Tag: optometry

what are eye floaters

What are Eye Floaters?

Experiencing eye floaters is quite common but are they dangerous?

When you’re staring at the sky on a beautiful, sunny day like most days in Southern California, have you ever noticed a white or black particle that appears to constantly move around, even though your eyes aren’t moving? You know it’s not real, yet you can’t help but notice it. Sometimes, you may be able to ignore them, but other times you may wonder whether they are a cause of concern.

Turns out, these eye floaters are oftentimes a natural process of aging (for the most part). Yes, it’s true that it may be an alarming sign, but oftentimes, it isn’t. Sounds kind of confusing, right? Let’s float deeper into this topic.

Vitreous Floaters

To start off, it is important to know that the back part of our eye is made of two important structures: 

  1. Retina: Allows us to perceive vision.
  2. Vitreous: Keeps our retina in the right place by pushing against it
    • Similar to how an adequate volume of water allows a water balloon to hold its shape, an adequate volume of vitreous allows our retina to keep its shape.
this is what eye floaters are

Our vitreous naturally undergoes three different changes as we age (as Dr. Steven likes to say, as we get “wiser”):

  1. Our vitreous becomes less gel-like, and more liquid-like.
    • As our vitreous becomes more liquid-like, the solid particles that give our vitreous its gel-like structure, such as collagen fibers, are released. 
  2. Collagen fibers are free to swim around as our vitreous becomes more liquid-like. 
    • As our collagen fibers move around in our vitreous, they cast a shadow onto our retina. Turns out, these shadows are what we often call “eye floaters”. 
  3. Our vitreous becomes more “deflated” and collapses. 
    • As this happens, a part of our vitreous might separate from our retina, causing a posterior vitreous detachment. This puts you at a higher risk for a retinal detachment, which can cause your vision to be significantly reduced or completely eliminated.

Since eye floaters typically happen with age, just like how the need for reading glasses typically happens with age, floaters are a relatively normal thing to experience. However, there are occasions when floaters may be a cause for concern, as they may be a sign of an impending retinal detachment. Check out this chart we made to help you with differentiating between normal and abnormal floaters.

Normal FloatersAbnormal Floaters
Picture
CauseShadows of particles in our vitreous that happens with ageRelease of blood or parts of our retina into our vitreous 
QuantityA few floaters that you’re used to seeingA sudden increase in floaters that you’ve never seen before
NoticeableWhen staring at bright blue sky or white wallAt all times
Other SignsNoneFlashes of light. Curtain coming down and into your vision. Blurry vision. Distorted vision

If you think you may be experiencing abnormal floaters, it is important for you to go to your eye doctor’s office for a dilated eye exam as soon as possible. Doing so may save your ability to see, and it is certainly better to be safe than sorry.


call or text Bright Vision Optometry: (909)627-1111
schedule your next appointment online: CLICK HERE

the content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. please seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding your medical or vision conditions.

Bright Vision Optometry is a family-owned & operated optometry office located in Chino Hills, CA 91709

5 things to eat for healthy eyes

5 Things to Eat for Healthy Eyes

What are the 5 things you can eat for healthy eyes? If you’re like me, food is the ultimate source of comfort. Grabbing some yummy food, ice cream, or boba can instantly energize me when I’m exhausted, cheer me up when I’m feeling down, and transform a terrible day into a great day. Turns out, good food can also improve the health of your eyes and reduce your risk of developing certain eye problems! Here are 5 things to eat for healthy eyes!

