Annual eye exams are an essential part of a person’s annual health plan. Along with our yearly physical and dental exam we should remember that our eyes provide a window to the health of our bodies and an annual, dilated eye exam is an essential component of preventative healthcare.
See our video below which was produced at our new Colleyville office on the importance of regular eye exams.
Categories: Eye Care · Vision · examinations
Tagged: Vision, eye exam, eyecare, optometrist, Eye Doctor
In recognition of November Diabetes Month and World Diabetes Day on November 14, we would like to urge community members to schedule yearly eye exams, particularly those with diabetes or that are pre-disposed to diabetes. Approximately 21 million Americans have diabetes, representing 7% of the population, and 6.2 million Americans remain undiagnosed. There were 1.5 million newly diagnosed cases of diabetes in people ages 20 years or older in 2005 demonstrating that diabetes is rapidly becoming one of the most important health care issues. …………Read More
Categories: Diabetes · Eye Care · examinations
Tagged: Eye Care, Diabetes, world diabetes day, diabetic education
Vistakon, a division of Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, has developed a Facebook application that reminds patients to replace their contact lenses. The application allows patients to receive reminders by email or via their Facebook feed.
Patients that are not Facebook users can still use the service by going to the Acuminder website to register where the can elect to get reminders via text message or email. There is also an option to download a reminder to you computer desktop.
This is a great idea! We constantly hear that patients forget to replace their contact lenses, thus increasing the risk of eye infections, because the get busy and forget to do it. The more often contact lenses are replaced the healthier it is for our eyes. So give your eyes a break and sign up.
Categories: Eye Care · contact lens
Tagged: compliance, contact lens, free, reminder, replacement
Seeing patients with complications related to dry eye syndrome are a very common occurrence at Total Eye Care. Last month we made this video about dry eye syndrome. The video discusses how silicone punctal plugs are used to treat dry eye syndrome. It ties in well with this post on the Eye Doc Blog a few months ago about what causes dry eye syndrome. Check it out and let us know what you think.
Categories: Cornea · Eye Care · Vision · contact lens · dry eye syndrome
Tagged: Colleyville, dry eye syndrome, Eye Doctor, keller, ophthalmologist, optometrist, pain, punctal plug, sjogren's syndrome, video
If you have ever played sports and worn glasses, you know the limitations in doing so. Glasses present obvious mobility and peripheral vision issues. In addition, glasses offer little protection and actually can contribute to damage to the eyes if glass lenses are shattered.
Contact lenses offer a safe, clear and comfortable alternative for the athlete on any field or court. Peripheral vision is not an issue with contact lenses. However, contact lenses don’t protect the eyes other than offer some protection for the cornea.
Winter and indoor sports like ice hockey, basketball, football, and gymnastics, along with water and pool activities, baseball, softball, racquet sports and golf contribute the greatest number of eye injuries. Read more here.
Categories: Cornea · Eye Care · Vision · children · emergency · eye · eyecare
Tagged: Eye Care, injuries, prevention, sports vision
Photo Total Eye Care Colleyville Office
We are pleased to announce that on September 2 we will begin to see patients in our new Colleyville office located at 6114 Colleyville Boulevard. The new office is located 1 mile north of the old office at the corner of Hardage and Colleyville Boulevard (State HWY 26). Below is a map. Click on the blue icon at the top of the map for an option to get directions.
Categories: Admin · Eye Care · optometrist
Tagged: optometrist, Colleyville Optometrist, Eye Doctor, Colleyville
Most of us learn visually. Children especially are visual learners. It is hypothesized that 80% of what a child learns is through their vision yet 86% of children have never had an eye exam. People often assume a school screening, given by the school nurse, is adequate. Pediatricians also offer visual screenings.
Vision screenings, while a helpful and necessary part of school back to school, allow many children that need help to fall through the cracks. A comprehensive eye exam is truly what is needed to preserve a child’s vision. An eye exam involves an assesment of a patient’s refractive condition (nearsighted, farsighted etc.), ocular health, binocular function (how the eyes work together) and a comprehensive medical and ocular and family history. Timely eye exams can also prevent amblyopia and lazy eyes in children. More information about vision and children is available on the Total Eye Care Website.
