Have you ever wondered how soft contact lenses are made? We found this Discovery Channel video from the show How Do they do it? showing how custom soft contact lenses are made.
Comments Off on How are Soft Contact Lenses Made?
Posted in contact lens, FAQ, video
Tagged contact lenses, how do they do it, how to, soft contacts, video
In December 2009 we covered the results of a recent study Myopia Increasing Rapidly in The US Population. Recently National Public Radio’s Medical Detectives interviewed, Dr Susan Vitale, principle author of the study “1994-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey” and Dr. Don Mutti, an expert in myopia. It’s a good listen and only a little over 3 minutes.
With myopia increasing at such a rapid rate in our population will it be long before the use of orthokeratology to slow the progression of myopia in our children becomes the standard of care?
Photo courtesy of Flickr user Pink Sherbet Photography, D Sharon Pruitt
Posted in children, contact lens, orthokeratology, Refractive issues
Tagged myopia, nearsighted, nearsightedness, progression, study
1. You are guaranteed to get the correct lenses in the correct parameters
2. You are guaranteed to get unexpired lenses
3. If your lenses are not performing properly you don’t have to worry about exchanging your old lenses
4. You can exchange unopened, unexpired, unmarked boxes in new condition at your yearly eye exam
5. If you have a defective lens, we will replace it free of charge
6. We have the latest manufacturer’s rebates available to save you money
7. Competitive pricing
8. FREE shipping
9. You will be getting the lenses from an authorized distributor of the brand you wear
10. You will have the satisfaction of supporting a local business that cares about you and your eyes
Image courtesy of Flickr user Malkav.
Comments Off on Top Ten Reasons to Buy Your Contact Lenses from Your Eye Doctor
Posted in contact lens, Eye Care, eyecare, FAQ, Opinion, Vision
Tagged 1800 contact lenses, contact lenses, Eye Doctor, mail order, online, purchase
I like optical illusions. Here is a video of one that gives the illusion of movement using paper and a clear overlay.
WFAA TV in Dallas produced a good video on the optomap® Retinal Exam technology. WordPress won’t allow it to be embedded here, however I’ve added it to the optomap® page on the Total Eye Care Website. An optomap® video from the TV show The Doctors can also be found there.
Comments Off on Good Video about the Optomap Technology from WFAA TV
Posted in Retina, Technology, video
Tagged optomap, Retina, scanning laser ophthalmoscope, video
Floaters are very common and can be a very scary symptom. Here is an article I wrote last month for EzineArticles that answers patients’ most common questions about floaters and floaters.
“Doctor I saw dark spots and flashes of light in my eyes and I thought I should come in and have you make sure everything is alright” are words commonly heard by eye doctors and as a result a common cause of urgent visits to their offices. Flashes or floaters can be the signs of serious problems and as a result they should always be investigated by your eye doctor. Merely having floaters is not generally a problem; it is the recent onset of floaters that requires attention.
Flashes and floaters are the most commonly reported symptoms of changes in the vitreous humor, a very fibrous yet clear gel that makes up the back 2/3 of the eye. Floaters occur when a bunch of these fibers clump together and cast a shadow on the retina, causing a person to see a black spot. Patients often describe these floaters as looking like a cobweb. Nearsighted people experience floaters more often. Most people have some floaters, however they are either small enough that they are not bothersome or the brain has learned to ignore them. With the right lighting conditions almost anyone can see their floaters. Looking up at an overcast sky or a large, lightly colored wall improves ones ability to see their floaters. Continue reading
Posted in Retina
Tagged flashes, floaters, posterior vitreous detachment, retinal detachment, vitreous
A 66% increase in myopia is a huge change over a 30 year period. The new study tried to simulate the testing methods of the original 1972 study on nearsightedness in the US population. The 1971-1972 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey found that 25% of the US population between the ages of 12 and 54 were nearsighted vs the 1994-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey’s finding of 41.6%. Increased nearsightedness was noted regardless of age, sex, race or education.
The authors concluded that it would be beneficial to identify behavioral risk factors that cause increased myopia. If risk factors for increasing myopia are identified we may be able to slow the progression.
The big question is “what caused this increased nearsightedness in the US population”? As eye doctors we are often asked what causes nearsightedness and the usual answer is that that we believe nearsightedness is a combination of genetics and environmental influences. In the last 30 years our society has become much more near centric. People spend hours glued to their computer monitors at work and home. Kids spend more time at near now then ever before with computer games, hand held games etc.
Finding ways to slow or halt the progression of myopia has been a longstanding subject of study in eyecare. The process of using special contact lenses to reshape the front part of a patient’s eye to prevent the progression of nearsightedness and to allow the patient to see without glasses is called orthokeratology. There are a number of different names for orthokeratology, orthoK, corneal molding, corneal reshaping and corneal refractive therapy are some of the most common names.
