World Sight Day (WSD) is an annual day of awareness held on the second Thursday of October each year.  WSD aims to focus global attention on blindness and vision impairment. The International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) members work together to raise public awareness of blindness and vision impairment, influence governments to participate and designate funds for national blindness prevention funds, and to educate target audiences about blindness prevention. World Sight Day 2020 takes place on October 8th. This year’s theme and call to action is: “Hope in Sight”. 

It’s natural for patients, and even some professionals in the sector, to feel a bit apprehensive about returning to practices and adapting to new changes.

This is why we’ve been working hard to help our customers get back to business in the safest way possible, while providing guidance and support to help them reassure their patients and staff.  It’s critical we come together to support practices on the frontline, as they get back on their feet and also prepare for any potential future disruption.

Just like any other part of the body, your eyes age as you get older. In honor of Healthy Aging Month, we want to bring to light some helpful tips to keep your eyes healthy as you age.  Despite age related changes to vision, ocular health is often overlooked.  Aging is a process that brings many changes. Vision loss and blindness, however, do not have to be one of them. There are several simple steps you can take to keep your eyes healthy for the rest of your life.

Athletes of all levels need to protect themselves from injury. Injuries are unfortunately a part of playing sports – anyone from weekend warriors to professionals, has probably nursed some sort of injury. In some cases, these injuries happen directly to the eye, from orbital blowout fracture, ruptured globe, or a detached retina and some can be detected, along with other types of pathology, by looking at the health of the eye. Because the retina is the only place in the body where vasculature can be viewed non-invasively, eyecare professionals are looking to the retina to assist them in identifying, diagnosing, and treating ocular issues in athletes. Many of these eyecare professionals choose the ONLY ultra-widefield retinal image, optomap, to assist them like no other retinal imaging technology can.

The mandatory stay at home orders that COVID required left many eyecare professionals wondering how they would treat their patients. Louise Sclafani, OD decided that telemedicine, including virtual visits, would be the best route for her patients. Little did she know the optomap technology that she relies on in her practice would become essential to her as both a doctor and a mother.

The "new normal" will no doubt make this year’s back to school routine seem very different. Some parents and students prepare to go back to their school buildings, while others prepare to embrace a new hybrid learning program or virtual classrooms. For some states, the school year is beginning even earlier and while we are coping with many changes, some habits can remain the same, such as back to school eye exams. August is conveniently designated as Children’s Eye Health and Safety Month and can help remind us the importance of children’s eye health and comprehensive eye exams.

July is Fireworks Eye Safety Month, and because fireworks sometimes become a part of many year-round celebrations, not only Independence Day, it is an excellent opportunity to clarify our understanding of the do’s and don’ts of pyrotechnic use. Eye injuries from fireworks can be especially severe because of the combination of force, heat and chemicals. Following a few simple safety tips can help make for a safe, fun celebration.

The most recent Consumer Product Safety Commission report found that 19% of fireworks injuries were eye injuries. In the most severe cases, fireworks can rupture the globe of the eye, cause chemical and thermal burns, corneal abrasions and retinal detachment — all of which can cause permanent eye damage and vision loss. Children and young adults are frequent victims of fireworks accidents and mishaps. Children age 15 and under accounted for 36% of the total injuries, according to the commission’s report. And half of the injuries requiring an emergency room visit were to people age 20 or younger. Even sparklers can be dangerous, sparklers were responsible for 1,200 of the injuries in the latest report, and a sparkler mishap caused one of the fireworks deaths reported in 2017. The people injured by …

This spring, the pandemic abruptly brought global apprehension and uncertainty. Medical practitioners desperately endeavored to navigate increased safety protocols while continuing to provide optimal care for their patients. Consequently, forecasters began to observe that reliance on medical technology solutions that can support safer exam scenarios would dramatically increase. During this challenging transition, Mitch Reinholt, OD discovered that one of his favorite diagnostic tools became more valuable than ever.

In April, Dr. Reinholt found himself with a bare-bones staff, providing some telemedical visits, but ultimately bringing patients in and doing most of the exams on his own. He found that his California helped to expedite exams and reduce patient exposure as well as time in the office. California, like all optomap UWF retinal imaging devices, capture over 200 degrees of the retina in 1/2 second. It provides a dynamic image that can be enlarged and manipulated to see into the retinal layers and with autofluorescence to assess function, as well. Reinholt explained that he could capture the image quickly, then withdraw to review it and evaluate if further diagnostics were required.

Reinholt acquired his California device in 2019 primarily for clinical value and the ability to get unmatched retinal information, but also …

Presently, cataracts are the world’s leading cause of blindness, accounting for approximately 42 percent of all cases. In the United States, more than 25 million Americans are estimated to have cataracts, according to the report Future of Vision: Forecasting the Prevalence and Costs of Vision Problems. As the population in America continues to age, the number of cataract cases are projected to increase by 50 percent to 38.5 million by 2032.

This month, Optos joins Prevent Blindness America in observing Cataract Awareness Month to aid the education surrounding cataracts, and what you should know, as well as the value of UWF imaging for practitioners as a complement to standard approaches for a comprehensive evaluation of retinal health prior to, and following cataract surgery.

What are Cataracts?Inside our eyes, we have a natural lens. The lens refracts light rays that come into the eye to help us see. The lens should be clear. When cataracts are present, the lens becomes cloudy much like looking through a foggy or dusty car windshield. Things look blurry, hazy or less colorful with a cataract.

Vision changes you may notice if you have a cataract:

Having blurry visionSeeing doubleExtra sensitive to lightHaving trouble seeing well at …

Albert Morier, OD, didn’t plan to invest in Optos technology when he first attended The Exchange® at Vision Source in 2013.  But, after the company made its presentation on the main stage, Dr. Morier couldn’t stop thinking about the amazing capabilities of the instrumentation.  Even still, he was a bit wary after making the investment.  He sat down in his next session after signing the purchase agreement where he confided in a colleague he had never met, who previously purchased a Daytona.  “He told me, ‘You made the right move.  I purchased one last year.  You’ll find you sleep better at night.’” In the six years since, Dr. Morier says that advice proves itself time and again at his practice, Consumer Optical in Schenectady, New York.  The optomap® technology has become an integral part of the care he provides, and he’s already seeing the benefits of his upgrade to the California device three months ago with its ease of use for both his staff and his patients. There are several patient experiences with optomap technology that stand out to Dr. Morier.  First, is a patient who he saw at another office.  He was unable to dilate the patient with two …