kale for healthy eyes

1. Green, Leafy Vegetables (Kale, Spinach, Broccoli)

Coming in first on the list of things to eat for healthy eyes is green, leafy vegetables. These foods are rich in lutein and zeaxanthin, both of which are antioxidants that protect your eyes from free radicals. A diet rich in these nutrients can reduce the risk of developing age-related macular degeneration and delay the onset of nuclear cataracts. [1] [2] Moreover, vegetables may reduce the risk of developing Type II Diabetes, thereby reducing the risk of developing diabetic retinopathy. [3] 

salmon for healthy eyes

2. Omega 3 Fatty Acids (Salmon, Tuna, Trout)

Next, we recommended eating Omega 3 for healthy eyes. Omega 3 fatty acids have anti-inflammatory properties which enable them to reduce the likelihood of developing dry eyes. [4] These fatty acids are also proposed to reduce the progression of age-related macular degeneration. [5] 

avocado for healthy eyes

3. Vitamin E (Almonds and Avocados)

Vitamin E combats oxidative damage caused by the sun. This suggests that Vitamin E may delay the onset of age-related cataracts [6] and progression of age-related macular degeneration [7]

oranges for healthy eyes

4. Vitamin C (Oranges, Tangerines, Strawberries)

Foods rich in Vitamin C delay the onset of cataracts and progression of age-related macular degeneration in the same way that foods rich in Vitamin E do. 

black eyed peas for healthy eyes

5. Zinc (Black-eyed peas, Kidney Beans, Poultry)

Zinc is involved in the production of melanin in our retina, which helps protect our eyes from the sun. In addition, zinc is proposed to delay the progression of age-related macular degeneration [8] 

Our eyes act as a window to our body, allowing for the health of our eyes to offer a look into the health of our bodies. Thus, most of the foods that reduce your risk of developing systemic diseases, such as diabetes and hypertension, are the same foods that reduce your risk of developing eye diseases. This makes sense, as many eye diseases are caused by systemic diseases.

For instance, patients with diabetes are more likely to develop diabetic retinopathy or posterior subcapsular cataracts, and patients with hypertension have a higher risk of developing glaucoma, all of which may negatively impact your vision.

When we work on improving a certain skill, the amount of work we put in dictates the amount of growth we witness. In the same way, the quality of food we put into our body dictates the quality of our systemic and/or ocular health. Integrating these foods may seem daunting, but thankfully, there are a ton of recipes out there (thank you, Google) to experiment with. Alternatively, AREDS 2 supplements incorporate most of the nutrients that encourage healthy eyes (thank you, Target). If you’re still looking for a new year’s resolution, maybe this can be your’s! 😉


call or text Bright Vision Optometry: (909)627-1111
schedule your next appointment online: CLICK HERE

the content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. please seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding your medical or vision conditions.

Bright Vision Optometry is a family-owned & operated optometry office located in Chino Hills, CA 91709

do you have dry eyes?

Do you have dry eyes?

If you’re like me, my eyes tend to feel itchy and tired throughout the day, especially during the winter. Turns out, the cause of these feelings is not caffeine-deprivation. Rather, it’s dry eyes!

Dry eye occurs when our eye’s tear film becomes unstable. As a result, your eyes aren’t properly moisturized, causing you to experience symptoms of itchiness, tiredness, dryness, and blurry vision. In a sense, our eyes behave just like the skin on our hand does. When our skin isn’t able to hold moisture well, our hands feel cracked, dry, and painful. 

ew, dry eyes

Similar to how our hands feel more cracked during the winter, our eyes tend to feel more dry during the winter. Dry eye symptoms tend to intensify more during this time of the year due to the low moisture and humidity of the winter air that further deprives our eyes of moisture.

Aside from environmental influences, dry eyes can also be a consequence of allergies, medications, systemic conditions such as rosacea, or ocular conditions such as meibomian gland dysfunction and blepharitis. Due to the wide variety of things that can cause dry eyes, most people in the world actually have dry eyes, whether they are symptomatic of it or not.

Fortunately, there are a wide variety of options to combat the wide variety of influences that may cause dry eyes. For those with less severe symptoms, dry eyes can be treated with non-preservative eye drops. 

non preservative artificial tears for dry eyes

Some brands that we love at Bright Vision Optometry include Systane, Refresh and Optase. If you are able to, we recommend getting non-preservative eye drops since certain preservatives, such as BAC, are more harmful for your eyes and pose a greater risk to your eyes. Artificial tears for our eyes act in the same way as lotion does for our skin. They provide our eyes with the extra boost of moisture and relief that our eyes desperately need. 

