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After having your eyes examined, you may notice that there is an expiry date on your new eyeglass prescription. Often, people will question why this expiry date is there. Especially, if the individual feels that they are in good health and have good vision. Most optometrists will usually mark a prescription date as valid for 1-2 years after a full eye health and vision check. There are many reasons and factors that an optometrist will consider before determining a prescription’s expiry date. Our blog article examines some of the reasons which determine when an eyeglass prescription expires.
There are some common terms that you may hear during your visit to your optometrist and one of them may be the word “astigmatism”. This is because an astigmatism is a very common eye condition, which tends to occur in everybody to a certain amount. Most amounts of astigmatism can be corrected by either eyeglasses, contact lenses, and in many cases even eye surgery. But for many people who have an astigmatism, they don’t know what it is, why they have it, or what the options are for astigmatism correction.
Summer is a great time to enjoy the beautiful weather… and for some of us, enjoy the extra time we get off work for summer holidays. Sometimes though, how we choose to spend our free time, doesn’t come without risk. In the summer months, we tend to be more active with things such as yard work, sporting activities, and other leisure activities, like camping and hiking. However, while doing some of these different activities, we are sometimes unknowingly putting ourselves in harms ways. It is obvious one should be careful with this knife for slicing, for example. Such things are countless, and because of this we can be at a greater risk for suffering an accident that can result in bodily harm. That is why, while enjoying the summer we have to be smart, and proactively protect ourselves from danger. Our eyes are no different, here are some tips about eye protection that you can try and put into practice, to help keep your eyes and vision safe.
When selecting new glasses, choosing what lenses will work best for you is a major part of the discussion that you will have with the optician or optometric assistant prior to placing your order. Your optician will help identify what specific tasks, activities and environments you will typically be using your glasses in and will best determine which lenses will work best for your visual needs and lifestyle. When needing specific correction, such as a need for reading glasses or a reading prescription, patients have many different options available to them.
Once you have chosen your frame, the next step is to decide what eyeglass lens will best meet your needs. The eyeglass lenses are the most important part of your new eyeglasses! As glass lenses are often no longer an option, plastic lenses are more the norm. 99% of all lenses dispensed in our office are a type of plastic. In our office, plastic lenses are recommended the majority of the time. Lens coatings and treatments are also offered as options on plastic lenses. Lens coatings help protect your eyes and the surface of the lens. We offer many different types of plastic lens coatings and treatments in our office, but really, what makes all these coatings different?
In this day and age, we are spending more and more time on our electronic devices. Spending more time on our devices doesn’t necessarily damage our eyes, but creates other problems; such as dry eyes, eye fatigue, and blurred vision (distance and near). It also can cause thumb, wrist, and neck pain. These symptoms are often not permanent. But one way to prevent some of the eye problems is to eliminate using digital devices in day to day life. We all know that this will not happen, as we all use some digital devices of some sort. Therefor, lens manufacturers are designing new lenses specifically to combat eye fatigue and strain from digital devices, like Essilor’s new lens called the EyeZen lens.
If you are over the age of 40, and reading small print is becoming more and more difficult, your optometrist may recommend you wear progressive lenses or a type of ‘no-line’ bifocal. There are many benefits to wearing glasses with a progressive lens. Cosmetically, there is no line, so no one else can tell you are wearing reading glasses. Furthermore, they are true multifocal lenses, providing a more natural and seamless progression from distance vision, to intermediate vision, to near vision. With a progressive lens, you can easily see to drive, look at your computer and also gaze down and look at nearby paperwork all with the same pair of glasses. However, there are hundreds of different progressive lens designs on the market today and it can be difficult as a consumer to know what makes each lens different and which would best suit your needs.
“My vision is fine, I don’t need glasses…” and “My glasses seem to not be working for me anymore!” These are some of the many remarks we as opticians hear from our patients who are getting closer to the age of 40; the age at which Presbyopia sinks in. Presbyopia is defined as the loss of elasticity of the lens of the aging eyes, occurring typically in middle age starting around the age of 40. Patients visiting our office often notice that it is gradually getting more difficult to read anything within arms reach. They also often complain of eye fatigue and light seeming dimmer. An eye exam is often used to confirm presbyopia.
To help expedite tasks within our busy lives, it seems that people have become chained to digital technology. Wherever you turn, this is apparent. People on computers, on their phones, or staring at TVs. As people continue to get busier, we turn to the conveniences that technology offers us. Allowing for us to cram even more into our busy days. We have the option to use technology for almost everything. We use digital devices for work, and then we go home and use them for pleasure. So it’s no surprise that there is now a condition called “digital eye strain”. Digital eye strain and digital eye fatigue are the terms used to describe the fatigue and eye strain put on our visual system, from staring at digital devices. If you suffer from digital eye fatigue, here are some recommendations and tools to help ease your discomfort.