Caitlin Bruno - Binyon Vision

The Things Patients Say…

We have the unique opportunity to be present for an awesome “WOW!” moment in many peoples’ lives… the moment the world becomes clear! Inspired by the adorable viral video last year of a baby seeing her mom for the first time (see here) the Binyon team would like to present our first edition of patient talk…

The Things Patients Say

“Everything is so sharp – I haven’t taken them off!” – – C, who thought she just needed her glasses for driving and wouldn’t wear them often

“I can see the points on the stars!” – – O (10 years old) about the star stickers on the ceiling of his bedroom

“I can see raindrops on the cars!” – – K, after putting on her contacts for the first time

<< QUIET … then big smile >> – – 10 month old C who was crying crying crying as Christie put her first pair of glasses on and she looked at her mom

“The roof has lines on it.” – – J, first time contact lens wearer talking about the shingles

“I can’t believe how trees look- I can see the leaves when before it was a big blob of green.” – – R, 11 years old, first time glasses wearer

“Dr. McEathron – you saved my marriage – you showed my husband how the world looks when I don’t have my glasses on and he’s so much more understanding now.” – – L, 63 years old, very nearsighted

“I can see the mole on your face Mommy!” – – L, 8 years old when asked what she could see with her new glasses

“OH! Where did all those wrinkles come from!” – – C, 52 years old, putting on her first progressive lenses

A new world appears with clear vision – are you seeing to your full potential? Come on in! We’d love to share a WOW moment with you, and add your patient talk to this list!

Seven Reasons to NOT Buy Glasses Online- Part 2

In a previous post, we focused on how the lenses in online glasses could present vision and safety problems. We return to this topic of comparisons by focusing on the frames first…

Reasons 4 – 7 to NOT buy Glasses Online…

4. How long do you wear shoes that don’t fit right?

If you’re a long time glasses wearer you might know what we Why it is better to buy glasses from an optician rather than online mean here… A poorly fitting pair of glasses can really ruin your day. You’re constantly pushing them up your
nose, your head feels like it’s in a vice or where it curves behind your ears seems to hit a pressure point that is aching by the end of the day.

It is obvious that you wouldn’t know about any fit issues unless you try the glasses on. Some online companies allow you to do that- which helps. However, a few minutes on your face doesn’t necessarily equal a full 16 hour day of wearing the glasses with your lenses (which are heavier than the demo lenses). The shoes felt so comfortable in the store when I tried them on…

We’d like to strongly advocate having a professional optician who is trained to see and explain any fit issues help you find something that fits comfortably!

Speaking of opticians- they are also trained to adjust glasses. While they help you find the proper pair of glasses they are evaluating whether or not it’s possible to make adjustments to the frame to make it more comfortable or not- in some instances it’s not. With a plastic bridge without nose pads (fixed bridge) – if it slides down your nose- it will always slide down your nose- there’s nothing that can be adjusted to prevent that. However- if it bugs you where it’s sitting behind your ear? Or is it sitting crooked because gasp! your ears are slightly asymmetrical (don’t worry that’s 99% of the population). An optician is here to help.

An ill-fitting frame can really cause a lot of problems. Headaches, fatigue, red marks on your skin due to imbalanced weight of a frame on your nose… there are many well made glasses out there that will fit your face well and comfortably saving you lots of grief.

5. Just a slight adjustment = sweet relief

On the topic of frame fittings… nothing stresses a trained optician more than adjusting low quality frames. Inexpensive materials used to make inexpensive frames do not cooperate well and often lose form soon after an adjustment because of the shortcuts made in the manufacturing process to keep costs down.

Please consider this friendly warning- you might be beating a regular path to the optician’s chair for adjustments with online glasses.

The way glasses sit on your head can not only affect comfort, but vision as well. Especially with progressive lenses, even the slightest adjustment can bring you into or out of focus. Having a licensed op Why it is better to buy glasses from an optician rather than online tician dispense glasses they ordered for you with the proper measurements and adjust to your maximum vision potential and comfort leads to a successful glasses-patient relationship. Happy eyes = Happy day! Well, maybe not but I promise you- unhappy eyes can really ruin your day!

6. What’s the warranty?

The online glasses retailers who carry many name brands often do not have a relationship with the manufacturer themselves and cannot rely on the service and warranty available from the manufacturer. In fact, many of the name-brand frames you find online at low prices are discontinued models. Depending on the manufacturer, the lifetime for a glasses frame model may be 3-4 years on average.

