrease allergy symptoms from both dust mites and pet dander. Additionally, using a dehumidifier is the best way to control mold in your home mainly focused on basements and bathrooms.

  • Dust Mites
  • Mold
  • Pet Dander

Spring Allergies

Spring can be a dreaded season for seasonal allergy sufferers. Pollen is the primary cause of reaction during the spring months. With the trees, flowers, and plants coming into bloom their pollen can severely irritate your eyes. Wearing glasses or sunglasses outdoors can help to prevent pollen from entering your eyes.

  • Tree Pollen
  • Flower Pollen

Summer Allergies

During the summer months, grass pollen and mold spores are the most common allergens. On high pollen count days, we recommend staying indoors as much as possible. To limit your exposure to allergens we recommend keeping your windows closed and using air conditioning in your car and home. Avoid using fans, as they can draw pollen and mold into the house.

  • Grass Pollen
  • Molds Spores

Fall Allergies

As fall comes around, seasonal allergies come back on the horizon. Check the pollen count and avoid spending time outside during peak pollen times. Mold spores begin to grow on damp leaves in the fall. While it can be challenging to prevent seasonal allergens completely, we recommend limiting your exposure as much as possible. Additionally, replacing the carpet in your home with hardwood, tile, or linoleum helps to keep pet dander and pollen from settling in your home.

  • Ragweed
  • Mold Spores
  • Pet Dander

Don’t let eye allergies stop you from living your life. We can help you manage your eye allergies and control your symptoms. Give our office a call or request an appointment to discuss your allergies with your eye doctor!

Screen Time and Children

Screen time is the amount of time a person spends staring at digital displays including computers, tablets, smartphones, and TVs. In our modern and technology-focused world children are spending time on digital displays for educational and recreational purposes. Children who spend several hours on digital devices are at risk of developing vision-related problems.

Average Time Children Spend On Digital Devices

According to the Vision Council, 72% of American parents report their children regularly spend more than two hours on screens per day. It is likely that children spend significantly more time on screens than their parents think. Common Sense Media reports that children under age eight spend more than two hours a day with screen media. For 8 to 10-year-olds screen time triples to six hours per day. Kids in middle school and high school spend up to nine hours per day looking at digital displays.

Risks of Screen Time

Too much screen time can be dangerous for anyone’s eyes, children included. Screens emit a broad spectrum of visible light. While most of these light rays are harmless, blue light is a high-energy visible light that can cause damage to your eyes. Blue light has shorter wavelengths and higher energy causing harm to the retina over time. Overexposure to blue light can cause:

  • Difficulty sleeping
  • Headaches
  • Neck/shoulder pain
  • Eye strain
  • Reduced attention span
  • Poor behavior
  • Irritability

Computer Vision Syndrome

Computer vision syndrome is a condition caused by visual stress. Symptoms include tired eyes, dry eyes, headache, and fatigue.

Unhealthy Posture

Your body naturally slouches inwards when on digital devices. Your back and shoulders round, your head tilts back, and your chin justs forward. This reaction to digital devices is called “turtling” and can cause neck, back, and shoulder pain.

How To Protect Your Child’s Eyes

It is clear digital devices will not be going away anytime soon. Therefore it is essential to ensure you are doing everything you can to protect your children’s eyes from digital screens. One way you can do this is by limiting screen time for your children while at home. You can also apply blue light filters or download blue light filtering apps to all digital devices. If your child wears prescription glasses, ask us about add blue light blocking to their lenses during your next appointment.

Nighttime Use

The largest source of blue light is our sun, which tells our brain when to be awake or sleep. The high use of digital devices emitting blue light may disrupt your natural circadian rhythm (sleep cycle) by miscommunicating the time of day and if you should be awake or asleep. Stop digital device time two hours before usual bedtime to ensure your child’s sleep schedule affected by blue light.

Do you have more questions about screen time and blue light? Stop by our office or give our office a call and we would be happy to answer your questions!

Perfect Glasses For Your Lifestyle

We believe that your glasses should complement your lifestyle and meet your vision needs! With everyone having different priorities, jobs, and activities in their life eyewear is not a one size fits all. We want to help you select the perfect glasses for your lifestyle!

Business Eyewear

The savvy business professional wants glasses that enhance their professional image. Your appearance can influence clients and colleagues initial impression of you. Therefore, we recommend eyewear that will instill trust and confidence in you. Typically, this includes a more conservative frame shape and color. Silver, gunmetal, gold, black, brown, and burgundy are popular options to wear and match with business attire.

