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Eye Makeup and Your Vision
Do you use makeup to accentuate your eyes? Whether your go-to style is a smoky eye or you prefer a more understated look, eye makeup mistakes could increase your risk of eye irritation, infection, or vision loss.
May 17th, 2021

Uveitis Symptoms, Causes, and Treatments
Uveitis, a painful eye condition that affects the middle of the eye, can lead to vision loss if it's not treated in a timely manner. Fortunately, your optometrist can offer several treatments that will help reduce pain and preserve your vision.
May 17th, 2021

How Nutrition Can Be Beneficial to Your Vision
Improving your eating habits offers benefits you may not have considered. In addition to reducing your risk of heart disease, lowering your cholesterol, and maintaining a healthy weight, good nutrition also helps you keep your eyes healthy.
May 17th, 2021

Good Eye Health Is Essential for Athletes
Eyesight is a crucial, yet often overlooked, aspect of sports ability. Without good vision, scoring points, hitting balls, and fending off opponents becomes much more difficult.
May 17th, 2021

Symptoms of Age-Related Macular Degeneration
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD), an eye condition common in older Americans, slowly damages your central and color vision. Signs and symptoms of the condition can be subtle at first and may not seem particularly alarming.
May 17th, 2021

How to Keep Your Eyes Safe From Germs
Germs look for the easiest way into your body, often entering through your eyes and other mucus membranes. Fortunately, taking a few simple steps to protect your eyes may reduce your chance of developing an illness or infection.
May 17th, 2021

How Sleep Can Affect Your Vision
Have you been having trouble sleeping? Fatigue, concentration problems, and irritability aren't the only consequences of insomnia. Your eye health may also suffer if you can't fall asleep or stay asleep.
May 17th, 2021

The Effects of Smoking on Your Eye Health
Smoking increases the likelihood of developing many types of health issues, including conditions and diseases that may affect your vision. If you are a smoker or live with someone who smokes, your eye health may be at risk.
May 17th, 2021

Getting Your Child Accustomed to New Glasses
Whether your child just started wearing glasses for the first time or recently got new glasses, getting used to a pair of glasses can take a little time. These four tips may help ease the adjustment process.
May 17th, 2021

Daily Habits That May Be Harming Your Eye Health
Using old makeup, forgetting to wear your sunglasses, or even rubbing your eyes could increase your risk of developing an eye injury, disease, or infection. Fortunately, it's easy to avoid many types of eye problems by making a few changes to your...
May 17th, 2021

Cold Weather and Your Eyes
Have you noticed that your eyes become dry, itchy, or red when the temperature drops and cold winds blow? Winter weather can increase your risk of developing these four eye complaints.
May 17th, 2021

The Challenges of Night Driving and Your Vision
No matter what your age, night driving can be a little challenging, whether you're driving around the corner or across the country. Low lighting, glare, and other factors may make it difficult to see clearly and react quickly to hazards.
May 17th, 2021

Are Your Eye Problems Genetic?
You may have inherited more than your hair color and height from your parents. The tendency to develop nearsightedness, glaucoma, lazy eye, and other conditions can also be passed from generation to generation.
May 17th, 2021

Common Eye Care Myths
Misinformation tends to be confused with fact the longer it circulates. Unfortunately, that often means that people don't have the information they need to make informed decisions about their general or visual health.
May 16th, 2021

Common Ocular Emergencies
Do you know when you should call the eye doctor if you have eye pain? Waiting too long to seek treatment can prolong your pain and result in permanent vision loss in some cases.
May 16th, 2021

What Is a Stye and How Do You Treat Them?
Styes may not be very big, but they can certainly cause a significant amount of pain and discomfort. Fortunately, most styes go away in a few days with home treatment. If your stye lingers, your optometrist can offer treatments that will help.
May 16th, 2021

The Causes and Treatments for Astigmatism
Astigmatism causes blurred vision whether you're looking at an object that's close by or far away. Approximately 33 percent of the population is affected by astigmatism, according to the American Academy of Opthalmology.
May 16th, 2021

Choosing the Best Lenses That Fit Your Needs
Frame style isn't the only decision you'll need to make when selecting new eyeglasses. Once you've chosen a frame that complements your face, you'll need to consider which lens type best fits your lifestyle.
May 16th, 2021

