3-D is a topic that carries across all generations and genres and here’s are just a few of the bloggers from various focuses that found this video and topic worth sharing:

• BlogHer: Bill Nye the Science Guy is becoming a Mythbuster (sort of)
• Cinematical: Get Seasick in 3-D movies? Bill Nye is Here to Help
• Crunch Gear: Bill Nye the Science Guy (!) Explains why 3-D movies can make you sick
• The Movie Blog: Bill Nye the Science Guy talks 3D Disorientation!
• Pulse 2: Bill Nye is Back and He’s Doing a YouTube Channel for VSP Vision

Click here to view the embedded video.

Check back with us every week as Bill Nye, along with VSP provider Dr. Phelps, continue to debunk common eye health myths in VSP’s EyeFiles webisode series. In the meantime, check out the Today Show clip on 3-D and overall eye health. 

Be sure to visit VSP’s Facebook - Contest tab for your chance to win a FREE pair of Glasses/Sunglasses through the Eyewear Makeover Contest.

To help educate Americans on eye health and debunk common myths, VSP has  created a series of webisodes called VSP EyeFiles featuring the iconic Bill Nye the Science Guy and Dr, Roger Phelps, a VSP provider.

Click here to view the embedded video.

As part of this initiative, VSP Vision Care sent an online survey to VSP doctors across the country, asking them for the most common vision-related myths they hear from their patients on a regular basis.

The VSP doctor myth research survey revealed that:

Myth: Working many hours in front of a computer screen will harm your eyes.

Fact: 31 percent of doctors say they hear this myth on a daily basis. Although using computers will not damage vision, fatigue, headaches, neck pain or eye strain may occur with use over extended periods of time. This overuse can result in a serious condition called Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS). To help prevent CVS remember the 20-20-20 rule; every 20 minutes, spend 20 seconds looking at something 20 feet away.

Myth: Wearing glasses tends to weaken the eyes.

Fact: 24 percent of doctors say they hear this myth on a daily basis. Glasses do not weaken eyes. Eyes lose the ability to focus on near objects as people get older, a natural digression called presbyopia. Presbyopia, which means “old eye” in Greek, becomes noticeable between the ages of 38 and 42. The bottom line is glasses do not weaken eyes; rather eyes naturally become weaker with age.

Myth: Sitting too close to the television will harm your eyes.

Fact: 11 percent of doctors say they hear this myth on a daily basis. Despite what your mother told you as a kid, sitting closer than necessary to the television may cause headaches, but will not cause eye damage.

Other alarming myths that VSP doctors heard from patients on a regular basis included:

Myth: As long as your eyes don’t hurt, you can wear contact lenses 24/7.

Fact: If your contacts aren’t the overnight-approved, extended wear variety, don’t treat them that way. Daily wear contacts need nightly soaks to clean and disinfect them. Contacts are a great alternative for lenses, but proper contact care is needed to prevent eye irritation and infection.

Myth: Children do not need to have their vision tested until they are at least 5.

Fact: The American Optometric Association (AOA) recommends a six-month eye exam to make sure the baby’s eyes are developing correctly and to scan for serious problems such as cataracts and tumors. Eighty percent of what we learn is through our eyes, and one in four students has a visual impairment problem. One study shows a whopping 85 percent of America’s pre-schoolers haven’t received a vision exam by age five. Experts recommend that children see their eye doctor at six months, between the ages of 2 and 3, before entering kindergarten, and annually thereafter to ensure their eye health and learning progression.

Myth: If you can see fine, your eyes are healthy and you don’t need an exam.

Fact: Many eye and vision problems have no obvious signs or symptoms. It is important to make annual visits to an eye doctor to receive comprehensive eye exams. Through an exam an eye doctor can detect signs of serious health conditions including diabetes, brain tumors, and high cholesterol, before physical symptoms are present.

Myth: You cannot get cataracts unless you wear glasses.

Fact: Cataracts are caused by the aging and deterioration in the lens of the eyes. This is a normal process that occurs in about half of adults between the age of 65 and 75. Everyone can develop cataracts, no matter if they wear glasses or not, in fact, glasses can actually help postpone cataract surgery.

Research Methodology:

• VSP sent an online invitation to 1,200 VSP doctors inviting them to participate in the survey; 143 doctors responded, resulting in a 12 percent response rate.

Click here to view the embedded video.

What do you think? Curious to hear the thoughts of Dr. Kevin Pho, Jesus Diaz, FitSugar, Ken Denmead, and Richard Lawler on the topic as well.

Today, more than 50 pre-screened students from Azalea Elementary located in Pinellas County are the first to benefit from the new clinic. The evaluation process for students grades K-5 included initial screenings by Prevent Blindness Florida. Students who failed the screenings will be given comprehensive examinations in the clinic, staffed by VSP eye doctors. For students requiring prescription lenses, VSP and Transitions Optical will provide the students with complimentary eyewear fitted with Transitions® lenses.

A student of Azalea Elementary School was the first patient and is wearing the first glasses made on board the clinic in the finishing lab!

