Jill N. is a member of the VSP Global Public Relations team.
Our newest mobile clinic, Eyenstein, was featured last week on CBS 3 in Philadelphia with his friend, Bess the Book Bus, regarding outreach we did with local Girls and Boys Clubs in the area. Check out Dr. Berman and Bess founder, Jennifer, as they talk about the importance of eyesight and getting kids excited about reading!
Jill N. is a member of the VSP Global Public Relations team.
In July, VSP partnered with Transitions and Prevent Blindness America to provide two days of outreach in Chicago with our newest mobile eye clinic, Eyenstein.
The event was also featured in the Chicago Tribune, read the article here!
The VSP Eye on Diabetes campaign has made its way to Topeka, KS, the second stop on the campaign trail. VSP Dr. Diana Carriger spent some time with the local NBC affiliate, KSNT 27, Wednesday morning to discuss the campaign and upcoming charitable outreach event that will happen today, Friday, July 30th, in partnership with the American Diabetes Association, Kansas State Optometric Association and the Kansas Diabetes Action Council.
Jill N. is a member of the VSP Global Public Relations team.
In this second segment of my educational journey learning about the potential changes in my vision as a pregnant woman, Dr. Parenti shares the symptoms that, if you experience, should be addressed immediately:
Diabetes:
Women who are diabetic before their pregnancy and those who develop gestational diabetes need to watch their vision closely. Blurred vision in these cases may indicate elevated blood sugar levels and need to be addressed. However, most women who develop gestational diabetes don’t develop diabetic retinopathy.
High Blood Pressure:
In some cases, a woman may have blurry vision or spots in front of her eyes while pregnant which can be due to an increase in blood pressure during pregnancy, also known as preeclampsia and eclampsia.
Glaucoma:
Women being treated for glaucoma should tell their eye doctor right away if they are pregnant or intent to become pregnant. While many glaucoma medications are safe to take during pregnancy, certain glaucoma medications could be harmful to the developing baby.
Finally, Dr. Parenti humored me by answering a few more specific questions. Since I can’t be the only one thinking of these, I thought I’d share these as well:
So if I don’t benefit from improved vision when pregnant like some may, can I go ahead with having laser vision correction while pregnant?
Laser vision correction is not the best idea for pregnant or nursing women. You’ll want to wait until after the pregnancy and breast feeding. When you are pregnant, the cornea changes immensely. You need both a stable cornea and prescription prior to laser vision surgery to avoid complications. Even without the risk of complications, there is a risk of wasted money as your prescription could easily revert back due to the changes. It is recommended you wait at least one year after having laser vision correction before getting pregnant due to the same reasons.
Can I wear my contact lenses when I go into labor (because I assume I can plan for this, can you tell this is my first pregnancy?)?
Ideally, you should take out your contacts if already wearing them or wear your glasses if you are not. Should an emergency procedure become necessary, time would not be allowed to remove your contacts and you could risk severe dry eye or tearing of your contacts, among other things. If you absolutely must wear them, ask your doctor to fit you for an extended wear contact lens that can stay in for one or more weeks.
Any final words of advice?
A comprehensive eye exam should be included in your prenatal routine, even if you don’t require a prescription. Let your eye doctor know that you are pregnant so you can both discuss the best options for you.
Next blog – when should you bring your baby in for their first eye exam?
Jill N. is a member of the VSP Global Public Relations team.
As a woman who is experiencing pregnancy for the first time, I was surprised to learn when I went in for my annual eye exam that these fabulous hormone increases I’ve been encountering could also potentially cause changes in my vision. In fact, 50% of pregnant women will have noticeable vision changes. Fortunately, in most cases, these are temporary eye conditions that will return to normal after delivery.
I thought I would share some of the information I learned from Dr. Pete Parenti of Parenti-Morris Eyecare for those of you who are, planning to become, or know of a fellow pregnant woman. Speaking from experience, this topic will probably be one of the few interesting unsolicited pieces of advice you’ll receive and/or can provide that is appreciated…
First the basics: Why would pregnancy affect vision in the first place?
This starts to make sense once you consider how the eye is structured. The front lens of the eye, the cornea, contains 70% water. And the inside of the eye contains a high percentage of water too. Any change to a woman’s water balance during pregnancy (which I can attest to is A LOT based on my frequent trips to the restroom) can affect sight, focus, prescription, and fit of contact lenses. Many of the headaches that women experience during can be due to visual changes as well.
What types of vision changes could I experience?
Here are some symptoms that are common but usually temporary and aren’t causes for alarm:
Refractive Changes:
Changes in the hormone levels can temporarily alter the strength you need in your eyeglasses or contact lenses. This is typically not something you need to worry about but should bring up with your eye doctor to decide if you should change your prescription or not. (Although BONUS! Some nearsighted women will have improvements in their vision that will be permanently retained!)
Dry Eyes:
Some women experience dry eyes during pregnancy (although if you are like me, the hormones are creating the opposite effect where I experience waterfalls of tears just by watching a Kleenex commercial). If you are experiencing dry eyes, the good news is most OTC lubricating eye drops are perfectly safe to use while pregnant or nursing and your eyes should return to normal within a few weeks after delivery.
