Prevent Blindness, the nation’s eye health and safety organization, declares May as UV (ultraviolet) Awareness Month.  Many people are well aware about the damage that UV rays can have on the skin, but most are unaware of the damage it can cause to the eyes.

What is this invisible threat exactly?  And how does it impact us? This ultraviolet radiation is measured in nanometers (nm). It is categorized in three basic terms and classified by the strength of the UV ray:

UVC: These rays are below 280 nm. The upper atmosphere absorbs these, so they do not reach us, therefore protection from these rays is not overly necessary.UVB: These are between 315 – 380 nm. These manage to make it to the earth’s surface and are notorious for damaging sight. They can cause snow blindness but are notably responsible for sunburn and several types of skin cancer. Research has shown that these rays are strongest during the summer and at higher altitudes.UVA: These are the most dangerous being 315 – 380 nm. They are known for causing chronic eye damage. Studies have indicated that these rays get absorbed by the lenses of our eyes leading to damage of the …

Dr. Roger Jordan of Gillette Optometric Clinic in Gillette, Wyoming, practices alongside four other doctors conducting nearly 900 exams, about 1200 patient visits.  This team is no stranger to high volume and the need for efficient patient flow.  One stop that all patients make is for optomap® imaging.  The business model includes the screening in the exam price for all private-pay patients and is available at low cost for all managed care patients.  According to Dr. Jordan, optomap has greatly enhanced the ability to diagnose conditions as well better the patient education experience across the board. 

optomap allows Dr. Jordan to detect retinal detachments and tears multiple times a month in addition to routinely following cases of glaucoma and macular degeneration.  Alongside these cases, there have been several unique and interesting discoveries.  Once he saw a male patient about 40 or 50 who had symmetrical scars on both sides of his retinas, as a result of doctors using forceps to assist in delivery at birth.  Another time, a female in her 20s came in for her first ever eye exam, Dr. Jordan found that a parasitic worm was curled up and dead in her eye that had been there …

Sponsored by Prevent Blindness, April is recognized as Women’s Eye Health and Safety Month.  This observance is designed to educate women about the steps they can take to help stop vision loss.

April is deemed Women’s Eye and Safety Month to educate women about taking the proper steps today, to help preserve their vision in the future.  “Healthy vision is something we often take for granted until it starts to slip away,” says Debbie Goss, president and CEO of Prevent Blindness.  “We want to encourage women to put themselves on a path toward a lifetime of healthy vision by making an appointment for a comprehensive eye exam today!”

A comprehensive eye exam should include a thorough examination of the retina, including an optomap, which is complementary to a DFE and an excellent tool for screening and for patient education. Because an optomap image can be obtained in less than ½ second, it leaves ample time for the practitioner to educate on eye health.

Recent studies have shown that more women than men suffer from age-related macular degeneration, cataracts, glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy, the four leading eye diseases in the United States. Women are also at higher risk of developing sight-threatening …

When you think about engaging with your patients do you consider digital and social media? With so many channels and apps, getting started and building a strategy around communication can be overwhelming and not just writing the content, either, but adhering to the ever-changing mediums and regulations.

A recent article in Optometric Management called Develop a Social Media Marketing Strategy, calls out eight essential tips for social media success:

Set a Goal Develop Cross-Channel Marketing Ensure Accuracy Consider Paid Ads Mix Up Content Protect your Reputation Work Smart Monitor your Competition

The digital marketing team at Optos has developed tools for our customers to utilize when getting started on their digital journey. For access to these tips and tricks, we encourage our customers to register for CustomerCentral, where these tools can be accessed. For everyone, however, Optos regularly blogs, tweets, posts, and provides content that can be utilized in your social channels. For example, on our Instagram account, we post an “Image of the Week” and also select an “Image of the Month” for all images posted to Instagram with #optomap. We also provide a variety of product images, optomap images, and logos directly on our website, and …

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), thousands of people in the U.S. suffer eye injuries while on the job which will require medical attention. Each day, over 2,000 Americans suffer an eye injury. This means that almost one million Americans have experienced some vision loss due to eye injury.  While most of these injuries are attributed to small particles like dust or wood chips hitting the eye, other injuries can result from a sharp object penetrating the eye or blunt force trauma, which can cause permanent vision loss or even the loss of an eye. Workers in other industries, such as health care, face the risk of coming in contact with an infectious disease if proper precautions aren’t taken.

March has been deemed Workplace Eye Wellness Month in order to shed light on preventable eye injuries and share some pointers for workers to keep their eyes safe while at work.  Its often assumed that work-related eye injuries are isolated to outdoor jobs and those relating to physical labor but ironically, the most common eye problem in the workplace is computer vision syndrome.

