Posts Tagged ‘eyes’
Posted on January 4th, 2012 by Nancy D
Although many people think of winter as the wet season because of the precipitation, the atmosphere is really a lot dryer during the winter months, which often causes your eyes to be more sensitive.
Your optometrist can assist you in selecting the best options to hydrate your eyes during the arid winter season. Even before you step outside, you can help prevent dryness by using a humidifier in your home.
Be sure to take additional protective measures once you’re outside. Protect your eyes from the wind and cold by wearing a brimmed hat and well-fitting sunglasses. The point is to keep the swirling winds away and stop evaporation of your eye’s tear film.
If your dryness is persistent, consider artificial tears. These may help relieve the irritating symptoms of dry eyes. Consult with your optometrist before you start using any eye drops to ensure they are the right solution for your condition.
Don’t forget—if you wear contacts, it’s important to be especially careful in the colder months. If able, make use of rewetting drops. While you may not realize it, lenses are like sponges and are required to stay lubricated to maintain their shape. If they begin to dry out, the contacts can lose their form and stick to the eyeball, causing pain and cloudiness. So let your lenses drink up and make sure to keep them moisturized this winter. With a little awareness and planning, you can avoid the dangers of the cold, dry weather and keep your eyes safe and cozy the whole season!
Visit The Center for more information and to find a doctor near you.
File under: Contact Lenses, eye health | Tagged: artificial tears, cold, contact lenses, contacts, dry eye, eyes, rewetting drops, VSP, weather, wind, winter
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Posted on December 8th, 2011 by Tammi B.
Holiday shoppers are scrambling for gift ideas. Have you ever thought of selecting a gift with the recipient’s vision needs in mind? I thought about this when talking to my dad recently. He and mom are on a fixed income now and his Medicare plan doesn’t cover much to meet their vision needs. Arranging for an individual vision plan would be a thoughtful gift for folks in that position and are available to purchase yearly. Check out the VSP website for more information.
If you shop for a teenager or an adult contact lens wearer, a gift of contact lens solution or a new case might be a welcome gift. They even make cases now that are fashionable and accommodate contact lens paraphernalia and glasses in one!
For those of us of a certain age who need reading glasses, they make some stylish chains and beaded necklaces that can hold your readers and keep you looking fabulous in between paragraphs. Microfiber cleaning cloths and repair kits for glasses fill a need for the nearsighted, and sunglasses make a strong fashion statement whether you need a prescription in them or not.
Other visionary gift ideas came to me quickly one I started brainstorming. Here is the list I came up with: reading lights, large print or art books, hypo-allergenic eye make up or eye cream, cold pack or warm gel eye masks, sports or safety goggles, optical illusion or art books, sports bands and visors, back pillow to support reading in bed, work lights and magnifiers for crafters, large eye needles or threaders for those who sew, cameras or cat’s eye jewelry… the list goes on. For those who have extreme vision impairment, an internet search for low vision aids will yield many more ideas.
Lastly, if you shop for someone who works in a vision-related job, here is my favorite idea: prepare them a CD with all “eye” songs. There are many out there, but I’ll leave you with my favorite – Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes.”
File under: Think About Your Eyes | Tagged: christmas gift ideas, eyes, gifts for people with contacts, gifts for people with glasses, holiday gifts, vision, VSP
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Posted on October 31st, 2011 by David C
Millions of children will take to the streets tonight in costume with hopes of collecting bags and bags of candy. And while we’ve all heard about the importance of safety while trick-or-treating, we may be overlooking one important factor: how costumes affect the health of our children’s eyes and vision. Here are few eyecare safety tips from VSP Vision Care provider Dr. Burton to help make this Halloween more fun for everyone:
- Lady Gaga may be a popular costume this Halloween, but steer clear of the vanity contacts she used in her “Bad Romance” video. While they may look pretty cool, the contacts are illegal and can cause permanent damage to your child’s eyes.
- False eyelashes can also give a great look. However, the glue can irritate the skin and eyes. Follow the package instructions carefully, and avoid use with young children.
- Sometimes a costume is just a goofy outfit without the perfect mask. If your children are wearing masks, make sure they are fully secured and won’t shift during the night, which can impair their vision. Children running across dark and unfamiliar streets with limited vision is a recipe for disaster. Additionally, ensure that their eyes have room to blink!
- A safer and cheaper alternative to masks is face paint and makeup. Be sure to choose products that are hypoallergenic and approved for use on the skin. Also, use products only as recommended. Remember, even eyeliner can injure a squirmy child or someone who is not used to applying it. For removing makeup, cold cream can be gentler and easier than soap and water.
- Looking to accessorize? Remember to be careful with sharp items—swords, light sabers, wands and other pointed toys can and frequently do cause eye injuries. Keep the kids out of the emergency room and opt for an imaginary sword this year.
- If you’re taking your youngsters out trick-or-treating, be sure to grab a flash light so you can see where you are going. Consider sticking reflective strips on their costumes to increase their visibility to traffic.
File under: eye health, Frames & Lenses, Fun, Think About Your Eyes | Tagged: circle lenses, costume, eye injuries, eyes, fake lashes, Halloween, halloween safety tips, Lady gaga, masks, trick or treat, vanity contacts
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Posted on April 24th, 2010 by Liz B.
Question: If you could ask Bill Nye about any eye care related topic, what would it be?
