Don't operate nail/staple guns without eye protection!

Just a quick reminder to our patients here in Fullerton:  Wear your Safety Glasses!  Many of our patients who work in an industrial environment are used to wearing their safety glasses at work, but they are just as essential at home.  The attached picture is a great example of what can happen when putting some aluminum siding on a shed!  Luckily the staple was stopped by the polycarbonate lens. When working in the garage, using electrical or air powered tools, doing woodworking or metalworking you NEED to have safety glasses.  They are just as essential for sports like raquetball, motorcycle riding, and shooting sports.

Over 90% of the lenses from our office are Polycarbonate, which is a thin, and light material that has excellent optical qualities.  But it also makes an excellent safety lens.  We like to recommend these lenses because you never know when an accident CAN happen.  Just one of the additional benefits we build into our prescriptions for patients.

IN the event that you DO get something in your eyes call us at the office ASAP – 714-525-3350.  We frequently remove metallic and other foreign body material from eyes before it starts to rust, cause more damage, or get infected.

Dr. Mike has always felt a duty to lend assistance to those in need in our local arena, so the team at Lendhart Optometric Group decided to become a part of something great. The Assistance League of Fullerton has a mission “to carry on charitable work within the communities of Fullerton, Brea, Buena Park, La Habra, Placentia and Yorba Linda, California” and we are proud to be part of their efforts.

The Lenhardt Optometric Group works closely with the Assistance League every year. Children in local schools are screened for reduced visual abilities, and many students who fail the screening are then sent to our office where Dr. Mike does full exams on their vision at no charge.

Every year this program finds students who suffer from Amblyopia, which is the number-one cause of preventable blindness in the country.  Without treatment these children with amblypoia would not be able to see clearly in their adult life.

If you would like more information about the Assistance League’s vision and screening referral program please visit their site by clicking below:

Assistance League of Fullerton Vision Screening Program

Contact Lenhardt Optometry Group if you have questions about our community involvement to encourage healthy eye care for all.

Parents who are patients at Lenhardt Optometry Group often ask if and when their kids should have their eyes examined. I always recommend a screening in the first year of life, with the first comprehensive exam at 18 months old. If everything looks great then additional eye check ups should take place at 3 and 5 years old and every 2 years thereafter. If glasses are needed then we generally perform examinations annually, or sometimes even more frequently.

Here are some lifestyle behaviors that indicate a possible high risk of vision deficit in a child:

• Avoidance of near-sight activities, and high resistance to reading
• Poor performance in school
• Squinting, blinking frequently or rubbing eyes
• Short attention span or losing place when reading
• Very close reading position with books and coloring, or sitting close to the TV
• Closing one eye when reading
• Eye turning in or out with distance or near-sight tasks
• Poor coordination with sports, writing, or tying their shoes
• Recurring complaints of headaches
• Using finger or pencil to guide eyes

If parents or teachers note any of these signs with their children they should not hesitate to get a comprehensive eye exam to rule out visual deficit. We should not expect children to bring it to our attention by complaining to us, or worse yet waiting until they fall behind in school. Don’t wait – contact our friendly staff to schedule an appointment.

That means this year there will be more than 6 million kids returning to school with vision that restricts their ability to

learn.

The essential requirement is teamwork between the eyes. Patients who have the hardest time are those that have one eye that has more prescription than the other, or a lazy eye. Sometimes even people with excellent vision still have a hard time with 3-D vision.

Lendhart Optometric Group can test in our office for 3-D perception ability. Since it is a higher level of visual function, many patients can find the test to be quite difficult. There are multiple ways for content to be shown in 3-D, such as the red/blue system or polarization.

If you’d like to test your vision for 3-D perception contact our friendly staff at Lendhart Optometric Group to make an appointment.

Alternating Vision Contact Lenses

Lenses with alternating vision are designed with two different powers.  By alternating your gaze from up to down you are able to see through the two different powers.^[2]

Benefits:  Excellent for driving and reading.  A simple shift of your gaze will provide optimal vision needed to see many street signs and small shifts for reading.

