Visual Info

Digby Eye Care Center Visual health reference

Common Vision problems

Glaucoma
Cataracts
Macular degeneration
Dry eyes
Retinitis pigmentosa
Diabetic retinopathy
Styes
Spots and floaters
Retinal detachment

Ocular & Visual Conditions

Amblyopia
Astigmatism
Farsightedness (hyperopia)
Nearsightedness (myopia)
Presbyopia
Strabismus (crossed eyes)

Caring for your eyes:

Sun exposure and tanning

Canada is full of outdoors enthusiasts. Whether relaxing, exercising or just working in the sun, there are some important factors to keep in mind. This includes those who enjoy indoor tanning beds especially.

Indoors or out, people are exposing themselves to ultraviolet (UV) rays to an unprecedented degree. With the increased penetration of UV rays in our atmosphere today, outdoor exposure is not so different from the UV-rich, indoor tanning beds that have been the subject of much debate.

This is true of cloudy days as much as sunny ones. Don’t forget that water and snow environments, as well as higher elevations, also demand UV protection.

Significant exposure to these UV rays can damage your retina, cornea and can cause cataracts or macular degeneration. Ensure that you wear UV-protected sunglasses or a wide-brimmed hat when outdoors for a prolonged time. Sterilized protective goggles are essential for any duration of indoor tanning. In any environment, closing your eyes is no protection from UV, and there is no substitute for proper UV-blocking eyewear.

Common Vision Problems

Eyeglasses and Contact lenses

Eyeglasses

Eyeglasses have come a long way over the years. As the general population continues to age, more and more people are wearing glasses. Eyeglasses themselves have become fashion accessories. The variety of lenses on the market, meanwhile, has made consumer awareness more important.

Materials:

• Glass is more durable and resistant to scratches, but less impact resistant.
• Plastic lenses are thinner and lighter, more impact resistant, but scratch more easily.
• Polycarbonate is like plastic, but even more impact resistant.

Types:

• Unifocal
• Bifocal
• Invisible bifocals
• Progressive lenses
• Trifocal or multifocal
• High index (thinner lenses for strong prescriptions)
• Photochromatic or light sensitive
• Safety lenses
• Tinted lenses can be functional, fashionable, or both.
• Unifocal
• Sunglasses soften indoor or outdoor light. Lens tints can be uniform or gradient, lightening gradually from top to bottom.

Chemical coatings serve many purposes: anti-scratch coating minimizes lens abrasions; anti-reflective coating eliminates frustrating reflective glare; metallic or mirrored coating is popular with sunglasses; and UV coating blocks solar ultraviolet radiation.

Contact Lenses

EContact lenses have long been the corrective choice for people who prefer not to wear eyeglasses. For particularly active people, eyeglasses may not be the most appropriate solution.

These small plastic lenses require greater responsibility for those who wear them. Your Optometrist can specify for you the precise cleaning and care requirements of your contact lenses. They can also provide a complete fitting and consultation, allowing you to choose between a variety of contact lens styles. The provincial Medical Services Plan (MSP) does not provide coverage for contact lens therapy, although there are some medical exceptions. Your Optometrist will inform you of any charges that may apply to your contact lens-related visits.

Materials:

• Soft contact lenses are easy to wear, particularly for the first-time wearer, coming in a range of disposable options from one day to one year—your Optometrist can recommend the best one for you.
• Rigid gas-permeable (RGP) lenses are more durable and may provide sharper vision, but since they are not water permeable, they may be more difficult to wear.
• Ortho-Keratology is a treatment for myopia involving a progression of rigid contacts designed to alter the shape of the cornea and eventually reduce the wearer’s nearsightedness.

Types:

• Extended wear lenses can be worn overnight and continuously for up to one month (with the latest lens materials available), but require more attentive care to prevent infection and related extended wear problems
• Disposable lenses are the most common, and are discarded after a specified length of time—reduced cleaning time, costs and healthier eyes are among the benefits.
• Toric lenses are specially curved lenses designed to correct astigmatism [link to Common vision problems > Astigmatism].
• There are a variety of other types, including coloured, novelty and UV-blocking lenses, and lenses for astigmatism and bifocal needs.

Visual Training

Digby Eye Care Center Visual training

EyeMemo

Website: polar-lights.com
Skill Trained: Visual Memory

Athletic Value: Visual memory is an essential skill for athletes in team sports, who must constantly see and record where teammates and opponents are on the field. Athletes with well-trained visual memory skills tend to be in the right place at the right time.

Perceptual Threshold Test

Website: cognitivelabs.com
Skill Trained: Peripheral Awareness

Athletic Value: Peripheral awareness is the ability to know what’s happening on either side of you without turning your head. It’s an essential skill for athletes and can help them improve reaction speed, anticipation, field awareness, team play and creativity.

Escape

Website: members.iinet.net.au
Skill Trained: Eye-Hand Coordination

Athletic Value: Eye-hand coordination is a crucial athletic skill involving how effective we are at translating what our eyes see into appropriate physical responses, such as anticipating the motion of a ball thrown our way so we can catch it.

Escaping Sheep

Website: bbc.co.uk
Skill Trained: Visual Reaction

Athletic Value: In any sport, the faster the reflexes and the better the eye-hand coordination, the better the performance.

Mental Quickness

Website: cognitivelabs.com
Skill Trained: Peripheral Awareness

Athletic Value: Helps athletes to react faster than opponents.