For those with moderate symptoms, we recommend using a Bruder mask. This mask opens up the glands that produce different components of your tear film. By opening up the glands, more components of your tear film can be produced, bringing more stability to the tear film, and ultimately, more moisture to your eyes. 

For those with severe symptoms, intense treatment options are available, including prescription drops (Restasis, Xiidra, Cequa) and in-office treatments (Punctal Plugs, Lipiflow, Eyelux, and BlephEx). 

Although many people experience itchy and tired eyes, they are often unaware that these symptoms may be caused by dry eyes. If you think that you may have dry eyes and are curious about dry eyes, or have questions about dry eyes and how to treat it, ask one of our eye doctors at your next eye exam!

BVO Eats! – Oke Poke

Soaring temperatures no longer mean consuming the same uninspiring salads. Oke Poke (3277 Grand Ave. Suite L, Chino Hills, CA) offers fun and delicious poke bowls that are sure to cool you down this summer. 

Per Oke Poke’s website, “poke is a raw fish based dish that originates from the islands of Hawaii.” Think bite-sized sashimi with Japanese toppings over rice or salad and drizzled in sweet and spicy sauces.

Not a fan of raw fish? Give poke a try, and you might just change your mind. Still not ready to take the leap? They also serve shrimp and baby scallops that you may select in lieu of the raw fish. 

Try one of their bowls or customize your own. We love getting creative with making our own. There is a variety of bases, toppings, fishes, and sauces to choose from, which make each experience fun and unique. 

Spotlight Dish:  Make Your Own: Salmon, Spicy Tuna, and Albacore Bowl

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BVO Tip:  Don’t be afraid to mix the sauces. We love experimenting with various combinations to give each bowl an unique taste. Our current favorite is Oke Sesame, Oke Sauce, with a bit of Heat.


About BVO Eats! — Every month, BVO Eats! will feature a restaurant in Chino Hills and highlight a spotlight dish. The purpose is not to provide a comprehensive review, but to introduce our readers to some of our favorite eateries in this wonderful city. We love exploring our local community — what better way of doing this than eating?

daily-disposable-contact-lenses

Advantages of Daily Disposable Contact Lenses

Daily disposable contact lenses are single-use lenses that are removed and discarded at the end of each day, and a fresh pair of lenses is applied to the eyes the next morning. Daily contact lenses are gaining in popularity among practitioners and consumers for their health and convenience benefits. 

Personally, I only wear daily contacts because number one, I am a lazy person. I do not want to deal with contact lens solution and storing contact lenses. Since I only wear contact lens for certain activities such as basketball or on a Saturday night out, it makes perfect logic to only wear dailies. 

Here are 5 reason why a daily disposable contact lenses might be the best option for you: 

  1. Comfort – Since daily contact lens are replaced daily, fresh new contacts are worn each time. With less time for deposits to build on the lenses, each wear provides the patient with the best wearing comfort.
  2. Health – Study and research have shown daily disposable contacts are 6x less likely to cause contact lens related problems than 2 week and 1 month disposable contacts.

  3. Convenience – With all that’s going on from work to children to social lives, we are apt to forget or ignore cleaning and changing contacts. While neglecting this part of contact lens care can pose risks to their eyes, dailies make cleaning unnecessary and changing a breeze.

  4. Cost – Yes an year supply of daily contact lenses are certainly more expensive than a 2 week or 1 month disposable, but if you are a part-time wearer say once or twice a week contact lens wear…you are actually saving money. Also keep in mind, you don’t have to purchase contact lens cleaning solution anymore.

  5. Availability – As technology continues to improve in the contact lens industry, new daily contacts lenses are popping up in the market. Whether it’s astigmatism correcting dailies or multi-focal dailies to help you see distance and near, there is a daily contact lens for your visual needs. 

