Top 5 Things that Can Damage Your Eyes

April 17, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Your vision is precious and so easy to lose. Dangers lurk everywhere, and a moment of carelessness can result in a lifetime of blindness. We’ve listed five common causes of damage to your eyes, and how you can avoid them and care properly for your eye health.

1. UV Rays

Whether it is from the sun or from a tanning bed, Ultraviolet (UV) rays are incredibly destructive to your eye health. You can sunburn the surface of your eyes, a painful condition called Photokeratitis. Overexposure to UV rays causes cataracts, macular degeneration, and cancer of the eye.

2. Failing to Wear Sunglasses All Year

While you may not think you need sunglasses in winter, the truth is that UV is just as much of a hazard in the winter months. For those involved in snow sports, winter can be even more dangerous since the snow reflects UV rays back into your eyes. The best sunglasses to wear are polarized lenses with UV blocking certification, worn every day.

3. Work Accidents

It takes mere seconds to put on your safety glasses while working on a vehicle or using power equipment, but many people skip this step to the serious detriment of their eye health. A flying piece of debris, dripping chemicals or rust that falls from your car can cause blindness and eye injury in a split second. Always wear your safety glasses when involved in these types of tasks.

4. Sports Injuries

As with working hard, playing hard often results in eye damage. Whether you are involved in contact sports or seemingly harmless activities, wearing sports goggles is always a good idea. This can save you from a poke to the eye, a broken orbital bone, scratches to the eye or worse.

5. Complications from Diabetes

Possibly the most devastating disease to your eye health, Diabetes can cause retinopathy, which slowly erodes your sight. It is silent and painless; many patients do not realize they have a problem until they have lost much of their sight. To prevent retinopathy’s advancement, control your blood sugar and see your optometrist regularly. The doctor can detect these issues at their early stages before you even notice a change.

Your eye health is vulnerable and should be protected at all costs. Talk to your eye doctor about your lifestyle and how you can best care for your vision at any age throughout your lifetime.

 

Filed Under: Eye Conditions, Eye Exams, Eye Health, Sports Eyewear

4 Health Benefits when Wearing Polarized Lenses

March 27, 2013 By Leave a Comment

While eye doctors everywhere recommend wearing sunglasses all year round to protect your eye health, you may wonder which kind to wear. Polarized lenses offer many advantages over their non-polarized counterparts, and should be a serious consideration when making this purchase.

How They Work
Polarized lenses block light rays that would normally enter your eyes after reflecting off of surfaces. The light that enters your eye after passing through a polarized lens has been filtered, allowing the wearer to see in a different way.

Health Benefits
1. Reduce Glare, Improve Safety
On a sunny day, you may notice that objects in the distance appear hazy, or nearby vehicles are reflecting light in a way that is nearly blinding. A polarized lens removes the effects of glare by blocking reflections. This improves eye comfort and allows you to take in the view without squinting. Roadways and water sources are major culprits of glare, and can cause danger to drivers who may already struggle with vision issues. Glare can create a very uncomfortable eye health issue for people with sensitive eyes, and even cause a migraine in patients who are prone to developing them.

2. Water Sports
You may notice that outdoor enthusiasts such as fishermen and boaters love polarized sunglasses. The special material makes it easier to see into the water. Without polarized lenses, the water’s surface simply reflects everything around it. This obscures view into the water almost completely. Polarized lenses block this reflection and enable the wearer to see the contents of the water instead of the sky.

3. Reduce Eyestrain
Another nasty side effective of glare, eyestrain can be relieved with polarized lens wear. Squinting to see clear images stresses the eyes and creates uncomfortable eye health issues like redness, irritation, fatigue, and headaches. Polarized lenses neutralize this issue and allow eyes to feel more comfortable and well rested.

4. Better Vision
Wearing polarized lenses can reveal colors and images like never before.  You will see crisply and cleanly, with a level of detail that may astound you.

There are a few circumstances where polarized lenses are not appropriate, such as night driving, flying an airplane, downhill skiing, and viewing LCD screens. The majority of the population will find polarized lenses immensely helpful in improving the clarity and quality of their daytime vision. Ask your eye health provider if polarized lenses are right for you.

Filed Under: Contacts, Sports Eyewear, Sunglasses

Protect your Eyes During Baseball & Softball Season

February 27, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Sports season is around the corner and with it comes a list of threats to your eye safety. For those who play baseball or softball, this can be the time of year when you meet with factors that can change your life by robbing you of your sight.

