Category: Binocular Vision

Back-to-School

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Computers and smartboards are common in today’s classrooms. As electronic devices transition between home and school, it’s clear that the use of these technologies is evolving from a trend to a necessity, even among the youngest students.

According to a study by the American Optometric Association (AOA), 41% of children have their own smartphone or tablet and 32 percent use both eBooks and textbooks at school. Additionally, 66 percent of children use a computer or tablet to do homework or study. With the consistent use of electronic devices throughout the day and evening, children of all ages can face a number of visual challenges.

Ongoing use of electronic devices won’t damage vision, but regular, lengthy use of technology at school or for homework can lead to a temporary vision condition called computer vision syndrome (CVS). Symptoms of CVS can include eye strain, headaches, fatigue, burning or tired eyes, loss of focus, blurred vision, double vision or head and neck pain. The doctors at Westside Optometry recommend that students  rest their eyes by following the 20-20-20 rule. When using electronic devices or doing near work, take a 20-second break, every 20 minutes and view something 20 feet away.

One in four children have an undiagnosed vision problem simply because they may not recognize that their eyesight isn’t optimal or is changing. Comprehensive eye exams are one of the most important investments a parent can make to help maximize their child’s education and contribute to overall health and well-being, especially since some vision problems may not have warning signs. Unfortunately, parents often assume that if a child passes a school screening, their vision is fine.

Below are some symptoms that can indicate a child has a vision problem:

  • Squints while reading or watching television
  • Turns or tilts head or covers an eye
  • Consistently performs below potential or struggles to complete homework
  • Has behavioral problems

Call Westside Optometry (707)762-8643 to schedule an eye exam for your child.

Bifocal Contact Lenses

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Yes, there is such as thing as bifocal contact lenses. Actually there are several different types of lenses. The rigid gas permeable multifocals provide the clearest, most stable vision. These lenses are custom designed and manufactured. Ocular health is excellent and so is the vision. Recent advancements in soft multifocals offer great comfort at most distances. The soft multifocal options include several different lens materials including the newer silicone hydrogel. They are also available for planned replacement, usually 2 weeks or 1 month, increasing convenience. Both types of contact lens multifocals minimize dependency on reading glasses.

A study published in the Optometry Visual Science journal showed that 7 out of 10 contact lens patients prefer multifocals over monovision.  Many people are successful in monovision, one eye corrected for distance and the other eye compromised for near tasks. But others struggle with the disparity between the eyes, especially driving at night and working at the computer.

Multifocal contact lenses are an alternative to monovision or using reading glasses over contact lenses.

The above pictures show some of the different rigid gas permeable multifocal options. Certain designs work better for particular tasks. For example a lens design emphasizing distance clarity is indicated if you do a lot of driving , but  if you spend most of the day in front of a computer screen you will need a lens with a large intermediate zone. If  bifocal contact lenses are something you would like to try, give the office a call or make sure to ask about it at your next visit.

Back to School in 3D

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If  your child has not been enjoying the 3D summer movies, he or she may have a vision problem.

The 3Ds of Stereoscopic 3D viewing

  • Discomfort: Since 3D viewing is based on the eyes converging in front of or beyond the screen, viewing 3D images can potentially create eyestrain and headaches.
  • Dizziness: 3D technology can exaggerate visual motion hypersensitivity, which can cause motion sickness, and vergence-accommodation conflict, causing viewers to feel dizzy or nauseous during or after watching 3D movies.
  • Lack of Depth: A viewer lacking binocular vision, simply won’t see 3D. While this doesn’t pose any problem viewing the screen, it serves as a “vision screening” that something is abnormal with the viewer’s binocular vision.

Symptoms indicating a potential problem viewing images in 3D can vary. Some common symptoms include headaches, blurred vision, nausea and dizziness. If you or your child have had an uncomfortable experience watching a movie in 3D, call Westside Optometry for an eye examination.

Infant Eye Examinations

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Acuity Testing Infants
Preferential Looking Test

 How do you Check a Baby’s Eyes?

 

Last time I wrote about the value of having a baby’s eyes examined. Now I will address the question of how do you check a baby’s eyes?

Obviously an infant is not able to read the letters on the eye chart or perform subjective tests such as selecting the clearest image. An example would be when I ask “which is better 1 or 2” question. Fortunately, there are other ways to determine visual acuity. Measurements of visual acuity and refraction are intended to identify nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism. All are risk factors for amblyopia. Amblyopia is caused from non-use or deprivation that negatively impacts the development of the visual system. Instead of an eye chart with letters  that I use on school age children or a chart with shapes that I would use on a preschooler, I use a preferential-looking technique. Humans prefer to look at interesting objects instead of plain ones. I have several paddles with different size gratings and one paddle that is only gray. I flash the paddles in front of the infant and watch his/her response. This tells me how small the baby can see at a given distance. The smaller the gratings, the better the acuity. If the baby doesn’t prefer the gratings to the solid gray, I know we have passed the acuity threshold.