When a frame is out of production- if the temple breaks, nosepad arm falls off, lenses get a scratch, unfortunately you’re looking at buying another pair of glasses.

What happens if the prescription isn’t working for you? You might go in Why it is better to buy glasses from an optician rather than online to see your optometrist again and find out the prescription numbers were not exactly right for your purpose… is there an option to have your glasses remade? The relief of a patient satisfaction policy and warranty against damaged frames and lenses for a valuable medical device that helps you… see… is absolutely worth it.

7. All Anti-Reflective Coatings are not created equal

There are two types of people in the world – those who love anti-reflective coating and those who hate it. And you can spot the glaring difference a mile away.

Why it is better to buy glasses from an optician rather than online

A great anti-reflective coating provides many benefits – glare from light sources are all around us. Shine that glare through an uncoated lens and it bounces around the lens- creating reflections. When an anti-reflective coating is properly applied the light passes through the lens into your eye instead of staying in the lens and bouncing around. This does two great things. It allows you to see better, clearer even because you’re not competing with glare. And, you’re seeing the full picture. Second the lenses look better. You don’t see the glare and neither does the world looking at you! They get to see your eyes- instead of a lens full of glare.

However- applying this coating to a lens is a complicated process! It is necessary that the coating applies onto a certified clean chamber. Any dust that’s on the lens before it’s coated creates a flaw. That flaw can grow and grow into a cloudy lens that just won’t ever feel clean. Have you had non-glare coating like that? It might be a bad enough experience to put you in the hate crowd.

We’d encourage you to give anti-reflective coating another chance- from a store that can educate you about the quality of their coatings. And has a warranty against scratches and damage to back up their quality claims.

Thank you for bearing with us for this discussion on a topic we’re passionate about. And, for helping the glasses wearing community understand their options in eyewear and providing reasons why online glasses are not the best choice. If you have any questions- feel free to email us! We’d be happy to respond in a future blog post. Thank you again and best wishes for happy eyes!

Use it- Don’t Lose it – Benefits expire December 31st!

<< our series on why to NOT buy online glasses will continue in the next post!>>

Have you been paying for vision insurance or into a flexible spending account all year? Are you familiar with the details of your insurance plan? Many benefits expire at the end of the year- let us help you find out more details about yours!

Calendar year vision benefits

Many plans are on a calendar year cycle. This means they renew on January 1st no matter when you used them last. A common plan in our area that has this benefit is the Uniform/Regence plan. This plan is an option for employees at Western Washington University. Patients can use this benefit to their advantage by using the hardware allowance for glasses in December of 2016 and contacts or a second pair of glasses in January 2017. That means the hardware would not be available again until January 2018, but it’s a fun way to maximize your benefits if they are still available.

Flexible Spending Accounts

Some employers offer their employees to defer part of their salary to a tax-free savings account. This can be used towards medical expenses. These are “use-it-or-lose-it” plans. These plans will expire with the funds going away either at the end of the year- or in some cases on March 15th. Talk with your employers or the manager of your FSA fund to make sure you understand the balance in your account and when it might expire.

Money saved into flexible spending accounts can be used for medical expenses that are not covered by insurance- but must be medically related. In our world that means – eye exams, copays, glasses, contact lenses and prescription sunglasses.

There might be no better time to update your glasses or stock up on contact lenses!

Please give us a call to check on your vision benefits or to answer any questions on how you could maximize the money you’ve saved in your FSA account!

Also, we have a large number of frames in our “red-dot” sale section right now- all 30% off! We look forward to seeing you this year!

vision insurance benefits

Seven Reasons to NOT Buy Glasses Online- Part 1

I read a blog post recently – “How to save money like by thinking like a millennial” (credit here) with interesting tips like opening a checking account that refunds all your ATM withdrawal fees, signing up for Amazon Prime and downloading the browser extension coupon finder Honey. Then I reached – “Stop getting ripped off on glasses by getting Warby Parkers.”

Hmm…

Companies over the eyewear industry cut cost and quality for high margins. This has created distrust of the eyeglasses prescription dispensing by brick and mortar optical retailers.

But when you see a cost difference of $39 for online glasses to over $200 from a store- you at least wonder why. I’d like to say the differences and convince you that even for $39… online glasses are not worth it.