Sun and UV Damage

Long hours of practice and game days mean plenty of time spent outdoors in the sun. Your eyes are very vulnerable to the effects of ultraviolet (UV) light and need protection. Always wear a hat with a brim to shade your eyes from overhead sun, and wear UV-blocking sunglasses even on cloudy days. Overcast weather may not seem hazardous, but UV light is prevalent even in those conditions. UV light causes not only skin cancer around your eye, but a number of other very serious conditions such as macular degeneration and cataracts, which may result in loss of vision.

Wind and Dust

Not only is the sun a hazard while participating in outdoor sports, but wind and dust also cause major discomfort to your eyes. Your eyes easily lose their natural moisture when exposed to these factors, resulting in dry, red, painful eyes. The suffering of contact lens wearers is amplified and debris adhered to contacts may cause scratches to the surface of your eye. Wearing sunglasses provides a buffer to wind and blowing dust, reducing discomfort and allowing your eyes to remain lubricated and content. Contact lens wearers should be careful to clean lenses thoroughly after outdoor activities to protect their eye safety.

Flying Objects

Baseball and softball are great sports for players at all levels. Since so many types of players are involved, there is a significant risk of your team mates and competitors having less than perfect accuracy when pitching, hitting, or throwing the ball. On bright days, it’s easy to lose track of a pitch that has been hit high into the air. One misfired ball or a ball lost in the sun later and you could be permanently blinded. For these reasons, your focus on eye safety should prompt you to purchase eye guards or protective eyewear to prevent devastating injuries to your eyes.

Outdoor sports, especially baseball and softball, are a fantastic way to be active and social but do come with some risks. Consult your Phoenix Eyecare professional about the right steps to take to ensure your eye safety for many seasons.

 

Filed Under: Sports Eyewear, Sunglasses

Winter Sports Eye Safety Guideline

November 21, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Winter is right around the corner, bringing all of the wonderful fun that goes along with it! Do you know how to keep your eyes safe and protect your vision while enjoying your favorite seasonal sports? Follow these eye care tips to keep your sight crisp and clear while having your wintertime fun.

Arizona Eye Care Though it might sound counter-intuitive, the winter sun can cause just as much damage to your eyes as you would experience during the long days of summer. The potential for damage is even greater in snowy conditions since the glare of the sun hitting the snow can cause “snow blindness” — both painful and damaging to your sight. Snow also reflects ultraviolet rays, effectively doubling your UV exposure and leading to more extensive eye and skin damage. Those at higher elevations are at even greater risk since there is less UV filtration in the atmosphere. For these reasons, it is critical to outfit the entire family in sunglasses that are designated as UV blocking, and also consider wearing a hat with a brim to further shade the eyes. Since children are more vulnerable to this type of eye damage, be sure to protect them as well.

Another eye care hazard of winter is debris entering the eye during sporting activities. This can occur easily during hobbies such as skiing or snowboarding, which can fling ice, slush, dirt, tree branches, bark, stones, and more into your unsuspecting eyes, especially if you are following other skiers. Sunglasses will provide at least some protection in this instance, but a better idea for this type of pursuit would be a great pair of goggles. A set that also affords UV protection or at minimum allow the wearer to have on sunglasses underneath them is the perfect protective equipment in this case.

Last but not least, low temps of winter can sometimes drive the family indoors. Children may be tempted to play more roughly and use toys that are unsafe such as pellet guns, arrows, missiles or projectiles. Caution children on throwing or shooting items at one another or provide them with less threatening toys in the interests of their eye care.

Damage to vision can often be permanent and devastating. Don’t put a damper on your winter fun with a preventable eye injury. Protecting your vision can be very simple and can keep you in good spirits all winter long!

Photo credit: Denis Messié / Foter / CC BY-NC-ND

Filed Under: Eye Health, Sports Eyewear

Occupational Bifocals and Trifocals

October 19, 2012 By Leave a Comment

An occupational lens is a type of multifocal that is specifically suited for performing a particular job or hobby. Glasses with these lenses are special-purpose eyewear and are not designed for everyday wear.

The Double-D Bifocal: For reading and overhead near work

The Double-D is an occupational bifocal which consists of a D-shaped flat-top bifocal at the bottom of the lens and an upside-down flat-top near segment located at the top of the lens. The rest of the lens area consists of distance correction.

People in occupations such as auto maintenance and repair would benefit from a Double-D occupational bifocal. This design allows workers to be able to see well up-close, both when looking down and when looking up to work on the undercarriage of a car on a lift. Mail clerks and others who read documents and may need to file them overhead might also find this lens useful at work.

