Category Archives: Refractive issues

What Kind of Eyeglass Lenses are Recommended for Children?

Posted on August 3, 2009 by | Leave a comment

Assessing the visual needs of your child with an eye exam is the first step in protecting your child’s vision.  It is equally important to select lenses that will not only make them see well but also protect their eyes.

Polycarbonate or Trivex lenses are the only lens types that have the potential to reduce—not increase—the risk of serious eye injury.   Polycarbonate and Lexan are used in bullet-proof windshields, safety glasses, helicopter canopies and many other hi performance applications.   Other lens types, including glass and regular plastic (CR-39)  will break into pieces upon impact.  Often the impact from an object does less damage to the victim than the broken eyeglass lenses.

Both polycarbonate and Trivex are thin, lightweight and highly impact resistant.   Kids can do crazy things and accidents can happen, therefore polycarbonate and Trivex are not just recommended for sports but should be used to protect their eyes everyday.

Trivex is highly scratch resistant making it the best option for children.  Polycarbonate is much softer and therefore less scratch resistant, however it is slightly less expensive.  Both lens materials naturally block 100% of UV light without any additional coatings.  The optical qualities of Trivex are much better than those of polycarbonate, therefore there is less distortion and reflection from an ophthalmic lens made of Trivex.  Both lens materials are available in Transitions (get darker outside, lighter inside) and accept an antireflective coating, which prevents reflections, making the lenses look transparent.

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Posted in children, Refractive issues

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Encouraging Early Results in Nearsightedness Prevention Study

Posted on July 10, 2009 by | 2 Comments

The first year of the Stabilization of Myopia by Accelerated Reshaping Technique (SMART) Study has produced some encouraging results in a recent announcement.  According to Dr. Robert L. Davis, co principal investigator of the SMART trial,  “The net effect of this contact lens fitting philosophy is to change the cornea shape for the sole purpose of reducing the amount of myopia as measured by change in refraction” .  “The results of the SMART Study so far are very exciting,” said Dr. Davis. “The outcomes of this study may revolutionize how we manage young nearsighted patients from this point forward”.

The SMART Trial involves 300 patients between the ages of 8 and 14.  The goal of the study is to see if having patients where overnight orthokeratology or corneal molding lenses will stop or slow the progression of nearsightedness.  The SMART Trial is the largest of its kind.  Other studies have also shown that preventing nearsightedness with ortho-K contact lenses is possible, such the CANDY Study.  A study from Ohio State Unversity suggested that wearing Ortho-K lenses overnight actually prevented the eye from becoming longer.  The SMART Trial has just completed the first year of the five year study.  We will continue to keep an eye on this potientially ground breaking study.

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Posted in children, contact lens, orthokeratology, Refractive issues

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Another Study Shows Progression of Nearsightedness Slowed With Contact Lenses

Posted on June 1, 2009 by | 1 Comment

Study from Ohio State University Confirms Prior Studies   Myopia Slowed With Contacts

In February, here in The Eye Doc Blog, we reported that The CANDY Study showed that OrthoKeratology contact lenses markedly slowed the progression of nearsightedness in children.  The results of The CANDY study have now been confirmed in the British Journal of Ophthalmology, the new study, Corneal Reshaping and Myopia Progression, showed that children wearing corneal reshaping lenses, also known as ortho-K or orthokeratology lenses significantly reduced the rate of change of the length of the children’s eyes.  The study participants wore the lenses for two years and ranged in refractive error from -0.75 to -4.00.  The study concluded that previous reports of slowed eye growth following corneal refractive therapy were confirmed.

Read more about Orthokeratology and Corneal Refractive Therapy at Total Eye Care.  Also view a video from ABC News about Ortho-K.

The archive summary of the study is available here.

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Posted in children, contact lens, orthokeratology, Refractive issues, Vision

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Orthokeratology Featured on ABC News

Posted on April 17, 2009 by | 5 Comments

I came across this video on orthokeratology .  I believe it is from 2002, however it is still very relevant and the information still applies to how ortho-k is a safe, viable, non-surgical option to vision correction.  Studies have also shown that overnight ortho-k may prevent or slow the progression of nearsightedness in children.

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Posted in children, orthokeratology, Refractive issues

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Video Games May Help Your Vision?

Posted on April 8, 2009 by | 2 Comments

Snellen-Eye-Chart, Copyright 2009 The Eye Doc BlogA new study found that first person action games improved the vision of adult video game players.   Two groups of patients were tested.  The first group of patients played Call of Duty and experienced a significant increase in their ability to distinguish different shades of gray (contrast sensitivity function).  The second group used The Sims, which was similar in it’s graphic detail however it is a non action game that does not require precise visual activities such as aiming.

Contrast sensitivity function is a measure of visual acuity (the chart on the wall that uses progressively smaller numbers is another, more common method, shown to the right) uses different shades of gray to evaluate a person’s vision rather than how small of a letter a person can read (the latter is called Snellen visual acuity.  Contrast sensitivity is a much more precise way of evaluating a person’s visual acuity and is more often used in clinical research.

The exciting part of this study is that it has been previously thought that it was difficult to improve the vision in adults.   This study paves the way for possible new treatments of amblyopia in children and the hope of retraining patients that may have lost vision due to some retinal conditions.  The study showed that not all games are created equal in producing this affect and advised caution in recommending games to recommend to patients.  The entire study was published online by the journal Nature Neuroscience.