Simultaneous Vision Contact Lenses

Lenses with simultaneous vision are designed with both distance and near powers placed in one area.  Your eyes actually learn to adapt and choose the appropriate power.  They are able to do this by determining the distance you are focusing on- whether it is a short or far distance.

Benefits: Will get sharp and consistent vision.  When your eyes adapt to these lenses they ^[3] will be able to provide constant clear vision.

Concentric Ring Contact Lenses

This type of lens has alternating rings of distance and near prescriptions.  There is a center power and one or more rings surrounding it.  The rings alternate between distance and near powers.

Benefits: Improved depth of focus.^[4] When you have good depth of focus you are able to focus the object of interest over large distance of the image plane. ^[5]

Aspheric Contact Lenses

Lenses that are aspheric are of different powers across the lenses.  The visual system adapts to the power needed to focus for the appropriate distance.

Benefits:  Corrects vision in specific problem areas to achieve the most natural vision possible.  For example, if you have astigmatism, you have problem areas in certain a certain axis.  Aspheric lenses will correct the problem areas to provide crystal clear vision.

[2] Nancy Del Pizzo and Liz Segre; reviewed by Joseph T. Barr, OD. “ Bifocal and Multifocal Contact Lenses.” All About Vision. August 2010.
Obtained 10/08/2010.

[3] www.allaboutvision.com/contacts/bifocals.htm.

[4] Dr. Bender.  “Concentric ring Single Vision lens Designs.” Free Patents Online. November 11, 1997.
Obtained 10/14/2010.
www.freepatentsonline.com/5684560.html.

[5] Lamore, Ray, Mclean, et al… “Depth of Focus.” Wikipedia. September 20, 2010.
Obtained 10/26/2010.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depth_of_focus.

You have probably heard of polarized lenses or an Anti-Reflective (A/R) coating, but what does it mean?  How is going to help you?  Lenhardt Optometric Group suggests some benefits of having these on your glasses.

Polarized Lenses

Polarized lenses are especially helpful while driving and playing outdoor sports such as fishing and winter sports.  The glare from the sun gives off intense light, and with polarized lenses those rays are filtered so you are able to see a lot more clearly.

[1]

Here are some more points about polarized lenses:

• Reduces glare and gives better contrast and visibility
• Decreases squinting as a result reducing eye fatigue and strain
• Polarized lenses provide better comfort and safety.
• You are able to see clearly on the road making you a safer driver
• Polarized lenses can have tints added to them and decrease reflections to give optimal color contrasts and visibility

Anti-Reflective Coating

Anti-Reflective (A/R) coating reduces glare and eliminates the halo effect.  This in turn reduces eyestrain and fatigue.  When driving at night, A/R coating is especially helpful.  The headlights from cars and different lights can create glare and halos; the A/R coating eliminates the glare and the rainbow-like halos.  This provides you with clear and optimal vision, which in turn will make you a safer and better driver.

^[2]

_____________________________________________________________________________________

^[1] Santini, Barry, “Tomorrows Technology, Todays Opportunity Making New Lens Technology Work in Your Practice”. 20/20 Number One in Readership. November 2007.
Obtained November 1, 2010
www.2020mag.com/ce/TTViewTest.aspx?LessonId=105612

^[2] Rayjez Wong, “Back windscreen with ‘Halo-effect’ at night” Toyota Vios Club Forum. January 12, 2010
Obtained November 1, 2010 from
www.cargurus.com/Cars/Discussion-d1477_ds472796

Free reading glasses, free sunglasses, free eye screenings you may have heard of but free LASIK??!!!  That is a new one.  But here at Lenhardt Optometric Group in Fullerton it has become a reality for one of our lucky patients.  Local news sources and the Fullerton Chamber of Commerce all have been buzzing about his good fortune.

Over the last year many of my patients have entered our contest to win a FREE LASIK procedure.  You could do this by filling out a slip for the small plastic drawing box at the check in/ check out counter with Desiree.  This contest gathered thousands of entries from Optometry offices throughout Orange County. I am happy to announce that our patient Vincent Phamvan from Lenhardt Optometric Group was drawn as the winner for the free LASIK procedure.  He actually completed the procedure yesterday and as of this morning in our office he has 20/13 vision!  This result is better than the traditional 20/20 vision we see in healthy eyes, and even better than the 20/15 vision we see for many patients with excellent vision and health.

