We Provide Emergency Eye Care in Edmonton

Stonewire Optometry provides emergency eye care services. Whether you’re an established patient or new to our eye care clinic, we are here to help. Our team of optometrists are trained to handle most eye care emergencies that you may experience, and our clinic is equipped with the latest diagnostic equipment to aid in both the diagnosis and education of your eye condition. Our equipment includes optomap ultra-widefield retinal imaging, retinal photography, digital OCT retinal imaging and computerized visual field testing.

Did you know? Emergency eye care services are covered under Alberta Health Care. Simply show your Alberta Health Care card at the time of the examination.

Should your eye care emergency require the immediate services of an ophthalmologist (eye surgeon), our optometrists will ensure that you are referred immediately to the local on-call ophthalmologist. If your eye condition is less urgent but a referral is still required, they will refer you to the appropriate ophthalmologist that specializes in your condition.

As with any medical emergency, it’s important to be proactive. If you feel that you need to be seen by an eye doctor, please don’t wait until the end of the day to call or walk-in. It’s important to contact our clinic as soon as possible to ensure that you get timely appropriate eye care.

Important: If you should experience an eye emergency after regular business hours that you feel is serious and warrants immediate medical attention, please proceed directly to the Royal Alexandra Hospital emergency department. You may also contact Alberta Health Link at their new 811 number to get medical assistance from a registered nurse.

The Clinic: Are you Looking for an Edmonton Eye Doctor?

Many eye conditions are not immediately apparent and don’t have any obvious signs or symptoms. Having a regular eye exam with a Doctor of Optometry provides them an opportunity to examine your eyes for asymptomatic conditions, while ensuring that your eyeglass and contact lens prescription are up to date.

Stonewire Optometry in Kingsway Mall uses the latest diagnostic equipment to evaluate your eye health and eyewear prescriptions. So if you’re looking for a new optometrist in the Edmonton area, look no further! We would love to become your new eye care providers.

Book your next eye exam in Edmonton with a 
Doctor of Optometry at Stonewire in Kingsway Mall.

EyeTech: OCT Retinal Imaging

Stonewire Optometry is committed to investing in eye care technology that better allows us to  serve the needs of our patients. One of the newest and most advanced diagnostic instruments in our office is our optical coherence tomography scanning laser ophthalmoscope or OCT for short.

This retinal imaging technology allows our optometrists to see the fine details within your eye, helping them to better understand your eye health or visual symptoms. The OCT aids in the diagnosis and monitoring of many common eye conditions, including: age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, and diabetic retinopathy.

You can learn more about our OCT by visit our OCT imaging page. You can have your eyes imaged by booking an eye exam at Stonewire Optometry. 

Book your next eye exam with Stonewire Optometry
Kingsway Mall | Edmonton | Alberta

Why Is My Colour Vision So Bad?

Every comprehensive eye exam at Stonewire Optometry starts off with a basic colour vision screening test.

Approximately 5-7% of men have some form of colour vision deficiency. 

Women can also have colour vision deficiency problems, but it’s undoubtetly much rarer.

Most colour vision problems are hereditary in nature, but may also be a sign of an ocular condition or side effect of a medication. As such, your optometrist will want to know if the problem is new or long-standing.

Most people honestly never realize that they have a colour vision problem and only discover it during a job application or routine eye exam. The police department, fire department, Canadian National Railway, Canadian Pacific Railway, Airline pilots, welding inspectors and a host of other professions all require successful candidates to possess adequate colour vision. It's often a very negative moment in eye care when an optometrist has to inform a patient that they don’t meet the vision requirements for their dream job. 

Case in point. Meet Jacob, a 22-year college student looking to join the Edmonton police force and fulfil his lifelong dream of becoming a police officer. He finally started the application process and showed up in our clinic with the visual report form to be filled in by one of our optometrists. 

He indicated that he had never had an eye exam, but never needed one because his eyesight was perfect. Before things barely got started, however, we noticed that Jacob did not pass the basic Ishihara colour screening book. The more advanced Farnsworth D-15 colour vision test was performed, which showed a strong red-green colour deficiency.  

