Archive for April, 2010

Join Bright Eyes on Saturday, May 8 for Baby Day!

Featuring:

• No-cost InfantSEE®eye assessment for your baby!
• Baby Tweetup!
• Free Baby Sunglasses
• Awesome Giveaways
• A chance to win a gift basket from Mi Bebe!
• Refreshments

What is Baby Day?

At Bright Eyes Family Vision Care, we love patients of all ages, but the cutest and most cuddly ones are babies. Most parents don’t know that the American Optometric Association recommends the first eye and vision evaluation should be at six months of age. So we have created Baby Day! On this day we will provide no-cost eye exams for babies and educate the public on infant and children’s eye care. See the press release here.

InfantSee Morning (10 a.m to noon)

In the morning, we will be scheduling only InfantSEE® patients. Created by the American Optometric Association, InfantSEE®is a public health initiative to screen babies for potential vision problems. InfantSEE® assessments are offered free of charge to infants between six and twelve months of age.  It’s a comprehensive eye exam that evaluates a baby’s vision, eye tracking skills, & overall eye health. Long-time readers may remember my daughter’s InfantSEE® evaluation. Now that Javier is 6 months old, he’ll be joining us on Baby Day for his very first eye exam!

Call soon to schedule, as appointments are limited for Baby Day! (And if you can’t make it May 8, you can schedule an InfantSEE® exam during regular office hours, too!)

Baby Tweetup (1 p.m. to 3 p.m. RSVP on FB  here)

Our office is fairly social media savvy and we enjoyed hosting the first Westchase Tweetup last year. If you don’t know, a Tweetup is a real-life gathering of users of social media networks like Twitter and Facebook. Typically these events are lots of fun and are excellent networking opportunities. Well, the Baby Tweetup is no different, except that we are specifically inviting little tykes under 24 months and their families. So if your Facebook page is covered with pics and videos of your little bambino, be sure and stop by. And don’t forget to check in on foursquare. 

Open House (10 a.m. to 3 p.m.)

Stop by anytime during throughout the day to say hello and check out all the other cute babies! The first 25 babies get a tote bag with baby sunglasses and other goodies. Parents can register to win a gift basket from Mi Bebe. We’ll also have some light refreshments (sodas, juice boxes for kids, cookies and more) for you to enjoy!

Sponsors

Bright Eyes,  Mi Bebe, and My Gym are the current sponsors. However, because we want spread the word about infant vision care as far as possible, we are looking for other people or businesses to sponsor Baby Day! You can be a sponsor by donating give-aways or door prizes or by helping us get the word out! If you are interested in joining us or have any questions, please let me know.

I can’t wait to see all the babies at Bright Eyes! So cute!

UPDATES: First, We will be using the hashtag #BABYDAY to track comments on Twitter. Second, this is becoming a national event! We have eye doctors in California, New York, Indiana, and Utah who will be joining us! Ask your eye doctor if they be hosting any special BABY DAY events!

Nathan Bonilla-Warford, OD
Bright Eyes Family Vision Care
Located in the Westchase area of Tampa.

This is a guest post by Dr. Hilla Abel, the Cheftometrist.

Most people would agree that vision is a precious sense, and maybe even one that we tend to take for granted. While serious eye diseases like macular degeneration and diabetic eye disease are on the rise, the good news is that science is helping us understand what we can do to protect our eyes as much as possible. One key strategy is eating well. Check out these tips to learn what foods are good for the eyes…

1. Eat plenty of colorful veggies and fruit. Choose a wide variety of vegetables and fruit to get in your eye-healthy antioxidants, like vitamins C and E, and get your fiber in too. Selecting produce like berries, red bell peppers, sweet potatoes, and broccoli helps insure that you get the spectrum of plant nutrients in your diet.

Steamed Kale by Laurel Fan

2. Along with all your colorful veggies and fruit, pay special attention to include lots of leafy greens. Dark leafy greens like spinach and kale are high in lutein, which protects against macular degeneration and cataracts. When you eat lutein, it is literally sent to the macula and lens of the eye to protect these structures from light damage and oxidative damage. Lutein is really important for eye health!