Symptoms, Causes, and Treatments of an Eye Cold
Colds and other viral infections don't just cause sneezing and coughing but they may also affect your eyes. If your eyes are red, uncomfortable, and won't stop watering, an eye cold may be to blame.
May 16th, 2021

Tips to Relax Your Eyes
Do your eyes hurt when you spend too much time reading, playing digital games, or working on your computer? Headaches, blurry vision, and neck pain can be signs of eyestrain, as can light sensitivity, trouble concentrating, burning, sore, or itchy eyes.
May 16th, 2021

May is Healthy Vision Month
Maintaining good vision can be as simple as visiting your optometrist for regular checkups and making a few important lifestyle changes. Healthy Vision Month, held every May, is the perfect time to prioritize your vision health.
May 16th, 2021

Eye Twitches and Spasms and How to Stop Them
Twitching eyelids are incredibly annoying, whether the problem only lasts an hour or continues for much longer. Determining the cause of your eyelid spasms can help you make a few changes that may prevent the twitching from happening again.
May 16th, 2021

How to Avoid Sunburned Eyes
You may be ready for the summer, but are your eyes? Taking a few steps to protect your eyes can help you avoid painful injuries or conditions that may affect your vision. These four tips can improve your eye safety this summer.
May 16th, 2021

5 Healthy Habits To Pick Up for Better Eye Health
Are you doing everything you can to protect your eyes? These five tips can help you improve your eye health. 1) Adopt a Hands-Off Policy. When your eyes are tired or itchy, rubbing them is a natural reaction.
May 16th, 2021

How To Prevent Computer Vision Syndrome
Sore muscles aren't the only problem you may have if you spend hours looking at a computer screen, tablet or cellphone every day. Prolonged use of digital screens can also cause eye discomfort and may even affect your vision.
May 16th, 2021

How To Properly Care For Your Contact Lenses
Do you know how to avoid common contact lens problems? Understanding how to properly use and care for your lenses will help you protect your eyes and ensure that your lenses remain clear and comfortable.
May 16th, 2021

Preparing For Presbyopia Awareness Month in April
Did your parents or grandparents joke that they couldn't read the type in a book or on the back of a medicine bottle because their arms were suddenly too short? Once you pass age 40, you just may find yourself complaining about the same problem.
May 16th, 2021

How Digital Eye Strain Can Lead To Irritated Eyes
Digital eye strain, also called computer vision syndrome, is a condition that often affects people who work or play on laptops, tablets, smartphones, e-readers, and other digital devices. Whether you use a laptop or tablet at work, or your screen time...
May 16th, 2021

Protecting Your Vision While At Work
Work-related eye injuries affect more than 2,000 people every day and cause temporary or permanent vision loss in 10 to 20 percent of all cases, according to Prevent Blindness. Unfortunately, injuries aren't the only eye problems you may experience on...
May 16th, 2021

New Year, New Vision in 2020
Some New Year's resolutions are easier to fulfill than others. Even if you aren't able to add a checkmark to "soar over the Italian countryside in a hot air balloon" this year, but you can certainly improve your vision with a visit to the optometrist in...
May 16th, 2021

How To Read Your Eyeglass Prescription
Have you ever tried to decipher your eyeglass prescription? Although the numbers and abbreviations written on the script may be meaningless to you, your prescription provides valuable information for the type of corrective lenses you'll need.
May 16th, 2021

Are Floaters A Sign Of Something Bigger?
Have you noticed shadowy shapes drifting in and out of your field of vision lately? You may have floaters. Although floaters are usually harmless, they can be a sign of a serious eye condition in some cases.
May 16th, 2021

Frequently Asked Questions
Many “silent” diseases, such as glaucoma and diabetes, can only be detected through regular eye exams. When these conditions are discovered earlier rather than later, they become easier to treat or manage, allowing for better long-term preservation of...
May 16th, 2021

Pediatric Ophthlamology
Ophthalmology addresses the physiology, anatomy and diseases of the eyes. Pediatric ophthalmology focuses on the eyes of children. Pediatric ophthalmologists examine children’s eyes to see if they need corrective lenses or other treatments to improve...
May 16th, 2021

Allergies
Caused by the same irritants as hay fever, runny nose, coughing, and sneezing, eye allergies commonly affect those who suffer from other allergy symptoms. Not only do eye allergies cause discomfort, but they can also interfere with daily activities.
May 16th, 2021