The E-D Trifocal: For when you need to see everywhere, but especially at arm’s length

The E-D trifocal has the distance correction in the top half of the lens and an intermediate correction for vision at arm’s length in the bottom half of the lens. The line separating these two zones extends across the entire width of the lens, like an Executive bifocal. But in the E-D trifocal, a small D-shaped segment for near vision is embedded within the intermediate zone.

The E-D trifocal is an excellent choice for someone who needs a wide field of view at arm’s length, but also needs to see clearly close up and in the distance. A television production person, who must keep an eye on several TV monitors while being able to read notes from a clipboard and recognize someone across the room, would be a good candidate for this lens.

Need to read all day at work?

Sometimes, a common multifocal can become an occupational lens simply by changing the position of the intermediate or near segment or the characteristics of the progressive design.

For example, if your job requires you to read much of your day, you may want to consider a separate pair of glasses for work that have the bifocal or trifocal segments placed higher-than-normal in the lens. This would enable you to read or use your computer for extended periods without having to tip your head back in an uncomfortable posture.

Or you may want to try an “office” progressive lens, which has a larger, wider intermediate zone for computer use, and a smaller zone for distance vision. These occupational lenses give your more usable vision for your computer and desk work, yet still provide adequate distance vision for spotting people across the room. However, because the distance zone of occupational progressive lenses is limited, they’re not suitable for driving or for other tasks that require a wide field of view in the distance.

What about on the golf course?

If you’re a golfer and wear multifocal lenses, you know these lenses can be a problem on the course. The near vision zones of bifocal, trifocal and progressive lenses can interfere with your view of the ball, requiring you to tilt your head down in an uncomfortable posture. Everyday multifocals can also make lining up a putt much more difficult.

The solution? Consider trying an occupational multifocal commonly called a “golfer’s bifocal.” The small (usually round) near segment is placed very low and in the outside corner of just one lens, so it’s completely out of the way when you address your ball or line up a putt. But it still gives you enough near vision to read your scorecard or browse a menu for lunch in the clubhouse.

Customized eyewear solutions

Nearly all adults – especially anyone over age 40 who needs multifocal lenses – can benefit from having more than one pair of eyeglasses, with the second pair having an occupational design.  Visit us today to explore your many options for eyewear solutions that are specifically tailored to your vision needs.

For more information on eyeglass lenses, visit All About Vision®.

Free images from FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Filed Under: Eyeglasses, Prescription, Sports Eyewear

Eye Care Tips for College Athletes

October 17, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Every 13 minutes, someone walks into a hospital emergency room somewhere in the USA to be treated for a sports related eye injury. That’s over 600,000 such incidents each and every year. While this statistic alone is somewhat sobering, the fact that over 90% of these injuries are completely preventable is equally noteworthy.

While certain risk prone activities such as racquetball & softball can be particularly dangerous for an athlete’s eyes, the fact is that participating in any sport can lead to a serious, life-changing eye injury. However, by taking a few simple precautions, a wide range of threats to eye health can be dramatically minimized, and in some cases, eliminated entirely.

Start with the Basics

Most athletes and coaches are aware of the existence of sports safety goggles, and their effectiveness in preventing serious eye injuries. Statistics indicate that over 90% of participants in college athletic activities do not wear eye protection of any kind.

The fact of the matter is that protective eyewear for college athletes is as basic as seat-belts in cars, or helmets for bike riding. Athlete’s who want to protect their eyes from serious injury while engaged in any sporting activity should be utilizing this simple, yet effective device for maintaining eye health. In fact, many university’s sport programs now say that if an athlete chooses not to wear eye protection, then they simply can’t play.

Other Factors

In addition to projectiles, fingers, and elbows, there are a few other risk factors for eyes that college athletes need to be aware of. Some of the most important are:

  • Be cautious when wearing ordinary glasses, or sunglasses during sports activities. Wearing these may actually increase your chances of suffering a serious eye injury.
  • Never use sunscreen or other substances within 1 inch of the eye.
  • Drink sufficient water to maintain proper eye hydration during sporting events.
  • Wear protective hat or visor for sun protection.

The bottom line is that protecting athlete’s eyes during sporting activities is a simple, and prudent undertaking – but seriously under utilized. It’s up to both participants and coaches to be more aware of both the ease of suffering a serious eye injury – and the ease of preventing one from happening. It simply isn’t worth the risk to go without eye protection.