3. Try to avoid white sugar and white flour as much as possible. White sugar and white flour contribute to a high glycemic-index diet, which has been shown to increase risk of macular degeneration and diabetes (which can lead to diabetic eye disease). Instead of eating so-called refined (i.e. processed) foods, choose the real deal: whole grains like brown rice, oats, and quinoa for your carbohydrates, and high-fiber foods like beans and vegetables.

4. Choose healthy fats. Our bodies need some fat from the diet, and it’s important for the fat that we consume to be of good quality. Omega-3 fatty acids have been proven to protect against macular degeneration and are used to treat dry eyes. Try to regularly incorporate omega-3-rich foods like salmon, anchovies, sardines, and flax seeds in your diet. And while you’re increasing your consumption of omega-3′s and other good fats, be sure to also decrease your consumption of the poor quality fats found in processed foods.

5. Go exotic! A number of foods which have been known to be healthy according to ancient medical traditions have turned out to be scientifically beneficial. Turmeric is the yellow spice found in curries and has been shown to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits; early studies suggest that turmeric may have a role in preventing or treating eye diseases like cataracts, macular degeneration, diabetic eye disease, and glaucoma. Green tea, of Chinese origin, packs in an incredible amount antioxidants, fights inflammation, and protects against sun damage. Chinese tradition has also taught us that goji berries (also known as wolfberies) are good for the eyes. Now, modern science has proven that goji berries are high in zeaxanthin, which protects the macula and lens along with lutein.

As you can see, eye-healthy eating is sensible, with many delicious foods working to protect your eyes. In addition to eating right, other eye-healthy strategies are wearing sunglasses, exercising regularly, not smoking, and getting regular eye exams. Your eyes are worth it!

A note for those of you with medical conditions… If you have any specific medical conditions that may relate to food, be sure to speak with your doctor before making changes in your diet. For example, people taking warfarin (Coumadin) should speak to their doctors before increasing their consumption of leafy green vegetables.

Dr. Hilla Abel is a practicing optometrist and a certified natural foods chef. For more eye-healthy recipes & tidbits, visit her blog at www.morethancarrots.com and follower her on Twitter at @Cheftometrist.

Hi all!

This is just a quick note. You may know that I was recently featured in the St. Pete Times.  You can read it here and a similar story on TBO.com here about how a quirky idea of celebrating social media on April 16 has become a giant party all over the world!

Seriously, we now have people in the US, India, China, England, Malaysia, and many other places celebrating. They will be joining us, virtually, at the Hyatt Regency on Friday for a giant party!! I hope you can come, because it will be a very unique event for Tampa! BBC America is coming to film the event, as well as many local news organizations.

So, a few quick updates. First, Mayor Pam Iorio will officially proclaim April 16 to be Foursquare Day. This is very cool.

Second, I will be on Fox 13 live between noon and 1pm discussing Foursquare Day. You can tune in or watch live on Myfoxtampabay.com.

Finally, it is NOT too late for you to get involved! We are looking for sponsors for the big event and this is an exciting, inexpensive way for your business to get involved. Not sure where to start? Check out our Resources Page for a look at what other Tampa Bay Business are doing here, including our 50% sale!

Have any questions, just let me know!

Nathan Bonilla-Warford, OD
Bright Eyes Family Vision Care
Located in the Westchase area of Tampa.

Note to regular Bright Eyes News readers: I know that the subject of social media and Foursquare Day is a significant departure from the usual topics of eye care news and vision therapy. However, this last week has been such an interesting experience and started at Bright Eyes and I hope you don’t mind another post….  -Dr. Nate.

I have had the most amazing week! I have been meeting amazing people, working like crazy, and this morning am reading an article in the St. Pete Times about me. It is quite surreal, I must say.

Why all the excitement? Well, it appears that I had an idea that has lead, through a chain of events involving a lot of hard work by Tampa Bay people, to the creation of Foursquare Day: the first global social media holiday.

I won’t use this space to explain the background in detail. You can read the story as it evolved here, here, and here.

But now that Foursquare Day is getting attention beyond the social media crowd (the Twitteratti, as I call them), I am getting a lot of people saying some variation of, “Hey Dr. Nate, Foursquare Day sounds really cool. I just don’t think I understand it.” So the point of this post is to explain my take on this new phenomenon.

