#10 | September 5, 2017

Eye Care Tip of the Week #10

A Warm Compress Is One of the Best Treatments for Dry Eyes

One of the single best things you can do to help manage or prevent dry eye symptoms is to apply a warm compress over your eyes every day. 

A straightforward and efficient technique for performing warm compresses is to use a washcloth that is heated with tolerably warm water from the sink and directly apply the cloth over your closed eyes for about 5 minutes. To achieve the best results, you should do this every morning and every evening. 

Warm compresses help to loosen the oil within the meibomian glands of your eyelids and improve their viscosity. This oil layer mixes with your tears and prevents them from evaporating, which allows them to stick around longer and hence relieves dry eye symptoms. To an eye doctor, warm compresses are the equivalent of brushing your teeth. 

This Eye Care Tip of the Week is brought to you by: Dr. Ross McKenzie

#9 | August 29, 2017

Eye Care Tip of the Week #9

Stop smoking cigarettes. No seriously, just stop. 

Most people know smoking cigarettes isn't good for them. 

Most people also know smoking cigarettes has been associated with an increased risk of developing heart disease, pulmonary or breathing problems and cancer. 

But most people are shocked to learn that smoking can contribute to blindness. 

If you smoke, you have an increased risk of developing certain eye conditions such as age-related macular degeneration, dry eye syndrome, cataracts, glaucoma and diabetic eye disease.  

There is never going to be a better time to quit smoking than right now. The sooner you quit the sooner your body can start to repair itself. 

If you need help quitting, talk to your family physician or visit the AlbertaQuits.ca website. 

This Eye Care Tip of the Week is brought to by: Dr. Ross McKenzie

# 8 | August 22, 2017

Eye Care Tip of the Week #8

Anti-reflective lenses are the single best upgrade you can make to a pair of eyeglasses. 

We recommend anti-reflective lenses to almost every patient we see because they allow for better light transmission. These lenses result in less surface glare, brighter images, better vision, enhanced cosmetic appeal and improved scratch resistance. 

Check out our blog post: Are Anti-Reflective lenses really worth the money?

Some patients complain that anti-reflective lenses get dirty quicker, which is true, but if you follow last weeks tip of the week; Wash your eyeglasses like you wash your vehicle, you will love the improved vision they offer. 

Even companies like Apple now use anti-reflective coatings on their top of the line Retina Display computer and tablet screens. There is also anti-reflective picture frame glass which allows us to better appreciate art work from multiple viewing angles. 

So go ahead and upgrade your vision with anti-reflective lenses. 

This Eye Care Tip of the Week is brought to you by: Dr. Ross McKenzie

Eye Care Tip #7: Driving Glasses

If you need glasses to drive at night, it's fair to say that you should also be wearing them to drive during the day. 

Lots of patients tell us that their vision isn't that bad and that they only need eyeglasses to drive or see at night-time. 

It's true; your eyesight will seem to get worse in low light situations because your pupil dilates and you start to manifest the symptoms of your prescription more. The opposite occurs during the day, where the light constricts your pupil and increases your focal range making your vision seem not that bad. But the truth of the matter is your prescription is the same in both situations. 

The bottom line is that if you see ok without eyeglasses, but you see perfect with them, you should probably be wearing them to drive. 

It's important to be truthful with yourself because driving can have serious consequences when things go wrong. In fact, driving with impaired vision is the same as drinking and driving and carries the same consequences.  

Just remember, glasses are cheaper than bumpers. 

This Eye Care Tip of the Week is brought to you by all the doctors and staff at Stonewire. 

#6 | August 8, 2017

Eye Care Tip of the Week #6

20 - 20 - 20............

Your eye is a muscle that can become strained and fatigued with chronic over use. Working on computer monitors, watch TV all day, reading books or doing paper work can lead to frontal headaches, eye strain, sore burning eyes, and general fatigue. It can also lead to something known as pseudo-myopia, where you become temporarily more nearsighted at the end of the day and notice increased blur when you drive home. 

Now you probably can't quit your job because you likely have a mortgage to pay. So what's the solution? 

Just follow the old 20/20/20 rule!

Every 20 minutes |  Take a 20-second break  |  Look at something 20 feet away 

Go ahead and give it a shot, we're sure you'll feel better at the end of the day. You might even feel up to working an extra hour or two for the boss. 
 

This Eye Care Tip of the Week was brought to you by Dr. Jeff Holtz

#5 | Wash your eyeglasses like you wash your vehicle

Eye Care Tip of the Week: #5

Wash your eyeglasses like you wash your vehicle

Most people don't clean their shiny new vehicles with a spray bottle and a rag, so why do we clean our eyeglasses that way? 

So forget the spray bottles, lens wipes and microfiber cleaning cloths given to you by the optical company.

Follow these 4-simple Steps to Clean Your Glasses 

Rinse

 Rinse your glasses off under a steady stream of lukewarm water
to remove the dust and debris from the lens surface. 

Soap

Apply a small amount of liquid foaming hand soap with your fingers
to the lenses and frame surface to remove the dirt and oils. 

Rinse

Thoroughly rinse your eyeglasses off again under a steady stream of lukewarm water
to remove the soap residue and oils from the lens surface and frame. 

Dry

Dry your glasses off with a soft cotton cloth. 

 

Bonus Tips: 

1. For best results, use an oil free foaming hand soap for a clean streak free shine.
2. Use a cotton cloth that doesn't have fabric softener on it to wipe your lenses to prevent greasy streaks.
3. Don't over clean your glasses when your dry them. Excessive buffing can produce a static charge to the lens making it attract dust, dirt, and oils more quickly. 
4. Take it one step further. If they're still not perfect you can now use the lens spray and microfiber cleaning cloth to put the final touch to them. Just remember to wash the cleaning cloth every few weeks to remove the dust and dirt to prevent small surface scratches. 