To say the least, Jacob was devastated to find out that he had colour vision problems and might not become a police officer. He had never been for an eye exam before and was unaware of any problems.

 

Unfortunately, there is currently no treatment or cure for colour deficiency. However, this may not be the case for long. A recent study performed at the University of Washington and the University of Florida was able to restore colour deficiency through gene modification therapy in monkeys.  

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Please Note: All case examples are fictitious and do not represent real Stonewire Optometry patients. These case examples are used only to highlight common eye care problems and potential solutions. Every patient’s medical situation is unique, and it is always important to discuss your case with your eye doctor to find your best option. These posts are not intended to offer treatment advice, but to improve patient knowledge and facility better doctor-patient communication. 

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Book Your Next Eye Exam at Stonewire Optometry
Kingsway Mall | Edmonton | Alberta

StoneWire Optometry in Kingsway Mall - Coming Soon!

The all new StoneWire Optometry will be opening up on the lower level of Kingsway Mall next door to Pearle Vision optical on January 7, 2014 @ 1:00pm.

Optometrists Dr. Ross McKenzie and Dr. Jeff Holtz will be providing family focused comprehensive eye care and contact lens services, along with emergency eye care services and ophthalmology referrals. The clinic will offer extended office hours for your convenience including evening and weekend appointments.

To book your next eye exam at StoneWire Optometry in Kingsway Mall, please contact us @ 780.628.6886.

StoneWire Optometry
Kingsway Mall - Edmonton
 

Why Does My Eye Twitch?

A twitchy eye is generally considered a non-serious eye condition and is commonly experienced by patients. Medically, an eyelid twitch is referred to as‘Myokymia’.  The twitching sensation is the result of the sudden spasmodic contraction of the obicularious muscle, which is normally used for closing your eyelids. The twitching sensation most often effects the lower eyelid and occasionally can even place pressure on the eyeball itself causing the eye to twitch. Some patients are convinced that their eye is actually twitching, however, this is a vary rare phenomenon.  Symptoms from myokymia can last up to a month and can disappear as quickly as they began.

The most common causes of myokymia include:

• Stress

• Caffeine

• Alcohol

• Fatigue

• Eye infection

• Tourette Syndrome

• Excessive exercise

• Reduced potassium levels 

Although most eyelid twitches are not medically significant, it is always best to visit your optometrist or eye doctor to rule out any other more serious eye related diseases. Treatment for myokymia usually involves rest and relaxation, drinking plenty of water, and eating foods high in potassium. 

Fun Fact: Did you know that seeing your eye doctor for a condition like myokymia is now covered under Alberta Health Care.

If you're concerned about myokymia and your overall eye health, than book a routine eye health examination with one of our optometrists.

Book Your Next Eye Exam with Stonewire Optometry
Kingsway Mall | Edmonton | Alberta

Optical Assistance for Seniors

Many Edmonton seniors are surprised to learn that the Alberta Seniors Health Benefit program will provide up to $230.00 towards the purchase of new eyewear every 3 years. Most seniors are also surprised to learn that Alberta Health Care also covers the costs associated with a complete eye health examination by an optometrist every year. 

To learn more about what’s covered through the Alberta Seniors Health Benefit program or to sign up, visit the Alberta Government website at Alberta.ca 

If you are already enrolled in the Alberta Seniors Health Benefit program, accessing your eye care benefits is easy. Simply provide your optical provider with your Alberta Health Care number along with a valid government issued photo-ID at the time of purchase.  

Book Your Next Eye Exam with Stonewire Optometry
Kingsway Mall | Edmonton | Alberta

We Accept Alberta Blue Cross Insurance

Stonewire Optometry and Pearle Vision Optical in Kingsway Mall have the ability to direct bill your Alberta Blue Cross vision insurance plan at the time of your next eye exam or eyewear purchase. If you or your employer has added coverage for optical services/vision care to your Alberta Blue Cross plan, then a portion of or all of your visit or eyewear purchase may be covered.

With so many individuals and local employers offering group coverage through Alberta Blue Cross such as: teachers union (asebp), nurses union and some divisions of the City of Edmonton. Stonewire Optometry in Kingsway Mall is trying to make it more convenient for these people to access their vision care benefits.

