Category: Eye Resources

FAQ: Can Flex Spending Save Me Money?

Flex spending might be one of the best benefits that many employees receive, yet they don’t know about the savings! If you have flex spending benefits, or aren’t sure if they are available to you, talk to your employer. You may be missing out on savings that could be going toward your family’s health.

Q: Do I qualify for flex spending benefits?

A: Flex spending may be offered by your employer. Talk to someone at your workplace who is in charge of benefits to learn more.

Q: What is flex spending good for?

A: Flex spending covers lots of services and products related to your health. You have to check with your employer about your specific benefits, but most flex spending plans will allow flex dollars to be spent on various types of vision care, glasses (including readers, prescription sunglasses, and prescription eyewear), contacts and contact lens supplies, many kinds of over-the-counter items as well as prescription medications, other kinds of medical equipment and health aids, and more. You may even be able to use flex dollars towards counseling, programs to help you stop smoking, and training or classes to help you and your doctor improve your health.

Q: How does flex spending work?

A: An amount of money comes out of each paycheck and is deposited into your flex spending account. These funds are saved, usually for a specified amount of time (generally a calendar year), until you spend them on an approved purchase.

Q: How does this save me money?

A: The catch is that the money comes out of your earnings before taxes are taken out. It may not seem like much, but these savings really add up! If you are putting $50 per paycheck into your flex spending account and are usually taxed about 25% for income tax, you’re saving $300 per year that you otherwise would have paid in taxes. Sure, you are limited to spending this money on healthcare, but if you normally pay co-pays, buy at least one new pair of glasses, medication, allergy or other over-the-counter drugs, pay co-insurance, or any other purchase eligible for flex spending, you could be saving money toward those purchases.

Q: How much can I save up?

A: Most of these accounts allow you to save up to $2,550 for flex spending purposes. This means you potentially have $2,550 that you can divert from your income to this account and save whatever you would have paid in income tax.

Q: Do they roll over?
A: No. This is the biggest detail that you need to know! Flex spending dollars do not roll over to the following year. You have to use them or else they are erased.

Speak to one of our eye care professionals today to learn more about how to use flex spending on necessary eye care.

How to Clean Your Eyeglasses

If eye care professionals cringe when they see you clean your glasses, and your lenses don’t last long before they are scratched, then it’s probably time to update your eyeglass cleaning habits!

To make sure your lenses stay clear and crisp as long as possible, follow these lens cleaning instructions.

  1. First, wash your hands and dry them thoroughly. Don’t use a soap that contains lotion. Regular hand soap or dish soap are preferred. Dry your hands with a lint-free towel.
  2. Rinse your glasses under the water. Use lukewarm tap water with a gentle stream. Avoid using water that is too hot.
  3. Put one drop of dish soap on each lens, or drop some on your fingers and apply it to the lens this way. It doesn’t take much, but remember not to use a soap with lotion.
  4. Gently rub the front and back of the lens, as well as rubbing lightly along the frame. Be sure to wash along the frame components like nose pads and hinges. Dust and oil can accumulate around the lens, so clean these areas thoroughly.
  5. Rinse the glasses with lukewarm water inside and out.
  6. Carefully shake or tap the glasses to remove excess water.
  7. Use a clean, lint-free towel to dry your lenses and frames. A cotton towel is preferred, but most dish towels are fine as long as they have been washed without substances that can smear your lenses, like fabric softener or dryer sheets. Make sure it is a fresh, clean towel!
  8. Check to see that your eyewear is free from smears and smudges. Keep a microfiber cloth on hand to clean any minor residue you may encounter.

Even when using eyeglass cleaning products, it’s important to inspect your lenses and follow instructions. If you like to clean your glasses without a faucet, there are several cleaning sprays available in drugstores or at our practice. Before using a cleaning wipe, make sure to blow any debris off of your lenses to prevent scratching.

The best way to avoid not only scratching your glasses, but also having to clean them frequently is by getting an anti-reflective (AR) treatment done on your lenses. The best AR treatments prevent scratching, reduce glares, and even resist dust, dirt, and oil.

Talk to us if you have any questions about proper care for your glasses!

