Tag Archives: Vision

Maintain Healthy Vision With Annual Eye Exams

Annual eye exams are an essential part of a person’s annual health plan.  Along with our yearly physical and dental exam we should remember that our eyes provide a window to the health of our bodies and an annual, dilated eye exam is an essential component of preventative healthcare.

See our video below which was produced at our new Colleyville office on the importance of regular eye exams.

Survey Shows Most Young Children Have Never Had an Eye Exam

Vision Service Plan has answered a question that many of us have long suspected with the release of  a study conducted by VSP Vision Care.  The nationwide study of almost 4000 Americans called the Consumer Eye Care and Eyewear Survey.  Revealed that 76% of the the children under the age of 5 had never had an eye exam.

“While most parents probably assume that vision screenings provided by pediatricians and school nurses are enough, those screenings are nowhere near as exhaustive as the comprehensive eye exams that optometrists and ophthalmologist provide,” said James Short, O.D., chair of VSP Vision Care’s board of directors.

Dr. Short elaborated further “Before children enter school, an eye doctor should examine the eyes for signs of astigmatism, nearsightedness, farsightendnes and also examine the structure of the eye for telltale signs of serious diseases”.

The study goes on to discuss the importance of providing proper sunglasses for children, tips on how to get children to wear sunglasses, prevention of computer vision syndrome in children and how to spot when your child may need an eye exam.

Read more about the VSP Vsion Care Study here

A New Treatment for Dry Eye Syndrome Will Soon be Available

I have mentioned to many of our dry eye patients that a cream with testosterone was being researched and would give us another avenue of relief for our patients.  Argentis has licensed a testosterone-progesterone therapy for dry eye syndrome.  Argentis is licensing this compound from the Southern College of Optometry. I expect this compound to be very helpful for patients with dry eyes and look forward to prescribing it for our patients.  It is not available for us to prescribe yet, however we will update this entry as soon as it is.

Q: “When should my child have her first eye exam?”

A:

Your baby should have her eyes examined at any age if a

problem is suspected. Until recently eye exams were recommended for all children before they entered kindergarten. However, numerous national organizations such as the American Optometric Association, American Academy of Ophthalmology and Prevent Blindness America have begun to recommend that your child receive their first eye exam at 6 months of age and then again at 3 years of age. Many forms of blindness or amblyopia (a decrease in vision) that occur in children can be prevented if caught early. Before you take your child to your eye doctor ask them if they are set up to evaluate children that are your child’s age. Not all eye doctors see young children.