Archive for the ‘Eye Safety’ Category
Posted on August 5th, 2010 by Lisa P.
CBS News Medical Correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton was recently on “The Early Show” to discuss Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS) in a segment titled “How to Ease Your Computer Eye Strain.”
“It’s a new and growing condition that’s a byproduct of modern technology,” she said. “The most common symptoms are: eye strain, dry or irritated eyes, fatigue, and headaches.” Dr. Ashton not only provides the latest on a health problem that affects 70 percent of computer users, her recommendations on easing this strain are tips from VSP Vision Care:
- Blink Often: When looking at a computer or hand-held digital device, it’s common for you to blink two to three times less than you normally would. This can lead to “dry eye.” Blinking bathes your eyes in tears, and tears are naturally therapeutic for the eyes.
- The 20/20/20 Rule: When spending long periods in front of a digital device, every 20 minutes, spend 20 seconds looking at something 20 feet away to allow your eyes to rest.
- Ensure Proper Lighting: Poor lighting often causes eye strain. To help ease the strain on your eyes, keep bright lighting overhead to a minimum and position your desk lamp to shine on your desk, and not at you. Position your computer screen in a way that reduces reflections and glare from windows or overhead lights.
- Location of computer screen: Most people find it more comfortable to view a computer when the eyes are looking downward. Optimally, the computer screen should be 15 to 20 degrees below eye level (about 4 or 5 inches) as measured from the center of the screen and 20 to 28 inches from the eyes.
For more information about computer-related vision problems visit the “My Eyes” tab on VSP’s Facebook page.
File under: CVS, Eye Safety, Technology, eye health | Tagged: 20/20/20 rule, blink, CBS Early Show, CBS News, computer, computer screen, computer vision syndrome, digital, Dr. Jennifer Ashton, eye strain, The Early Show, VSP, VSP Vision Care
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Posted on July 19th, 2010 by Tyreke Evans
File under: Eye Safety, Fun, Tyreke Evans, eye health, sports | Tagged: #RekeROY, 2010 Rookie of the year, athletes, eye health, Eye Safety, Reke, sacramento kings, Sports vision, Tyreke Evans, Tyrekes Court, VSP, VSP Vision Care
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Posted on July 14th, 2010 by Lisa P.
Lady Gaga looking doe-eyed. From her "Bad Romance" music video
Lady Gaga has become a trend-setter around the world. This time, it’s not about her racey outfits but more for her eyes. In her recent music video for her track “Bad Romance,” her eyes have sparked a new trend here in the U.S. known as the “circle contact lens.”
Originating from South Korea, and illegal in the States, these lenses take a new spin on the traditional colored-contact lens. “The lens extend beyond the iris, the colored part of the eye, making the eye appear larger. It’s purely cosmetic,” said medical correspondent, Dr. Jennifer Ashton with the CBS Early Show. These contacts give a doll or doe-eyed appearance (see Lady Gaga on the right) and have become popular among teens. Dr. Ashton goes on to stay the risks of these cosmetic lenses include infection, corneal ulcer & abrasion, vision impairment and lack of oxygen.
Watch the full interview with Dr. Ashton on the CBS Early Show
File under: Eye Safety, Frames & Lenses, eye health, fashion | Tagged: abrasion, Bad Romance music video, CBS Early Show, circle contact lens, contact lens trend, contact lenses, contacts, corneal ulcer, doe-eyed, doll eyes, Dr. Jennifer Ashton, eye trend, Lady gaga, South Korea, teen trend, vision impairment
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Posted on June 29th, 2010 by Lisa P.
Independence Day, Fourth of July, is right around the corner and that means picnics, BBQ’s, outdoor activities and most importantly, fireworks! We want to make sure you see them bright and clear so we encourage you to wear sunglasses throughout the day. Lets face it, shades look cool, but did you know they are essential to eye health?
VSP doctor
Stephen Cohen from Scottsdale, Arizona says ”there’s increasing evidence that
ultraviolet rays in sunlight can significantly increase your risk of developing
cataracts and
macular degeneration. Because both conditions can threaten healthy vision, I recommend wearing sunglasses on sunny days year-round. Plus, you’ll experience better night vision when you wear sunglasses on sunny days.”
This is a plus for the fireworks show!
Here are some tips to picking out the right shades to protect your eyes.
Tommy Bahama Aviator
- Labels: Make sure they carry a consumer-protection label stating they’re 99-100% UV-absorbent, or provide UV absorption up to 400 nanometers (nm).
- Go big or wrap it: Bigger frames and lenses, and also wrap-around styles, give you more UV protection because they block peripheral rays. Also, this is the trend this season!
- Go polar: Polarized lenses block out sunlight glare bouncing off windshields, pavement, and other smooth surfaces.
- Consider color: Gray lenses are best. Why? They don’t change colors. Green and brown lenses are good too.
Often times, store-bought fireworks can emit smoke. Here are some tips for smokey-eyes:
- Rinse your eyes with clean water regularly; at least once a day or more often if they burn or itch.
- Try not to rub your eyes, since you might transfer dust and ash from your hands or face to your eyes that could scratch or irritate them. Wash your hands regularly, especially if you wear contact lenses.
- Use lubricating eye drops or artificial tears to keep your eyes refreshed and help get rid of dust and particles that can irritate eyes.
We hope you have a fun and safe Fourth of July this year!