Puffy Eyelids:
(Wonderful, I finally have something I can blame these on!) Puffiness around the eyes is another common side effect of certain hormonal changes women may have while pregnant. Puffy eyelids may interfere with side vision. Utilize common healthy eating habits to limit water retention like increased water intake and a low-sodium and low-caffeine diet.
Stay tuned for part 2 tomorrow: Symptoms you should address immediately
Tresa D. is a Mobile Response Team member who volunteered her time in Nebraska last week. Below is an account of her experience:
I’m traveling on the road once again with the VSP Mobile Eyes Clinic. The first stop of our trip was to Omaha, NE to provide free comprehensive eye exams and glasses to the clients of the Lydia House. The Lydia House is a Mission who serves their community by providing basic living needs for the homeless and families living in poverty.
In talking with Candace Gregory, President of the Lydia House, she said that a large portion of their population is in need of vision assistance. Illiteracy is not the problem in many cases; it’s that people are simply unable to see to do simple tasks like filling out a job application, reading simple instructions, etc. I am very proud to be part of the VSP Mobile Eyes team. Through our program, we were able to partner with the Lydia House to fill that void.
The first evening, the Mobile Eyes Team gathered around the TV to watch the news coverage of our first day’s event. I must confess that I was excited to see myself on the news. During the filming, I was auto-refracting a patient who was in need of new glasses. It struck me as odd that the news showed me, but they did not show what I was doing. In reflecting, I realize it was because the woman I was working with was shy with the cameras. She did not want to be filmed. She shared with me that no one knew she was at the shelter. She did not want her family or friends to know that she was there. She found herself down and out, but was too proud to ask for help. She came to the Mission to get the help she needed to reclaim her life. I was touched by her story and her journey to reclaim her life. I feel privileged to have been part of helping her. It makes me very proud that she is just one of the more than 27,500 people whose lives have been helped by the VSP Mobile Eyes program.
The VSP Eye on Diabetes campaign is preparing to head to Topeka, Kansas in July – the second stop of our five state campaign.
Check out this video to learn more about the campaign and hear from VSP doctors who are participating in both the charitable outreach as well as the continuing education courses being provided.
And don’t forget to check out the VSP EyeFiles, featuring Bill Nye the Science Guy! In the second video of the series debunking eye health myths, Bill and Dr. Roger Phelps dive deeper into the facts surrounding comprehensive eye exams and if eye doctors can detect signs of serious diseases like diabetes.
Jill N. is a member of the VSP Global Public Relations team.
VSP Vision Care is excited to support the 9th Annual Sacramento Juneteenth Festival this weekend. The mobile clinic will be on site for two days to provide no cost comprehensive eye exams and eyewear to qualifying attendees.
In the summer of 2001, Sacramento’s Juneteenth festival joined the ranks of other American cities to celebrate, as well as educate, the community on one of America’s most important acts of legislation, the Emancipation Proclamation. Signed into law in 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation declared that all those enslaved were now free.
As a company committed to the community as well as to inclusion and diversity, we are proud to support the Juneteenth Festival and look forward to providing much needed services to those in need.
Yesterday morning, VSP Mobile Clinic Operations Manager Niki M. and Sacramento Juneteenth Festival founder, Gary Simon, discussed VSP’s support of the Festival with KCRA’s Adrianne Bankert.
View the clip from KCRA here.
On June 8th and 9th, the VSP Mobile Eyes programpartnered with Dr. Laura Kenyon, O.D., president of the West Michigan Optometric Association (WMOA), and Chris Buczek from the Kent County Health Department (KCHD) Hearing and Vision Screening program, to provide close to 100 children and families with free comprehensive eye examinations and eyewear.
Eight local VSP optometrists from the WMOA volunteered their time and services during the two day event. During the 2009-10 school year, KCHD vision technicians screened more than 46,000 children, and referred more than 6,500 of those children for complete eye exams. Many of those children did not have the resources to receive that follow up care, that’s where Dr. Kenyon and VSP came in.
Dr. Laura Kenyon, president of the West Michigan Optometric Association
“Our member doctors are more than willing to volunteer and give eye examinations to those who may not otherwise receive care,” said Dr. Kenyon. “We are excited to have the VSP mobile eye clinic traveling to Grand Rapids to support both our doctors and the members of our community most in need.”
Here is an article and radio clip that were published yesterday regarding the event.
VSP would like to extend a huge thank you to Dr. Kenyon, all of our VSP doctors who volunteered, and Chris Buczek from the KCHD who helped to make this event a huge success!
Jill N. is a member of the VSP Global Public Relations team.
In February we asked our VSP doctors to submit names for the new VSP/Transitions mobile clinic. Thanks to the great response from our providers, we received over 600 names, and selected five for the general public to vote on: Eyenstein, LuSee, SeeAna, SeeBert and SeeCil. After a two week voting period, Eyenstein received the top number of votes and has become the official name for the third mobile clinic in the VSP Mobile Eyes® fleet!
Amanda S. from Dr. Churchill’s practice, Cedarville Eye, in MA, submitted the winning name: “I had originally come up with several other names, and while I was submitting them, the name ‘Eyenstein’ just popped in my head. The play on the name made me laugh a little, so I submitted it. I thought it was clever because as an opticianry apprentice, I know that healthy vision is smart!”
Our winners, Dr. Churchill and Amanda
See much more