It’s hard to believe that September is already here and school is back in session.  As you make your list of back to school supplies, don’t forget to add an eye exam.  Pencil Crayons and new runners are fun to pick out, but if your child has an undetected problem with their vision then successful learning may prove to be problematic.  It is estimated that 25% of school age children have a vision problem.   If they are left untreated, a child’s ability to learn, socialize with others, and participate in extracurricular activities such as sports will be affected.  Many children struggle with vision problems simply because they do not know they have a problem.

Read More

Booking an eye exam is the easy part, you have a time, date and location to get to but what happens when your prescription changes and you need new glasses? If you’ve never had glasses, the prospect of having to choose frames can be daunting. There are several questions you may ask yourself: What’s the latest fashion, what colour looks good on me, how do I know which shape to get? We don’t claim to have the answer to ALL these questions but we can help you with some tips on how to choose your new pair of frames.

Read More

Animal lovers, this one is for you! Whether you have a pet at home or just love animals in general, tune in to learn about their eyes! Animals like us have two eyes but some animals can’t see all of the colors we see or they can see more than we do, here are some animals that will surprise you in terms of their sight.

Read More

Summer is here! Finally, blue skies and warm weather, beaches and ice cream. All these things mean a bright shining sun and harmful UV rays. Luckily there is a solution to this problem; sunglasses! Summer is a good time for you to invest in a sturdy pair of  sunglasses. For those who wear glasses 24/7, I would recommend a pair of prescription sunglasses. 

Read More

Even with all this rain it seems like allergy season has started in North Vancouver.  In the last week I have had several patients talk to me about their eyes feeling itchy when they go outside.  Over the counter medication can work for some people but a prescribed allergy drop may work better.

Read More

What to do to help prevent cataracts from developing:

• Regular eye exams (annually)

• Quit smoking (Easier said than done, we know, but there’s no harm in trying!)

• Manage blood sugar and blood pressure

• Choose a healthy nutrient-dense diet

• Wear sunglasses

• Reduce alcohol intake - Goodbye 2nd glass of wine :(

Read More

Tips for Healthy Eyes in Kids, Teenagers, and Adults:

• Limit screen time to 1 hour per day to limit eye strain (If you have teenagers in the house prepare for a dirty look when you give them a time restriction)

• Wear protective eyewear when playing sports or working with power tools

• Avoid smoking

• Wear sunglasses when outside - Even if it’s overcast wear your sunglasses, up to 80% of UV rays can pass through clouds

• Wash hands and contact lenses thoroughly - Better yet, use daily disposable contacts to avoid eye infections caused by not cleaning your lenses or case properly

• Exercise everyday to increase circulation

Read More

Hi there,

Dr. Teri Hines from View Optometry and Dr. Annie Savage from Bay Wellness Centre here.  To celebrate National Nutrition Month we have teamed up to create a series of blog posts regarding eye health throughout your lifespan! We created 3 articles that we’re going to post weekly in March about eye development and eye health. We’re really excited to be working together to provide well-rounded preventive care to our patients and our audiences. We’ll start by explaining how the eye works, then move throughout the stages of life regarding eye health. We’ve provided nutrition tips and preventive care at each stage! Welcome to part one.

Read More

I regularly see patients who have experienced an ocular migraine.  The patient is often unsure about what happened to their vision and think that they may have had a retinal detachment.

Read More

Diabetes and its complications can affect not only your vision, but the delicate structures inside your eye. Diabetes can cause fluctuating blood sugar which in turn can cause fluctuating vision. However, the most serious eye problem associated with diabetes is diabetic retinopathy.

Read More

First medical visits always include the same questions, how old are you, what is your phone number, what is your address, do you have your care card and last but not least, what is your family history? We do realize it’s a lot of questions to ask you and understand that it does get tiring after a while but asking about family history is an important part of a comprehensive exam since many eye diseases run in families. Here’s two examples: Glaucoma and cataracts. Chances are many of you have heard both terms used before but people get them confused for one another almost 100% of the time! In this blog I would like to explain the difference. 

Read More

I’m a “House” fan, hopefully some of you reading this are too, if you watch this show regularly you might’ve noticed that eye health signs and symptoms are a recurring theme.  This is because the eyes can tell us a lot about a person’s general health.  Many people are aware of this but most people aren’t sure what we are looking for.

Lets break this down from the front of the eye to the back…

Read More

Ever woken up to find your eye swollen and red? Chances are you probably made a beeline straight to your doctor’s office or even the hospital! Many people visit the emergency room or their general practitioner if they have an irritated or red eye.  What they don’t know is that most ER and GP offices are not fully equipped to determine what type of eye problem you are having and going to either location is probably only going to result in a sore derrière from waiting around just to get in. An eye specialist, such as your local optometrist, is the best initial person to diagnose and determine treatment for your eye condition.

Read More

Everyday we see at least one patient with dry eyes.  There are steps you can take to alleviate some of the symptoms.

Most people think that tears are just water, this is not true.  Tears are complex structures with three layers: a mucus layer to help keep the tears on the eye, a water layer, and an outer lipid layer to prevent tears from evaporating.  Treatment will depend on which layer you are deficient in.

Read More

We really only like to see the spots on Dalmatian dogs or even cheetahs, however seeing spots in your vision is not something that we’d like to experience. A common patient concern that comes to my office regularly is “I see spots in my vision”.  Some important things for you to note are…

1. Which eye do you see the spots in?
2. How many spots are there?
3. When did you first start noticing the spots?
4. Are the spots getting worse or better?
5. Do you or did you see flashes of light? –> more urgency if you answered yes

Read More

Not all eye exams are created equally.  At our office we provide the latest technology for all our patients and spend an ample amount of time explaining our findings to our patients.  If another office offers a lowered rate then someone else it may be because you have to pay extra to get a retinal photo done or they have 15 minute eye exams while others have 30 minutes. 

Read More

Everyone hates to hear that they are now at an age where they can benefit from reading glasses or progressive lenses.  Have no fear, this is a natural process… all your friends will need glasses for near soon too!  The medical term for this is presbyopia.

As our eyes age the lens inside the eye continues to grow, eventually the lens starts to get too dense and loses the flexibility that it once had.  That flexibility is what allows us to focus at different distances.  The lens eventually gets stuck in the distance position and we need reading glasses to make up the power difference that is required to see things clearly that are closer than arms length.

Read More

I was considering getting laser eye surgery for many years and in January 2016 I finally did it.  In this blog I will share some information about laser eye surgery and some tips based on my experience.

There are two types of procedures you will have to choose between when getting laser eye surgery; LASIK (Laser Assisted In-Situ Keratomileusis) or PRK (Photorefractive Keratectomy).  I chose to do PRK.

Read More