Filed Under: Eye Health, Sports Eyewear

Protective Sports Eyewear

August 20, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Today, sports eyewear can be spotted on almost anyone who picks up a ball, bat, racquet or stick — whether they play in the major leagues or the Little League. Fortunately, coaches, parents and players now realize that wearing protective eyewear for sports pays off in several ways. The risk of eye damage is reduced or eliminated, and the player’s performance is enhanced by the fact that they see well. In fact, many clubs today do not permit their members to participate without wearing proper eye gear.

Initially, there was some resistance by children to “looking funny” when they wore protective eyewear. Today, sports goggles are an accepted part of everyday life, much the way bike helmets have become the norm. In addition, both children and adults like the image that wearing protective eyewear gives them: it shows they mean business on the playing field.

If you’re not wearing protective eyewear, consider this…

Prevent Blindness America reports that hospital emergency rooms treat 40,000 eye injuries every year that are sports-related. Sports such as racquetball, tennis and badminton may seem relatively harmless, but they involve objects moving at 60 miles per hour or faster. During a typical game, a racquetball can travel between 60 and 200 miles per hour. Another potential danger is that the racquets themselves move at high speed in a confined space and often make contact with one another.

Flying objects aren’t the only hazard. Many eye injuries come from pokes and jabs by fingers and elbows, particularly in games where players are in close contact with each other. Basketball, for example, has an extremely high rate of eye injury.

These are great reasons to wear protective eyewear. Another aspect has to do with performance. It used to be common for people with mild to moderate prescriptions to simply participate in sports without wearing their glasses or contacts. But sharp vision is a vital ingredient to performing well in nearly every sport, and participating in sports when you have less than 20/20 vision is counterproductive.

Features to look for

Prescription glasses, sunglasses and even on-the-job industrial safety glasses don’t provide adequate protection for sports use. Sports goggles are made in a variety of shapes and sizes. Some are even designed to fit in helmets used for football, hockey and baseball. Sports goggles should allow the use of helmets when the sport calls for it.

Lenses in sports eyewear are usually made of polycarbonate. Since polycarbonate is such an impact-resistant lens material, it works well to protect eyes from fast-moving objects. Polycarbonate lenses also have built-in ultraviolet (UV) protection and are coated to be scratch resistant — valuable properties for outdoor sports.

Polycarbonate is the material of choice for sports lenses, but the eyewear frame plays just as important a role. Different sports require different types of frames, which has led to development of sport-specific frames. Sport frames are constructed of highly impact-resistant plastic or polycarbonate, and most come with rubber padding to cushion the frame where it comes in contact with your head and the bridge of your nose.

Phoenix Eye Doctors Some sports styles are contoured, wrapping slightly around the face. This type of goggle works well for biking, hang-gliding, and sailing. Contact lens wearers especially benefit from the wraparound style, which shields your eyes from wind and dust.

A note about handball goggles

At one time, handball goggles for those with no need for vision correction were simply goggles with small openings in place of lenses. It was eventually recognized that the high speed of handballs compressed the ball enough to protrude through the opening and cause serious eye damage. All goggles worn for handball and racquetball should include impact-resistant polycarbonate lenses for adequate protection during these sports.

Important fitting considerations

Sport goggles must be properly fit to the individual wearer. This is particularly important with children, because there is a temptation to purchase a larger goggle than what is needed today so the youngster has “room to grow.” Some growing room is acceptable, since sports goggles are made to be somewhat flexible in their width adjustment. If the frames are oversize, however, they will not protect the way they were designed, leaving a potential for damage when there is impact to the head or the face. It’s a risk not worth taking.

By the same token, permitting a youngster to continue wearing goggles that he or she has outgrown can be just as dangerous. First, the frames will be uncomfortable, tempting the child to take them off. Secondly, the frames may obstruct peripheral vision, leading to poor performance with a potential for impact from unseen sources to one side or another. Review the fit of your youngsters’ sports eyewear each year to ensure that they are still providing proper protection and are fitting comfortably. Make sure the padding inside the sides of the goggle rests flush with the face and the eyes are centered in the lens area.

For more information on sports eyewear, visit All About Vision®.

Free images from FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Filed Under: Sports Eyewear, Sunglasses

Performance and Sport Sunglasses

July 16, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The boom in outdoor sports activities like mountain biking, snowboarding, rock climbing, kayaking, skiing, golfing and in-line skating has also created a demand for sports- and performance-oriented sunglasses.

These special-purpose sunglasses are designed to be exceptionally light and comfortable, able to withstand extreme conditions and stay comfortably in place during any activity.

Lenses

Perhaps the most important aspect of effective sports sunwear is the optical quality and visual enhancement properties of the lenses. In particular, sports and performance lenses are available in a wide variety of tints to modify light in certain ways to enhance contrast. This allows you to see certain objects (a tennis ball, for example) with greater clarity to enhance your reaction time.

