Whenever I am discussing children’s vision problems with parents, almost inevitably the topic of computers will come up. Because, let’s face it, computers are a factor life for both adults and children these days. And while computers can do wonderful things, it is true that we must be aware of how computer use can affect us all.

The American Optometric Association has published an article on computer use and children’s vision. It discuses some of the ways that children are different than adults when it comes to computer use and some ways to limit problems from computer use.

You can read the full article here.

Be Well!

Dr. Bonilla-Warford
Bright Eyes Family Vision Care

And now for some brief, eye-related entertainment. I don’t know anything about these guys, but it is fun to see music being played in an Optometrist’s office!

Enjoy!

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Optometry, like all professions, has a variety of professional organizations that doctors can participate join. There are academic organizations, such as the American Academy of Optometry, that promote the vision research that I write about. There are clinical organizations that promote specialties of clinical care such as contact lenses and children’s vision. There are also organizations to assist optometrists in business management. This last one is important because, although all optometrists have four years of classes (after college) learning about eyes and vision, they typically have little or no business and management experience.

I have found that one of the most rewarding organizations that I belong to is one that is dedicated to offices like Bright Eyes. This organization is called Vision Source and it is a nationwide network of small, medium, and large independent optometry practices that strive to provide the very highest level of clinical care, the best customer service, and highest quality in optical products.

One of the reasons that I enjoy my membership in Vision Source is that all of its members are very progressive and are willing to try new ways to improve their craft. Vision Source meetings are very fun, because all the members take the initiative to be the best doctors that they can be and have the best offices that they can have.

If you are looking for an Optometrist and you want someone that is going to be very attentive to your needs, you can visit visionsource.com to find a Vision Source doctor near you!

Be Well!

Dr. Bonilla-Warford
Bright Eyes Family Vision Care

I am a sucker for books. When it comes to bookstores, my eyes are bigger than my… free time. I will buy books that are fascinating that I have every intention of finishing, but I just don’t quite find the time.

One recent purchase is Seeing Through New Eyes: Changing the Lives of Children with Autism, Asperger Syndrome and other Developmental Disabilities through Vision Therapy by Optometrist Melvin Kaplan. I have read other clinical books by Dr. Kaplan and I deeply respect him and his career of helping patients with autism and related conditions.

I haven’t read the book yet, but I stumbled upon this review by a mother who is raising a son with autism (with whom I happen to share the first name “Nate”). I am certain that her review, written from the insider’s perspective, is much more compelling than mine would be, so I encourage you so check out what she has written.

Vision therapy is not the answer for every problem. But vision is so intricately bound to all parts of our lives that many, many people do find benefits from developmental vision care, sometimes in surprising ways.

Be Well!

Dr. Bonilla-Warford
Bright Eyes Family Vision Care

I have recently had several patients come in to the office who have observed bizarre changes in their vision. Typically these changes involve wavy, colorful lights that change in shape over time and last about 15 to 20 minutes. As you can imagine, the first time someone experiences this, it can be very unsettling. And as unusual as it seems, this is actually quite a common experience for people that suffer from migraine headaches.

Not everybody who has migraines sees the visual component (known as an aura) and not everybody who has the aura gets a headache. But people who get them over and over again for long periods of time get to know their aura quite well. It can be very interesting to see how different people experience and describe migraine auras.

The famous neurologist and author Oliver Sacks has recently published a brief article on migraine auras and his perception of his own migraine auras. It also includes interested descriptions that others have written. For those like myself who do not experience these auras it is a fascinating description of the experience.

It is important to remember that, should you experience something like this, you should discuss this with your doctor. Although migraines with auras are very common, and they can at times be serious, there are other conditions that can cause similar experiences that can be significant medical problems.

You can read a lot more about migraines here and more about Oliver Sacks here.

Be Well!

Dr. Bonilla-Warford
Bright Eyes Family Vision Care
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This new contact lens may mark the arrival of “The 6 Million Dollar Man” to eye care. For years scientists and developers have attempted to combine digital information with normal vision. This can provide a useful combination, like the vision that “The Terminator” employs to navigate and process information from the environment. Imagine, for example, a GPS unit that causes you to see a big arrow right in the middle of the intersection that you are driving toward.

This is currently being done with spectacles. At NextFest I once tried on a pair of glasses connected to a video camera and a backpack. It allowed me to play a real-life version of “PacMan” where I walked around and the digital pellets floated in mid air. It was cool, but primitive.

If that technology could be placed in a contact lens, it would be much less bulky. Although the computerized lens is a long way from being commercially available, research is occuring very quickly, and some people are getting excited. One of them is Babak Parviz, a professor of electrical engineering at the University of Washington in Seattle. “If we’re successful initially, and it takes off, this can get really sophisticated in the next few years,” he says.

Could be interesting!

You can read the article here from Discovery News.

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Be Well!

Dr. Bonilla-Warford
Bright Eyes Family Vision Care

People are fascinated by eye color. When I talk to expectant parents, it is fun to talk about the likelihood of their baby having brown, blue, or green eyes. When Nora was born, she, like many infants, had grayish-colored eyes. Some thought her eyes were blue, but I was pretty sure they would be brown like her mother’s.

What causes specific people to have different eye color? Well, we’ve known for a long time that eye color is genetically based. Recently, however, a team at the University of Copenhagen team has identified the specific gene that determines if someone’s eyes are going to be blue.

Professor Eiberg from the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine explained that “originally, we all had brown eyes. But a genetic mutation affecting the OCA2 gene in our chromosomes resulted in the creation of a ’switch,’ which literally ‘turned off’ the ability to produce brown eyes.” It is estimated that this mutation occurred 6,000 to 10,000 years ago.

People who have brown eyes have a lot of a type of pigment called melanin in the iris. (This is the same pigment that gives some people darker skin color than others.) People with green eyes have less melanin in their irises than brown-eyed people, and people with blue eyes have the least amount of melanin.

Evidence now shows that all blue-eyed people have a common ancestor. The genes that control eye color have significant variation, but the gene responsible for blue eyes is much more specific. In the group studied, blue-eyed people had all inherited the same switch at exactly the same spot in their DNA.

This doesn’t mean that anyone has any more control over whether their children are going to have blue eyes or not, but we do have a better understanding of why I have blue eyes, but my daughter does not.

Be Well!

Dr. Bonilla-Warford
Bright Eyes Family Vision Care
Westchase, Tampa, FL
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