Almost a year ago the study, Controlling Astigmatism & Nearsightedness in Developing Youth (CANDY) showed that orthokeratology contact lenses reduced the progression of nearsightedness in kids between 9 and 16. The authors of the CANDY study found that the amount myopia in children that did not wear the overnight Corneal Refractive Therapy lenses increased at a rate of .37D per year while those children wearing the lenses progressed at only .03 diopters per year.
Another study, Corneal Reshaping and Myopia Progression published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology, conducted at the Ohio State University College of Optometry found that the eyes of the children wearing overnight orthokeratology lenses increased in length at a markedly slower rate than the studies’ non ortho-K lens wearers.
Lastly, the study Stabilization of Myopia by Accelerated Reshaping Technique (SMART) is in the first of its five years and this past summer released preliminary results showing that again, orthokeratology lenses appear to markedly slowing the progession of nearsightedness in children.
While the rate of nearsightedness in the US population has increased significantly in the last 30 years it is comforting to know that there are safe and effective methods of slowing the progression of myopia. Download a PDF of the study Increased Prevalence of Myopia in the United States Between 1971-1972 and 1999-2004
Image courtesy of Flickr member Foxtongue.
In each of the previous two months I’ve written about new dry eye medications, Prolacria and RX-10045, that may receive approval in late 2010, thus I was not looking to write about another dry eye medication, however I write about new developments as I come across them so here it is . In a recent study naltrexone hydrochloride, as an eye drop, restored corneal sensitivity and normalized tear production in diabetic rats. Interestingly, the effect occured within an hour of administration and lasted for days.
Naltrexone hydrochloride or NTX, as it is known, is currently used in treating alcohol dependence. Low dose naltrexone (LDN) has some popular off label uses as well for auto immune diseases such as multiple sclerosis and fibromyalgia to name a few.
Studies using NTX to treat dry eye syndrome in humans can not be far behind. It is also expect that NTX will also be studied to see if it can reverse the effects of diabetic retinopathy.
Posted in Cornea, dry eye syndrome
Tagged dry eye syndrome, fibromyalgia, low dose, naltrexone
This weekend Taylor and I went with a group of dads and daughters to see A Christmas Carol in 3D. A popular question was, “so how do they do the 3D effect?”
We can judge depth because our eyes are about 2 1/2 inches apart, allowing each eye to have a slightly different view of an object. The brain interprets these differing views, allowing us to note that the objects are at varying distances.
In a movie theater, the image is projected onto a flat screen, therefore we must show each eye a slightly different image, this is accomplished by using either polarized lenses (the better method) or red and green lenses (think headache). Polarized lenses are, by far, the preferred method. Typically, light radiates in all directions, polarized lenses filter the light so that it radiates in only one direction, with all of the light waves parallel to each other.
The 3D movie glasses use polarized lenses that filter the light 90 degrees apart for each eye, thus allowing each eye to see a different image. Two movie projectors are then used to show the movie. Each projector’s image is slightly offset on the screen simulating the distance between our eyes. While wearing your polarized 3D glasses the movie looks clear and sharp. If you take your glasses off the movie looks fuzzy with a shadow off to the left. Your brain will fuse these views giving depth to the image.
If you take a friend’s 3D movie glasses and hold their left lens in front of your right lens you will see that no light gets through, turn the lenses perpendicular to each other and once again you can see through both lenses.
The last 3D movie I saw used red and green glasses so it was great seeing a 3D movie that did not give me a headache. The picture looked great and the 3D effects were well done, however that’s about it. The chase scenes were way to long and really done mostly to show off the movie’s 3d effects. Jim Carrey was good in his role as Ebenezer Scrooge and the movie stuck to the original book. So the bottom line, it’s not a bad movie as a matter of fact they did a good job, however the only reason to see this movie, is to see the 3D effects.
Inspire Pharmaceuticals announced that it has enrolled 450 patients in phase 3 of a clinical study that will compare the effectiveness of a new prescription medication in the treatment of dry eye syndrome. At this time it is expected that the new medication, diquafosol tetrasodium ophthalmic solution 2%, will be marketed under the trade name, Prolacria. Now that enrollment for phase three of the clinical trials has completed Inspire Pharmaceuticals expects to have results available in the first quarter of 2010. The clinical trial will compare Prolacria with a placebo over a 6 week period.
This is great news for our patients that suffer from dry eye syndrome. Rest assured that as soon as it is available we will let all of our readers know.
This great image of the dry eye is courtesy of Flicker user Sadisto’s, CC.
Posted in Cornea, dry eye syndrome
Tagged dry eye, dry eye syndrome, prolacria, sjogren's syndrome