Learning-Related Vision Problems
Learning disabilities may include dyslexia, math disorder, writing disorder, auditory processing deficits, or visual processing deficits. Although each child with a learning disability is unique, many also have associated visual problems.
May 16th, 2021

UV Radiation and Your Eyes
Optometry warnings about the damaging effects of ultraviolet radiation on our eyes have not yet reached the degree of public awareness of that of skin damage. Yet, the sun can be just as damaging upon our eyes with unprotected exposure.
May 16th, 2021

Fuchs' Corneal Dystrophy
Fuchs' dystrophy (pronounced fooks DIS-truh-fee) is an eye disease characterized by degenerative changes to the cornea’s innermost layer of cells. The cause for Fuchs' dystrophy is not fully understood.
May 16th, 2021

Age-Related Macular Degeneration
One of the leading causes of vision loss in people who are age 50 or older is age-related macular degeneration (AMD). This common eye condition leads to damage of a small spot near the center of the retina called the macula.
May 16th, 2021

Diabetic Eye Diseases
Diabetes is a condition that involves high blood sugar (glucose) levels. This can affect many parts of the body, including the eyes. One of the most common diabetic eye diseases is diabetic retinopathy, which is also a leading cause of blindness in...
May 16th, 2021

Presbyopia

Somewhere around the age of 40, most people’s eyes lose the ability to focus on close-up objects. This condition is called presbyopia. You may start holding reading material farther away, because it is blurry up close.
May 16th, 2021

Laser Cataract Surgery
The only way to correct the clouded vision caused by advanced cataracts is surgical intervention. If you find yourself pursuing cataract surgery to remove one or both cataract-disease lenses, you may be wondering what surgical approaches are available...
May 16th, 2021

Cataract Surgery
With cataract surgery, your ophthalmologist removes the cataract-diseased lens of your eye. The ophthalmologist then replaces your natural lens with an artificial one.
May 16th, 2021

Peripheral Vision Loss
Normal sight includes central vision (the field of view straight ahead) and peripheral vision (the field of view outside the circle of central vision). The inability to see within a normal range of view often indicates peripheral vision loss.
May 16th, 2021

Presbyopia
As we age, our eyes—like the rest of our bodies—begin to lose flexibility and strength. When this happens to the lens of the eye and its surrounding muscles, your lens will become stiff.
May 16th, 2021

Patches
Eye patches are used to strengthen muscle control in weak eyes. By placing a patch over the strong eye, the weaker eye is forced to do the heavy lifting.
May 16th, 2021

How to Transition Into Different Lighted Situations
Stepping into the bright sunshine or entering a dimly lit room can temporarily affect your vision, whether you have 20/20 vision or wear corrective lenses. Fortunately, following a few simple guidelines can help you avoid scrapes, bruises, or even broken..
May 16th, 2021

Macular Hole
The condition known as a macular hole refers to a tiny break in the macula that results in blurry or distorted vision. To fully understand the condition, one must understand eye anatomy.
May 16th, 2021

Nystagmus
Nystagmus is a vision condition characterized by repetitive, uncontrolled eye movements. These involuntary eye movements may be side-to-side, up and down, or in a circular pattern, which hinders the eyes’ ability to focus on a steady object.
May 16th, 2021

How It Works
Vision therapy, also referred to as vision training, neuro-vision therapy, or vision rehabilitation, is an optometry subspecialty. Vision therapy is prescribed to develop, improve and/or enhance visual function so an individual’s vision system functions...
May 16th, 2021

How It Helps
The goal of vision therapy is to treat vision problems that cannot be fully addressed through eyeglasses, contact lenses or surgery. For example, studies show that vision therapy may be beneficial for addressing eyestrain and other issues that can...
May 16th, 2021

Signs and Symptoms Checklist
Vision therapy, which is also known as vision training or visual training, is an individualized treatment program that can help identify and correct perceptual-cognitive deficiencies that are impacting visual learning, focus, and concentration.
May 16th, 2021

Myopia
Myopia, or nearsightedness, means that your eyes can see close objects clearly but struggle to see things in the distance. Nearly 30 percent of Americans are nearsighted.
May 16th, 2021

Astigmatism
A normal cornea — the clear front covering of your eye — has a round curve, like a basketball. However, many people have an irregularly shaped cornea while others have an irregularly curved lens.
May 16th, 2021

