Archive for the ‘Optometry’ Category

The American Optometric Association recently held a School Readiness Summit: Focus on Vision in which doctors, nurses, educators and advocates for children’s health gathered to examine learning-related vision issues that are keeping children from achieving in the classroom. This summit was created to address the concerns that our current system is flawed and a policy shift is needed. The problem is that currently, the U.S. educational system and some health care providers rely heavily on vision screenings to discover the kids that need comprehensive exams. These screenings do catch some types of vision problems but they can miss about 75% of those children that have learning-related vision problems. Detecting these vision problems is very important as “studies show that much of what children learn comes though vision, and undetected and untreated eye and vision disorders in children, such as amblyopia and strabismus, can result in vision loss, additional costly treatments, delayed reading and poorer outcomes in school.”

The take-home statement that the summit produced is that comprehensive eye exams must serve as the foundation to determine school readiness in school-aged children. Another important point established at this meeting is the establishment of the link between healthy vision and classroom learning.

This historic summit is an important step in ensuring that children receive the proper detection and treatment of vision problems before they become detrimental to their learning. Here at Bright Eyes Family Vision Care, we are excited to see these changes being made, since it has been our goal from the beginning to not only catch vision problems at an early stage, evidenced by the InfantSEE program that we offer that provides free eye exams to infants between the age of 6 months and 1 year of age, but to also treat certain types of problems through our extensive one-on-one vision therapy program.

If you have any questions regarding the InfantSEE program, vision therapy program, or would like to schedule a comprehensive eye exam for your child before they start school, give our office a call or come in to schedule.

All the best,

Justin Schoonover, CPO

Bright Eyes Family Vision Care
Located in the Westchase area of Tampa.

This video is EXACTLY the way I remember optometry school in Chicago.

Check to watch on Youtube

I am happy to note that my friend and colleague, William Stephen O.D. of St. Lucy’s Vision Center was featured extensively discussing orthokeratology, also known as ortho-K, CRT, or Precise Corneal Reshaping (PCR). The video aired on Fox 13′s Dr. Jo health segment.

Here is the description of the video from the Fox 13 website. “Patients head to the eye doctor every year, often times for a stronger prescription. But, some people are getting “perfect vision” without contacts or glasses. FOX 13′s Dr. Joette Giovinco shows why “Eye Braces” are being called the vision of the future.”

You can watch the entire video here:

There are several optometrists that provide Ortho-K in the Tampa area.  We the only office in Westchase to provide the service.  If you have any questions about this exciting treatment option or want to schedule a screening, please do not hesitate to call the office at 813-792-0637 or email at office@brighteyestampa.com.

Be Well!

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

There can be no doubt that all of us, especially children, are doing hand held work more frequently and more intently than ever before.   All you have to do is look around any restaurant, doctor’s waiting room, or mini-van, and you will see people of all ages do this.  They are reading, playing hand held video games such as the Nintendo 3DS or the PSP, or using their iPhone or Blackberry to watch videos and keep in touch with others.

All of this technology is great, but it can come with a cost – visual discomfort that can interfere with proper vision.

In addition to using proper posture and taking frequent visual breaks from intensely focusing up closely, another important element is how close  a person is to the object they are looking at in their hands.  A good way to tell if it is the right distance is by using the “Elbow Distance” rule.

Research on human ergonomics has determined that the optimal  visual distance for reading and other close work is the Harmon Distance or “Elbow Distance”.  This distance is measured by placing a closed fist at the eyes. The point at the end of the elbow represents the closest distance a person should be from their near work.

The beauty of applying Elbow Distance is that as we grow, so do our arms. You would expect a child to hold objects closer to his face than  an adult.  So instead of a “one size fits some” rule of a certain number of inches, the “Elbow Distance” can apply to almost everyone.  Go ahead and try it on yourself now and see if you hold a magazine or cellphone at your Elbow Distance or a little further.

Some people get so absorbed in their games or reading that when they get very close to their work, they are placing undue stress on their vision.  I am also very guilty of this.  When I get 4 to 5 inches from what I’m writing, my eyes have to work harder to keep the words clear because of the close distance.  But if I keep the right distance, the visual system relaxes and performs more efficiently – and I can really tell a difference.

If children or adults frequently get extremely close to their books or games, this may just be a bad habit.  But it can also be sign of a visual problem. Either way, it is best to get an exam performed by an eye doctor who specializes in visual efficiency.  They can determine if there is a problem and if glasses or vision therapy might be needed.

Be well!

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

If you ever read a summary of a comprehensive exam, you may get a little confused by all the technical vision terms. To try to make it more easy to understand, I have listed a brief explanation of the tests accomplished by comprehensive eye and vision exams.

