Happy Friday, everyone! This week, we’ve been focusing on the importance of eye health using the Kings VSP Vision Tips with our friends from the Sacramento Kings. We posted a Facebook poll on Tuesday asking fans when their last eye exam was, and we were very happy to see that 65% of poll participants have received an eye exam in the past year!

Receiving regular eye exams is a critical component of your health care routine. Learn more fun facts about eyecare by watching these silly Kings VSP Vision Tips today!

February is National Heart Month.

Friday, February 3rd is National Wear Red Day in observance of American Heart Month. People across the country will wear red to support women’s heart health. It’s an effort to remind women to consider their heart health and inspire them and others to take action. So, break out your RED on Friday, February 3! And not just women—men show your support by wearing red, too!  Want to know more about heart attack warning signs? Check out this video, produced by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. Join the conversation at Go Red for Women – Wear Red Day on Facebook. For more information about heart health, visit the American Heart Association’s website.

Like to shop? Love to save (lives and money)? As part of the Wear Red Sale and in honor of American Heart Month and National Wear Red Day, Macy’s customers wearing anything red–from an entire ensemble, to lipstick, to the signature Red Dress pin–will receive a special 20 percent or 10 percent discount on a wide assortment of merchandise at Macy’s stores nationwide. However, even without wearing red, customers who still want to support Go Red For Women, as well as receive the special discount, can purchase the official Go Red For Women red dress lapel pin for $2 at any Macy’s store. All pin sales will directly benefit the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women movement. The Wear Red Sale is underway and runs  through Sunday, February 5.

For those of use who love winter sports, we hope he sees that shadow. We’d like to keep the good times rolling (or shredding) on the slopes.

While there’s little science behind Phil’s prediction (tradition reigns), there is substance behind seeing the slope shadows to keep us safe and coordinated. If you haven’t opted to change the tint in your eyewear lens when ripping it up on the slopes, you’re missing out. Amber or rose ski goggle lenses or glasses enhance soft grays that mark shadows on a ski slope. Because these shadows indicate ridges or bumps in the surface, skiers and snowboarders “read” them to decide when to turn, so they won’t catch an edge and fall. Missing a mogul could be disastrous to your body and maybe your ego.

So, on February 2^, (at least while Phil is emerging from his den), don your rose-colored glasses and keep your fingers crossed for more snow. Then, keep them over those baby-blues and shred–safely.

Learn more about how tints affect vision in the Center.

I went out into the crowd in front of the table and met with individuals and families. Spoke to them about why it was important to get your eyes checked on a yearly basis and was seeing if they need assistance with eyecare. If they did and met the qualification, I provided them the certificate and explained the process.  If they had vision insurance already, I helped reinforce how important it is to get checked yearly. The connection that we were having with all these wonderful people was truly a blessing. I cant wait to be apart of more up and coming events.

Here are a few pictures from the event:

Thousands of marchers started from three different locations around the city and ended at the Sacramento Convention Center in downtown to celebrate as a community.

VSP provided vouchers for free eyecare and glasses to those in need.

A child plays a game wearing "disease simulator" glasses.

Jill N., aka Eye Need Coffee Mommy, is proud mom to appropriately dressed Baby AJ.

We are going to be sharing some quirky and fun video vision tips over the next few weeks with you. Each week we will use different videos for a different topic to start the conversations. We hope you will learn something new, share your thoughts and experiences and enter to win some great prizes!

This week, we are kicking it off talking all about Eye Health. Since the start of the year usually means the start of people’s health benefits, we thought it was appropriate to talk about the importance of using your benefits, and especially why that’s important when it comes to you and your family’s eye exams.

Check out our first silly video and then join us on Facebook to join the conversation and learn how you can be entered to win a prize!

I’m truly grateful for all I have including my glasses, contacts, crows feet and marionette lines yet what if I could have it all? LASIK surgery and Botox. Problems solved.

Here’s my thinking…get Botox first. Relax the wrinkles on my forehead, furrowed brow lines, crow’s feet, and the marionette lines around my mouth. That way when I get LASIK the first thing I’ll see is how incredibly young I look. Brilliant.

With that in mind, I decided to check into the side effects of Botox. Risks directly related to eye problems (there are others side effects too so be sure to check them all out) include double vision, blurred vision, decreased eyesight, drooping eyelids, swelling of your eyelids, and dry eyes. I already have dry eye! Yikes. This information deepened my furrowed brow lines because I started worrying about how these side effects might impact the LAISK piece.

I called my friends at The Laser Centers (TLC) and they shared some very good information: If you don’t follow your postoperative instructions from your facility and/or eye doctor, you could potentially get droopy eyes. Patients are cautioned not to lie down after Botox. After LASIK, patients are told to take a nap. So TLC would never do LASIK and Botox on the same day.

After Botox, patients should be up and moving so that the Botox doesn’t settle. If it settles in one place, such as near the eye lids, it can cause a droopy eye lid which leads to an incomplete blink and can result in dry eye. TLC hasn’t found any problems with Botox and LASIK as long as patients do not have both procedures done on the same day. Additionally, TLC screens patients for incomplete blink and/or dry eye and if Botox (or something else) is the cause of those conditions, they remedy those causes before proceeding with any vision correction surgery.

What’s the next step? Understanding LASIK surgery risks. After that, making a decision. Botox and LASIK? Botox only? LASIK only? I’m not sure yet, but I feel like I can make a better informed decision. Hope it helps you too.

Fashion Maven

P.S. Check out Rebates and Special Offers on vsp.com for exclusive member savings on LASIK!
P.P.S. Watch our very own Jill N. go through her five part LASIK surgery journey.

That’s the cool part; they’re designed for optimal vision about an arm’s length in front of you. That’s farther away than reading glasses but quite a bit closer than regular distance glasses.

If you’re like me, and I know a lot of you are, you sit at your computer, or look at your smartphone, and have to squint to see the words on the screen. You probably even hunch forward to get a closer look. I’ll admit I used to catch myself just a few inches away from the screen. That’s just not good for your eyes—or your posture.

I used to try and wear my regular glasses when working, but I could tell they were too strong. At the same time, with no glasses at all, I would hunch forward. Computer vision glasses allow me to sit with proper posture and see the screen clearly—they’re even helpful with my phone. They’re great!

So are computer vision glasses right for you? If what I wrote above sounds frighteningly familiar, I’d highly recommend talking with your eye doctor. My new glasses have really made a difference in comfort throughout the day.

If you do get computer vision glasses, here are a few tips to help you maximize your VSP benefits:

• Check to see if you have a Computer Vision Care plan with your benefits. If you don’t, read Fashion Maven’s post about using your base plan for more than just regular glasses.
• If you like your current glasses but are a candidate for computer vision glasses, you may want to get computer vision glasses at your next visit.
• If you’re like me and can never seem to have enough glasses, get your computer vision glasses at the same time as a new pair of regular glasses. Most members get 30% off unlimited additional pairs of prescription glasses purchased on the same day with the same provider who performed the exam.
• If you have already used your benefit but want to invest in a pair of prescription computer vision glasses, you can still get 20% off your complete pair.

Check your benefits by logging into VSP.com. You can also call customer service at 1-800-877-7195.

Stay tuned to the VSP Blog and Twitter (@VSPVisionCare) for updates on the national Eye on Diabetes campaign. For more information on diabetes and your eyes, please visit the Diabetes Discovery Center.