This Eye Care Tip of the Week is brought to you by Dr. Ross McKenzie

#4 | Taking an omega-3 fish oil supplement can help reduce dry eye symptoms

Eye Care Tip of the Week | #4

Taking an omega-3 fish oil supplement can help reduce dry eye symptoms.

How? Research and our clinical observation continue to support the taking of omega-3 fish oil supplements to reduce dry eye signs and symptoms for some patients. Omega-3 fish oil supplements in addition to lubricating eye drops and a daily lid hygiene routine can help improve ocular comfort and quality of vision.

We especially see this in patients who suffer from evaporative or meibomitis related dry eye syndrome. Studies have shown both objective and subjective improvement in patient symptoms within these groups. Omega-3 supplements seem to help improve the quality of the oil layer within the tears. This increases the overall tear break up time, allowing for increased time between blinks because of a more stable tear layer.

So How Much Omega-3 Fish Oil Should You Take for Dry Eye? 

We suggest that patient's looking to start an omega-3 fish oil supplement to treat their dry eye syndrome begin small with about 1000mg per day of the natural bioactive triglyceride form (EPA&DHA).  

To determine how many tablets you need to take, flip the bottle over and read the ingredients label and add the EPA and DHA numbers together. 

Example: A popular Canadian company Jamieson's makes a Wild Salmon & Fish Oils omega-3 1000mg tablet which contains 180 EPA and 120 DHA or 300mg of bioactive omega-3. So you would need to take about 3-tablets per day to get a sufficient dose. 

How to Choose your omega-3 fish oils. 

It goes without saying the best source of fish oils is simply to eat more wild fatty fish. The alternative, however, is purchasing a supplement. We recommend looking for omega-3 fish oil supplements produced from smaller fish like sardines, mackerel and anchovies because of the lower risk of heavy metal and chemicals. 

We also prefer products that are as close to the original natural form as possible. The natural triglyceride oil is probably the closest, but it also has the highest risk for contaminants. The ethyl ester oils are the next best thing and are a more purified concentrated version of the natural triglyceride oil, allowing for greater quantities of DHA & EPA to be in each capsule. 

How to Store Your Fish Oil Supplements.

Fish oil supplements should be kept in the fridge, just like you would store the fish you buy from the grocery store or catch at the lake. Heat, light and oxygen all cause a degradation of fish oils over time and contribute to the fish smell some people notice. We also recommend not buying the mega tubs sold at warehouse stores, and stick with smaller 1-month supplies.  

Please Note: Before starting any new medication or supplement, please talk to your doctor to ensure that it is safe for you and that it would interact with any other medications you might be taking. Always read the manufacturers guidelines. 

References:
Int J Ophthalmol. 2013; 6(6): 811–816. A randomized controlled trial of omega-3 fatty acids in dry eye syndrome. NCIB resources

This Eye Care Tip of the Week was brought to you by Dr. Ross McKenzie. 
 

#3 | Put your contact lenses in before you put your makeup on

Eye Care Tip of the Week | #3

Put your contact lenses in before you put your makeup on.

Why? Debris from your lids and lashes can get trapped behind the contact lens. This debris can cause small scratches and irritations to the surface of your cornea and may lead to an eye infection.  

Residue from foundations and creams may remain on your fingers and be transferred to the surface of your contact lens. This buildup can further increase protein deposits and may result in reduced visual clarity out of your contact lenses. 

Glitter from eyeshadows and mascara particles can cause tearing and irritate your eyes throughout the day. These issues may often be confused with dry eye or allergy symptoms.  If you think you are suffering from allergic conjunctivitis, read this post, 'I want to scratch my eyes out'.

This Eye Care Tip of the Week was brought to you by Dr. Tiffany Lim. 

#2 | Always clean your contact lenses when you remove them not before you put them in

Eye Care Tip of the Week | #2

Always clean your contact lenses when you remove them not before you put them in.

If you wear monthly or 2-week disposable contact lenses, you should always rub and clean your lenses after you remove them, not before you put them back in. 

Why? Rubbing and cleaning your contact lenses at night helps to break down the protein and bacterial bio-films that deposit on the surface of the contact lens. The rubbing action allows the contact lens solution to better penetrate the contact lens matrix, resulting in a cleaner healthier contact lens.

By cleaning them at night, the contact lens solution is given an opportunity to build a protective film around the lens known as a hydrophilic or water loving layer which makes the contact lens less prone to dry out. Rubbing your contact lenses in the morning removes this protective film which can result in increased protein deposits on the lens and increased contact lens-related dry eye symptoms.

Rinsing your contact lens in the morning with fresh lens solution is ok, but try not to over handle them.

Check out our contact lenses page to learn more. 

This Eye Care Tip of the Week was brought to you by: Dr. Ross McKenzie
 

Eye Care Tip #1: Alberta Health Care Billing Cycle for Optometrist

Why does that matter? Alberta Health Care covers children 0-18 and seniors 65 and over for one routine eye exam with an optometrist every year. The billing cycle for these eye exams begins every July 1st again. 

The Alberta Health Care billing cycle for eye exams is July 1st to June 30th.

So even if you're kids had their eyes examined back in November 2016, or in January 2017 they're once again covered. 

You can learn more about booking these types of appointments by visiting our eye exams for children page, or eye exams for seniors page. 

Please use your Alberta Health Care card for prevention, not just urgent treatment. Either way, we're happy to see you. 

Not covered by Alberta Health Care for your next eye exam? Check out our insurance page to see which companies we can direct bill. 

This eye care tip of the week was brought to you by our office manager: Liz