Seven Reasons to NOT Buy Online Glasses

1. Standards do not apply

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has developed 14 standards. These describe the acceptable degree of error in a pair of eyeglasses, to the written prescription by the doctor. Here’s an example:

If your prescription is -2.50 in your right eye, the acceptable range of power for the lens is -2.13 to -2.63 (±0.13).

What do these numbers mean? With every click of the phoropter when the doctor is measuring your prescription and asking “Which is better, 1 or 2?” there is a change of 0.25 diopter.

A summary of the standard for making lenses can be found here. The standards are developed by a team of doctors and manufacturers to show what is acceptable to the patient’s visual needs.

When a prescription is outside of this standard, you won’t see as clearly. Imagine using a pair of binoculars to see something in the distance- turning the dial until you see the image clearly. Then you move the dial even slightly one direction or another. That’s how wearing a prescription that’s not close enough can feel. Less than perfect vision is already a disadvantage. And, it also has potential effects such as eyestrain, headaches or double vision.

For children, wearing the wrong prescription can have even worse consequences. Due to their visual system developing, the wrong prescription could cause one eye to work harder than the other. This could throw off the eye’s ability to work together and a muscle imbalance could lead to amblyopia (lazy eye).

At our office, we use a lensometer to double check every pair of glasses that is ordered to the doctor’s prescription. We reject any lenses that are outside of tolerance. Do online retailers do this? According to a study performed by the American Optometric Association (see here) where 154 online glasses were ordered and analyzed, 29% of these had an incorrect prescription.

One out of every 3.5 pairs of glasses that ships out from an online retailer will not have an accurate prescription.

Every pair of glasses that is dispensed by our opticians will have a prescription within the tolerances laid out by the ANSI standards.

2. Duty to Warn

Optometrists have a professional and legal “duty to warn” patients about the proper use and safety issues associated with ophthalmic products (aka glasses and contacts).

So, it is important to have an optical professional- an optometrist or licensed optician to provide educated recommendations for lens materials and lens options. Therefore, this will protect one of our most valuable assets- our eyes.

Thankfully there are also manufacturing standards in place to address the integrity of glasses lenses. How do glasses purchased from an online retailer match up to the safety standard? Not well. Because, in the same study by the American Optometric Association referenced above, 23% of online glasses failed impact resistance testing.

Almost 1 in 4 online glasses do not pass ANSI safety standards for impact resistance.

Definition of failure of the impact resistance test? Cracks through the entire lens thickness into two or more pieces.

3. Those licensed dispensing opticians? Armed with knowledge and experience.

An average conversation about lens styles, lens materials and lens options at our office is at least ten minutes long. An optician should ask lifestyle questions about how you use your eyes and what your visual needs are. Then, will make recommendations on which lens will be best for you. Explaining the benefits of different lens materials in relation to your prescription helps you make a good decision between Trivex and Hi-Index plastic. A conversation about how you care for your glasses will help the optician recommend the best anti-reflective (non-glare) coating.

Becoming a licensed dispensing optician is a three year apprenticeship program in Washington state. After a written and practical exam, an apprentice becomes a licensed optician.

Licensed opticians bring experience and knowledge to help each patient make educated decisions on their individual eyewear needs.

Even Siri doesn’t have the answer to which progressive lens will work best all week at the computer or Saturday at the golf course.

In the next blog post, we will continue with an additional 4 reasons. Finally there is only one good reason to buy online glasses as stated above. You will save money on the initial purchase.

I hope you take our reasons to not buy online glasses into consideration before making a decision to purchase them. Furthermore, the purpose of glasses is to help you see. They shouldn’t cause harm to your vision or put your eyes at risk in the process. Please carefully weigh your options and let us know if you have any questions!

Thank you and have a great day!

Digital Eye Strain – Problems and Solutions!

Digital Eye Strain Exposed

Do your eyes feel tired, uncomfortable, achy or strained after at least two hours on a digital device? A few facts on digital eye strain from the Vision Council:

Nearly 90% of American adults use a digital device for more than 2 hours per day.
Over 60% of American adults use a digital device for more than 5 hours per day.
65% of Americans report symptoms of digital eye strain including neck and back pain, eye fatigue, blurry vision, headaches and dry eyes.
90% of Americans do not discuss their digital device usage with their optometrist.
27% of Americans do not realize that computer eyewear can help protect against digital eye strain.

Are you experiencing any of the following symptoms after extended digital screen time?

