Progressive lenses, sometimes called “no-line bifocals,” provide a more youthful appearance by eliminating the visible lines found in bifocal and trifocal lenses. They provide the ability to see at all distances in one seamless lens, including driving at a distance, arm’s length for computer use, and up close for reading.

Progressive lenses are the most natural form of vision correction available for patients with presbyopia, as they eliminate the “image jump” present in standard bifocal and trifocal lenses. Progressive lenses provide a smooth transition from the distance through intermediate to near vision with all the in-between corrections included.

Who Needs Progressive Lenses?

Even if you’ve never needed glasses before, presbyopia usually occurs in individuals around age 40. As we age naturally, our ability to see objects up close and the computer screen can decrease and can be blurry. Progressive lenses address separate visual needs in one lens.

How Do Progressive Lenses Work?

If you need more than one pair of glasses or prescription to do computer work or drive, progressives let you see clearly at any distance with one pair of glasses. The constant graduation of prescription in progressive lenses enables you to look up to see in the distance, look ahead to view things such as the computer in the intermediate zone, and drop your gaze downward to read, text, or perform other work comfortably up close.

With so many progressive lens designs and options available, the choices can be overwhelming without professional advice. Ask our doctors about progressive lenses at your next visit!

Have you ever experienced blinding reflections in your lenses from oncoming traffic while driving at night? No-glare, also referred to as an anti-reflective or AR treatment, is specially calculated to eliminate the glare on your lenses and increase the amount of light entering your eye. This is an important safety benefit for driving at night as no-glare lenses reduce annoying reflections and halos around lights.

Reducing glare is beneficial for many reasons. No-glare lenses improve the cosmetic appearance of your glasses by dampening the reflections that mask your eyes when someone is looking at you, making your eyes look more natural. Better yet, most premium no-glare lenses include a special coating that makes them easier to clean along with a two-sided scratch-resistant coating.

Cleaning No-Glare Lenses

Cleaning your no-glare lenses is easy! Always start by wetting the lens and clean it with a soft soap or approved cleaner from The Vision Clinic. Don’t ever use window cleaner, or other harsh chemicals as they can damage the lens. Always use a soft, dry cloth to wipe the lenses clean. Never use facial tissue or paper towel as these materials can scratch your lenses.

Be sure to ask for a demonstration of no-glare lenses during your next visit to The Vision Clinic!

Unlike a vision screening or other general eye test, comprehensive eye exams evaluate the entire health of the eye. They also help the optometrist or ophthalmologist determine your unique prescription. Comprehensive eye exams should begin as an infant to ensure proper eye and vision development. Ongoing eye health examinations at regular intervals are also important as many eye diseases and vision changes can occur without warning signs.

What Does a Comprehensive Eye Exam Include?

A comprehensive eye exam includes testing with eye charts that help the doctor determine the sharpness of your vision. We will check your visual acuity, or how well you are able to identify details. This is generally done with charts like the Snellen eye chart.

People usually recognize this test, though they may not know it by name. With an “E” at the top and eleven rows of capital letters, the Snellen chart helps the doctor determine your visual acuity. The fourth line from the bottom is “20/20” vision. This means you can see as well at 20 feet as someone with adequate visual acuity should. Some people can see even better than this, but 20/20 is the standard. It generally means you don’t need corrective lenses to drive or do other everyday activities.

If you are unable to read the smaller lines, the doctor will ask you to determine the characters on the higher lines. From there, a starting point is determined for further testing to narrow down your unique prescription.

During a comprehensive eye exam, your eye doctor does much more than just determine your prescription for eyeglasses or contact lenses. our doctors will also check your eyes for common eye diseases, color vision, assess how your eyes work together, and evaluate your eyes as an indicator of your overall health.  

Why it’s Important to Get Regular Eye Exams

Comprehensive eye exams often are the first way chronic systemic diseases such as high blood pressure and diabetes are detected. Regular eye exams are the best way to ensure eye health and maintaining your best vision possible.

Please call us with questions, or to schedule an appointment!

Vision therapy is similar to physical therapy, but instead of a joint or muscle, it works with the eyes and brain. There is a neurological component with this kind of therapy because the eyes are an extension of the brain. Our eyes help make “seeing” possible, but vision is reliant on the eye-brain connection. If either of these organs are not working properly, vision will be difficult or non-existent.

What Does Vision Therapy Treat?

Every patient is different, but vision therapy is most commonly a treatment option for amblyopia (“lazy eye”), strabismus (“crossed eyes”), and binocular vision problems with eye alignment. It may also treat eye movement disorders, focusing disorders, or other visual deficiencies related to eye strain or fatigue. Vision therapy can address problems derived from stroke or brain injury, too. The earlier problems are caught and treated, the more likely they are to be fixed. For this reason, vision therapy is often used for children, because they adapt better to changes and visual exercises. This doesn’t mean adults can’t benefit from vision therapy in certain situations.  Parents who bring their child in for an eye exam during their infancy greatly reduce the risk of their child developing any vision related learning disorders.

Does Vision Therapy Work?

Studies show that vision therapy is rooted in science and can help train your body and its abilities in the same way that physical or occupational therapy can. The important thing to remember is that vision therapy is not one set of devices or exercises. Vision therapy may include any number of activities or techniques put together by a qualified medical professional to address specific vision problems. Vision therapy should not be confused with informal and unscientific methods that some people believe can fix your refractive error and “train you” to not need glasses.

When Do I See a Doctor About Vision Therapy?