File under: Eye Safety, Frames & Lenses, eye health, fashion | Tagged: cataracts, eye health, fireworks, Fourth of July, Independence Day, july 4, macular degeneration, smoke eyes, smokey eyes, Stephen Cohen, sunglasses, ultraviolet rays, UV protection, UV Rays, VSP, VSP Vision Care
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Posted on June 11th, 2010 by Lisa P.
Rob Coburn, Team Type 2
Guest blog from Rob Coburn. Rob is a rider with Team Type 2 and writes about his journey and team goal for the upcoming race, Race Across America.
I’m Rob Coburn, a rider on Team Type 2, and a member of this year’s team set to take on Race Across America (RAAM). On Thursday, June 10th, 8 of us and a fantastic support crew met up in Oceanside, California to get ready to take off on a week-long, 24 hours-a-day adventure. We will be racing against other teams from around the world on a 3,000 mile route that ends in Annapolis, Maryland. The race starts on Saturday, June 12 at 2 p.m. PST. Our goal this year is to finish in less than 7 days.
Our team wears Nike cycling sunglasses throughout the race and I leave them in my helmet every time I get off the bike to make sure that they’re there for the next ride.
A bit of background on me: I’m 46 and on a mission to manage my diabetes and raise awareness of what people with Type 2 diabetes can achieve. Everyone on our team has type 2 diabetes and we all are acutely aware of the importance of regular eye exams and eye protection. I’m fairly new to cycling at this level and have been training for about a year. I found out I was on the race team in February and have been training just for RAAM since then.
I’ll be providing updates before and during the race to let everyone know how we are doing. I’ll try to include some action shots, but it may be difficult depending on where we are.
If you want, shoot questions back to the blog site and I’ll work with the administrator to try and capture a few to answer during the race. So stay tuned for a wild ride!
About Team Type 2 and VSP Vision Care
Team Type 2 is a group of athletes living with diabetes. Team Type 2 strives to instill hope and inspiration for people around the world affected by diabetes. VSP® Vision Care is proud to be their exclusive eyecare and eyewear provider.
File under: Eye Safety, Frames & Lenses, RAAM, Team Type 1, diabetes, eye health | Tagged: bike, cycling, diabetes, eyewear, Nike, RAAM, race across america, Team Type 2, team type1, VSP, VSP Vision Care
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Posted on April 9th, 2010 by Jill N
Jill N. (with minimal personal space between her) and Erik Estrada.
I ran into Erik Estrada at the Transitions PGA Championship in Florida and he graciously took the time to explain why he was running around handing out tickets to guests at the golf tournament. Not only did I get to witness the man in his “CHiP’s” uniform (very impressive he still fits in it by the way), turns out he had very good reasons for harassing the spectators…
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File under: Eye Safety, Fun | Tagged: CHiPs, Erik Estrada, eye exams, eyecare, eyeglasses, eyewear, Florida, frame, glasses, PGA, Transitions, Transitions PGA Tournament, VSP Vision Care
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Posted on March 4th, 2010 by Liz B.
VSP provider Dr. Jeffrey Anshel wrote an article for education.com regarding keeping our kids eyes safe while using digital devices and avoiding Computer Vision Syndrome and tired eyes. Good advice for adults too. Read article.
So how much time do you estimate you or your kids spend per day looking at digital devices (smart phones, video games, tv, computers, etc.)? Leave us a comment.
Photo via education.com
File under: Eye Safety, eye health | Tagged: computer, computer vision, computer vision syndrome, digital devices, education.com, eye health, Eye Safety, iphone, Jeffrey Anshel, kids, smart phone, tired eyes, TV, video games
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Posted on February 3rd, 2010 by Liz B.
Learn more about the importance of wearing sunglasses – even on cloudy, overcast days – on VSP’s Eyecare Discovery Center and The Vision Council’s Under the Sun Guide.
File under: Eye Safety, eye health | Tagged: cataracts, Eye, Eye Safety, healthy eyes, public service message, skin cancer, sunglasses, ultraviolet sunlight, UV, UV protection, Vision Council
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Posted on August 14th, 2009 by Patti S
Patti S. is a member of VSP's Ophthalmic Services team
This is not a treatise on the benefits of the natural feeding of human infants, but rather the first installment of a two-part post containing my ideas of what constitutes optical nirvana when filling your child’s ophthalmic lens prescription. Well, maybe only fools like me achieve anything close to nirvana when considering the composition of the ultimate pair of lenses given the needs of the recipient. Having children of my own and obviously working in this esteemed industry, I have developed a vast array of opinions over the years. I am about to share a few more with you.
Before approaching your optician, bear in mind that lens material is the first consideration you must think about. I was going to say “should,” but I think “must” fits the bill far more accurately in this case. You want to provide an impact resistant (note the italics) material. There are no ophthalmic lens materials, of which I am aware, that are impact proof, just resistant, and that is a relative term. Two readily available materials spring to mind and will do so for nearly anyone concerned with children’s vision and eyewear. These are polycarbonate and Trivex. Both of these materials will not only provide your child with safer lenses than standard plastic (don’t even think about glass), but they will be lighter in weight and possibly thinner, depending on the correction. So, poly (in optical nerd jargon) and Trivex are a done deal. Consider this bit of advice indispensable law.
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File under: Eye Safety, Frames & Lenses, Uncategorized, eye health | Tagged: children's lenses, impact resistant lenses, kids' glasses, photochromic, polycarbonate, Transitions, Trivex, UV protection
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As an athlete, I know how important vision is so I partnered with VSP to create a website about eye safety for all my fans and athletes out there. The new site is called ”Tyreke’s Court” and has information on eye safety and eye health, specifically for people who play sports. Visit 
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