How to Pick Eyewear for Your Child

Picking eyewear for your child can be stressful. There are many options for lenses and additional features to make lenses better suited for the wearer’s needs. Children often want to be involved in the decision, but it’s ultimately up to the parent to be sure that their child has the eyewear they need. Well, we’re here to help make the process simpler, and to give information for every step of the way.

There are a few main things that you need to think about. After all, your child’s eyewear needs to be safe, durable, effective, and your child needs to actually wear them! Here are the main things you need to consider in making this decision.

Lens Material

Eyeglass lenses used to be made from glass, but modern lenses come in various materials that are safer and last longer. Children’s eyewear needs polycarbonate or Trivex lenses because these are more impact-resistant. These options also make the lenses thinner and lighter, even for strong prescriptions. They have built-in UV protection, too!

Coatings or Treatments

Anti-reflective treatments or non-glare coatings provide many additional benefits that you can consider when getting eyewear for your child. Non-glare materials on the front and back of lenses may help resist scratches, dirt, debris, water, and fingerprints. These coatings also usually protect against UV rays. Most notably, AR treatments guard against glare. Glares are distracting when looking at someone’s eyes, but the brightness on your lens can also wash out what you’re seeing and cause eyestrain. We suggest anti-reflective options for all glasses wearers.

Size and Fit

Of course, a child’s head is smaller than an adult’s so they need a different sized frame. You don’t want frames that are too big and will look over-sized on their face, but you also don’t want wants that are too big because they’ll be too heavy and slide down the nose. Children’s frames come in many shapes and sizes to be sure you get a personalized fit for your child. Additional sizing can be done with certain adjustments. Many plastic frames don’t allow for a custom bridge fit, but metal frames have nose pads and a bridge that may be adjustable to be sure they won’t slide off your child’s face.

Style

Picking the frames is the most fun part! There isn’t a stigma with glasses now like there used to be. Celebrities and eyewear brands have made glasses cool. Even kids who don’t need glasses often want a pair as an accessory. This means that parents have an easier time helping their child settle on a nice pair of frames. Think about things like the color—do you want them to stick to a certain color that will look good with their eyes, hair, or wardrobe? Does a certain shape fit their face better than others? Do they like metal frame styles or trendy plastic ones? Set aside enough time to look at several options, then give them the decision between the final two. Kids can have a hard time choosing if you don’t narrow down the best options with them.

Backup Pair

We strongly suggest getting a backup pair for all children’s glasses. It is so common that children get caught up in activities, visit somewhere engaging, or simply forget and end up losing, leaving, or breaking their eyewear. Accidents happen, but it doesn’t have to be an emergency if you have a backup pair. Often, we can do special pricing to make the second pair a great deal, too. You don’t want your child to go without glasses until you get a new pair (or find the ones that went missing).

If you need any help from an optician, don’t be afraid to ask questions. The optician can help inform you on features, prices, maintenance, and more.

What is Perfect Vision?

It’s generally assumed that “20/20” is perfect vision, but what does this mean?

Visual acuity is the term used to describe the sharpness of your vision. When doctors do a visual acuity test, they have you view something (usually the Snellen eye chart of letters) from a standard distance and tell them what you see.

One of the lines on the typical eye chart has letters that are a size which has been deemed “20/20 visual acuity,” meaning that at 20 feet, most people can accurately read those characters. This is the standard, so at 20 feet, you read them as well as someone at 20 feet should be able to. It is possible for some people to read smaller letters that fall on lines below. This would be 20/15 or 20/10 visual acuity, meaning at 20 feet, you read letters that most people can only read at 10 or 15 feet. Great!

For people who have less visual acuity, they may be 20/40 or 20/60. The largest letter on the chart (an E on most Snellen charts) corresponds to 20/200 vision. If someone cannot distinguish that letter without assistance, they are considered legally blind.

Did you know the 20-foot measurement isn’t used everywhere? In some countries, they use 6 meters as the standard viewing distance.

Visual acuity of 20/20 is considered “perfect vision” because no aids are required to see better, but people can have better than 20/20 vision. Many young people are able to see letters smaller than the general “20/20” size. Even people who know that they see 20/20 or better, but feel that other aspects of their vision are lacking have options for improvement.

Some people who can pass a visual acuity test sufficiently may still have what we refer to as “high-order aberrations.” Low-order aberrations are familiar to most people as nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism, but high-order aberrations are less well-known. The eye doctor may find that you have coma, spherical aberration, or trefoil. These can produce symptoms including bad night vision, double vision, starbursts or halos, glare, or blurring.

