Posts Tagged ‘eyes’

Photo by Jeremy Bronson

Most people, especially us in Florida, are at a constant battle with glare from the sun. Some feel that they struggle more so than others. Well, if you have blue eyes it may not be all in your head. This recent NY Times article highlights the effects of bright sunlight on eye iris color.

Since baseball records every stat that any fan can think of, it isn’t unusual that definitive statistical data was pulled to show that blue-eyed batters achieve a lower hitting percentage during day games than night games. This is because darker irises are more proficient in filtering out glare than lighter eyes. Glare can cause difficulty for a batter when trying to track the baseball from the pitcher to the plate. The batting percentages of Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers and Jason Bay of the Mets were used to show that the disparity can sometimes be extreme. For example, Hamilton’s career stats showed the most shocking difference, with a daytime average of .240 and a nighttime average of .344.

Some blue-eyed batters use colored contacts to filter glare and give a greater contrast to the ball, while most incorporate sunglasses of varying density to provide glare reduction for an array of lighting conditions. While it’s critical for professional athletes to do whatever it takes to perfect their game, it is just as critical for all of us non-pros to think about reducing glare, especially during activities like driving when glare can mean a fender bender or worse. So if you’ve been thinking about getting a nice pair of sunglasses for fashion or function, keep in mind that Bright Eyes is having a Sunglass Sale for the entire month of July. Come in to receive 30% off all Costa Del Mar and 20% off all other sunglasses.

All the best,

Justin Schoonover, CPO

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

This new video from VSP is great! Not only is it pretty fun and entertaining, but it also makes a great point about the importance of vision and activities like sports. I’ll be honest I don’t know who  Tyreke Evans is, because I don’t follow basketball, but I do know that vision is very important for sports! Not only do you need to see clearly, you and have to have  good peripheral vision and good visual reaction time; all of these things are necessary to win. The great thing is that if there are problems with any of these things, they can be fixed with corrective lenses or vision therapy!

This video shows that protecting your eyes on the court or on the field is very important. Regular glasses are not designed for sports and are actually less safe than sports glasses. And don ‘t worry,  the modern sports glasses are way cooler than the ones I had when I was a kid! Stop by Bright Eyes to check out some of the new models.

The VSP video also does a great job of highlighting the American Optometric Association’s recommendation that the  first eye exam should occur at six months, then three years, then before kindergarten, assuming nothing is wrong.

If you have any questions about your little one’s vision,  have concerns that vision may be interfering with sports, or whether or not they are protecting their eyes sufficiently during sports, ask us!

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

We all know that sometimes smart people do dumb things. This can be especially true for college students who have a lot of time and new-found freedom.

I recently read about a trend in the US and England among college students: putting a corrosive solvent in their eye. Why? To get drunk? What is the solvent? Alcohol, specifically vodka. This is called Vodka Eyeballing and is more common than you might think.

image via Flickr

I can understand why college students want to find a way to get drunk even faster than doing shots. I can understand that exposing the tissues of your eye to vodka can allow this by absorbing the alcohol straight into your you bloodstream, bypassing the stomach.

But I also know the lethal effect that alcohol has on human cells and that the eye is among the most delicate and IMPORTANT parts of the body.

Do not put Vodka in your eye. It is just as stupid as it sounds.

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

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.

“Vision problems creep up on you as you age. But good habits — not unlike the ones you’ve already established to protect your heart, bones, and brain — can help keep your eyes healthy.”

Here is a quick list of useful eye info from CNN Health. Remember, we live in Tampa and get a lot of sun and are active. Be especally careful.

Enjoy!

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

This is just cool.

In New Zealand they are studying a huge squid. They think it is the world’s largest specimen. It has very large eyes. According to a scientists, “This is the largest eye ever recorded in history and studied… It has a huge lens the size of an orange and captures an awful lot of light in the dark depths in which it hunts.”

CNN has coverage here. There is also a somewhat graphic video of the squid specimen.

So next time you see someone who looks like they have big eyes, think about this squid that eyes eyes bigger than a person’s head!

Be Well!

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