Any time you feel your eyes or your child’s eyes are not performing properly, you should seek medical attention. Children should receive an eye exam even as babies, and again before they enter school. Eye exams check for more than clear and accurate vision. For this reason, everyone should receive periodic exams to ensure their eyes are healthy. If you notice any changes in your sight or think your child is not developing properly, seek help right away.

Retinal tears and detachments happen when the retina (the inner lining of the eye) is damaged. The retina is a layer of tissue that’s light-sensitive and sends visual information through the optic nerve to the brain. Without it, we are unable to see.

A retinal tear is a small break in this inner lining. Retinal tears can have many causes and can happen at any age. Aging, eye trauma, eye surgery, or being drastically nearsighted may cause retinal tears or detachments.

Treating Retinal Damage

Tears and detachments can be treated with laser surgery or an advanced “freezing” process. Both of these treatment options attempt to keep the retina in place and keep it from fully detaching. If tears are not treated quickly, this layer of tissue can eventually detach from the inside of the eye. Detachment causes permanent vision loss.

Retinal detachment describes a much larger separation of the retina tissues. Although it is not exclusive to older people, it’s more common in those over age 40. If detected early enough, retinal detachment can be treated with the procedures used for some tears. More intricate surgery may be necessary. This procedure uses gas to push the retina together with the wall of the eye to allow for reattachment.

Symptoms of Retinal Tears and Detachments

Symptoms of these retinal conditions may include seeing flashes or floaters, sudden blurry vision, and seeing an area of dark vision.

If you notice changes to your eyesight or have other questions regarding your eye health, please call us right away. Make sure to mention any changes to our doctors during your appointment. Serious problems can develop if left untreated, or if too much time passes between eye exams.

We’re happy to schedule an exam time that is convenient for you, or to work you in as soon as possible, in case of an eye emergency.

Glaucoma is a complicated disease in which damage to the optic nerve leads to progressive, irreversible vision loss. It is the second leading cause of blindness.

The most common form of the disease occurs when the ocular drainage canals become clogged over time. The inner eye pressure (also called intraocular pressure, or IOP) rises when the correct amount of fluid can’t drain out of the eye. With the most common form of glaucoma, the entrances to the drainage canals are clear, and should be working correctly. However, the clogging problem occurs farther inside the drainage canals. This is like a clogged pipe below the drain of a sink.

Glaucoma Symptoms & Risks

Most people will not experience symptoms, nor will they have any early warning signs. Open-angle glaucoma can cause a gradual loss of vision if it is not diagnosed and treated. The disease develops slowly and sometimes without visible vision loss for many years. It usually responds well to medication, especially if caught early and treated.

While anyone at any age can develop glaucoma, these conditions pose a higher risk:

• A family history of glaucoma
• Individuals over 40 years of age
• Diabetics
• Individuals of African or Mediterranean descent
• People who’ve experienced an eye injury or trauma

People of all ages are at risk for developing glaucoma, and only an eye doctor can make a diagnosis. Routine eye examinations are important to detect and identify symptoms.

Please contact us at The Vision Clinic to schedule your eye appointment today.

Age-related macular degeneration, often referred to as AMD, is a medical condition that usually affects older adults. This vision-stealing disease is the result of degeneration to the macula. It results in a loss of vision in the center of the visual field because of the damage to the retina. It occurs in dry and wet forms and is the leading cause of blindness and visual impairment in adults over the age of 50.

Types of Macular Degeneration

Macular degeneration can make it difficult or impossible to read or recognize faces, although enough peripheral vision remains to allow other activities of daily life. The dry form of advanced AMD results from atrophy of the retinal pigment epithelial layer below the retina. This causes vision loss due to the damage of photoreceptors, also known as rods and cones, in the central part of the eye.

The wet form of advanced AMD causes vision loss due to abnormal blood vessel growth. This ultimately leads to blood and protein leakage below the macula. Bleeding, leaking, and scarring from these blood vessels eventually causes irreversible damage to the photoreceptors and rapid vision loss if left untreated. Fortunately, only about 10 percent of patients suffering from macular degeneration have the “wet” type.

Macular degeneration is not painful, which may allow it to go unnoticed for some time. For this reason, regular eye examinations are important. While approximately 10 percent of patients age 66 to 74 will have findings of macular degeneration, the prevalence increases to 30 percent for patients age 75 to 85 years of age. Family history may also play a factor. The good news is that regular eye exams, early detection, and new treatment options enable doctors to maintain (and in some cases increase) visual acuity in patients.

An allergy is an overreaction of the immune system by normally harmless subjects called allergens. Allergies come in a variety of forms. The most common allergens are pollen, dust mites, pet dander, insect venom, and food. Most people will suffer from at least one allergic reaction at some point in their life. Some people may experience hives or rashes from various foods or plants, sneezing from dust or pollen, and itchy eyes from dander. Of course, triggers and symptoms are different for everyone.

Eye allergy symptoms may include:

• Red, watery, itchy eyes
• Running or stuffy nose
• Sneezing
• Sinus pressure
• Sore throat
• Coughing
• Shortness of breath
• Chest tightening
• Asthma attack (in severe cases)

Don’t suffer through the discomfort! If you are one of the 30% of adults, or if your child is one of the 40% of children who suffer from allergies please schedule an appointment with our doctors. We can talk about avoiding triggers, testing, how to get possible relief, and treatment options. Allergies can disrupt your quality of life and make it impossible to do activities you usually love.