Options exist for people with high-order aberrations who would like sharper vision. Gas permeable (GP) contact lenses are rigid lenses that may improve your vision better than glasses or soft contacts can. There are also laser vision correction surgeries that can address some eye irregularities leading to various types of eyesight problems.

Of course, if you want to know your visual acuity, a comprehensive eye exam is the best way to assess your vision. You can speak to the doctor about how well you’re seeing now, and what options are available to help you get 20/20 vision!

Your Infant’s Eye Development

Parents are always curious about their developing children, and what they can expect for various stages of infancy. We’re happy to explain infant eye development, and to let parents know not only what to expect, but when they should bring their child in for an exam, and why this is important.

Birth to 4 Months
After being born, babies are suddenly able to see all kinds of new things! We know that babies don’t see very clearly for some time, so high-contrast books, toys, and images may get their attention better than others. After the first few months, eyes get better working together to focus on objects and aid hand-eye coordination. At about two months, most babies can focus on a parent’s face or nearby object. It’s common for children to appear to have wandering or crossing eyes. It doesn’t become a concern unless this happens frequently, or seems to get worse. By three months, your child can probably watch an object move through a room and keep their focus on it.

5–8 Months
As babies this age move more, interact with the world, and start to judge distance, their eyesight improves. It’s not until about five months that children are able to see and comprehend three dimensions, so they won’t begin to see depth until around now. Most babies crawl around eight months or so, but don’t worry if your baby isn’t crawling well right away. Children should be encouraged to take their time developing skills. Babies who crawl a lot usually learn to use their eyes together better than babies who were early walkers.

9–12 Months
Around this time, most babies are experimenting with pulling themselves up on furniture, or using someone’s fingers to keep themselves steady and talk a few aided steps. Don’t rush crawling, however. Babies who master crawling before learning to walk tend to have been hand-eye coordination. Additionally, babies at this stage are better able to judge distance and begin to throw and place items.

1–2 Years
Children between one and two years of age are usually highly interested in exploring their surroundings, interacting with objects, and occasionally making some pretty impressive messes! Motor skills will excel along with depth perception and their improving eyesight.

How Do I Help My Child’s Vision Development?
First, be sure to get your child an eye exam at about six months of age. Qualified pediatric optometrists are trained in using lights and lenses to understand what is going on inside your child’s eyes. Even without having the ability to relay information about how well they’re seeing, your baby’s eyes give clues about their development. If they show signs of an eye turn, focusing problem, or other issue that could impede development, it’s very important to seek treatment as soon as possible. An optometrist can diagnose these conditions and make sure your child is aided in visual development so that they can keep moving and learning freely!

Beyond getting an infant eye exam, children need another exam before starting school. In the meantime, look for any signs of vision trouble like bumping into things, not recognizing you from a distance, or eyes that seem not to focus in unison. If you have any questions, speak to an eye care professional. Otherwise, play with your baby and enjoy this time as they learn and grow.

What Causes Red Eye in Photos?

Digital photo retouching may be almost as popular as selfies are, but that doesn’t mean that it’s always easy to remove distracting red-eye effects from photos. Why does that happen anyway? The explanation is simple, and so is avoiding the problem.

What is Red Eye?
Red eye is the term used to describe the bright red or orange-ish spots that can be see on people’s eyes in photos. Red eye is caused by light reflecting off the retina at the back of your eyes. Generally, it happens in low light conditions when a flash is used. The bright light flashes so quickly that eyes don’t have time to respond and restrict the pupil so that less light enters the eye. This light travels through the front of the eye, but is reflected at the back of the eye because the retina has a strong blood supply. There is a layer of connective tissue called the choroid that nourishes this part of your eye, and also gives it a red color. This is why “red eye” happens.

How to Prevent Red Eye in Photos
The easiest way to prevent red eye in photos is to not use a flash. If there is enough light in the area so that your pictures turn out clear without a flash, turn it off. You may have better luck if you steady the camera as a shot without a flash usually takes a little longer to gather light, and may turn out blurry if you are not steady.

Of course, if you cannot turn off the flash because the area is too dark, tell people to look just slightly away from the camera. As long as the angle is pointed somewhat away from the camera lens, there should be no flash.

