Contact Lens Cardinal Rules

Do you wear contact lenses? Are you thinking about wearing contact lenses? Well, whether you are young or old there are some very important "Cardinal Rules" for contact lens wear, especially if you are wearing the most modern soft contacts. Our contact lens expert is Dr. Greg Kaye, one of the most experienced contact lens eye doctors in all of Cleveland!

Cardinal rule #1 is very simple, and we actually had a previous post on this subject: everyone who wears contact lenses MUST have a back-up pair of glasses that they can wear. If you are getting your very first eye prescription and you want to wear contacts you have to get glasses, too. No matter how old or young you are. Sometimes things happen where you can't wear your contacts, like infections or scratches, and you just have to have a pair of glasses that will allow you to see.

Rule #2 is that every person who wears contact lenses, no matter how much or how little, has to have an appointment with an eye doctor who knows their stuff EVERY YEAR! You may not need a full, dilated exam, but someone needs to check your prescription, your fit, and the health of your cornea (the window to the eye) at least once every year.

The third rule is all about safety: if you get a red or a painful eye TAKE YOUR CONTACT LENSES OUT, put your glasses on, and bring your contact lens and your eye in to see your eye doctor. Don't try to tough it out! Be sure to bring your contact lens in with you, though. Sometimes we can use it to find out why you have a problem.

Dr. White likes to say that there's a rule 3 1/2 for kids: there's no reason for a kid to wear a contact lens overnight. They should ALWAYS take their contacts out before going to bed.

We LOVE contact lenses at Skyvision, and we want you to enjoy them in the safest way possible!

Dr. White and RevitalVision: Training Begins!

Dr. White is going gangbusters with his RevitalVision training using the SportsVision Program. He finished the 3 introductory "Session 0" sessions and moved into the training sessions; there are 20 training sessions. So far he has done Sessions 1 and  2.

"Wow! That's hard work! The program asked me to wear my glasses for each session so far; the hardest part is remembering to bring them to the office from my car since I don't really wear them that much. The sessions take a TON of concentration, and since my vision with my glasses is very good I have to hang in there with very small images that are very, VERY faint. Whew!

Although I knew the basic structure of the training program it's hard to truly be prepared for the work you do until you start. I knew that the images would get more and more faint, and I sorta knew that I would work with smaller and smaller targets. What was a little bit of a surprise is how the 3-image tests work. Not only do you have to pick which option has 3, rather than 2, images, and not only are they really tiny, and not only do they get really faint, but the images get closer and closer together as the session goes on! I was really concentrating hard there at the end of this one.

I think my scores were pretty good, 87 on Session 1 and 91 on Session 2, but I admit I have no idea what a top score might be. Maybe 100? My vision trainer Terry's boss told me I'm not really in the "High Achiever" category, though; it took me 29:56 minutes to do Session 1 and 25:00 mins to do Session 2 which he said was sort of average speed. [Terry's boss is a friend of Dr. White's so we don't know how seriously to take this!]"


So far Dr. White is on a pace of about 3 Sessions per week. Tune in for more progress reports.

Transitions Vantage!

What will they think of next?! The Transitions company has not only brought out some of the coolest photochromatic lenses (lenses that change color depending on light levels) including the DriveWear lens that will darken in a car, but now they have introduced a lens that becomes polarized as it darkens! As the amount of UV light increases and the day gets brighter, the Transitions Vantage lens will not only become darker, it also becomes polarized to decrease the amount of horizontal glare that reaches the eye.

Bright levels of sunlight can cause not only discomfort but also difficulty seeing. A part of this comes from increased glare off on horizontal surfaces like roads, water, snow and ice, and the hood of your car. Polarization decreases this glare by dramatically reducing the reflected light off of these surfaces. Since the reflections increase as it gets brighter the Vantage lens INCREASES the polarization at the same time as it darkens.

Controlling the amount, color, and direction of the light entering the eye can deliver a much higher level of comfort. The Vantage lenses can be put into most fashion frames so that you can continue to enjoy the look you prefer at the same time you enjoy better vision and better comfort! We are all excited about this new lens from Transitions, and now we can't wait for the next cool thing they dream up!!

Dr. White's RevitalVision Session 2

Dr. White went right back to RevitalVision to do his second session:

"Well, this time I was smart enough to bring my distance glasses in to the room right in the beginning! I'm going to have to ask my Vision Trainer when I'm supposed to stop wearing them because my goal is to increase my uncorrected vision, my vision WITHOUT wearing my driving glasses.

I think I know how this is going to go, now. Session 2 is the first calibration session where the RevitalVision program figures out where you are to start. I was a little intimidated when I saw the screen announcing 10 sections, though; it took me 35 minutes to do 4 in round 1! The program worked through images called GABOR PATCHES, little circles with lines in them that are various sizes and have various degrees of contrast or darkness. The tests worked me through series of images that were of gradually smaller sizes and gradually less darkness or contrast. I felt pretty quick, although I goofed up the responses on occasion by pushing the wrong mouse button, even though I knew the answer. I wonder if the program or my trainer knows when I do that?!

I've been telling patients that Sessions 2 and 3 last about 45:00; mine took 37:00 and I felt pretty good about the results. I do see very well with my glasses so that's not very surprising. Each screen in all 10 rounds only had one image, though. I have a sneaky suspicion that Session 3 is going to have 2 or 3 images on each screen, getting smaller and smaller, and dimmer and dimmer!

Hmmm...I might need to slow down a bit!"


Tune in for updates on Dr. White's experience and results as he does the RevitalVision Sportsvision Training Program.

RevitalVision Session 1 With Dr. White

Dr. White just came out of our darkened RevitalVision room after completing the introductory session. Here's what he had to say:

"I was a little surprised that the calibration process was repeated right in the beginning! We had the room and the computer and the monitor all set up yesterday so I thought I'd just fly into battle. No big deal, but I wonder if that will happen every day when I step up to bat?

The first training session is just to show you how to do the program so it's really important to be able to see everything. My time in the room is just a little bit longer than it might have been; I had to run out to my car when the program told me 'If you have glasses or contacts wear them for this part."!! I had a little crisis of confidence in the first module. I THOUGHT it said left button for first choice offered and right button for the second, but I got all flustered when the computer dinged at me! Was a ding good or bad?!

OK...dings are bad. First choice, left mouse button. Second choice, right mouse button. GOT IT! Phew!

After I got that critical detail down pat I flew through the second and third  modules. Total time for my introductory RevitalVision session = 27:00! I have a feeling it's gonna be way harder once I stop wearing even the tiny distance prescription I have in my driving glasses though!"

Stay tuned for more news from Dr. White's RevitalVision adventures!

Comics Day At Skyvision

We are always amazed at how many jokes and puns come up every day in the office. While macular degeneration is nothing to joke about, the term is often mispronounced in very funny ways. Our favorite here at Skyvision used to be"Immaculate Degeneration"! Now, thanks to "Crankshaft", we have a new one.

Electric Bifocals! The EMPOWER Lens

Here's the latest news in eyewear, the PixelOptics EMPOWER lens. Believe it or not, this lens can actually change its focus, either automatically by changing the position of your head, or at any power you choose.

Skyvision Centers is one of only a handful of practices in the whole United States to introduce this revolutionary lens. Our main office in Westlake, just outside of Cleveland, Ohio will be the place to find all 28 frame styles. Our Optical staff is ready to answer your questions and assist  in fitting you properly, and Dr. White will be the first person in Cleveland to try out the Empower lens!

Tiny batteries are charged each night to power the piso-electric current passing through the lenses. Stay tuned for more updates. We'll make sure to get the scoop from Dr. White!