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Posted in eye, eyecare, Refractive issues, Vision

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Bausch & Lomb Launches Multi-Tiered U.S. Consumer Education Initiative To Raise Awareness Of Presbyopia

Posted on April 3, 2009 by | Leave a comment

The naturally occurring vision condition will affect more than 78 million U.S. baby boomers.  Most are unaware that multifocal contact lenses can resolve their vision needs and avoid readers.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Bausch & Lomb, manufacturer of the #1 multifocal lens design, has launched its largest integrated marketing initiative with the goal of raising U.S. awareness of presbyopia and multifocal contact lenses. Presbyopia is a naturally occurring vision condition that begins to affect people in their 40s. As the eyes’ internal lenses become less flexible and lose elasticity, the eyes are less able to adjust quickly to rapid changes in focus from distance to near objects, causing blurred vision, most notable at reading distances.

Bausch & Lomb, makers of the Purevision Multifocal Contact Lens,  wish to make the public aware that just because you are over 40 doesn’t mean you need to wear reading glasses with your contact lenses.  Soft, bifocal contact lenses have come a long way in the last 10 years.  Read more …….

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Posted in contact lens, Refractive issues

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Study Shows Contact Lenses Improve The Self Image of Children

Posted on March 31, 2009 by | 2 Comments

A new study evaluated the self perception of children between ages 8 and 11, finding that the contact lens wearers had a significantly higher sense of self worth than eye glass wearers in the areas of physical appearance, athletic competence, social acceptance and scholastic competence.

As eye doctors we should not only consider the best mode of correction for the patient but also the social and psychological implications on the child.  More information about the Adolescent and Child Health Initiative to Encourage Vision Empowerment (ACHIEVE) Study is  available here.  This is excellent information for any parent considering whether glasses or contacts are right for their child.

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Posted in children, contact lens, eyecare, Refractive issues, Vision

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Study Finds Nearsightedness Slowed in Children With Contact Lenses

Posted on February 23, 2009 by | 5 Comments

It’s good to see another study indicating that Orthokeratology Contact Lenses prevent the progression of nearsightedness (myopia).  The Controlling Astigmatism & Nearsightedness in Developing Youth Study (CANDY) was based on a relatively small population (28 patients) and it would have been good to see the rate of myopic progression after removing the contact lenses over a greater period of time, however the data was compelling and warrants further study.

As eye doctors we are often asked if we can prevent the progression of nearsightedness in children.   Clinically, we feel that the answer is probably yes, however there are relatively few studies that have investigated this common question.  The CANDY Study backs up what we feel our clinical experience has taught us.  The progression of nearsightedness in CANDY study patients was 0.37D prior to wearing overnight Ortho-K contact lenses.   When the patients discontinued wearing their lenses they found that the patient’s refractive error, on average, had increased by only 0.03D.

An FDA sponsored study of 300 children started in 2007 and is expected to continue for 5 years.  Hopefully, the FDA study will answer more of our questions.  Additional findings from the CANDY Study found that the younger the child the more beneficial was the effect on controlling myopia and the technique was more convenient.   A more comprehensive look at Orthokeratology including a link to the CANDY Study is available on the Total Eye Care website.

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Posted in children, contact lens, orthokeratology, Refractive issues, Vision

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Q: Is Computer Use Bad For My Eyes?

Posted on July 1, 2008 by | 2 Comments

A: No, using computers or any kind of near work will not cause your eyes to go bad. What computer use will do, however, is make any uncorrected visual problems become more apparent. When we work at a computer we typically don’t change our point of gaze for possibly hours.  Before computers were such an integral part of the office workplace we would experience intermittent visual breaks in our focus that gave our eyes a break by turning the page, going to the file cabinet or grabbing another document, etc. With computers everything we need is on the screen. When we finish one task the next is available on the computer. Our gaze rarely strays from the monitor. Even when we take a mental break, we still take that break looking at our monitor checking personal email, youtube etc.

How do we prevent visual strain at the computer? The first is to set up your workstation for enhanced visual ergonomics.  Take occasional breaks from looking at the monitor, once an hour is recommended. If it has been over a year since your last eye exam often a change in glasses is all that is needed.

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Posted in Computer Vision, Eye Care, Refractive issues, Vision

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FDA Listens to LASIK Patients

Posted on April 28, 2008 by | Leave a comment

On Friday, the Food and Drug Administration heard testimony from LASIK patients dissatisfied with the outcome of their surgeries. The ophthalmic devices panel heard testimony that approximately 1/4 of all patients that wished to have LASIK were poor candidates and 95% of LASIK patients were satisfied with the outcome of their surgery. Expert testimony before the panel concluded that the FDA should provide clearer warnings about the risks and possible complications of LASIK. Next year the FDA and the National Eye Institute will begin a landmark study to better identify which patients are more likely to encounter post surgical LASIK complications and how those complications affect quality of life. We compared the incidence of complications for patients having LASIK vs contact lens related complications in a prior blog entry.

I find that the FDA is not the only one that could improve their modus operandi here but that some of the marketing/advertising for refractive surgery is irresponsible. This over promise of results does not apply to just refractive surgery but also the bifocal lens implants promising to give your back your ability to see near and far without bifocals.

At Total Eye Care our role as optometrists is to provide the patient with an objective assessment, finding the best method of vision correction available for each patients situation. Today there are many refractive options available such as contact lenses, glasses, orthokeratology, PRK, LASIK and refractive lensectomies just to name a few. If a refractive option is selected it is our job to work with the patient to find the best surgeon and procedure for each patient to get the best, safest result. The Associated Press had good coverage regarding the ophthalmic devices hearing, if you would like to read it it’s available here.

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Posted in Cornea, FAQ, LASIK, Refractive issues

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