USEFUL LINKS:

Eye and vision health organizations

Alberta Association of Optometrists (AAO)
Alberta College of Optometrists (ACO)
AMD Alliance International (Age-related macular degeneration)
American Academy of Optometry (AAO)
American Optometric Association (AOA)
Association of Regulatory Boards of Optometry (ARBO)
British Columbia Association of Optometrists (BCAO)
Canadian Association of Optometrists (CAO)
Canadian Examiners in Optometry (CEO)
Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB)
Canadian Ophthalmological Society (COS)
College of Optometrists of Ontario
Contact Lens Council (CLC)
Manitoba Association of Optometrists

Mira
National Eye Institute (NEI)
New Brunswick Association of Optometrists (NBAO)
Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Optometrists (NLAO)
Nova Scotia Association of Optometrists (NSAO)
Ontario Association of Optometrists (OAO)
Saskatchewan Association of Optometrists (SAO)
School of Optometry - University of Waterloo
Vision 2020 The Right to Sight
Vision 2020 Canada
Vision Institute of Canada
World Council of Optometry

Legal Notice

The information below applies to all the information contained on the eyecarecenter.ca Website.

The users of this Website agree to comply with the terms set out below.


TERMS OF USE

DIGBY EYE CARE CENTER owns and operates a Website at eyecarecenter.ca (hereinafter referred to as the “site” or “Website”). DIGBY EYE CARE CENTER® trademark except as otherwise noted on the site, which is accessible to all users (hereinafter referred to as the “user” or “users”). Refrain from using this Website unless you agree to comply with the conditions.

RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH INFORMATION

Information on this Website is intended for informational purposes only and has no contractual value. DIGBY EYE CARE CENTER reserves the right to modify the content of this site. At any time, without prior notice. DIGBY EYE CARE CENTER assumes no liability for errors or omissions in the content of this Website or for information reliability or completeness of said information.

Information published on this Website is based on marketing, statistical or commercial services or other sources the DIGBY EYE CARE CENTER considers reliable and are the sole responsibility of their authors and not of DIGBY EYE CARE CENTER. We do not assume any liability for the accuracy or completeness of said information and in no circumstance should this information be regarded as such. Opinions and information as presented on this site reflect our position as of the date of publication and are subject to change without notice.

UPDATING OF THE WEBSITE UNDER THE RESPONSIBILITY OF DIGBY EYE CARE CENTER

DIGBY EYE CARE CENTER, its employees and directors will not be liable for damages incurred as a result of the information published on this site, for the views and advice published, expressed or implied regardless of its nature.

DIGBY EYE CARE CENTER expressly refuses any and all responsibility for the manner in which the user of the site may use the information contained, in any decisions that may be made and in the actions that may or may not be taken based on said information.

COPYRIGHT PROTECTION

Presentations made and contained on this site are the intellectual property of DIGBY EYE CARE CENTER. Reproduction in whole or in part of this site on any other medium in prohibited without the express permission of DIGBY EYE CARE CENTER.

User may solely use the information contained on this site for personal use. Reproduction in whole or in part of said information on paper may only be performed for personal use. Said information is not to be copied, distributed or transmitted to third parties nor may it be inserted in a document or other medium.

HYPERTEXT LINKS

The links to external Websites and their content shall not be prejudged and DIGBY EYE CARE CENTER will in no way be held responsible for any direct or indirect prejudice that may result from gaining access to and usage of said sites.

CONFIDENTIALITY

DIGBY EYE CARE CENTER draws the attention of the user to the fact that all communication transmitted through this Website remains in the public domain and not the private domain. OSI cannot accept responsibility for the security of the transmission of information.

The confidentiality and integrity of the information circulating over the internet cannot be ensured. DIGBY EYE CARE CENTER cannot accept responsibility in the case that data contained on this site is intercepted.

DIGBY EYE CARE CENTER site uses cookies. These cookies are small text files saved on the hard disk of a user's computer. These files are completely harmless and cannot contain viruses. These cookies are used to analyze visits to the site. DIGBY EYE CARE CENTER calls upon Google Analytics to help track how users use the site. The number of visitors, path taken to access the site and length of each visit are measured. The cookies cannot, in any way, identify the user. All data is completely anonymous and compiled solely for the purpose of improving the site and tailoring the content to the needs of its visitors.

The person responsible for the protection of personal information is the owner of : DIGBY EYE CARE CENTER

VIRUSES AND TECHNICAL GLITCHES

DIGBY EYE CARE CENTER makes no representations that the content of this site is free of infections, viruses, worms, Trojan horses and/or other codes with contaminating or destructive properties. It is the user's responsibility to take protective measures.

DIGBY EYE CARE CENTER DECLINES ALL RESPONSIBILITY IN THE EVENT OF ANY INTERRUPTION OR NON-AVAILABILITY OF THE SERVICE

Under no circumstances shall DIGBY EYE CARE CENTER be held responsible for transmission errors of any sort, such as loss of or damage to data, or changes of any type whatsoever, including direct or indirect damage resulting from the use of the services provided on this site.

JURISDICTION

This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the province of NS. Any dispute arising of this Agreement shall be brought before the court in the judicial district of DIGBY EYE CARE CENTER's head office.
Address:
address;
Tel: 902-245-1010.

PUBLISHING FIRM

DIGBY EYE CARE CENTER
address
Tel: 902-245-1010