Eyedolatry: February 2016

Street Style Eyewear 2016

fashion blogger eyewear glasses blog 4:52 PM

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What The Fundus? New Website for Sharing Optos Retinal Images

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Digital Glare: Combating Light Sensitivity From Your Devices

You know that feeling -- the ache behind your eyes, the heavy feeling of your eyelids, the redness and under eye circles you see looking in the mirror, and that intense sensitivity you get when you look at bright lights or step outside of your workplace and venture outdoors. This feeling of light sensitivity and tired eyes has a name -- digital eye strain. For 65% of Americans digital eye strain is wreaking serious havoc on work performance, and how your eyes feel when you're not logging those long hours at your computer and cell phone screen. The average American spends nearly 6 hours a day using mobile digital devices and almost 11 hours daily when you include time on desktop computers, laptops, and watching TV! Our eyes struggle adapting to light after logging long hours in a digital environment for two big reasons:

We don't blink as much. Blinking is essential to keeping the surface of our eye hydrated, but we blink about 50% less looking at a digital device than we do when in normal conversation. If the eye is too dry, you will experience redness, watering, vision fluctuations, stinging, burning, and light sensitivity. Think of your tear film as a protective coating, not dissimilar to enamel on a tooth. Without a good tear film coating, our corneal nerves are exposed to the elements, and they fire like crazy when they encounter things like natural sunlight or fluorescent lighting. A dry eye will water excessively when you encounter bright lights, and you will often get a burning or stinging sensation in bright lights too.

Look at your computer or cell phone in a dark room. What color light do you see coming off the screen? That's the high energy blue light that's getting so much press for causing sleep cycle, vision and light sensitivity issues! via

Digital devices emit high energy blue wavelength light. Ever noticed the bluish glow emitting from digital devices like your computer or even fluorescent overhead lighting? All digital devices emit high energy visible light (HEV) which in high amounts can disrupt pupillary constriction, sleep/wake cycles, and even increase the risk for ocular diseases like macular degenration. What does that mean to you? Our pupils constrict when exposed to brighter light to minimize the amount of light that enters your eye. Blue light disrupts pupil constriction, confusing the system so that it doesn't react as quickly or as greatly to other light sources, which in turn leaves you wincing in the glare. Delayed and irregular pupillary function can also make it much harder for you to focus between near and far, meaning that you will have a much harder time focusing clearly to drive home at night after a long day at work. And then when you try to go to sleep, the blue light you've been exposed to at higher than normal levels has been signaling your body all day to stay awake. That means you'll have a much harder time getting enough hours of restorative sleep and an unrelenting "tired eyes" feeling even when you wake up the next morning. Not to mention more pronounced under eye bags and red eyes when you get that first morning look in the mirror.

What can you do?

Luckily there are great products out there that are specifically geared to reducing your sensitivity both while looking at the screen and when you step away into normal indoor and outdoor light. My go-to choice for digital device users with light sensitivity is Transitions XTRActive. For years Transitions have been associated with sunglasses for outdoor wearers, but here's how they work even better in my opinion for indoor light sensitivity:

Transitions XTRActive in brown is nearly-clear indoors (can you see the tint above?), but has just enough tint to provide relief from the glare emanating from your screen that will keep your eyes blinking more normally, and reduce that light sensitivity you start feeling after a few hours. via

Light Tint Indoors I love the XTRActive brown for a barely-there indoor tint that protects your eyes from fluorescent lighting and the glare coming from your computer screen and cell phone. In the past we've used yellow tinted computer glasses like GUNNAR lenses for a similar effect, but the yellow tint totally colors your vision yellow, and of course looks yellow to everyone else too. The XTRActive tint is so subtle that no one is going to look at your glasses and think they are anything other than clear. And you'll see clearly out of them too.

Full Tint and UV Protection Outdoors You know the worst glare is when you get up from your computer, and then step outside for lunch. If you don't have sunglasses to immediately change into, you're relegated to suffering. XTRActive lenses fully darken outside, and are the best Transitions to date at darkening behind the car windshield. That means you're protected all day without needing multiple pairs of glasses. I especially love the XTRActive lens for that sensitive dawn and dusk commuting time where the sun is blasting you head on or through your rear view mirror, but it's too dark to see clearly through full sunglasses.