Polycarbonate lenses are the lens of choice for most sport sunglasses because they are lightweight, super strong and more impact-resistant than lenses made of other materials.

Polarized lenses are also in demand, because they reduce glare from light reflecting off flat surfaces such as water or a field of snow. There is, however, some debate about the advisability of polarized lenses for sports like downhill and mogul skiing, since seeing sunlight reflecting from icy patches on the slopes is often beneficial.

Frames

Performance Sunglasses The frames for performance and sport sunglasses are made of lightweight and durable materials such as polyamide, which keeps its shape even under stress. Styles are typically aerodynamic, with sleek lines. No-slip temple grips and nose pads are popular features to help keep the eyewear in place despite wearer perspiration during the heat of competition.

What’s your sport?

Each sport has its own unique visual requirements, which has led to the development of sport-specific sunglasses. Frames and lenses are now available that are targeted specifically to the golfer, the cyclist, the boater, the rock climber and so on.

For example, a certain lens tint might help a golfer notice subtle changes in the direction of the blades of grass on a green that could affect the line of their putt, while a completely different tint might be better to help a hunter see the contrast of a flying bird against an overcast sky.

If you prefer to be a Jack (or Jill) of all sports, there are also multipurpose sports sunglasses that feature interchangeable lenses with different tints for different sports and lighting conditions.

For more information on sport sunglasses and polarized sunglasses, visit All About Vision®.

Free images from FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Filed Under: Sports Eyewear, Sunglasses

Scuba Diving Masks and Swim Goggles

June 18, 2012 By Leave a Comment

When they’re in the water, swimmers and scuba divers who wear eyeglasses or contact lenses could benefit from prescription swim goggles.

These special types of sports eyewear require a prescription that is different from a regular eyeglasses prescription because of the unique characteristics of an underwater environment. Water itself acts as a magnifier, which is why fish in a tank or other underwater objects sometimes appear larger than they actually are. Since light travels and bends differently through water than it does through air, your eye care professional will need to modify your eyeglasses prescription so your underwater sports eyewear gives you the same clear vision your glasses provide on dry land.

Also, depending on the style of diving mask or swim goggles you choose, an adjustment to your prescription may be necessary because the corrective lenses may be positioned closer or farther from your eyes than the normal position of your eyeglass lenses.

Scuba diving masksscuba

Prescription lenses for scuba diving masks are available in one of two forms: either the entire front of the mask is a prescription lens, or corrective lenses are inserted separately between the mask and your eyes. If the dive mask comes with prescription lenses, they may be either custom-made for your vision correction needs, or they can come pre-made in a prescription for nearsightedness or farsightedness that is the same for both eyes.

Most people who require corrective lenses have a similar prescription for both eyes, so a dive mask with pre-made lenses will usually provide adequate vision for reading gauges and maneuvering around underwater. Even though pre-made prescription lenses don’t correct astigmatism, most people who have astigmatism can function quite well with a spherical (meaning “without astigmatism”) correction in the water.

Dive masks made with lenses designed specifically to your measurements and prescription are generally more expensive than their pre-made counterparts.

Some diving masks are designed to allow customized prescription lens inserts to be attached to the inside of the front of the mask. This option provides a more accurate vision correction. But, depending on the depth, temperature and type of water that you’re in, fogging may be a bit more problematic with lens inserts.

If you’re a contact lens wearer, however, you might benefit from a diving mask that allows prescription lens inserts because they provide the option of wearing or not wearing contacts. If you have the contact lenses in for a dive, there’s no need for the prescription insert. If you go diving without your contacts on, you can put the prescription lens inserts in the mask for a clear underwater experience.

Because of the potential risk of contamination of contact lenses underwater, it’s generally a better idea to dive and swim without them. Another option is to wear one-day disposable soft contacts, and discard them as soon as you’re back on dry land.

Swim goggles

Swimming goggles are much smaller and fit closer to your eyes than a diving mask. They are designed to protect your eyes from the water and be sleek and unobtrusive at the same time, so as not to interfere with your speed and motion. A rubber or silicone seal surrounds the lenses to keep water away from your eyes.

As with dive masks, swim goggles are available with pre-made prescription lenses that are the same power for both eyes. Because swim goggles generally are used in a pool setting, these pre-made prescription lenses will usually provide adequate vision. However, custom-made prescription swimming goggles are also an option.

For more information on sports eyewear, visit All About Vision®.

Free images from FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Filed Under: Prescription, Sports Eyewear