This opportunity was coordinated with NVision (formerly TLC) the premier LASIK organization in Orange County.   We exclusively co-manage our Laser vision correction procedures with the exceptional folks over at NVision.  The benefits to our patients are numerous with the co-management model;  We offer an unbiased consultation with patients at no charge about whether LASIK is the best solution for their vision.  We make sure that the expectations that our patients have about the procedure match up with the reality of their potential results to give them lasting satisfaction for years to come.  Multiple checks of their vision are made over time in order to provide the most accurate prescription once they have the procedure.  We perform roughly 10 visits with patients to ensure their procedure has the lowest risk, healthiest rapid recovery, most comfort and exceeds expectations.  All of these factors played into Vincent’s success, and we expect no less for any of our patients completing the LASIK procedure.

Just by looking at someone you cannot tell if they have amblyopia, they need to have a full comprehensive eye examination by an Optometrist.  Optometrists are “vision doctors” who are trained to evaluate clear vision, but also mentally process that information in a useful way.

A school vision screening is often not involved enough to prevent amblyopia.  Often children will pass a screening, even though they have visually significant problems that will be noted in a full eye examination.

A related issue when discussing “lazy eye” is when the eyes are mis-aligned, which can be seen as an eyeturn.  This is known as Strabismus, where one eye will usually turn in or out.  This condition sometimes is a result of amblyopia in the eye that turns.  The brain ignores a portion of the information going to that eye and allows it to turn without noticing double vision.

Both Amblyopia and Strabismus are conditions that can be treated.  However there are limitations.  The earlier in life that amblyopia is detected the more easily it is treated.  Our brains are not as flexible as we get older, much like teaching an old dog new tricks.  Traditionally it has been stated that amblyopia cannot be treated after 10-12 years of age.  In my experience it is twice as easy to treat at 6 years old as compared to treatment at 12 years old.  Even at 20 years old it can be improved, but it is much more difficult for the patient, and the results may not reach the 20/20 vision level.  I always seek to improve the vision for my amblyopic patients and have noted improvement even for patients over 70.

Treating amblyopia begins with a comprehensive eye exam, and correcting BOTH eyes to their clearest possible vision.  It can also involve patching the stronger eye to strengthen the weaker eye, or using eye drops to cause the same effect.  Sometimes wearing specific types of bifocal reading glasses or bifocal contact lenses are prescribed.

Often strabismus will resolve if the amblyopia is treated successfully.  But in more severe cases eye surgery for the muscles may be recommended.

If you know, or suspect your family members of having an issues related to amblyopia, or strabismus and you would like an evaluation please do not hesitate to call us here at Lenhardt Optometric Group, 714-525-3350 or visit our website and schedule an appointment, www.fullertoneyecare.com

Several patients who wear their contact lenses exclusively have found themselves in a tight spot without a backup set of prescription glasses as well.  With an eye infection it is a requirement to not wear contact lenses for a week or more.  If it takes several days for new glasses to be made then the activities of normal life have to be put on hold.  No one wants to take vacation time to sit around not being able to see!

Another patient called us this summer while on vacation.  Rather than building family memories, he had become stuck in his motorhome with his broken glasses.  Now the vacation he had planned all year was threatened because Dad could not see anything.  After working hard all year for a vacation how horrible is it to break or lose your glasses, and not be able to enjoy yourself at all?  We have over-nighted glasses to many patients on vacation (even in campgrounds), but they lose a good portion of their vacation time.  Also they may not be able to pick their own frame, or may be stuck with lenses of an inferior quality in order to meet the rush deadline.

These sorts of situations reinforce the need for a backup set of glasses.  Always have a plan B that offers a vision  solution for you if your primary prescription correction fails.  At Lenhardt Optometric group we really strive to offer you viable backup options for prescription glasses, or contacts.  Give us a call at 714-525-3350  in order to schedule a time to come in and review your backup plan.  Now you can even go to our website www.fullertoneyecare.com to get scheduled!