Quick Tips for Seasonal Allergy Symptom Relief

Depending on where you live, you could already be experiencing seasonal allergies. Here are some quick tips for quick relief. And as always, if you have questions or concerns, schedule an appointment for a full evaluation.

Tips for Happy Eyes

• Apply a cold wet wash cloth over the closed eyes when the lids or eyes are teary, red, puffy or itchy.  Do not cold pack with ice!!
• Wash your hands,  face and eyelids frequently to remove offending agents
• Over the Counter (OTC) anti-histamine products:
• Similasan Allergy Relief drops (this is a homeopathic product that is effective for some people)
• Zaditor (Ketotafin) (a safe and effective antihistamine product for ages three and older)
• To use the drops:
• Apply one drop to each eye. Form a pocket by pulling the lower lid out while looking up
• Apply the drop in the pocket from about 1” away
• Do not touch the bottle tip to the eye to avoid injury or contamination
• First days of use: apply one drop in the morning and one drop at bedtime to each eye
• When your eyes feel better after a few days, apply bedtime drops only
• If the symptoms remain under control discontinue all drops after 5 days
• If the symptoms reappear return to the AM -PM drop schedule
• Place drops 10 minutes BEFORE inserting contacts in the morning and anytime AFTER removing contact lenses for the day
• Wait 5 minutes before using any other eye drops or the effect of each drug will be reduced or eliminated 
• If symptoms are not controlled within 10 days, an in office examination is recommended

UV vs. UB Rays

This article is a bit misleading. UV protection is provided by most ophthalmic lenses and can be improved with coatings even on sunglasses. Polarization reduces the total amount of light striking the eye behind the sunglasses from a specific angle of reflection.

EXPERIMENT: find a BRIGHT GLARE OFF FROM A SURFACE. PUT ON POLARIZING LENSES AND SEE THE GLARE REDUCE, THEN TILT YOUR HEAD TOWARDS YOUR SHOULDER. NOTICE THE GLARE RETURNING...POLARIZATION PROTECTS FROM GLARE FROM THE MOST COMMON HEAD POSITION.

Schedule an appointment today to find the right sunglasses for you from our wide collection! http://www.demandforce.com/b/bisonvisioncenter/schedule

http://www.vspenvisionnewsletter.com/2013/06/uv-or-polarized-dont-get-stuck-wearing-the-wrong-shades/#.UbfJv8VoXS4.facebook

Cancers that Silently Affect the Eyes

There are many cancers that can silently affect the eyes and adjacent tissues. This article highlights what you need to know about skin cancer. Some days I refer as many patients to specialists for skin cancers as I do for Cataract surgery. Take care and be informed.

Dr. Douglas G. Smith, O.D.
(aka. Doc Bison)

Free Elderly Transportation for Appointments

Difficulty or lack of transportation for you or elderly loved ones often times deter from scheduling necessary medical appointments. Here are two great transportation services available in the Rogue Valley for those senior individuals who need rides to medical appointments.

• RVMC Transportation Services
• 541-789-5233
• No charge to seniors for medical appointments
• Must schedule a minimum of 24 hrs in advance

• TransLink
• 541-842-2060
• No chage to Medicaid patients
• Must schedule two (2) days in advance

Contact us today to schedule your appointment and we look forward to seeing you soon!

Dr. Douglas G. Smith, O.D.
(aka. Doc Bison)

Q&A with the Doc: Why Doesn't Insurance Cover Contact Lens Exams

Question: Why am I charged for a contact lens exam if I my insurance company pays for a “Comprehensive Eye Exam”?

Answer: A comprehensive eye exam includes evaluation for each eye’s focus and eye pointing capability at all distances, and an evaluation of how the eyes focus and converge. The “which is better: one or two?” portion of the exam is the refraction and results in a spectacle prescription. It also includes external and internal eye health evaluation including checks for glaucoma, cataracts and macula degeneration.

A contact lens is a synthetic device made of hard or soft plastic polymer that rests upon the living, naturally clear tissue of the cornea. Additional testing and measurements are made to assure, safe, comfortable and best possible vision correction.

I am a medically focused Optometric Physician and insist that my patients allow me to protect their eye health, in order for them to have decades of successful contact lens wear. A contact lens Examination and Fitting process requires evaluation of the lids, lashes, and corneas in order to provide the best and safest contact lens prescription. This requires extra time, training and skill on the part of the doctor. The patient must also become a student and learn from the doctor and his staff how to handle, clean, disinfects, insert and remove the lenses.

Experience and training allow me to determine the most appropriate lens for the patient, that will provide:

1. Clear vision
2. Comfortable wear
3. Safety for the eye

The patient has votes for number 1 and 2, but my vote for 3 overrides 1 and 2. I base the successful completion of the fit on how the patient adapts to the lens over a 4 to 8 week period. This requires that the patient return to my office for me to evaluate the cornea and contact lens combination during that period and annually. The contact lens examination and fitting program fees include the two months of follow-up visits and all trial lenses used for adaptation.