Making routine eye exams a part of a yearly, preventative routine aid in the strides to …

Tomorrow, the 23rd of March is marked as World Optometry Day and the following week as World Optometry Week.  The International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) marks this day as an opportunity to draw the spotlight on a key eye care profession and create awareness about optometry and its practices around the world.  On World Optometry Day, optometrists and eye care professionals have the opportunity to spread knowledge and expertise in order to create a huge impact and raise awareness.

World Optometry Day is unique to the profession of optometry and serves as a reminder that while globally there may be different definitions, ultimately eye care professionals worldwide are striving to provide the same things, comprehensive eye care services to their patients.  The World Council of Optometry (WCO) defines optometry as “a healthcare profession that is autonomous, educated and regulated, and optometrists are the primary healthcare practitioners of the eye and visual system who provide comprehensive eye and vision care, which includes refraction and dispensing, detection/diagnoses and management of disease in the eye, and the rehabilitation of conditions of the visual system.”

Sight is known to be the most important of the five senses. In fact, the …

We can’t wait to see you this year as VEE kicks off, March 21-24 at the Javits Convention Center in downtown NYC. During VEE 2019, you’ll have the opportunity to obtain CE credits at events like the March Mania Imaging Track, learn techniques to improve your practice and get access to cutting-edge products and services, such as the ONLY true ultra-widefield retinal image, optomap. VEE also presents an excellent opportunity to network and socialize with eyecare experts and explore New York City, such as the ones that will be available in our booth, MS4849.

We encourage you to find out what’s new at Optos by pre-scheduling your demonstration or stop by our booth at your convenience. Since last year’s conference, we have continued to develop hardware and software platforms to offer new ways to enhance clinical exams.

If you have any questions about our UWF retinal imaging or our offerings at VEE, please call 1-800-854-3039 or email. We look forward to seeing you at the show!

In addition to AMD awareness, February has also been named Low Vision Awareness Month, a time to raise awareness about visual impairment and rehabilitation for those who are living with low vision.

What is Low Vision?

Low vision is the term used to describe significant visual impairment that can’t be corrected fully with glasses, contact lenses, medication or eye surgery, it includes:

Loss of best-corrected visual acuity to worse than 20/70 in the better eye. Significant visual field loss. Tunnel vision (lack of vision in the periphery) and blind spots are examples of visual field loss. Legal blindness. In the United States, legal blindness typically is defined as visual acuity of 20/200 or worse (in the better eye, with the best possible vision correction in place) or a field of view (visual field) that is constricted to 20 degrees or less.

Disability statistics from the 2014 American Community Survey show that 2.3 percent of individuals ages 16 and over have a visual disability or low vision.

Following are the definitions of visual acuity, according to the World Health Organization. These ratings are for vision in the better eye with the best possible prescription corrective lens:

20/30 to 20/60: Mild vision …

Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of blindness among older Americans, but new treatments have dramatically changed the course of this disease over the last 10 years, making AMD more manageable than ever before. During AMD Awareness Month in February, the American Academy of Ophthalmology is reminding people that even though currently there is no cure for age-related macular degeneration, there are a number of things you can do to slow its effects and prevent blindness, early detection being a critical first step. AMD is the leading cause of irreversible vision loss in people over 50 and is rapidly growing, worldwide.

What is AMD? – AMD is a common eye condition and a leading cause of blindness in those 50 and older.  Aging can cause the macula to slowly degenerate and reduce central vision. – AMD often advances so slowly that vision loss does not occur for many years and traces of the disease can go unnoticed.  In others, the disease may progress faster and lead to vision loss in one or both eyes.  Over time, objects in vision may not appear as bright as they once were and a blurred area in vision is common, further leading …

Jessica describes the events of that October 2017 day as somewhat serendipitous, even though what transpired illuminated a hidden threat to her life.  Jessica, an actress, had just started rehearsing for a play in Billings, Montana, when she decided that contacts, rather than glasses, would better suit her part.  “Really, I just thought it would be a good idea to be able to see while I was on stage,“ she laughs. “That’s all I needed was to get fitted for contacts. I didn’t feel that I needed, nor did I have time for, an eye exam.  Besides I absolutely despise being dilated.”  However, as fate would have it, she went that day to see Tom Felstet, OD, who feels strongly that a thorough view of the retina should be a part of every eye exam. Accordingly, Felstet had made it a priority to purchase an optomap ultra-widefield (UWF™) imaging device when he opened his new practice four years ago. He had the opportunity to utilize the technology during medical school and during his early years in practice. optomap is the only technology that captures over 80% of the retina in a single image, and it does so in a fraction …