Eye strain
Headaches
Neck and/or back pain
Blurry vision
Dry eyes

Relief is here!

A conversation with the optometrist is the best way to start the process to relieving your digital eye strain. The doctor can write a prescription if necessary that will relieve the strain on your eyes while working at a particular distance.

If you are presbyopic (the age-related inability to see up close) there are some specialized progressive lenses that can provide optomized for vision at multiple distances. These take into consideration keeping your head in an ergonomically correct position. A great example is the Shamir Autograph II Office Lens- specifically designed to provide a comfortable field of view between 15′ (seeing the wall clock) and looking at the computer or phone screen. Many of our patients wear these lenses throughout their workday with much appreciation. They report rested eyes and greater energy at the end of the day.

A good option for a younger patient who is in front of the computer all day but strictly farsighted or nearsighted is a single vision computer prescription. Our patient Zac reports:

After purchasing my first pair of computer glasses, I’ve noticed a tremendous difference in my energy and clarity.

Digital Eye Strain-Lenses

In addition to specific lens styles, there are also lens options that are designed to relieve digital eye strain. These two products discussed below specifically target filtering out high energy blue light from device screens. Blue light has a very short wavelength. Therefore it produces a higher amount of energy. Studies suggest that exposure to the blue end of the light spectrum could cause short term and potentially serious long-term damage to your eyes.

BluTech i relieving digital eye strain s a subtly colored lens filter available in specific lens designed to filter out blue light.

Similarly, Crizal Prevencia anti-reflective coating combined a non-glare coating with a high-tech filter to significantly reduce the amount of blue light getting into the eye.

There are many more details to discuss with one of our opticians on which lens options might be best for you and your workspace. Stop by soon to talk to us about getting the relief your eyes need today. Look forward to less strain and more energy!

Let’s talk about the glare out there…

Rain – SUN – RAIN – SUN

The weather today could NOT make up it’s mind! When I dropped my kids off, it was pouring- my 3 year old cried, “We need a boat Mom!” as we ran into her preschool. When I picked them up four hours later- the sun was out, sky was blue, a perfect PNW afternoon. But… the road was still wet… so I was temporarily blinded by the concentrated sun rays hitting the puddles going right into my eyes until… I put my polarized sunglasses on. Sweet relief.

polarized lenses to minimize sun glare I’ve recently come across some really great explanations of how polarized lenses work to reduce glare – and I hope to shed some light (pun intended) on how these work- so you can hopefully gain a new appreciation of this great technology!

The glare of the sun on flat wet surfaces- such as roads, the surface of the ocean, snow reflects from that horizontal plane- concentrating all that light into a blinding reflection. Polarized lenses have a polarized filter oriented vertically to block light coming in horizontally. Besides removing the intensified and scattered horizontal light, the vertically aligned light polarize lenses allow to pass is preferable to the visual system- creating a significantly more comfortable view. Non polarized sunglasses indiscriminately filter all light- horizontal and vertical. They reduce glare but don’t eliminate it.
By filtering all components olight- a less sharp image is the result. The selective light filtering of a polarized lens actually creates a sharper picture!

Summary of the benefits of polarized lenses:

Eliminates glare
Improves visual comfort
Improves contrast and clarity
Reduces eyestrain
Reduces reflections

Not all polarized lenses on the market are created equal. The quality of the filter used and how the lenses are manufactured determines the glare reduction. Drug store “polarized” sunglasses may only cut out 10% of light, where premium polarized lenses such as Xperio lenses by Essilor cut out 99% of reflected light.

polarized lenses to minimize sun glare

Next time you’re driving on a gorgeous day when the storm has lifted and the sun is shining down on large puddles of morning rain and reflecting right into your eyes- consider an investment in a quality pair of polarized sunglasses. They will greatly improve your driving experience!

Back to School!

The First Exam of the Year Should be an Eye Exam!

children's eye exams for back to school As you’re preparing for the upcoming school year, it’s important to make sure a comprehensive eye examination is on the family’s to-do list. Kid’s vision can change dramatically from one year to the next and 80% of learning is experienced through vision. Therefore, a thorough eye exam is a necessary step to making sure your child is ready for the school year!

The Affordable Health Care Act designates Kid’s Vision as one of the ten essential health benefits. What does that mean to you?

Qualified health plans must include benefits for an annual comprehensive eye exam and vision materials (glasses or contact lenses) for members 18 years old and younger.