Industry Leading Blue Light Protection The best glasses for anyone with daily digital device use have to reduce the side effects of excessive HEV blue light exposure. All Transitions products are innately blue light protective. Transitions Signature VII blocks 20% of HEV blue light indoors, and XTRActive is an impressive 34% blue blocking indoors. You can couple this with great blue blocking anti-reflective coatings like Crizal Prevencia for the best indoor protection against blue light available on the market today.

Want to try the product out for free to see if it works for you? You can get a free trial decal for your glasses here.

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CooperVision Discontinues 2 Lenses; Biofinity Toric XR Set to Launch Spring/Summer

Biofinity Toric XR 7:00 AM

Lot's of announcements with the start of 2016 at CooperVision, including the impending nationwide launch of the lens we've been waiting (and waiting, and waiting) for -- Biofinity Toric XR. For patients with high amounts of astigmatism, CooperVision has been the only company providing soft contact lens options that aren't custom order for this community for years. But Frequency 55 Toric XR is limited by its' low oxygen permeability (Dk/t is 15.7 in this lens -- other monthly disposable lenses on the market typically have numbers over 100), and the more updated extended power range option Proclear Toric XR isn't much better at 30.9 Dk/t. Proclear Toric XR has also been notorious for easy ripping, a headache for patients and your doctors! Biofinity Toric XR will be the first lens that isn't custom order that is made in a highly breathable silicone hydrogel material (Dk/t for Biofinity is 116). This higher breathability is a needed improvement for patients that have suffered scarring or corneal health changes from the lower oxygen materials they've been stuck with due to their high prescriptions in the past. The lens has been launched on a very limited initial roll-out already (about 400 offices nationwide), but is slated to be released nationwide between April and June/July. Here are the details:

Biofinity Toric XR

Power Range:

Sphere +10.00 to -10.00 (0.50 steps above +/- 6.00)
Cylinder -2.75 to -5.75 (in 0.50 steps)
Axis 0 to 180 (in 5 degree steps)
in Rx ranges from +8.50 to +10.00 cylinder axis is only available -0.75 to -2.25 at this time

Discontinued Lenses

CooperVision discontinued two older hydrogel lenses with the start 2016 effective immediately:

Frequency 55 Sphere (1 month disposable)
Vertex Sphere (2 week disposable)

Please note that Frequency 55 Aspheric was not discontinued and has not been slated for such at this time. No toric lenses were discontinued, so Frequency 55 Toric and Vertex Toric are still currently available.

This lens is now discontinued, but Frequency 55 Toric and Frequency 55 Aspheric are both still available. via

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An Intro to Refractive Surgery Options

can keratoconus have LASIK? 7:02 PM

In today’s world, there isn’t just one way to achieve clearer vision. If you are ready to move on from glasses and contact lenses, current refractive surgery options are better than ever. So what is the right surgical option for you? Short answer: it depends. So many factors play into which surgery will be most successful for your individual eyes, and your doctor will help you make the right choice based on your own needs. Here’s a brief overview of the most popular surgery choices on the market today, and some of the key factors that make certain surgeries more ideal for certain patients.

LASIK (Laser Assisted Stromal In-Situ Keratomileusis)

A flap of the cornea is removed during LASIK
that is reapplied to act as a natural bandage via

When we think refractive surgery, most of us think of LASIK. Laser eye surgery has the benefit of being quick, relatively painless, and has a very quick recovery time. Today’s most accurate version of LASIK uses the laser for the entire procedure, both to cut a flap in the cornea that will act as a natural bandage as your eye heals and to perform the thinning of the cornea that “zeros out” your prescription. This is often called bladeless LASIK or LASEK, and with its advent we’ve seen significantly better vision correction for both high prescriptions and astigmatism. Studies suggest that LASIKcan routinely correct as high as -9.00D of nearsightedness (myopia), up to+2.50D of farsightedness (hyperopia) and up to 3.50D of astigmatism. Today's Intralase procedures can accomplish as much as 6.00D of astigmstism. This power range is based on an average corneal thickness; if you have thinner corneas there won’t be enough tissue to remove to correct for higher prescription ranges. Corneal thickness is a measurement that all doctors will take to make sure you are a good candidate for surgery, and depending on the results your doctor will be better able to advise you as to whether you would still need glasses after surgery, or if surgery would be safe for you at all.