Foursquare Day began as a fun way to recognize the company foursquare on April 16 each year.  Foursquare  is a very fun application that has the potential to enrich the life of both users and local businesses like mine. To participate, all you have to do is go to any place on April 16 where people can gather and let the world know you are there via foursquare. It is that simple.

However, as the Foursquare Day project grew, I began to think about what I was experiencing. Although I have blogged here and elsewhere for years, used Twitter and Facebook very successfully to promote Bright Eyes and create actual, real-life relationships with people, I have never experienced the raw power that social media has to literally change the world, until now. And that has become what Foursquare Day means to me.

To the best of my knowledge, and I am certain that someone will correct me if I am wrong, Foursquare Day is the first globally recognized grass-roots celebration of the power of social media as a positive force within the community.

Let’s take a look at some of the pieces of that statement:

“first” – I think. A Google  search showed lots of great Geek Holidays, but none specifically about social media, and just how social media influenced holiday shopping. Again, please tell me if I am wrong.

“globally recognized” – From the Foursquare Day Swarm HQ, from the Hyatt in downtown Tampa, we will be video conferencing with people celebrating social media from every continent, except Antarctica. (If someone can swing that, I’ll buy you lunch!)

“Grass-roots” – It is important to note that foursquare did not start this movement, nor did they buy it. It started in Tampa and has only succeeded through the very hard work of too many people to name here. Like much of the social media activity, this is being done by people purely because it is cool for them.

“power of social media” – The ability to not just chat on Facebook and Twitter (which is important), but to use wikis, Skype and other communication tools is unparalleled to any time in human history. Not only can we do these things, but we can do them ANYWHERE – coffee shops, our bed, a park. (But not while driving, for our own safety).

“Positive affect on the community” – Like any tool, social media can be used for good or evil. But I am convinced that the overwhelming use of social media is for the betterment of individuals and communities. Not only can we develop strong, permanent relationships with people both locally and globally as well as  support local, independent businesses and non-profits, we can use social media to support wonderful causes. One issue that I am passionate about is the development of children’s vision to help them reach their potential. Two social media examples that help people understand what I do is the COVD blog and this grass-roots Facebook page.

So Tampa and everyone else, even if you don’t use foursquare, please come down to the Hyatt to swarm with us for Foursquare Day on April 16 in celebration of social media. Bright Eyes is the primary sponsor, and it will be the biggest party we’ve EVER held!

And, of course, I wouldn’t be a businessman if I didn’t  mention that you can check in at Bright Eyes on April 16 and save 50% (yes, half), on all glasses and sunglasses. Read more here and tell every one you know. You will never see a deal like this again. I am certain of it. 

Nathan Bonilla-Warford, OD
Bright Eyes Family Vision Care
Located in the Westchase area of Tampa.

Today we have a guest post from a friend of mine,  Dr. Janet Carter. I’ve known her online since I was in optometry school and have always enjoyed her insight and humor. I am glad she took me up on the offer to write a guest post and hope she considers blog herself. – Dr. Nate

OK, it’s happened. Your child came home from school with a note from the nurse saying she had difficulties with the vision screening. Or perhaps she is complaining of trouble seeing the blackboard or headaches reading. Or maybe a previously undiagnosed condition was discovered during her yearly eye examination. Regardless of the scenario, you have to face the fact that your child will soon be wearing glasses. Her success in doing so will greatly depend on your attitude towards this development.

The importance of your attitude in making sure your child has the proper vision correction begins before you even visit the optometrist. Tell your child what to expect during the visit, but don’t dwell on anything unpleasant. She may have her eyes dilated, but this needn’t be a cause for concern. The dilation drops that most optometrists use today are much gentler and not nearly as long-lasting in their effects as ones you may have experienced as a child. Let her know that her vision may be a little blurry afterwards, but it won’t be too bad. Try and schedule the visit on a day when there isn’t an important homework assignment or sporting event. Read the rest of this entry »

So not only did my staff call in sick today but they also did this:

April Fools!

This is the cleanest my desk has been in years!

Nathan Bonilla-Warford, OD
Bright Eyes Family Vision Care
Located in the Westchase area of Tampa.