Retinoscopy is the other technique I use to measure the refraction, how much correction is needed for the baby to see clearly. Retinoscopy is the same technique my staff uses to get a starting prescription on most of my patients. They use a computerized system that measures the light as it comes off the retina (back of the eye). I do the same thing for the babies, but with a hand-held scope and some lenses.

Other assessments for eye alignment, motility and binocularity are done with various penlights, small toys and puppets. These tests measure eye coordination, which is the ability of both eyes to work together as a team to create one three-dimensional image in the brain. Good eye coordination, a skill that is not innate and must be developed, keeps the eyes in alignment. Later in life, poor eye coordination can make reading for extended periods of time difficult and may result in avoidance of detail work, such as writing or artwork, poor reading comprehension and clumsiness.

To evaluate the overall health of the baby’s eyes I dilate the pupils. The dilation causes little to no discomfort for the infant and allows a much more thorough examination. With light and magnifiers I can see the anterior eye structures like the cornea, lens, lids and lashes and the posterior structures such as the retina, optic nerve and blood vessels.

As an InfantSee provider, I provide a complimentary comprehensive eye assessment to all baby’s less than a year. (Nine months old is perfect for the exam).

Infant Eye Exams

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Fixation and Convergence Testing
Testing Infants

 Why Should I have my Baby’s Eyes Examined?

When I bring up the discussion about examining an infant’s eyes, I am asked 2 questions:

Why should I have my baby’s eyes examined and how do you check a baby’s eyes?

I am going to answer the first question today, why should I have my baby’s eyes examined?

The first year of a baby’s life is one of the most critical stages of visual development. 1 out of 10 children is at risk from undiagnosed vision problems. Early detection and treatment can prevent many of the complications vision and eye health problems cause. Some of the problems detected during infant eye exams include lazy eye (amblyopia), muscle imbalance and ocular disease.

Pediatric well baby checks include many tests, but they do not include refractive measurements for unusual or unequal amounts of astigmatism, nearsightedness or farsightedness. These conditions are risks for amblyopia that develops in an otherwise healthy eye. The effected eye is not used properly because the vision is too blurry. Uncorrected blur in an infant’s developing eye can cause the brain to favor the better seeing eye, suppressing vision in the other eye which prevents the vision from developing and causes impairment. This visual impairment can be prevented if detected early enough.

A routine well baby check does not include a dilated pupil examination either. By viewing more of the retina, a better ocular health exam can be performed.

And the best reason to have your baby’s eyes examined is that it is free. Many optometrists, including myself think that infant eye examinations are so important we have signed on to the American Optometric Association’s InfantSEE program. We offer a one-time comprehensive eye assessment to infants in their first year of life. If you have a grandchild, niece, nephew or friend that lives in another area, you can find an InfantSEE provider on the website infantSEE.org.

Amazing Eye Facts

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Ostrich EyesImpress your friends with these amazing eye facts.

  • An owl can see a mouse moving more than 150 feet away, with light no brighter than candlelight.
  • Mosquitoes can see into the infrared range, so humans appear to light up to them, even in the dark. To a mosquito at night, you look like a neon diner sign!
  • An ant has two eyes, each of which is made up of many smaller eyes. This type of eye is called a compound eye.
  • A worm has no eyes at all.
  • A chameleon’s eyes can look in different directions – at the same time!
  • An owl can see a mouse moving more than 150 feet away, with light no brighter than candlelight.
  • An ostrich eye is only two inches across, but it weighs more than its brain.
  • The giant squid has the largest eyeball on the face of the earth. At 18 inches across, it’s about the size of a beach ball.

3-D Movies

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Binocular Vision Problems
Not everyone enjoys 3-D movies. Some viewers do not see the three dimensional effect and others may experience headaches, blurred vision and dizziness. These symptoms are common side effects for a person with binocular vision difficulties.

The 3-D effect is created by placing one image on one eye and another image is placed on the other eye. The polarized glasses are required to keep the images separate. People with binocular vision problems will not perceive the illusion of 3-D, and some will experience a “visual hangover.”

Several different visual problems could be the cause of the problem:
• Amblyopia or lazy eye. This occurs when one eye does not see as well as the other.
• Strabismus or crossed eyes. One eye does not line up in the same direction of the other eye.
• Convergence Insufficiency. The eyes are unable to turn inward simultaneously to fix a target at the same distance.

Some of the above problems can be corrected with glasses or contact lenses, patch therapy and vision training.

Vision Test Should be the First Exam Students take this Year

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To give your child a head start to a successful school year, educate yourself on the relationship of healthy eyesight and classroom performance.

Since 80% of a child’s learning is visual, a child’s ability to clearly see the blackboard and words on the page is critical. Many children do not know they have a problem because they think how they see is how everyone else sees. Unfortunately, some students who are labeled as having a learning disability or behavioral problems may simply have a vision impairment.

One in four school-age children have some form of vision problem. A child should not need to start failing in school before we realize there is a problem. Put “eye examination” on your back to school list.