Categories: Eye Care · Vision · children · examinations
Tagged: back to school, children, eye exam
As many of you may know Dr. Diana Driscoll is on medical disability due to the autonomic nervous system complications from Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and has not seen patients in the office since August of 2004. In the course of her research trying to find what was making her ill she accumulated considerable knowledge in Ehlers-Danlos and the complications associated with it. Dr. Driscoll has been asked to share her knowledge at the Ehlers-Danlos National Foundation Meeting in Houston July 31st - Aug 2.
Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome is a connective tissue disorder that affects multiple systems and organs. EDS, as it is called by patients that have it, has numerous different types. The most common types of EDS are classical and hypermobile. Another, rarer type called the vascular form, is the most dangerous because it involves weakening of the blood vessels which may rupture (an aneurysm), which is often fatal.
The most common symptoms of EDS are hyper-flexible joints (people sometimes refer to this as “being double Jointed”) that are flexible beyond the normal range of movement, skin that is very stretchy, soft, bruises easily and is sometimes fragile (tears easily). EDS patients often complain of joint pain that may be mistaken for arthritis, yet the x-rays are not consistent with arthritis.
The most debilitating complication of EDS is a type of dysautonomia called Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome or POTS. Dysautonomia is the result of our autonomic nervous system ceasing to function properly. Our autonomic nervous system regulates functions that our body does automatically such as digestion, breathing, heart rate, blood pressure etc. It is estimated that 40 to 70% of EDS patients suffer from POTS. Many patients with POTS don’t know that they have EDS and are often mis-diagnosed with fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue syndrome. It is thought that autonomic dysfunction is caused by instability of the cervical spine thus interfering with the brain stem.
The medical literature reports that the incidence of EDS is approximately 1 in 10-14,000, however doctors report seeing it clinically more frequently. It is hypothesized that once doctors are made more aware of how to diagnose EDS that the reported incidence will be more like 1 in 3-5000 people.
Once doctors become more aware of how to identify patients with EDS I believe that the incidence reported in the general public will rise markedly. I have personally identified numerous patients in our practice that have EDS and concur with the incidence of 1 in 3-5000. I, in fact, would not be surprised if it was indeed more common than 1 in 3000.
Registration for the Ehlers-Danlos National Foundation 2008 Meeting is available at the EDNF website.
UPDATE: Visit the post EDNF conference entry for the lecture notes and a handout for eye doctors.
Categories: Admin · Ehlers-Danlos · Eye Care · optometrist
Tagged: double jointed, Dysautonomia, EDS, ehlers-danlos syndrome, Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome
A: No, using computers or any kind of near work will not cause your eyes to go bad. What computer use will do, however, is make any uncorrected visual problems become more apparent. When we work at a computer we typically don’t change our point of gaze for possibly hours. Before computers were such an integral part of the office workplace we would experience intermittent visual breaks in our focus that gave our eyes a break by turning the page, going to the file cabinet or grabbing another document, etc. With computers everything we need is on the screen. When we finish one task the next is available on the computer. Our gaze rarely strays from the monitor. Even when we take a mental break, we still take that break looking at our monitor checking personal email, youtube etc.
How do we prevent visual strain at the computer? The first is to set up your workstation for enhanced visual ergonomics. Take occasional breaks from looking at the monitor, once an hour is recommended. If it has been over a year since your last eye exam often a change in glasses is all that is needed.
Categories: Eye Care · Refractive issues · Vision
Tagged: asthenopia, computer, eye strain
Each year over the holiday, Thousands of adults and children are seriously injured as a result of fireworks and pyrotechnic devices. Many burns and injuries affect eyesight, permanently damaging and in some cases blinding the victims. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates that 20-25% of all fireworks related injuries involve the eyes.
Believe it or not, sparklers are the highest cause of fireworks injuries for children under five requiring trips to the emergency room. Another surprising fact is that 1/2 of the fireworks related injuries are to the bystanders. Be safe and attend a professional fireworks display in your area. More information and a list of fireworks displays in the Northeast Tarrant County is available.
Categories: Eye Care · Vision
Tagged: announcement, fireworks, safety