Hyperopia
People with hyperopia, also known as farsightedness, can usually see objects in the distance, but their close vision is blurry. Symptoms of untreated hyperopia include:...
May 16th, 2021

Types of Refractive Surgery
There are several types of refractive surgery available to correct vision problems caused by refractive errors, including: LASIK (laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis) Custom or bladeless LASIK Photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) Laser epithelial...
May 16th, 2021

Medicated Eye Drops
Treatment for glaucoma often begins with medicated eye drops. The goal of these medications is to lower the pressure in the eye (intraocular pressure) and prevent damage to the optic nerve.
May 16th, 2021

What is Glaucoma
Glaucoma is a condition characterized by excessive pressure in the eye, or intraocular pressure. This irregularly high pressure is due to a buildup of fluid in the eye.
May 16th, 2021

iStent
The iStent Trabecular Micro-Bypass is a surgical device that is available for use in treating patients with mild-to-moderate open-angle glaucoma. Glaucoma is characterized by an excessive accumulation of fluid inside the eye, which leads to an increase...
May 14th, 2021

Keratoconus
While keratoconus can happen at any stage of life, young people between the ages of 10 and 25 are most likely to develop this disorder. For individuals with keratoconus, their cornea, the clear layer in the front of your eye, gradually thins and begins...
May 14th, 2021

Viruses
If you ever had chickenpox, you’re at higher risk of developing shingles later in life. Shingles can affect many parts of the body. If it travels to your eyes, your cornea can become inflamed and even scarred.
May 14th, 2021

Corneal Dystrophies
This group of corneal disorders includes more than 20 variations. Each affects different parts of the cornea, causing it to get cloudy and compromising vision. Most of these dystrophies are inherited, affect both eyes equally and spread between...
May 14th, 2021

Pterygium
Pterygium is characterized by a pink tissue growth on the sclera (the white part of the eye), which seems to be the result of chronic exposure to ultraviolet light. In fact, because many surfers suffer from pterygium, the condition is often called...
May 14th, 2021

Stevens-Johnson Syndrome
This skin disorder, also called erythema multiforme major, sometimes causes painful lesions on the eyelids. Stevens-Johnson syndrome can cause painful corneal blisters and even holes, leading to vision loss.
May 14th, 2021

Iridocorneal Endothelial Syndrome
This syndrome most commonly affects women between 30 and 50 years old. Symptoms include changes to the iris, corneal swelling and the onset of glaucoma.
May 14th, 2021

Strabismus Causes and Treatment
In order for your eyes to focus normally, six muscles around each eye must work together. When your two eyes see different images, your brain tends to favor the stronger eye. This means the weak eye gets weaker, resulting in amblyopia, or “lazy eye.”
May 14th, 2021

Intraocular Lenses
If your vision is blurred due to cataracts and you are pursuing surgical intervention to correct the problem, you are likely considering which intraocular lens (IOL) to choose, to restore your vision after cataract surgery.
May 14th, 2021

Post-Concussive Vision Syndrome
More than 300,000 sports-related concussions occur each year, according to research. Many more concussions result from motor vehicle accidents, falls, and other non-sports related incidents.
May 14th, 2021

Special Needs
The cognitive differences of special needs children and adults are well-documented, but vision issues often receive less attention. People with special needs have the same range of vision issues as their neurotypical counterparts; however,...
May 14th, 2021

Balance Board
The brain and the eyes work together to create a visual experience. On one hand, the eyes send signals to the brain, which allows it to translate that data into visuals; on the other, the brain sends signals to the muscles attached to each eye,...
May 14th, 2021

Corrective Lenses
Corrective lenses are used to correct deviations, adjust focal points or neutralize other anomalies that impact the eyes’ ability to focus an image on the retina. To do this, the lenses must be the correct type and of the right power.
May 14th, 2021

Traumatic Injury
Accurate vision involves much more than good eye health. The brain integrates signals from the eyes with information from the motor, balance, and auditory systems to create an accurate view of the world.
May 14th, 2021

Training Devices
Visual-motor-sensory integration training uses various devices to appeal to a person’s senses, including touch, sound and smell. This type of therapy is particularly useful in children with autism.
May 14th, 2021