VSP is working with Bill Nye (yes, the Science Guy!) on a series of videos that look at eye health topics and myths. As we get ready to shoot the videos this week, we’d love to hear what eye-related myths you’d like Bill to explore. Just comment to this post with your eye-related question, and Bill Nye just might confirm or debunk yours.
File under: eye health, Fun | Tagged: Bill Nye, Bill Nye the Science Guy, eye exams, eye health topics, eye videos, eye-related myth, eyecare questions, eyecare videos, eyehealth, eyes, Myths, Top Posts, vision, VSP Vision Care
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Posted on March 31st, 2010 by Sara J
Sara J. is an account executive for Altair Eyewear.
I had what I thought was a unique experience at an upscale restaurant recently. The sommelier was walking my group through the evening’s wine choices when his glasses caught my eye. It wasn’t the style (a very trendy, black Buddy-Holly type frame) that I noticed as much as the fact that the lenses looked…different. My dinner companions all happened to be fellow Altair Eyewear employees so I knew they noticed as well (we all seem to obsessively check out people’s frames) and eventually the most outspoken one in our bunch threw the question out there: “Excuse me, but if you don’t mind me asking, can you tell me what kind of lenses you have in your glasses?” The sommelier’s response? “Um, these are the plastic lenses that they came with. I saw these and had to have them-I don’t even need to wear glasses!” We all had a good laugh about it with him, but it made me think-it seems like I see people wearing trendy glasses without an Rx everywhere now! As it turns out, my observation is correct, and, according to the NY Daily Times, men are wearing these “fakes” just as much as women are, and for the same reasons. Who knows-if this trend continues, maybe we’ll see glasses become just as popular an accessory for men as belts, watches and shoes?
File under: fashion, Frames & Lenses, Fun | Tagged: cool frames, eyeglasses, eyes, eyewear, fake glasses, frame, glasses, non prescription lenses, NY Daily Times, plano
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Posted on March 15th, 2010 by Liz B.
Joel Kestenbaum O.D. is a VSP provider in Long Island, NY.
We welcome back Dr. Kestenbaum with a post on allergies and how you can help ease the itchy, watery eyes that come with them.
Every year, I stock up on over-the-counter allergy eye drops and pre-write prescriptions for allergy medications in anticipation of the droves of patients reporting to me with eye allergy symptoms. These symptoms include itchy, red and watery eyes, a gritty feeling and reduced contact lens tolerance. These symptoms are caused by airborne allergens including pollen, mold, dust and pet dander.
The best way to treat allergies is to avoid the allergens that cause them. But, given the reality that life brings, we all know that this is nearly impossible. So we have to find alternative methods to treat the symptoms that allergies bring.
Sunglasses help to prevent pollen from blowing into your eyes especially on windy days. Staying indoors on bad allergy days is a choice for some. For others, contact lenses usually become difficult to wear during allergy season. But certain types of contact lenses approved by the FDA for people with allergies can also help to reduce symptoms. Read more »
File under: eye health, healthcare | Tagged: allergens, allergies, burning eyes, contact lenses allergies, disposable contact lenses, Dr. Joel Kestenbaum, dust, elestat, eye drops, eyes, itchy eyes, mold, optivar, pataday, patanol, pet dander, pollen, sunglasses, tearing eyes, tears
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Posted on January 6th, 2010 by Jessica G.
File under: eye health, Frames & Lenses, Fun | Tagged: contact lens, eyecare, eyes, eyewear, history, innovation, lenses, vision, VSP Vision Care
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Posted on December 16th, 2009 by Liz B.
File under: eye health, healthcare | Tagged: development of eyes, Dr. Richard Besser, eye diseases, eye exams, eye health, eyecare, eyes, GMA, Good Morning America, healthcare, importance of regular eye exams, myopia, National Eye Institute, nearsighted, nearsightedness, PhD, Susan Vitale, vision, vision benefits, VSP Vision Care
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Posted on December 9th, 2009 by Jill N
Will B. works in VSP’s Customer Service department, part of our fabulous team that achieved the prestigious Service Quality Measurement, Inc. (SQM) Award of “World Class Customer Satisfaction” for the seventh year in a row! He shares his experience as a first time Mobile Response Team (MRT) member with the VSP Mobile Eyes® program.
I was fortunate enough to be selected to go on the last Mobile Eyes trip for 2009 and am quickly experiencing first hand, the work is truly some of the most rewarding work I have done with VSP.
We are half way done with our trip to Central California, and so far everything is running smoothly. Before the trip, I had a general idea of what to expect. I was impressed that we have most everything onboard that you would find in a VSP doctor’s office. We can read the prescription off the patient’s current glasses, we can test for Glaucoma and even do an auto-refraction for the doctor. The VSP doctors who come on board and provide the exams have everything they need to complete a comprehensive exam. They even dilate patient’s eyes if they need to get a closer look.
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File under: VSP in the Community | Tagged: auto-refractor, California, charitable eyecare, comprehensive eye exam, dilate, eye exams, eyecare, Eyefinity/OfficeMate, eyeglasses, eyes, eyewear, glaucoma, Inc., Not-For-Profit, SeeZar, Service Quality Measurement, SQM, vsp doctors, VSP Mobile Eyes, VSP Vision Care, World Class Customer Satisfaction
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