Schedule your next eye exam with us today by clicking here

The content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions

punctal-plug

What is a Punctal Plug?

A punctal plug is a tiny, biocompatible device that are inserted into the tear duct. They help block moisture from draining into the tear ducts, causing it remain longer on the eye. This can truly improve dry eye symptoms for certain patients suffering from ocular surface diseases or dry eyes. 

Punctal plugs usually are considered when non-prescription or prescription eye drops fail to relieve your dry eye symptoms such as sandy, stinging, burning eyes. 

softplugsil_web

 

 

One can get a punctal plug that is made of silicone that could last for a long period of time, depending on the eye. A temporary option may be made of a fibrous material like collagen that will dissolve. Either option may be appropriate for individuals with severe or long-term dry eye.

Some patients may need punctal plugs as an adjunctive treatment for eye surgeries such as LASIK.

Your doctor will determine the proper size of the punctal plug and the plugs will be inserted in your eye’s tear duct. Other than slight initial discomfort, the plugs should not cause any irritation. Immediately after the quick procedure, you should be able to function and resume normal activities. If you feel discomfort or suspect an eye duct infection, be sure to let your doctor know. 

punctal-plug-dry-eyes

At Bright Vision Optometry of Chino Hills, we offer both long-lasting silicone based plugs and short-term dissolvable collagen plugs. Ask your doctor about punctal plugs at your next eye exam! 

SPY Optic :: Happiness Guarantee

BVO is excited to share our newest addition to our frame board: Spy Optic Sunglasses
  DSC02274

The all new, patent-pending SPY Happy Lens™ fuses years of optics design experience with a large and growing body of scientific research to redefine lens innovation and is the only lens technology designed to maximize the best transmission of the sun’s “good” rays (specific long-wave blue light), while still blocking out its “bad” rays (UV and short-wave blue light). Exposure to the “good” rays has been shown to help align the human body’s rhythm with its natural preference for specific color and wavelengths, creating positive changes that can help harmonize our body—creating a positive physiological “uplift” in mood and alertness. Additionally, the SPY Happy Lens™ has color and contrast enhancements that are so clear you can feel the difference. In short, the SPY Happy Lens™ helps you not only SEE BETTER, but FEEL BETTER.

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boiler-chino-hills

BVO Eats! – Our Review of The Boiler Chino Hills!

Every once in a while, we come across a restaurant that transports us to another world. The Boiler Chino Hills (4665 Chino Hills Pkwy, Unit I, Chino Hills, CA) is that such restaurant. 

Their pan roast, gumbo, jambalaya, and étouffée instantly transport us to Louisiana. Best of all, our favorite comfort foods can be enjoyed in The Boiler Chino Hills, humidity-free.

The Broiler is known for their steam kettle cooking. Their signature dishes are cooked in individual jacketed steam kettles and are served piping hot with a scoop of white rice. We recommend sitting at the counter for a front row view of the action. Dinner portions can be shared by two (i.e. one normal-sized human and one very small human), but we doubt you will want to. We are also huge fans of their calamari, which is nice and meaty.

The menu expands on that of Las Vegas’ Oyster Bar. We love that Vegas-worthy restaurants are now here in our community, and the 1000+ Yelp reviewers of The Boiler Chino Hills seem to also agree.

Spotlight Dish:  House Pan Roast

 

DSC02227

 

BVO Tip:  When choosing the heat level of your steam kettle dish, opt for a higher heat level for cream-based dishes (i.e. House Pan Roast) than you would for roux-based dishes. Cream will reduce the spice level of the dish. 


About BVO Eats! — Every month, BVO Eats! will feature a restaurant in Chino Hills and highlight a spotlight dish. The purpose is not to provide a comprehensive review, but to introduce our readers to some of our favorite eateries in this wonderful city. We love exploring our local community — what better way of doing this than eating?

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