Daily peek at eyecare
The VSP Eye on Diabetes campaign has made its way to Topeka, KS, the second stop on the campaign trail. VSP Dr. Diana Carriger spent some time with the local NBC affiliate, KSNT 27, Wednesday morning to discuss the campaign and upcoming charitable outreach event that will happen today, Friday, July 30th, in partnership with the American Diabetes Association, Kansas State Optometric Association and the Kansas Diabetes Action Council.
Guest Blogger: Nathan Bonilla-Warford, O.D. specializes in children’s vision, computer vision and orthokeratology. Dr. Warford practices in Tampa, FL at Bright Eyes Family Vision Care and is especially interested in the use of social media in eyecare.
Do you ever experience red or watery eyes, blurry vision or have difficulty focusing after an eight-hour day at work? Together these symptoms may result in computer-related eye problems, but someone can have them without working on a computer. The patients that come to my office often have physical and visual symptoms resulting from an office work environment. Here are some common symptoms and possible solutions to help your eye health during work.
Dry Eyes – Due to ventilation systems, dry air, dust or printer toner in the air, tears may not adequately coat and moisten the eye, leading to red, burning, or irritated eyes. When reading or using the computer, people tend to not blink as often, compounding the problem.
Solution: Blink more when reading or working at the computer. Your optometrist can evaluate and treat dry eyes if it’s a chronic problem.
Workstation Design Problems – If a person’s desk, chair, keyboard and computer monitor are not oriented properly, it can lead to rapid visual fatigue.
Solution: Place the screen 24 inches or more away from your face, and make sure it’s directly in front of and slightly lower than your eyes.
Visual Focusing Problems – The strain on your eyes when focusing on paper or a computer screen can become fatiguing over time. Some people have visual focusing and coordination problems that make reading or using a computer uncomfortable or cause headaches.
Solution: Take frequent breaks (20-20-20 rule: after 20 minutes of computer use, look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds). You may also benefit from specific glasses prescribed for office work that help you focus at the correct distance.
If you experience symptoms such as red, irritated, burning eyes, headache or visual fatigue while at work, make an appointment with your VSP Vision Care provider. Effective treatment can include modifying your work area, using the proper prescription glasses, eye medications, or a program of therapeutic visual activities, referred to as vision therapy. One or all of these may be needed to keep your eyes and vision healthy and productive at work.
Download the complete Eye Health for the Workplace Guide written by Dr. Bonilla-Warford.
Computers have changed the way we see the world, but are they changing the way we see? In this video you’ll learn how eye strain, fatigue and headaches are common indicators that your digital devices — including computer monitors, smart phones and video games - might be causing you discomfort.
For more information about computer-related vision problems visit the Digital Devices section of VSP Blog.
Jill N. is a member of the VSP Global Public Relations team.
In this second segment of my educational journey learning about the potential changes in my vision as a pregnant woman, Dr. Parenti shares the symptoms that, if you experience, should be addressed immediately:
Diabetes:
Women who are diabetic before their pregnancy and those who develop gestational diabetes need to watch their vision closely. Blurred vision in these cases may indicate elevated blood sugar levels and need to be addressed. However, most women who develop gestational diabetes don’t develop diabetic retinopathy.
High Blood Pressure:
In some cases, a woman may have blurry vision or spots in front of her eyes while pregnant which can be due to an increase in blood pressure during pregnancy, also known as preeclampsia and eclampsia.
Glaucoma:
Women being treated for glaucoma should tell their eye doctor right away if they are pregnant or intent to become pregnant. While many glaucoma medications are safe to take during pregnancy, certain glaucoma medications could be harmful to the developing baby.
Finally, Dr. Parenti humored me by answering a few more specific questions. Since I can’t be the only one thinking of these, I thought I’d share these as well:
So if I don’t benefit from improved vision when pregnant like some may, can I go ahead with having laser vision correction while pregnant?
Laser vision correction is not the best idea for pregnant or nursing women. You’ll want to wait until after the pregnancy and breast feeding. When you are pregnant, the cornea changes immensely. You need both a stable cornea and prescription prior to laser vision surgery to avoid complications. Even without the risk of complications, there is a risk of wasted money as your prescription could easily revert back due to the changes. It is recommended you wait at least one year after having laser vision correction before getting pregnant due to the same reasons.
Can I wear my contact lenses when I go into labor (because I assume I can plan for this, can you tell this is my first pregnancy?)?
Ideally, you should take out your contacts if already wearing them or wear your glasses if you are not. Should an emergency procedure become necessary, time would not be allowed to remove your contacts and you could risk severe dry eye or tearing of your contacts, among other things. If you absolutely must wear them, ask your doctor to fit you for an extended wear contact lens that can stay in for one or more weeks.
Any final words of advice?
