N e w s l e t t e r

Volume 1, Issue 3

In this issue:

October is Halloween Safety Month

Safety tips and the dangers of cosmetic contact lenses.
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Computer Eyestrain in Kids Worth Monitoring

There's little doubt computers are second nature to children and teenagers, but eyecare researchers warn excessive computer use can cause vision problems for youth.
Read More..

What is Healthy Sight?

Healthy sight is more than correcting eyesight to 20/20 acuity. It involves enhancing everyday visual quality and preserving the health and well-being of your eyes.
Read More..

Over 40? Think Progressively!

Are you a 40-something who's having trouble reading menus and maps? Do newspapers seem blurrier and your arms seem shorter? The culprit may be presbyopia...
Read More..

Extras:

Web Site Feature: Our Team

Northland Eye Care's team of professionals will make you feel comfortable and right at home.
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October is Halloween Safety Month

Happy Halloween Make it a safe Halloween for children and teens this year. Prevent Blindness America offers general safety tips and information about the dangers of cosmetic contact lenses. Read more by visiting Prevent Blindness America.

Computer Eyestrain in Kids is Worth Monitoring

More than 90 percent of the nation's 65 million school-age children use computers daily, whether in the classroom or at home, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

A recent Roper Starch poll reveals the typical American youngster now spends from one to three hours on the Internet each day.

There's little doubt computers are second nature to children and teenagers, but eyecare researchers warn excessive computer use can cause vision problems for youth, whose still-developing eyesight makes them especially vulnerable.

Only a few years ago, the problem of computer vision syndrome (CVS) - which causes blurred vision and sore, dry eyes — was largely limited to adults in the workplace.

How widespread are computer-related vision problems among children? One recent University of California study found 30 percent of school-age computer users were at risk for CVS, headaches, eye fatigue and shoulder pain. To prevent these problems in children, we recommend that parents:

Put age-based daily limits on computer use by children.
Minimize glare by keeping the monitor clean and using an anti-glare filter.
Encourage logged-on children to take 10-minute breaks hourly.
Make sure your child's computer screen is 20 to 24 inches from his or her face, and the child's feet touch the floor. Position the screen so the youngster is looking down at a slight angle while working.
If corrective lenses are prescribed for your child for computer use, make sure the child follows your eye doctor's recommended use.

Computers and Kids: The Recommended Daily Allowance

What is the maximum amount of time per day your child should spend on the computer to avoid eyestrain or worse? Because younger eyes are still developing, the answer depends on your child's age. Here are some suggested computer time limits. Please note that these are general guidelines and could vary somewhat, depending on individual lifestyle preferences and tolerance for eyestrain.

Age		Suggested Time Limit
Under 10		30 minutes a day
10-13		1 hour a day
14-15		2 hours a day
16-18		Parents best judgement

What is Healthy Sight?

Healthy sight is more than correcting eyesight to 20/20 acuity. It involves enhancing everyday visual quality and preserving the health and well-being of your eyes. Getting checkups and updating your lens prescription at regular intervals are the first steps in caring for your eyes.

But there is more you can do. Caring for your vision also means treating eye problems with proper medications when prescribed, eating well, not smoking, using the right lighting, and considering appropriate vitamin supplements. It also involves understanding how glare affects vision and the dangers of UV radiation. All of these factors affect how well you can see now, and in the future.

In other words, healthy sight means ensuring that you wear the right prescription to meet your individual lifestyle needs, maintain a healthy lifestyle, and choose eyewear that optimizes visual performance with 100% blockage of harmful UV radiation and help protection against bright, glaring light outdoors. To maintain the overall health of your eyes, it's important to make sure your lenses provide convenient protection, visual quality, and visual comfort.

Convenient protection - Transitions® Lenses help to maintain the long term health of your eyes by providing convenient protection from the increasing risks of everyday UV exposure. Transitions Lenses block 100% of harmful UV rays.
Visual quality - Transitions Lenses are as good as clear lenses, but better! They are clear indoors. And, because they get as dark as sunglasses in bright sunlight, they diminish outdoor glare by allowing just the right amount of light to reach the eye improving visual contrast regardless of light conditions.
Visual comfort - Transitions Lenses provide visual comfort by automatically adjusting to glare intensity, reducing eye fatigue and enhancing well-being so that your eyes feel more comfortable.

Over 40? Think Progressively!

Trouble Reading? Are you a 40-something who's having trouble reading menus and maps? Do newspapers seem blurrier and your arms seem shorter? The culprit may be presbyopia, a natural vision change that happens to most of us when we reach our 40s and our eyes become less flexible, losing their ability to focus on near objects.

Fortunately, presbyopia is easily corrected, and one of the options for doing this is progressive lenses. Sometimes called "no-line bifocals," progressives can correct your near vision, your far vision, and everything in between... and without the telltale lines of traditional bifocals.

Below are the answers to some commonly asked questions:

Q. What's the difference between progressives and bifocals?

A. Progressives provide smooth, continuous vision at near, middle, and distant focal ranges, with no lines or unsettling image jumps. Bifocals, on the other hand, correct near and distant vision only. They have a visible line between the two fields of vision that creates an image jump when you go from one distance to another.

Q. Will I see better with progressives than bifocals?

A. You'll see more naturally with progressives. Your transitions from one distance to another will be uninterrupted, and you will see clearly across all visual areas. When you're driving, for example, you'll be able to read a map, the mileage on your dashboard, or the signs on the highway.

Q. How difficult is it to adapt to wearing progressives?

A. When you first wear progressives, you may experience a short period of distortion or wobbliness in your vision until you get used to them. Some people adapt within a few minutes, others within a few days. A small percentage may take up to two weeks to adapt.

Q. Are there different kinds of progressive lenses?

A. Yes, some have wider or narrower fields of vision. For example, if you do a lot of work at close range, such as bookkeeping, needlework, or reading, your near field of vision may be wider to accommodate those needs. If you work at a computer, on the other hand, the mid-range "corridor" that is characteristic of progressives may be larger. Your eye doctor will help you decide which progressive is best for your lifestyle.

Q. Are progressives expensive?

A. Progressives are typically more expensive than other multifocal lenses, but most people who wear them say the natural and clear field of vision is worth the extra cost.

Q. Do I need a special frame style with progressives?

A. In the past frames had to be large enough to accommodate the fields of focus in a progressive lens. New lens designs, however, are more compact, so you can choose small, stylish frame designs.

Q. Are there alternatives to wearing progressives?

A. In addition to progressives and bifocals, presbyopes can choose trifocal lenses or bifocal contacts. Like progressives, trifocals offer three fields of vision, but have two visible segment lines that result in a double image jump. New designs in bifocal contact lenses are also an alternative. Another option is monovision, in which one eye is corrected with a contact lens for distance vision and the other eye with a contact for near vision.