Who can’t get LASIK? People with thin or irregular corneas (conditions like keratoconus for example) are unable to get LASIK surgery due to the risks of thinning their cornea to a point of prolapse. People with corneal dystrophies, corneal scarring or a history of keloid scarring are not good candidates – if the cornea scars, you won’t be able to see clearly through it. Inflammatory conditions are also a relative contraindication; people with rheumatoid arthritis, sarcoidosis, a history of herpes infections, Sjogren’s Syndrome, or significant dry eye will all heal poorly after surgery. Nearly everyone has dryness for the first 6 months after surgery, but many people that had dry eye complaints before surgery have severe dry eye problems after the surgery, sometimes requiring lifelong treatment. Many doctors will recommend treating even mild dry eye before doing a surgical treatment to maximize the possibility for success.

What kind of vision can I expect? Studies show that 94% ofpatients will achieve 20/40 or better (legal driving vision) after LASIK. As you can see from those numbers, not everyone achieves 20/20 vision after LASIK. You’ll be hard pressed to find a doctor that would guarantee such. Vision won’t necessarily be as good as it is right now with your glasses or contact lenses after surgery, and some people will still wear night driving glasses after surgery to achieve that crystal sharp 20/20 vision if they desire it. Even if your prescription isn’t corrected to zero, it will be very close. Studies of LASIK surgeries since 2000 show 88% of eyes are within 1.00D of zeroprescription (emmetropia) after surgery, and 92 percent of eyes are within2.00D of emmtropia. After age 40, everyone that has LASIK surgery to fully correct distance vision will still need reading glasses as they go through the normal aging condition called presbyopia where our eyes naturally lose the ability to focus up close. So LASIK doesn’t mean no glasses ever again, but it does mean for most people that you will be glasses free for at least the majority of your day.

PRK (Photorefractive Keratectomy)

PRK is an older surgical procedure to correct vision that does not utilize a laser or a corneal flap as a natural bandage after the procedure. As such it is significantly more painful – expect to miss around a week from work as you recover. But the pro of PRK is that without a flap, you are fully regrowing a new cornea as the tissue heals, meaning less risk of scar tissue for people with thinner corneas or mild corneal changes that would prohibit them from LASIK. PRK is typically around the same cost as LASIK, and studies show that visually patients that underwent LASIK or PRK achieve similar post-surgical results.

Phakic IOL

What if your prescription is too high for LASIK or PRK? Your better option is to opt for an intraocular implant (IOL) that fully corrects your prescription– almost like having a contact lens implanted internally. An IOL can correct very high prescriptions, as high as -20.00D and up to -6.00D of astigmatism. The IOL is placed either in front of your iris or behind your iris and in front of the lens (phakic means that they leave your lens in place). The true perk of phakic IOLs is that nearly any prescription is possible, and if for some reason there is an issue, it is also possible to have it removed, unlike LASIK or PRK where the cornea is permanently changed. The downside to phakic IOLs is that they require a much more invasive operation. The lens has to be inserted into the eye, and since it is being placed much more internally than a LASIK or PRK procedure that only treats the cornea, there is an increased risk of cataract formation, glaucoma, or even retinal breaks or detachments. The risks of these side effects is very low; studies show 1% of patients with phakic IOL develop acataract after the surgery.

A phakic IOL sits in front of the cornea acting like an internal contact lens via

Take Home:

With so many options, the best way to select the right surgery for you is to talk with a doctor you trust. Refractive surgeons are well-versed in the options available today, and based on your personal and family medical history, your prescription, and your eye’s anatomy, they’ll be able to recommend the best option for you. Just remember, any refractive surgery may not be able to achieve perfect, 20/20 vision in all lighting conditions. Today’s refractive surgery may not mean no glasses ever again for every patient, but it will definitely significantly reduce your dependence on corrective eyewear and the freedom to see clearly without the constant hassle of bulky frames or contact lenses. And what’s more, the technology just keeps getting better. Even people with high prescriptions can now enjoy refractive surgery, even if you’ve been told you weren’t a candidate for LASIK in the past. Better versions of LASIK and now the mainstream use of phakic IOLs means that there is a surgery option for nearly everyone.

This post also appears on the CIA Medical Insights Blog as free content donation by Dr. L to help promote discussion of ocular health on their website

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