You may wonder why is medical monitoring of contact lens fitting necessary? Aside from the immediate benefits of a responsible fit, the long term health of the cornea is protected. Many contact lens patients convert to Lasik patients later on. If the cornea is healthy, laser surgery can proceed without an extended period of corneal rehabilitation before the patient is allowed to have the surgery. Also a healthy cornea and continuous 20/20 vision provide a best case playing field for the laser surgeon to achieve an optimal outcome.

Bison Vision Center's web-based store matches online prices of 1-800 xxxxxxxx, and delivers them to your home. As a patient of Bison Vision Center, when you purchase your contact lenses through our online store  at www.bisonvisioncenter:

• the consumer rebate coupons AUTOMATICALLY appear, reducing your cost even further;
• we provide replacement contact lenses, when a contact lens tears or you run out of lenses just before your annual exam.

Thank you. I appreciate your business and your loyalty!

Dr. Doug Smith, O.D.
(aka. Doc Bison)

Doc Bison Facts of Life: Your Vision at Work

Did you know that you can save yourself physical stress and discomfort while at work AND improve your efficiency buy maintaining good posture? Here are a few tips on how to achieve optimal results!

  

Sitting Pretty Infographics 

First and most importantly, modify your chair with cushions to follow the 90 degree rule:

•     Head over shoulders and elbows
•     Elbows at 90 degrees to torso and parallel to the floor
•     Hips and knees parallel to the floor
•     Knees above ankles
•     Keep feet flat on the floor

If you use bifocals, trifocals or progressive lenses, the center of your computer screen should be slightly lower as well as parallel to your tilted face. You should be able to look over the top of your computer screen while looking straight ahead.

The concept of "special use" glasses is becoming a reality with today’s technology. A 15", 17" and even 21” illuminated monitor is not have the same visual demand as a book or sheet of paper. While We traditionally think of “a pair” of glasses to perform successfully in all environments and for all needs day to day activities of shopping, reading and driving, work environment, and all recreational and sports activity, this is no longer the case. Especially with smartphones and the tiny screens, this is another workout for your vision. It is important to talk with me, your eye care professional, about your vision "use and needs" so we can discuss what type of glasses are best for you.

If you use a large screen, you may also need special work spectacles. We have special lens designs that allow for larger fields in the middle (CRT RANGE) and bottom (DESK LEVEL) sections of the fields while still allowing you to respond to someone who comes to your workstation without having to remove your glasses. We are always willing to discuss this very useful problem solver lens with you.

Contact our office today to schedule your appointment and we look forward to seeing you soon!

Douglas G Smith, O.D.
(aka. Doc Bison)

Sports Concussions - New Position by the American Medical Society of Sports Medicine

Recently, the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (AMSSM) advised a new position statement on concussions in sport. I encourage everyone, whether their children or loved ones play or are involved with athletics, to read this article. 

"An athlete with concussion should not return to practice or competitive play until all symptoms have resolved, in order to avoid the risk for further injury during the vulnerable period before the brain has recovered, the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (AMSSM) advises in a position statement on concussions in sport." -  American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (AMSSM), January 17, 2013.

The serious nature of even the mildest blow to the head, especially in youth athletes is now recognized. There does not have to be a period of unconsciousness for a concussion ( blow to the brain) to have occurred.

The brain is like a peeled grapefruit sitting in pineapple juice enclosed in a bone box, with many bony spikes and depressions in it. If you shake or hit the box hard enough the grapefruit will strike the side of the box, a spike or a depression and tear. Some grapefruit juice will leak into the pineapple juice. Also the grapefruit cells will have ruptured, or been bruised so much that they will never to hold juice again.

So much for the lesson in agricultural neurology.

Think of the magnitude  of the impact  of head to head clunks on the playground, a basketball forward coming down off the boards to hit the top of another player’s head with a pointed elbow, a full on soccer kick unintentionally striking the face of an opponent, and a missed ground ball striking a young fielder on the forehead.

“Shake it off and go back into the game”.

WRONG MOVE, COACH!!!

Pre-season Cognitive Tests should be part of a sports physical for all athletes, at all levels of play.
Some high school teams are conducting pre-season computer based Cognitive Processing screenings for their athletes. Most youth and school teams are not. Even the pre-season tested athlete is often told to shake it off and is allowed to continue to play. A sideline retest should be administered before the athlete is allowed to reenter the game, yet in the melee of a game, follow up cognitive testing is done the next day when the team is back on their own campus. One day of increased vulnerability or actual undetected damage has lapsed.

Skiers, snowboard and skateboard enthusiasts should be tested to allow reassessment after a serious head-biff on the hill or off the rail in a skateboard park.

If your child is a youth athlete, a KING-DEVIK TEST provides an accurate and repeatable  baseline test for cognitive function and speed. This test plus a sideline version administered by coaches or trainers every time an athlete has a bell ringing contact will assure parents of no hidden neurological damage.

King Devik Testing is done at Bison Vision Center. Contact us today if you are interested in a consultation at 541-773-1414.