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January 18th, 2011 by Eye Doctor Dallas

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Eye Care At Work And The Computer

January 11th, 2011 by Eye Doctor Dallas

PhotobucketMany people who use computers for long stretches of time complain about symptoms like dry eyes, blurry vision and eye strain. While it might not be feasible to cut down on computer use, there are a number of ways to maintain good eye care and health while you are at work. First, regular eye exams are a must and it is important to tell your doctor how much computer work you do each day. We have special computer lens prescriptions to help you on the computer. When using your computer, make sure that you stop for breaks at regular intervals. It’s a good idea to look away from the screen preferably out the window to relax your eyes for one minute every 10 minutes.

One problem many computer users face is a problem they probably are not even aware of; that is the fact that they do not blink often enough. When staring continuously at your monitor, you will blink far less than normal causing dry and red eyes. When working at your computer, make a conscious effort to blink as much as possible. In fact, closing your eyes for a few seconds can really help as well. Using artificial tears and applying them to keep your eyes moist is also helpful as is installing a humidifier in your work area.

The way you sit at your computer also plays an important role in the health of your eyes. Make sure the monitor is about 20 inches away from your eyes. The top of the monitor should be tilted a little below your eye level this encourages blinking and reduces back and neck strain. Also make sure that you keep your monitor free of dust and fingerprints, as these can greatly reduce clarity.

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More Than Just an Eye Examination

November 3rd, 2010 by Eye Doctor Dallas

An eye doctor can see things you can’t. I’ll bet you didn’t know that a thorough eye examination checks more than just how clearly you see? Regular eye examinations can detect many serious medical conditions such as, diabetes; hypertension, elevated cholesterol, neurological diseases and cancer, just to name a few. Your eye is a body member and every drop of blood that is pumped from your heart goes to your eye resulting in impurities and disease showing up in the eye.

Four out of the twelve cranial nerves go to the eye making early signs of brain tumor and multiple sclerosis to cause eye symptoms and signs. A day doesn’t go by that I don’t detect medical diseases in the course of my eye examinations resulting in numerous two way referrals to and from, internists, cardiologists, neurologists, primary care physicians and other medical specialties.

Vision care is wellness care. It’s easy for the average person to delay or ignore altogether a yearly eye examination. Many people think if it isn’t broke or bleeding, why spend money to fix it. Well I say a stitch in time save nine! A comprehensive eye health examination can save your life and improves the quality of your life through clear vision. Fact is, 80 percent of everything we do is guided by our vision. Poor vision is a major cause of strain, fatigue, loss of productivity and irritability. Call our office today and make an appointment. We accept most vision and insurance plans.

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Halloween Can Be Hazardous to Your Eyes…

October 12th, 2010 by Eye Doctor Dallas

…if you decide to put on colored lenses as part of your costume that weren’t prescribed for you by a licensed eye doctor.

Contact lenses are a medical device, similar to prescription medications, that need to be professionally fitted to your eyes, and there are laws to prescribing them. Wearing lenses that were not prescribed for you can result in damage to your corneas (the windows of your eyes) and diseases like corneal ulcers, that can result in scarring and permanent loss of vision.

Despite these laws, there are vendors who still sell them on the streets, in stores and on the internet. This is a timely topic, considering the time of the year, and the fact that I was at a educational seminar in another city and noticed a sign in the window of the store promoting the sale of tinted contact lenses for Halloween. I went into the store pretending I wanted to buy some, and was offered an array of colors to try on at a very affordable price.

I want to caution you as an eye care specialist to avoid any temptation to wear contact lenses that were not prescribed for you. On that note, even trying on clear lenses that belong to a friend can be potentially harmful.

Below I have reposted an investigative news story about such lenses in which Dr. Consor was interviewd by WB33 news.

Have a wonderful, safe, and fun Halloween!

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Be CAREFUL Reaching for Those Eye Drops!

October 7th, 2010 by Eye Doctor Dallas

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See Like a Pirate

September 1st, 2010 by Eye Doctor Dallas

Today I offer up a bit of a history lesson and mix in a helpful tip. Eye patches today are commonly used by people who have had an eye injury or recently had eye surgery, though less often now that we have advanced prosthetics. An eye patch is common in treating children who might have a “lazy eye” (amblyopia) because it forces the eye to work. Patches are also used to treat double vision (diplopia) and relieve dizziness or vertigo cause by the double vision.

