The optic nerve is what transmits visual data from the eye to the brain. When the optic nerve is damaged, our vision suffers. A group of conditions that threaten the optic nerve is glaucoma. In the United States, glaucoma is the second most common cause of vision loss and blindness, affecting three million people. Because January is National Glaucoma Awareness Month, we wanted to give our patients a basic understanding of the condition. The Internal Pressure Of the Eye Normally, aqueous humor (the fluid in the front chambers of the eye) is able to drain away at the same rate it is produced, k ..read more

From the moment we get up to the moment we go to bed, more and more of us are on our smartphones, tablets, computers or other digital devices. That’s a lot of eyeballs glued to a lot of screens. If you count yourself among the 90% of adults who spend two or more hours a day in front of a screen of some sort, there’s something you should know: You could be putting yourself at risk for digital eye strain, also known as computer vision syndrome. It’s a problem that is occurring more and more frequently — even in kids. Symptoms may include dry, red and irritated eyes, fatigue, eye strain, blurry ..read more

Have your eyes ever felt gritty and watery after an outdoor adventure? Maybe you felt a burning sensation and suffered temporary vision loss? If this sounds familiar to you, you may have been exposed to high levels of UV rays from light reflections while boating, hiking at high elevation, or participating in snow sports like skiing and snowboarding. This condition, formally called photokeratitis, is particularly common in winter, and you might have heard of it by the name “snow blindness.” Why Snow Blindness? Photokeratitis is essentially getting a sunburn on the surface of your eye. This can ..read more

Vision impairment impacts a person’s life in many ways, whether they are completely blind or have low vision. Fortunately, it doesn’t require much effort for those of us with healthy vision to make things easier for our vision-impaired friends and family to get around and feel comfortable when they visit our homes — which is especially crucial for us to do when it’s more than a short visit. So what can we do to help? Lighting Whenever you have guests with low vision, good lighting will really help them out. It’s important to find balance between having enough light and avoiding glare from too ..read more

Have you ever seen someone with eyes that are two different colors? This fascinating trait is called heterochromia, and only six people in a thousand have it. It can happen in different ways and for different reasons. Even if you haven’t seen someone with different colored eyes, you’ve likely seen an odd-eyed dog or a cat. But how does such a strange-looking thing happen? What Causes Heterochromia Most of the time, heterochromia is simply congenital (meaning the result of genetics) and caused by a benign mutation affecting the way melanin (pigment) develops in the irises. A few famous example ..read more

Just like learning how to walk and talk, your baby also has to learn how to see! There are many ways you can help them develop their visual skills, from the right types of toys to buy to the right types of games to play with them at certain ages. The First Six Months A newborn’s world is filled with blurry shapes, light, and shadows. At first, they can only focus on objects about eight to ten inches from their faces—the distance between their eyes and the face of the person holding them. As your baby’s sight grows clearer and sharper, here are some things you can do to encourage those develop ..read more

Many of us schedule our eye exams knowing we have plenty of questions for the eye doctor. What a lot of patients don’t realize is that they share quite a few of these questions with their fellow patients, particularly when it comes to common vision fears and issues. That’s why our practice is dedicating a blog post to addressing six of the concerns we deal with most frequently. 1. Am I hurting my eyes by staring at my computer screen all day for work? While extended screen time is one of the main causes of eye strain, it won’t lead to long-term damage. Eye strain can still be unpleasant enoug ..read more

We all try to be good stewards of the earth. We go out of our way to recycle paper, glass, plastic. Many of us even compost. But what about daily disposable contact lenses? We wear them once then toss them. Good for our eyes, not so good for the planet. Here’s some good news that may surprise you: Thanks to #ONEbyONE, a free contact lens recycling program created by Bausch + Lomb and TerraCycle®, you can recycle your contact lenses and blister packs — and you don’t even have to go out of your way. How #ONEbyONE works Every day, store your used blister packs, top foil, and daily disposable con ..read more

Every organ in the body can be harmed by smoking, and that includes the eyes. The disease we usually think of when we hear “health risks of smoking” is lung cancer, but the damage smoking can cause isn’t limited to the lungs. A smoking habit can actually damage eyesight faster than disease, and there are a few different ways it happens. Age-Related Macular Degeneration Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a disease that causes irreversible blindness. It is the deterioration of the macula, the central part of the retina where we see the sharpest detail. Smokers have triple the risk of dev ..read more

How many times have you stepped outside looking forward to feeling the sun on your face, only to wince at the sudden glare? The obvious remedy is sunglasses, but that can become complicated for those of us with prescription glasses. Short of buying a separate pair of prescription sunglasses or wearing contacts just so we can wear non-prescription sunglasses, how can we escape the glare? What Are Photochromic Lenses? You probably already know photochromic lenses under another name: Transitions®. This is just a brand name, like Kleenex or Band-Aid; the actual name for the lens type is photochro ..read more