How do I know if I have vision coverage?

1. Your card must be from Alberta Blue Cross
2. Your card needs to say ‘vision’ on it

What’s covered under Alberta Blue Cross Vision Care?

1. Eye Exams
2. Contact Lenses
3. Prescription Eyeglasses
4. Prescription Sunglasses

To learn more about the products and services available through Alberta Blue Cross or the coverage on your current plan, please visit their website at: ab.bluecross.ca or call an Alberta Blue Cross customer service representative toll free at 1.800.394.1964

Book Your Next Eye Exam with Stonewire Optometry
Kingsway Mall | Edmonton | Alberta

Dry Eye Syndrome: Signs/Symptoms/Causes

Dry eye syndrome is one of the most common visual concerns that eye doctors see on a daily basis. It is often confused for ocular allergies or other eye health conditions, leading to inappropriate or ineffective treatment options. As such, it is important to know the signs of symptoms of dry eye syndrome and what can cause it or makes it worse.

Typical signs & symptoms may include:

• Scratchy/Gritty Sensation
• Burning/Stinging
• Redness
• Itchy Eyes
• Sharp pain
• Blurred vision or fluctuating vision
• Excess tearing

Common causes may include:

• Aging
• Environment factors
• Reduced blinking
• Contact lens wear
• Eyelid conditions (meibomianitis & blepharitis)
• LASIK and other refractive surgeries
• Medications (antihistamines, acne medications, water pills, etc.)
• Hormonal changes, including menopause
• Medical conditions (diabetes, arthritis, thyroid problems, Sjogren’s, etc.)

If you think that you may have dry eye syndrome, talk to one of our Kingsway Optometry eye doctors about possible treatment options during your next eye test.

Back to School Eye Exams

Book your children in for their back to school eye exam at Kingsway Optometry. A comprehensive eye test by one of our optometrists will help to ensure that they are ready for another school year.

Your child’s eye test will include a comprehensive eye health examination along with a complete vision check for eyeglasses. Children should receive their first eye test by 3 years of age or as young as 6 months of age if you or pediatrician have any concerns or there is a family history of vision or medical problems.

Eye health exams and vision testing is covered under Alberta Health Care for children 18 years of age or younger. There is no charge for you child to be seen by an optometrists for annual eye exams and vision tests.

If your child already wears eyeglasses, please talk to us about healthy contact lens options for sports, recreation or school.

Can I Swim in My Contact Lenses?

No, is the general answer to this question. Swimming in contact lenses may increase your risk of developing a serious eye infection, corneal scarring or vision loss. Contact lenses are porous like sponges and will absorb microbes, chemicals and other impurities from the water. These impurities are then left in constant contact with the surface of the eye, increasing the likelihood of ocular surface disease.

If you must swim in your contact lenses, it’s important to always wear a good fitting pair of swimming goggles, and never open your eyes under water without wearing goggles. Contact lenses can swell and adhere to the surface of the eye, or they may fall out and be lost. Once you get out of the water, it’s important to discard your contact lenses and open a fresh new clean pair. If you swim regularly, you may want to consider try a 1-Day disposable contact lens instead. These lenses should also be discarded after swimming and a fresh new clean pair inserted for the reminder of the day.

Book your next eye exam with an optometrist at Kingsway Optometry and ask about your options for swimming.

Open for Eye Exams

Kingsway Optometry is open early, open late and is now open every Saturday & Sunday. We keep increasing access to our eye care clinic to better serve our growing customers base. With over 70 years of eye care experience we continue to evolve and adapt to our customers needs.

Book your next eye exam with Kingsway Optometry at a time that works for you! Book Now.

Ophthalmology Referrals

If it’s determined during a routine or emergency eye examination that you require the care of an ophthalmologist, our eye doctors will help take care of the rest. The eye doctors at Kingsway Optometry work closely with many Edmonton based ophthalmologists to ensure that you have access to the appropriate health care provider.