Cawthorne-Cooksey Exercises
These exercises are mainly used at home and range from simple head and eye movements to performing more complex activities like throwing a ball or focusing on a stationary object while the head is moving.
May 14th, 2021

Electronic Targets
Automated targets with timing mechanisms not only show the optometrist how the eyes move in the beginning of treatment – when eye problems have yet to be fully addressed – by strategically positioning the targets, but they give weak eyes a necessary...
May 14th, 2021

Computer Software
Computer aided vision therapy consists of a software package designed to enhance eye tracking skills, visual thinking, processing skills and binocular vision skills. Eye teaming, focusing and tracking are not optical in nature, and problems in these...
May 14th, 2021

Therapeutic Lenses
Contact lenses, or therapeutic lenses, are thin lenses that are placed on the surface of the eye. While some wear them for cosmetic reasons, their primary function is to correct and improve vision problems related to refractive errors, act as a...
May 14th, 2021

Prisms
A prism has the same cross-section across the entire length of its shape. When used in eyeglasses, they often correct abnormalities associated with nearsightedness, farsightedness and double vision.
May 14th, 2021

Filters
Optical filters carefully transfer light in a specific range of wavelengths or colors while obstructing what remains. These dyed plastic or glass devices are placed in the optical path.
May 14th, 2021

Rotation Trainers
Rotation trainers consist of a disk – with various designs – that is attached to a rod-like base. As the disk rotates, the patient is asked to perform tasks that are designed to test and enhance eye-hand coordination, space awareness, perceptual...
May 14th, 2021

Saccadic Fixators
This entails a wall-mounted square board with a starburst design. Along the various striations of the starburst are lighted buttons. As the buttons light up, the patient works quickly to see how many of these lit buttons they can push before they go out.
May 14th, 2021

Directional Sequencers
This device integrates all of the senses used for learning. It is one of the basic instruments used for visual-motor training, and helps with direction, rhythm, eye-hand coordination, and work and shape recognition.
May 14th, 2021

Marsden Balls
Here, a ball with letters, numbers, colors, pictures, or a combination is hung from the ceiling. In activities used to help focus visual attention, the individual may be asked to concentrate on a figure while bunting the ball with a rod, or hitting...
May 14th, 2021

Syntonics
Known also as optometric phototherapy, syntonics deal with the application of selected visible-light frequencies and are used to treat lazy eye and problems with peripheral vision and depth perception.
May 14th, 2021

Amblyopia
Amblyopia, commonly called lazy eye, refers to the improper development or significant loss of vision in an eye. It occurs when the brain does not acknowledge the images seen by the amblyopic eye.
May 14th, 2021

Blurry Vision
There are many potential causes for blurry eyes. The answer to why you have blurry vision is best answered by your eye care professional, who can offer diagnosis and prompt treatment so that your vision does not get worse.
May 14th, 2021

Double Vision
Double vision, also known as “seeing double” or the medical term diplopia, is the perception of two images of a single object. This occurs when two nonmatching images are sent to the part of the brain that processes visual input.
May 14th, 2021

High Order Aberrations
In an ideal world, everyone would have perfectly-shaped eyes. The reality, however, is that practically every eye has some form of aberration somewhere in it.
May 14th, 2021

Hyperopia (Farsightedness)
An eye condition affecting roughly 50 percent of individuals who need glasses, hyperopia (commonly called farsightedness) is characterized by difficulty focusing on nearby objects while being able to see objects at a distance properly.
May 14th, 2021

Myopia (Nearsightedness)
Myopia, commonly called nearsightedness, is a refractive error of the eye, meaning that the shape of the eye or its cornea improperly bends light as it enters the eye. This hinders your ability to focus.
May 14th, 2021

Ocular Migraine
The name conjures up pain, but ocular migraines are less about headaches and more about a vision problem. Ocular migraines are temporary visual disturbances that can last up to 30 minutes.
May 14th, 2021

Accommodative Dysfunction
Simply put, accommodative dysfunction means that the eyes have difficulty focusing properly. Studies suggest that between 2 and 17% of children may suffer from accommodative dysfunction.
May 14th, 2021

Ocular Motor Dysfunction
Parents are often aware of the need to screen children for nearsightedness or farsightedness, but fewer know about other pediatric vision problems. Ocular motor dysfunction is a condition that often manifests in childhood, although adults may also...
May 14th, 2021