This does not cover every single test, but the majority of them. Because each patient is different, each exam uses different tests. You may find a Glossary of Vision Terms helpful as well.

• MEDICAL HISTORY: Questions about past and current medical problems.
• VISUAL HISTORY: Questions about past and current vision problems.
• VISUAL ACUITY: Sharpness or clearness of eyesight at a specific distance.
• KERATOMETRY: Measures the shape of the front part of the eye (the cornea) where light enters.
• EXTRA OCULAR MUSCLES: Measures how accurately the eyes move while following an object and looking back and forth between targets.
• COVER TEST (NEAR): Measures the amount that the eyes are misaligned while looking at near.
• COVER TEST (DIST): Measures the amount that the eyes are misaligned while looking at distance.
• NEAR POINT CONVERGENCE: Measures the ability to converge – the eyes turning towards each other when looking at an object up close.
• STEREOPSIS: Measures the ability of the eyes to work together to see fine detail with depth perception “3D”.
• NEAR POINT ACCOMMODATION: Measures how close each eye is able to see clearly.
• PHORIA (NEAR): Measures the amount that the eyes are misaligned while looking at near.
• PHORIA (DISTANCE): Measures the amount that the eyes are misaligned while looking at distance.
• NEAR VERGENCE (BI): Measures the ability to converge – the eyes turning towards each other when looking at an object up close.
• NEAR VERGENCE (BO): Measures the ability to diverge – the eyes turning outwards at an object.
• ACA RATIO: Measures how much the eyes converge while focusing up close.
• NEGATIVE RELATIVE ACCOMMODATION: Measures the maximum ability to relax focusing while maintaining clear, single binocular vision.
• POSITIVE RELATIVE ACCOMMODATION: Measures the maximum ability to focus while maintaining clear, single binocular vision.
• MEM RETINOSCOPY: Measures the accuracy of focusing while looking at an object up close.
• REFRACTION: Measures the nearsightedness, farsightedness, or astigmatism of the eyes.
• EXTERNAL EXAM: Determines health of the eyes by observation.
• SLIT-LAMP EXAM: Determines the health of the eyes with a microscope.
• OPHTHALMOSCOPY: Uses special lenses to look inside the eye for diseases.
• TONOMETRY: Measures the pressure inside the eyes.
• DILATION ORDERS: Specifies the type of eye drops and method used to evaluate inside the eyes.
• CUP/DISC RATIO: A way of measuring the health of the optic nerve. Useful in glaucoma and other eye disease cases.
• ASSESSMENT: States what the known visual or eye health problems are.
• PLAN: Summarizes the recommendations for the treatment of the problems.

Be Well!

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

This is a great short video about infant vision and shows examples of how infant eye exams are performed. It is a must see for any parent!

If you have an infant, remember that the first vision evaluation is recommended at 6 months. The InfantSEE exam is no cost. If you’d like to read more about infant vision or if you’d like to  schedule an appointment for your little one, call us at (813) 792-0637 or go to www.brighteyestampa.com.

Be Well!

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

People are often confused by the eye care field and do not know the difference between the three O’s: Opticians, Optometrists, and Ophthalmologists.

Well, to put it simply:

Opticians are experts in frames and lenses. The sell and repair glasses. In some states they can also fit contact lenses.

Optometrists are doctors that are vision specialists. They deal with the function and health of the eyes. They can prescribe glasses and contacts and can treat eye disease with medication.

Ophthalmologists are doctors that are concerned primarily with the eyes and diseases of the eyes, which they can treat with medicine and surgery. They can also prescribe glasses and contacts.

The American Optometric Association has long known about the confusion between the 3 O’s and has recently produced a wonderful video about our profession:

[vodpod id=ExternalVideo.440721&w=425&h=350&fv=]
from www.aoa.org

This video discusses how Optometrists provide a wide range of care, including:

* Detect and diagnose eye diseases such as glaucoma, cataracts, retinal disorders, lid disorders, and infections such as conjunctivitis.
* Prescribe medication to treat eye diseases.
* Evaluate and treat vision conditions such as nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism, presbyopia, amblyopia, binocular vision problems.
* Perform minor surgical procedures such as removing foreign objects from the eye.
* Provide pre- and post-operative care, especially for glaucoma, laser, refractive, and cataract patients.
* In some instances, perform laser, refractive or glaucoma surgeries.

The video also shows how Doctors of optometry are on the forefront of advanced research into the development of new treatments for eye diseases and disorders.

* The research dollars awarded by the government through the National Eye Institute to optometrists has quadrupled in less than 10 years.
* Optometric researchers are using these funds to advance solutions in areas such as glaucoma, vision therapy and preschoolers’ access to vision care.

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