Ophthalmology specialties available in Edmonton include:

• Retina Specialists
• Cornea Specialists
• Glaucoma Specialists
• Genetic Specialists
• Oculoplastic Specialists
• Pediatric Specialists
• Strabismus Specialists
• General Specialists

Ophthalmology Referral Process

1. All referrals start off with a comprehensive eye health examination by one of our optometrists.
2. Your optometrist will write a referral letter and call the ophthalmologists office to schedule your appointment.
3. Depending on your eye condition and the urgency, patients will be seen right away, or up to 6 month. Most patients though are usually seen within 2-6 weeks.
4. Our office will call you with your appointment information.
5. Our office will also mail you a letter outlining your appointment information.  
6. The ophthalmologists office will usually send a follow-up letter outlining the diagnosis, chosen treatment plan, and any follow-up care that may be required.

Think Thin!

Do you hate the thought of having to wear thick heavy looking eyeglasses? If so, maybe it’s time you started thinking thin.

Thin or hi-index eyeglasses lenses are not only more visually appealing, but they can also provide superior vision if you have a higher prescription. These lenses are usually lighter then conventional lenses, making your eyeglasses more comfortable to wear.

There are a few things to consider though when you purchase a thin high index lens. One of which is, internal reflections. Internal reflections can result in excessive halos and glare and reduced cosmetic appeal. As such, it is crucial to have an anti-reflective coating applied to both the front and back surface of the lens to help control or minimize this effect.

To learn more about thin or hi-index lenses, talk to your optician.

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EYE EXAMS – CONTACT LENSES – EMERGENCY VISITS – OPHTHALMOLOGY REFERRALS

School Vision Screenings

School vision screenings are a critical component of our health care system and help to detect gross visual problems in children that may otherwise go undetected. School vision screenings however are not a substitute for a comprehensive eye examination by an optometrist. All children, 3 years of age or older, should receive a complete eye examination at least once a year.

An optometrist can examine your child to ensure that they have the adequate visual skills needed to succeed at school. With almost 80% of all learning being visual, it is critical that your child’s visual system be operating perfectly.

An eye examination by an optometrist is more then about 20/20 vision, it’s also about having proper visual skills. Some of these skills include colour vision, depth perception, focusing, eye teaming, and eye tracking.

Did you know?

Children are covered under Alberta Health Care for a comprehensive eye examination once a year. There is no cost to you as a parent to have your child’s eyes examined.

Children are also covered under Alberta Health Care for emergency eye exam appointments for things such as: pink eye, eye infections, allergies, injuries, etc.

Book your child in today for their back to school eye examination at Kingsway Optometry in Kingsway Mall and protect their ability to learn.

Kingsway Optometry and its eye doctors are proud to be members of the Alberta Association of Optometrists and to participate in the Eye See…Eye Learn program. A partnership between optometrists, private business and the Alberta Government with a focus on ensuring that every child receives an eye exam before starting kindergarten. To learn more about the Eye See…Eye Learn program please refer to the Alberta Association of Optometrists website.

Evening Eye Exams Available

Kingsway Optometry now offers evening eye exam appointments. So if you need to see an optometrist, but you can’t manage traditional doctor hours, then Kingsway Optometry is right for you. Our optometry clinic is now open late until 8pm every Tuesday evening.

Kingsway Optometry also has Saturday and Sunday eye exam appointments available. So to schedule an eye exam at your convenience with one of our optometrist you can either book online, call us, or simply stop by.

Whether you require a routine eye health exam, new eyeglasses or contact lenses, or you have an ocular emergency, Kingsway Optometry has you covered.

Doctor Hours: Mon 9am-6pm / Tues 9am-8pm / Wed 9am-6pm / Thurs 9am-6pm / Fri 9am-5pm / Sat 9am-4pm / Sun 11am-3pm

What Does a Comprehensive Eye Exam Involve?

A comprehensive eye health examination performed by an optometrist or ophthalmologist should involve an assessment of two main areas: a visual assessment and an ocular health assessment. A visual assessment evaluates how well you are presently seeing and checks for any need for spectacles, contact lenses or laser eye surgery. The visual assessment would involve the following types of tests:

• Visual Acuity Testing – Your eye doctor will ask you to read an eye chart. Usually this test is done one eye at a time, and can be performed with or without your eyeglasses. For small children or people with difficulty reading an eye chart, pictures or numbers may be substituted.