If possible, make your room brighter to get clearer photos. This can help pupils reduce size somewhat and lessen the likelihood that you’ll see a red eye reflection in the photo.

Many cameras also have built-in anti-red eye functions that you may be able to switch on for specific lighting situations that otherwise would cause trouble.

How to Fix Red Eye
Fixing red-eye problems is usually pretty easy. If you’re using a digital camera, some of them can correct the problem digitally with a red eye function in the menu, if not avoid it altogether. Pictures taken on smartphones can be corrected with any number of photo editing apps. If you’ve had photos printed and red eye is present, check out some of the photo kiosks available at many stores that develop and print photos. You can usually scan the photo, remove the problem, and print it quickly and easily.

Vision Therapy: What’s the Confusion?

Vision therapy is not one singular thing. This type of treatment is a customized program created by an eye doctor and performed under his or her supervision. Vision therapy encompasses exercises and activities that are non-surgical and they aim to correct certain vision problems or vision-related skills.

The confusion over vision therapy tends to come from many sources on the internet that claim to help people get rid of their refractive errors. It is not uncommon to see posts and articles about how someone used “eye exercises” for some seemingly short period of time and then magically they don’t need glasses any more. They have 20/20 vision now, right? If only that were true!

Can you train yourself to see better?
It is not possible to do simple exercises from the internet to “train” your eyes to no longer have a refractive error. Refractive errors stem from irregular shapes of the eyeball, shape of the cornea, or elasticity of the eye lens. Moreover, this is not vision therapy. Vision therapy is done with a trained eye doctor and does not claim to change the lens of the eye.

Instead, vision therapy is usually coordinated by an experienced eye doctor for someone with an eye disorder relating to eye muscles, and other structures that have to do with focusing, eye alignment, and how your eyes work with other parts of your anatomy to complete complex tasks and develop certain skills.

Because of the confusion with internet and mail-based “treatments” that have seen a rise in the last several years, we feel it is especially important to make sure patients understand vision therapy. If you have any questions about this or have concerns about your eyes or the eyes and visual development of your children, contact us to schedule an appointment. We will be happy to help!

FAQ: Can Flex Spending Save Me Money?

Flex spending might be one of the best benefits that many employees receive, yet they don’t know about the savings! If you have flex spending benefits, or aren’t sure if they are available to you, talk to your employer. You may be missing out on savings that could be going toward your family’s health.

Q: Do I qualify for flex spending benefits?
A: Flex spending may be offered by your employer. Talk to someone at your workplace who is in charge of benefits to learn more.

Q: What is flex spending good for?
A: Flex spending covers lots of services and products related to your health. You have to check with your employer about your specific benefits, but most flex spending plans will allow flex dollars to be spent on various types of vision care, glasses (including readers, prescription sunglasses, and prescription eyewear), contacts and contact lens supplies, many kinds of over-the-counter items as well as prescription medications, other kinds of medical equipment and health aids, and more. You may even be able to use flex dollars towards counseling, programs to help you stop smoking, and training or classes to help you and your doctor improve your health.

Q: How does flex spending work?
A: An amount of money comes out of each paycheck and is deposited into your flex spending account. These funds are saved, usually for a specified amount of time (generally a calendar year), until you spend them on an approved purchase.

Q: How does this save me money?
A: The catch is that the money comes out of your earnings before taxes are taken out. It may not seem like much, but these savings really add up! If you are putting $50 per paycheck into your flex spending account and are usually taxed about 25% for income tax, you’re saving $300 per year that you otherwise would have paid in taxes. Sure, you are limited to spending this money on healthcare, but if you normally pay co-pays, buy at least one new pair of glasses, medication, allergy or other over-the-counter drugs, pay co-insurance, or any other purchase eligible for flex spending, you could be saving money toward those purchases.

Q: How much can I save up?
A: Most of these accounts allow you to save up to $2,550 for flex spending purposes. This means you potentially have $2,550 that you can divert from your income to this account and save whatever you would have paid in income tax.

Q: Do they roll over?
A: No. This is the biggest detail that you need to know! Flex spending dollars do not roll over to the following year. You have to use them or else they are erased.

Speak to one of our eye care professionals today to learn more about how to use flex spending on necessary eye care.