Eye Tips for Teenagers

Exercise

Our eyes need good blood circulation and oxygen intake, and both are stimulated by regular exercise. Regular exercise also helps keep our weight in the normal range, which reduces the risk of diabetes and diabetic retinopathy. Remember to use sun safety and protective eye wear when enjoying sports and recreation.

No Smoking

Avoiding smoking, or quitting, is one of the best investments you can make in your long-term health. Even though old age seems a long way off, smoking as a teenager can increase your risks for cataracts as well as for cardiovascular diseases that indirectly influence our eyes’ health. Smoking increases the risk of severe vision loss people with other eye diseases as well. 

Decorative Contact Lenses

Decorative contact lenses, including circle lenses, are a potentially dangerous trend among teenagers and young adults. These cosmetic lenses are designed to change the appearance or color of the eye. These decorative lenses can be bought in stores and online without a prescription.

Buying any decorative contact lenses, including circle lenses, without a prescription is hazardous to your eye health. Pain and swelling are frequently caused by improperly fitted, over-the-counter lenses. More serious problems can include corneal abrasions and blinding contact lens-related infections. All contact lenses are medical devices that require a prescription, proper fitting by an eye care professional and a commitment to proper contact lens care by the wearer.

Info - courtesy of EyeSmart

Corneal Ulcers: Why Contact Lens Wearers Need Glasses!

What do you think is the biggest risk for really bad infections in contact lens wearers? Give up? The answer is not owning a pair of glasses! That's right, the biggest risk factor for developing a corneal ulcer, as very serious infection, is not having a pair of glasses to wear when your eyes are a little uncomfortable with your contacts, or to give your eyes a break from your contacts.

There are almost 71,000 cases of what eye doctors call ulcerative keratitis each year in the United States. Contact lens wearers are TEN TIMES as likely to get this than non-wearers. There seems to be an increased risk from wearing your contact lenses when you sleep, and wearing contact lenses that you buy from a fashion store is dangerous, too!

Here's a very typical story of how NOT having glasses causes a problem. You have a very high, very strong prescription, and your vision without glasses or contacts is very poor. One of your eyes starts to get red and sore, but you don't have glasses so you just keep wearing your contact lens. Pretty soon...UH OH!...you have a corneal ulcer. Now you CAN'T wear your contacts, but you still don't have a pair of glasses and you're stuck.

Dr. White always says that the first cardinal rule of contact lens wear is to have a back-up pair of glasses, because you never know. Don't let yourself get caught in a bind. Make sure you own a pair of glasses in addition to your contacts!

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!

Contact Lens Cardinal Rules

We are HUGE fans of contact lenses here at Skyvision Centers! Like most really good things, though, there are some rules to follow in order to get the most out of your contacts. Here are our "Cardinal Rules"!

1) Everyone who wears contact lenses needs to have a back up pair of glasses that they can wear to do regular things like drive a car. The biggest risk factor for complications from wearing contacts is actually not owning a pair of glasses because people who don't will continue to wear contacts when they shouldn't!

2) Everyone who wears contact lenses needs to see someone who knows how to examine the front of the eye at least once every year. There can be hidden complications or problems caused by your contacts that can only gbe picked up by an eye doctor during an examination.

3) If you have a red or a painful eye you need to take your contact lenses out and bring your contacts AND YOUR EYE to that same eye doctor who knows what they are doing!

Dr. White likes today that there is a rule "3 1/2" for kids: no kid should where a contact lens overnight! No matter what type of contact lens is prescribed a child should sleep WITHOUT wearing contact lenses.

And there you go! Cardinal rules for safe and happy contact lens wear courtesy of Skyvision Centers.

Do You Follow Good Contact Lens Care?

Most contact lens users know about potential complications and believe they follow all the recommended wear and care guidelines, but few actually do, according to new research. The study included 281 patients who visited eye care practitioners in the Dallas-Fort Worth area of Texas and 152 who went to a university eye clinic. Many patients could name a complication related to contact lens use -- 58 percent in the general community and 91 percent at the university clinic.

The most commonly named complications were related to lens comfort/handling and infections, said the researchers, Dr. Danielle Robertson and Dr. H. Dwight Cavanagh of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. The majority of patients also knew important risk factors for contact lens-related complications such as: topping off instead of replacing contact lens solution; exposing lenses to tap water, including wearing them while showering; and poor hygiene practice, according to the study published in the November issue of the journal Optometry and Vision Science.

Overall, 85 percent of the patients believed they followed recommended contact lens wear and care practices. However, the researchers found that the average patient only performed 50 percent of the recommended wear and care practices, and compliance was rated as good for only 2 percent of the patients.

Only one patient (0.4 percent) was fully compliant with all the recommended contact lens wear and care guidelines.

"It is unlikely that further education will change patient behavior,"  the study authors noted in a journal news release, "because most patients already know that failing to follow recommended guidelines can increase their risk of complications."

"New strategies and approaches to effectively modify inherent patient non-compliance are urgently needed," the researchers concluded in the release.

What do YOU think? How can we help contact lens patients to take care of their eyes? Let us know! Leave a comment here, or "Like" us on Facebook and leave your thoughts there.