• Refraction – Your eye doctor will assess your need for visual correction using a machine called a phoropter, which is really just a large pair of eyeglasses filled with thousands of lens combinations.

• Binocular Testing – Your eye doctor will do various tests to see how well your eyes work together as a team.

The ocular health assessment part of your eye exam does just that – it tests to see how healthy your eyes are, inside and out. Here are some of the tests your eye doctor will perform:

• Slit Lamp Examination – Your eye doctor will examine the front part of your eyes using a special microscope known as a slit lamp. This instrument is used to evaluate the external health of your eyes while screening for eye conditions like cataracts. Most optometrists also use the slit lamp along with special high plus lenses to evaluate the internal health of the eye and the retina.

• Tonometry – Your eye doctor will use this test to measure the intraocular pressure or fluid pressure within your eye. An elevated intraocular pressure reading may be an indication of glaucoma. This eye test can be done using a number of different instruments. One of them is known as a non-contact tonometer or NCT test. Here you’ll focus on a light and then feel a gentle puff of air against your eye. While the sound and sensation may startle you, don’t be afraid – no harm is being done. Other tonometry tests may require the use of eye drops to numb the surface of the eye. These tests are done when more accurate readings are required.

• Ophthalmoscopy – Your eye doctor will use various lights to examine the internal structures of your eyes and your retina. These tests can either be done during the slit lamp examination (as noted above), with a separate hand held ophthalmoscope or with a head mounted binocular indirect ophthalmoscope. Your eye doctor may choose to use eye drops to dilate, or widen your pupils. This procedure allows for a much clearer view of the retina to make absolutely certain that everything is healthy. While the eye drops will tend to blur your vision and make your eyes slightly light sensitive for a few hours, it is the best way to detect any possible retinal eye disease. Kingsway Optometry highly recommends that patients have a dilated eye examination at least every 2 years. Learn more about a medical eye health examination.

• Visual Field Testing – Your eye doctor may wish to check the sensitivity of your peripheral, or side vision. This simple test can reveal any subtle loss of your peripheral vision that may be a sign of diseases more serious eye diseases like glaucoma, stroke, or neurological problems.

Schedule your comprehensive or medical eye exam with an eye doctor at Kingsway Optometry today.

 

Have Your Eyes Examined Regularly

Of course! It seems obvious on the surface that one of the best things you can do to prevent vision loss from eye disease is to have your eyes checked regularly. Many eye diseases such as glaucoma, macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy can be easily controlled if detected early enough, thereby preventing or limiting any loss of vision. It just makes sense that regular eye examinations would be the number 1 thing you could do to prevent vision loss. And yet still, it’s astounding just how few people regularly have their eyes checked.

In a study by the College of Optometrists in Vision Development, it was found that up to 25 percent of school-age children have some form of vision problem that may affect learning, but only a small percentage of children ever receive a comprehensive eye exam. With the new Eye See Eye Learn program by the Alberta Association of Optometrist, our clinic is working to change this by improving patient education and public awareness.

Even people with known eye problems aren’t getting eye exams. A study conducted at Duke University showed that only 70 to 90 percent of patients with glaucoma had a yearly check-up. Glaucoma is an eye disease that can slowly and silently cause blindness over a period of time. These patients often need to be followed at least two to three times a year. And yet a full 10 to 30 percent of them aren’t even going to the eye doctor yearly.

Similar numbers were found in patients with macular degeneration and diabetes. Only 65 to 80 percent of patients with macular degeneration have yearly eye exams and only 50 to 60 percent of patients with diabetes have them. Many of these people will very likely become legally blind from their untreated conditions. With the new medically necessary vision testing under Alberta Health Care your optometrist is able to follow these conditions (glaucoma, diabetes, and macular degeneration) at no charge to yourself.
The evidence speaks for itself – the number one recommendation is to make sure you have your eyes examined regularly!