Please give us a call today with your insurance information and we can check on the details of your plan!

We want to help you get ready for back to school!

During the month of September…

Come visit Dr. McEathron or Dr. Hoekstra for your annual eye exam
Order one complete set of glasses or an annual supply of contacts (may be covered by insurance- call us and we can check!)
PICK YOUR SAVINGS! Either:
- The lenses for your back-up glasses will be discounted 50%
- OR…
- Receive complementary Transitions® lenses! ($100 value)

Contact Lens Health Week!

“Do you guys ‘do contacts’ here, because you’re all wearing glasses…”

Yes… we do contacts. I hadn’t considered a patient might think differently because we all wear our glasses to work. So, I’m glad he asked! Contact lenses are a fantastic vision correction method and provide wearers with a host of benefits including sports, increased periphery vision and the ability to wear non-prescription sunglasses!

I get to work with new contact lens wearers and teach them how to put on and take off their contacts, talk to them about how to take care of them, how often to replace their prescribed contacts and also pass on a list of precautions to take while wearing contacts. Contacts are a big responsibility and not one to be taken lightly. Therefore, contact lens health is very important! The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) agrees and has named this week- August 22-26, 2016 the third annual Contact Lens Health Week.

contact lens care routine and lessons

Six Healthy Habits for Contact Lens Wearers

Wash your hands with soap and water before inserting and removing contacts
Only clean your contacts with doctor recommended contact lens disinfecting solution- never water or saliva.
Don’t sleep in your contact lenses

dont-sleep-in-contacts contact lens care routine and lessons its

Always store your contacts in fresh solution every night, don’t top-off old solution

dont-top-off-solution contact lens care routine and lessons

Stick to the prescribed wearing schedule for your contact lenses

do-replace-lenses contact lens care routine and lessons

If you experience eye pain, discomfort, redness or blurry vision, remove your contacts and call us to schedule an appointment right away!

These are just a few contact lens health habits that can help your contact lens experience be comfortable and healthy. For more information, talk to Dr. McEathron at your next yearly eye exam and visit the CDC website Healthy Contact Lens Wear and Care.

August Birthday Bingo

Break out the balloons!

We noticed an interesting phenomenon this month….. Not only are 4 of our 7 full time employees born in August, but all of their birthdays are EXACTLY 8 days apart. If that’s not a BINGO- I don’t know what is.

august bdays employee birthdays

If you stop in this month – we’ll likely be eating cake!

Happy birthday to Dr. McEathron, Katie, Sarah and James!

Slow down “birthday induced changes” – part 3

Have you considered what it would be like to lose your sight?

A recent article in US News and World Report discusses a nationwide survey showing vision loss to be equal to or worse than losing hearing, memory, speech or a limb. How about you? Is age-related vision changes and loss a concern? Have you considered what it would be like to lose your sight? Are you taking steps today that could reduce risks of vision loss or blindness tomorrow?

See clearly – check yearly!

regular maintenance, routine eye exam, binyon vision center, bellingham eye care How often do you take your car to be serviced or head to the dentist? How often do you update the anti-virus software on your PC to protect your hard drive?

A routine eye check-up can monitor your eye health – catch problems before they start and keep your eyes in top working condition. There is a lot more to a comprehensive eye exam than “which is better one or two”?

“I don’t need my eyes checked – I can see just fine!”

A patient came to see us for his first routine eye exam at the age of 55. He had just started to wear over the counter readers but never had any vision problems. During the visual fields test, Dr. McEathron discovered a field loss in his vision. The glaucoma pressure test and assessment of the optic nerve confirmed a likely diagnosis of glaucoma. The patient immediately began treatment for moderately severe glaucoma. The 10 degrees of near vision field loss seen will never be recovered – the daily prescriptions drops the patient takes will slow progress of the disease, but as of now there is no cure. Another important note to mention- the patient had no family history of glaucoma.

Fit an eye exam into your schedule

Eye exams are recommended every year. The affordable health care act has deemed pediatric vision one of ten essential health benefits. Many insurance plans include coverage for a routine eye exam yearly. For more information on what your insurance plan covers, call our office and we can provide you with details.

In the beginning regular maintenance, routine eye exam, binyon vision center, bellingham eye care of the year- your birthday month – as soon as school’s out for summer or before the year is out – pick a time to schedule your yearly eye check up/regular preventative maintenance and stick to it! Your future self will thank you!