Creativity and Fashion Glasses

The fashionista is looking to showcase their style and taste in every accessory they wear. Glasses are one accessory you wear every day and need to match with every outfit. Showcasing style in your glasses can easily be done through unique frame shapes, bright colored frames, or patterned frames. A significant fashion trend lately is retro or vintage styling!

Active and Sport Eyewear

When your lifestyle is revolved around sports and active living, you need eyewear that can handle any activity. As a result, your sports performance may benefit from sports sunglasses, sports eyeglasses, or protective sports eyewear! Optimize your performance with sports eyewear designed to meet your sports needs best. Standard features in sports eyewear include polarized lenses, polycarbonate lenses, and lens tints.

Frame Allergies

Always inform your eye doctor of any allergies you have to materials in frames or nose pads. Common frame allergies include metal allergies like nickel. As a result, we offer a wide variety of metal and plastic frames our opticians will help you select a pair you can wear. Some patients also have an allergy to silicone nose pads. For that reason, our opticians are familiar with non-silicone nose pad options. We want to ensure you can wear your glasses every day without an allergic reaction.

Computer Worker

Does your job require long hours spent on a computer? As your average computer time per day increases your risk for developing eye strain and computer vision syndrome increases as well. Computer glasses are designed to optimize vision at the intermediate distance and eliminate digital eye strain symptoms. Additionally, the lenses in computer eyewear protect your eyes against the harmful blue light.

Driving Glasses

Studies have shown glare to be a factor in automobile accidents. Sun shining in your eyes and glare reflecting off the road can make it difficult to see other cars or pedestrians. Driving glasses can be either polarized plano sunglasses or prescription eyewear. Polarized sunglasses reduce glare from the sun and increase contrast for sharper vision while driving. Prescription glasses with an anti-reflective coating minimize glare from light and better vision during nighttime driving.

Safety Eyewear

Protect your eyes by wearing safety glasses, sports goggles, or shooting glasses. Safety eyewear is durable, provides more coverage, and is impact resistant. Certain occupations require safety eyewear because they work in hazardous conditions. However, when completing home renovations or repairs, you can also face eye dangers. Always wear safety eyewear when completing any task that includes dust, flying shards, chemicals, or UV radiation.

Ready for a new pair of eyewear? Stop by our office anytime to view our selection of frames and talk with our staff about the best pair of eyewear for your lifestyle.

Computer Vision Syndrome: Eye Strain

According to The Vision Council, 65% of adults experience some form of computer vision syndrome. Often individuals associate eye strain as a “normal” part of computer work. However, the eye strain you are experiencing is a symptom of computer vision syndrome and can be reduced or avoided!

What is Computer Vision Syndrome?

Computer vision syndrome is caused by the eyes and brain reacting to the characters on a computer screen. On-screen characters have less contrast than characters in print and are more challenging for our eyes to focus on. The difficulty of having to focus on the characters on computer screens is what causes eye fatigue and strain.

Symptoms of CVS

Depending on the individual they may experience one, several, or all symptoms of computer vision syndrome. These symptoms can cause discomfort for the individual and make it difficult to complete work effectively.

  • Headaches
  • Loss of focus
  • Burning eyes
  • Tired eyes
  • Red eyes
  • Double vision
  • Eye twitching
  • Blurred vision
  • Neck and shoulder pain

Ways to Combat CVS

Many computer users find their eyes feel strained working under fluorescent lights. Users feel more eye comfort when using floor lamps instead of harsh overhead lights. Minimize the reflection of glare off your computer screen by installing an anti-glare screen on your monitor. Consider closing the blinds to prevent the sun from reflecting off your computer screen as well.

The type of screen and settings of your screen can also impact your eye strain. We recommend making sure you have an LCD screen because it has an anti-reflective surface and is more comfortable for the eyes.

Additionally, you can adjust the settings of your screen for optimal viewing. A few settings to adjust are the brightness, text, and color temperature. The brightness should be the same as your surrounding workstation, the text size and contrast can be changed to your comfort level, and reducing the color temperature lowers the amount of blue light emitted by your screen.

Computer Eyewear

One of the best ways to reduce your risk of computer vision syndrome is to visit our office. Your eye doctor can perform a few tests to detect vision problems which could be contributing to your computer vision syndrome and help decide if computer eyewear is the solution for you. Many individuals discover computer eyewear helps reduce their symptoms and improves their productivity.

Schedule an appointment with our office to discuss the impact computer work is having on your eyes and the best ways to reduce your eye strain and fatigue.