. However, there is another function for an eye patch that you may not be aware of. Have you ever wondered why pirates wear eye patches? Back in the days of wooden ships, wooden legs, and lack of electric lighting, the below-deck area of a ship was quite dark, especially when compared to the bright sunlight above deck. By wearing a patch, a pirate (or sailor) could switch the patch to the other eye when in the darkness below deck and already have one eye that was adjusted to the dark, thus allowing him to see without waiting for his eyes to adjust to the darker conditions.

While you may not want to wear a patch, keeping one eye closed during a quick run to get a drink in the middle of the night may help you see better when you get back into the dark bedroom. Once you return to the darkened room close the eye that was open and open the eye you had been keeping closed. It sure beats stepping on the dog or kicking the dresser in the dark because your eyes had adjusted to the light while you were up!

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You Only Get One Set of Eyes

August 27th, 2010 by Eye Doctor Dallas

Several weeks ago, a friend of my wife spent ALL NIGHT in the emergency room with her fourteen year old son. He had spent the evening riding four-wheelers with friends when one became stuck in the mud. In an attempt to free the vehicle they connected one end of a chain to the ATV and the other end to a truck. If you haven’t seen it coming yet, the chain broke, and under intense strain, flew back striking the young man in the eye causing a blowout fracture.

He spent the next six hours in surgery trying to save the eye. This didn’t include any attempts to repair the three fractured bones around his eye. Not long after the surgery it became apparent the eye would have to be removed and fitted with a prosthetic eye. (Okay, the cat picture at this link is just weird!)

Eyes are different than most other parts of the body. Unlike an arm, a foot, or even your heart, the eyes cannot be replaced with a functional substitute. The first step in protecting your eyes is to actively minimize the potential for an eye injury. In the case mentioned above, removing yourself from harm’s way is most important. I have been in that same situation before and always tried to get behind a tree, structure, or another vehicle. That chain was under enormous tension and can be lethal if it breaks and hits you just right.

Most of us find ourselves in this position very rarely, but we encounter other situations dangerous to our eyes with regularity. At least once a week I am out mowing the yard, weed eating, or trimming some trees around the house. Earlier this summer I was looking down while mowing and a low hanging limb hit me directly in the eye. Luckily for me, I was wearing safety glasses! They aren’t prescription and I got them for about $10 at Home Depot; much less than a visit to the ER! It is easy to think “it won’t happen to me…what are the odds?”. Actually, the odds are probably much lower than you think, and who wants to play the loss-of-vision lottery anyway?

sports glassesAnother frequent danger for the eyes is sports activities. It’s easy to get an elbow or finger in the eye why playing many sports. Or how about a baseball to the face? We encourage our patients to invest in a good pair of sports eyewear, such as Rec Specs, for these activities. We fit many patients with sports glasses that incorporate Transitions lenses so that children may play sports indoors or outdoors or for our patients that enjoy riding motorcycles both during the day and at night. Combined with an anti-reflective coating, these lenses can even improve performance through clearer vision and decreased reaction times.

Have you ever had an injury that could have been prevented with a pair of protective eyewear? Leave a comment, we’d love to hear from you!

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How Contact Lenses Are Made

July 17th, 2010 by Eye Doctor Dallas

Here is a short video from the Discovery Chanel series “How It’s Made” about how contact lenses are created.

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Bifocal Contacts

July 12th, 2010 by Eye Doctor Dallas

Bifocal (multifocal) contact lenses have been around for many years. Older bifocal designs didn’t satisfy many people but today, new technology has produced a variety of successful new materials and designs. So if one design doesn’t work for you, another might.

Using these new lens designs we can correct your vision from near to far and in between with greater accuracy than in the past. Some designs have lines other not.

Bifocal contact lenses come in both soft materials and rigid gas permeable (GP) materials and a variety of replacement schedules from daily to monthly. That means you have the convenience of throwing the lenses out at specified intervals and replacing them with fresh, new lenses.

We offer a FREE TRIAL Try-On demonstration with your eye health examination.

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How Do You Treat Presbyopia

July 6th, 2010 by Eye Doctor Dallas

Eyeglasses with bifocals with or without a line are the most common ways to treat presbyopia. Most people opt for the bifocal without the line called a progressive lens because they offer a more gradual transition with no image jump or unsightly line. The top of the lens either has no power or your distance prescription, the middle part of the lens is for the computer screen or people across the table and the bottom part of the lens is for reading.

I can read your mind; “Are they hard to get used to?” No they aren’t. For that matter, the new lens designs come with a guaranteed fit. Our patients’ success rate is 98%! We also offer the new surgical implants the Crystalens, ReStore lens, and ReZoom lens. We will be delighted to discuss these options with you during your next visit.

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