This partnership marks another milestone in furthering the efforts of the VSP Mobile Eyes® Program. What started as an extension of relief efforts following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, the program features two mobile eyecare clinics, each with two comprehensive exam rooms and full eyeglass dispensaries, which respond to disasters and assist people in need in communities throughout the U.S. The new clinic will be the third clinic in the fleet and has the unique feature of a finishing lab featuring full-service lens finishing equipment, donated by Santinelli International, providing patients with glasses on-site.

Rob Lynch, CEO of VSP Global and Dave Cole, Managing Director of Transitions Optical, unveil the new mobile clinic at Transitions headquarters in Pinellas Park, FL.

Here’s what VSP Global’s CEO Rob Lynch said about today’s events:

“Transitions and VSP both have a strong commitment to supporting the community and helping people see better. By leveraging the strength of our two organizations, and in partnership with our 26,000 private practice eye doctors, we will be able to extend our reach even further to help more people in need!”

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

Gail J. and her grand-daughter.

Gail J. works in VSP’s Human Resources department. She shares her experience as an employee volunteer at the recent 2010 Sacramento Black Expo, of which VSP was a major sponsor.

VSP made quite the impression at Black Expo 2010. We’ve participated in the past by having the standard booth and VSP volunteers on hand to share information about our company, more so from a job opportunity perspective. But this year, it felt different. With our VSP Mobile Clinic, SeeLia, as the backdrop of our booth, it was a thrill seeing the eyes of both children and adults as they approached us. Lots of “Wow! Look how big that thing is!” People were definitely drawn to VSP; and whether they wanted information about vision care, job opportunities, or simply to spin the prize wheel, they walked away with a true sense of the VSP experience.

While VSP made quite the impression to others, my volunteer experience left quite the impression on me. A lot of times, events such as these are basically an opportunity for people to walk by and grab the free giveaways. I didn’t get that sense this time at all. I may have chatted with at least a hundred people during my few hours of staffing the booth, but one person in particular stood out for me. I met an elderly gentleman who didn’t know anything about VSP and when I shared what we were doing at Black Expo (e.g. sharing eye health information, the Mobile Eyes program, job opportunities), he said he knew it was important to go to the doctor every year for a check-up, but he just didn’t have the money and he didn’t think the government was going to fix healthcare with all of their partisanship. I told him about our voucher program and to step inside the mobile clinic to learn more about the program. He emerged a few minutes later with a voucher and list of local VSP providers in hand. He had the biggest grin on his face and thanked me for making his day. I honestly believe the reverse was true … he made my day.

I always feel a sense of pride when I have the opportunity to represent VSP. And having the opportunity to volunteer at an event that combines two things that are of importance to me was a plus – my community (in general and specifically the African-American community) and where I work. [Of course, my family is THE most important thing in my life, but that goes without saying! ] But being able to share the VSP experience with the community was awesome! I met people who have VSP as their vision care insurance and asked me questions about their plans. Thank goodness there were volunteers from VSP’s Customer Service division to provide expert answers. I met kids who reminded me of my granddaughter Kayla in the way they asked a million questions about the Mobile Eyes clinic – “Do you drive this bus? Do you work in there? Do you live on it? Can we ride on it? How’d you guys get that thing in here?” and on and on and on. How fun that was! And last but not least, being in Human Resources, I loved hearing time after time as people approached, “VSP! You guys are one of the best companies to work for!” Even though VSP is technically not on the FORTUNE “100 Best” list this year, we remain “best” in the hearts and minds of many.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Jessica G. is a member of VSP's Corporate Public Relations team.

I was seven. Holding the book inches from the end of my nose, I was reading the newest Encyclopedia Brown. My parents witnessed my peculiar reading posture, and took me to an optometrist, where we found it was time for vision correction. All through elementary school, I wore glasses (bad ones), and survived the kind of taunts you would expect: “four eyes,” “nerd,” “dork.”

Jessica G. in the 4th Grade.

Then I reached high school. As a textbook sullen teen, I decided that I was “soooo over” glasses and begged my parents for contact lenses. They weren’t sure I was ready to take the leap and wanted me to wait a couple more years before graduating to contacts. In a self-defeating act of defiance, I just stopped wearing my glasses. No glasses meant no blackboard in class, which meant that my attention span dropped as my grades followed suit. I began having headaches and eye strain from constantly squinting. But, hey, I thought I looked good.

So when a recently-released joint study by VSP and Prevent Blindness America showed that one in five teenagers have difficulty seeing in class, I believed it. Kids who can’t see what’s on the blackboard in class are at a serious disadvantage, and may be perceived to have learning disabilities or other behavioral problems, when it’s simply an issue of correcting their vision. These kids also often suffer from headaches and other symptoms of vision impairment.

Sight for Students Eyewear

I eventually saw the light, and found a pair of glasses that actually suited me. With the range of great frames out there, this was a lot easier than it was when I was seven. Being able to absorb all aspects of class, both visually and aurally, made me a better student, and my grades recovered.

Increasing numbers of states are beginning to require an optometrist’s exam prior to entering public school, so hopefully the numbers released in the study will be on the upswing, with more kids getting eyecare and eyewear before hitting the classroom. With all of the challenges children encounter during their school years, removing the barrier of vision impairments can give them the extra edge they need to be successful.