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.

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.”

• 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.

Find out what others had to say, you might be surprised by their answers.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Check out the entire Eye-Q series online at SeeMuchMore.com.

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.

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?

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.

photo via hubpages

If possible, one way to reduce allergy related eye symptoms is to wear disposable contact lenses that are replaced daily.  Since 1990, I have been recommending daily disposables and truly believe that this is the healthiest contact lenses type to wear.  Think about it.  You always have a fresh lens, you never put a less than perfectly clean lens in your eyes, you don’t have to clean them, you cannot be sensitive to cleaning solutions, and they are very convenient.

Here in New York, around mid to late March, I start prescribing allergy eye medications in an attempt to reduce patient symptoms of seasonal allergic conjunctivitis.  These prescription medications include Pataday, Patanol, Elestat, and Optivar.  These are usually used daily but some doctors recommend them for as-needed symptomatic relief.  Consult your doctor for the proper way to use these medications.

In addition to prescription medications that are stronger, I sometimes recommend over-the-counter allergy eye drops to provide temporary relief of allergic conjunctivitis symptoms.  Use for extended periods of time may make redness in the eye worse; therefore these drops should be used with caution and with your doctors recommendation.

Fortunately for most people, seasonal allergies usually last only about 6 weeks. Whether you use sunglasses, OTC eye drops, prescription medications, One-Day Contact Lenses or move to the North Pole, preventing symptoms is the true goal.

ENJOY SPRING.

Dr. Joel Kestenbaum
www.optixeyecare.com

New York Times' first mention of the contact lens.

Did you know that the first usable contact lens was made in 1888 from blown glass? It’s a fact.

You can find this, and other interesting historical anecdotes about contact lenses in a recently published New York Times article.

Take a look; it’ll give you a fresh perspective on something many of us take for granted.

As I toss my daily, UV-blocking, soft contact lenses in the trash, I give thanks for technological advances.

First Mention: Contact Lens, 1930

Content and image courtesy of the New York Times.

View GMA segment

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.

Every patient we have encountered has been very gracious.  Many of our patients had either lost their glasses or their glasses were in disrepair.  Some patients had not seen an eye doctor for many years and in a few cases, had not visited an eye doctor for over a decade!  We have been thanked many times over for the service we are providing them. Our community partner has been equally thankful for the service we are able to provide.

So far, I have been able to pre-test patients, help with frame selection and submit orders on Eyefinity.  I have also learned how to set up and tear down the clinic. What a process!

It’s very rewarding to be part of the Mobile Response Team.  I feel a sense of pride working for a company that is actively reaching out to the community to provide a much-needed service, especially during a time when the number of people in need is greater than ever.  I am looking forward to the rest of our trip and many trips to come in the future!