A comprehensive eye exam should be included in your prenatal routine, even if you don’t require a prescription. Let your eye doctor know that you are pregnant so you can both discuss the best options for you.
Next blog – when should you bring your baby in for their first eye exam?
Jill N. is a member of the VSP Global Public Relations team.
As a woman who is experiencing pregnancy for the first time, I was surprised to learn when I went in for my annual eye exam that these fabulous hormone increases I’ve been encountering could also potentially cause changes in my vision. In fact, 50% of pregnant women will have noticeable vision changes. Fortunately, in most cases, these are temporary eye conditions that will return to normal after delivery.
I thought I would share some of the information I learned from Dr. Pete Parenti of Parenti-Morris Eyecare for those of you who are, planning to become, or know of a fellow pregnant woman. Speaking from experience, this topic will probably be one of the few interesting unsolicited pieces of advice you’ll receive and/or can provide that is appreciated…
First the basics: Why would pregnancy affect vision in the first place?
This starts to make sense once you consider how the eye is structured. The front lens of the eye, the cornea, contains 70% water. And the inside of the eye contains a high percentage of water too. Any change to a woman’s water balance during pregnancy (which I can attest to is A LOT based on my frequent trips to the restroom) can affect sight, focus, prescription, and fit of contact lenses. Many of the headaches that women experience during can be due to visual changes as well.
What types of vision changes could I experience?
Here are some symptoms that are common but usually temporary and aren’t causes for alarm:
Refractive Changes:
Changes in the hormone levels can temporarily alter the strength you need in your eyeglasses or contact lenses. This is typically not something you need to worry about but should bring up with your eye doctor to decide if you should change your prescription or not. (Although BONUS! Some nearsighted women will have improvements in their vision that will be permanently retained!)
Dry Eyes:
Some women experience dry eyes during pregnancy (although if you are like me, the hormones are creating the opposite effect where I experience waterfalls of tears just by watching a Kleenex commercial). If you are experiencing dry eyes, the good news is most OTC lubricating eye drops are perfectly safe to use while pregnant or nursing and your eyes should return to normal within a few weeks after delivery.
Puffy Eyelids:
(Wonderful, I finally have something I can blame these on!) Puffiness around the eyes is another common side effect of certain hormonal changes women may have while pregnant. Puffy eyelids may interfere with side vision. Utilize common healthy eating habits to limit water retention like increased water intake and a low-sodium and low-caffeine diet.
Stay tuned for part 2 tomorrow: Symptoms you should address immediately
Tresa D. is a Mobile Response Team member who volunteered her time in Nebraska last week. Below is an account of her experience:
I’m traveling on the road once again with the VSP Mobile Eyes Clinic. The first stop of our trip was to Omaha, NE to provide free comprehensive eye exams and glasses to the clients of the Lydia House. The Lydia House is a Mission who serves their community by providing basic living needs for the homeless and families living in poverty.
In talking with Candace Gregory, President of the Lydia House, she said that a large portion of their population is in need of vision assistance. Illiteracy is not the problem in many cases; it’s that people are simply unable to see to do simple tasks like filling out a job application, reading simple instructions, etc. I am very proud to be part of the VSP Mobile Eyes team. Through our program, we were able to partner with the Lydia House to fill that void.
The first evening, the Mobile Eyes Team gathered around the TV to watch the news coverage of our first day’s event. I must confess that I was excited to see myself on the news. During the filming, I was auto-refracting a patient who was in need of new glasses. It struck me as odd that the news showed me, but they did not show what I was doing. In reflecting, I realize it was because the woman I was working with was shy with the cameras. She did not want to be filmed. She shared with me that no one knew she was at the shelter. She did not want her family or friends to know that she was there. She found herself down and out, but was too proud to ask for help. She came to the Mission to get the help she needed to reclaim her life. I was touched by her story and her journey to reclaim her life. I feel privileged to have been part of helping her. It makes me very proud that she is just one of the more than 27,500 people whose lives have been helped by the VSP Mobile Eyes program.
Check out the third webisode of the VSP Global Spark makeover, where Drs. Gary Yamada, Jill Yamada and Matthew Nishio get a practice makeover. Eyefinity/OfficeMate President Steve Baker hosts the series, and you can watch him and the entire makeover crew as they give a practice’s frame room an update in the latest installment.
The VSP Global Spark program was launched recently, offering eye doctors makeover tips and tools to enhance the experience they provide to their patients while also helping to grow their business.
Be sure to visit www.vspglobal.com/spark to catch the final episode and see how this makeover was achieved in just 72 hours!
As an athlete, I know how important vision is so I partnered with VSP to create a website about eye safety for all my fans and athletes out there. The new site is called ”Tyreke’s Court” and has information on eye safety and eye health, specifically for people who play sports. Visit Tyreke’s Court and let me know what you think!
About Tyreke Evans and VSP Vision Care
