Re-opening reminder

Just a reminder of some of the changes to expect as of May 18th:

• First and foremost, during this upcoming period of time, if you have any symptoms of an illness (ie. congestion, fever, cough, flu-like symptoms, body aches, etc.), we ask that you not enter our office.

• We will limit the amount of patients in our office at any given time.  Unless you are a minor or require a caregiver, we ask that you arrive at your appointment by yourself.

• If you have an appointment, we ask that you call us from your car when you arrive at your appointment.

• We are eliminating the waiting area for now. Our staff will call you when we are ready to begin your appointment. You will be allowed to enter at that point.

• We are working to eliminate forms in the office. Our online forms are accessible at http://www.littleelmeyecare.com/online-forms.  Patients scheduled for routine eye examinations will be required to fill out the online check-in form THE DAY BEFORE OR THE DAY OF their appointment.  There is a COVID-19 questionnaire for anyone else entering our facility (ie. office visits, looking at glasses, contact lens checks, etc.)

• Examination questions like reason for visit, changes in health history, medications, etc. will be performed through online forms.

• Our staff will wear masks, and anyone entering the office will be required to wear a mask.

• Temperature screenings will be performed on anyone entering the office.

• Patients will be asked to sanitize/wash their hands upon entering the office.

• We will only allow two patients in our optical at any given time. Our opticians are very well-trained, and they will assist with all frame selection.

• For patients picking up contact lenses, we will ask that you call from the parking lot, and we will deliver the order to your car.

• For patients without appointments needing glasses adjustments or wanting to look at glasses, we ask that you call us when you arrive.

• Starting May 18th and until further notice, our office hours will be 8:00AM-5:00PM, Monday through Friday.

We look forward to serving you, and we hope you will be patient with us as we implement these new procedures.  Please contact us if you have any questions or concerns.

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Re-Opening

The American Optometric Association (AOA) has confirmed with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) that the March 17th restrictions on routine eye care are no longer in effect.  As an office, Little Elm Eye Care has been receptive of the CDC’s recommendation from the beginning, and we are still aware of the ongoing concern of the COVID-19 crisis.  We are also receptive to the ongoing need for eye care in our community and from our patients.  Because of this need, we have decided to re-open to regular patient care on May 18th.  Things will be much different, and we will outline the differences in this email.  Our staff will return the week of May 11th for extensive training on new procedures and to answer phones and make appointments.

Here are some of the changes that our patients can expect:

First and foremost, during this upcoming period of time, if you have any symptoms of an illness (ie. congestion, fever, cough, flu-like symptoms, body aches, etc.), we ask that you not enter our office.

We will limit the amount of patients in our office at any given time.  Patients with appointments will be expected to call our office from the parking lot and check in.

We are eliminating the waiting area for now.  Our staff will call you when we are ready to begin your appointment.  You will be allowed to enter at that point.

We are working to eliminate forms in the office.  Many of our forms will be accessible online.

Examination questions like reason for visit, changes in health history, medications, etc. will be performed through online forms.

Our staff will wear masks, and anyone entering the office will be required to wear a mask.

Temperature screenings will be performed on anyone entering the office.

A COVID-19 questionnaire will be performed on anyone entering the office.

Patients will be asked to sanitize/wash their hands upon entering the office.

We will only allow two patients in our optical at any given time.  Our opticians are very well-trained, and they will assist with all frame selection.

For patients picking up contact lenses, we will ask that you call from the parking lot, and we will deliver the order to your car.

For patients without appointments needing glasses adjustments or wanting to look at glasses, we ask that you call us when you arrive.

We are eager to get back to work and serve you, our patients.  We ask that you be patient with us as we implement these new procedures.  The well-being of our patients and our staff are our highest concern, and we hope you will appreciate the precautionary measures we have put in place.  We will continue to monitor guidelines set forth by the AOA and CDC, and we will implement them accordingly.  We look forward to seeing you soon.

COVID 19

As we navigate through the COVID-19 pandemic, we want to make you aware of some upcoming changes in our office. As of now, we are cancelling all routine eye care for May. At this point, we are not rescheduling until further notice. We are unsure when we will be seeing routine exams again due to CDC recommendations.  Our office will only be open one day a week on Tuesday from 9:00AM-1:00PM. If you call our office and no one answers, please call us back on Tuesday or leave a message.  If you need contact lenses or glasses, please leave a message.

Our primary concern at this point is safety and well-being of our patients, our staff, and our community. We are limiting visits in the office to only true emergent concerns. We feel this is the best way to still serve our community and follow the guidelines set forth by the CDC.

We are still here for you, so please call us if you have any questions or concerns. Please stay safe, and we hope to see you again very soon.

End of Year Benefits

Make the most of your benefits and flexible savings plans to maximize your savings before the end of the year!

Appointment availability becomes limited as we approach the end of the year.

Our Holiday hours are as follows:

Monday, December 25th: Closed

Tuesday, December 26th: Closed

Monday, January 1st: Closed

Solar Eclipse

On August 21st, a total solar eclipse will touch the U.S. mainland for the first time since 1979, following a path that crosses the country from Salem, Oregon to Charleston, South Carolina. Tens of millions of people who live within a 70-mile radius of its cross-country track will witness the eclipse in totality (the sun completely blocked by the moon) while millions of others outside of it will enjoy a partial eclipse. The American Optometric Association (AOA), America’s family eye doctors, is urging Americans to view the eclipse with proper eye protection to avoid any temporary or permanent eye damage from the sun.

To ensure spectators won’t miss the remarkable sight, the AOA is sharing a few tips for safe viewing:

• Get centered and enjoy the view.  Here in Texas, we will only see a partial eclipse. With this in mind, your eyes should always be protected by verified viewing tools. Never look directly at the sun without eye protection, even briefly.  The only safe way to look directly at the sun or at a partially eclipsed sun is through special purpose solar filters or other ISO-certified filters.  The AOA encourages ordering solar eclipse glasses in advance and recommends the American Astronomical Society’s (AAS) website (eclipse.aas.org) for a list of manufacturers.  The AAS website also contains a wealth of information regarding the eclipse.
• Be aware of harmful solar exposure.  If you stare at the sun without protection, you may experience retinal damage called solar retinopathy.  This damage can occur without any sensation of pain, since the retina does not have pain receptors.  The injury can be temporary or permanent.  Please visit our office immediately if an accident occurs.
• Visit our office.  If you have any questions or concerns regarding the eclipse, please give our office a call.  Once again, we can’t stress enough, please DO NOT look at the sun directly with the naked eye at any point during the eclipse.  If for some reason you have vision problems after the eclipse, please give our office a call.

We hope this will be a spectacular event for you!

Netflix, Amazon Prime, Contact Lenses? What do these have in common?

Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Contact Lenses?  What do these three things have in common?  They are all available for a monthly subscription.  “What?” you may say.  Netflix and Amazon Prime are understandable, but Contact Lenses?  Yes, you read that correctly.  We now offer contact lenses for a monthly subscription price.  At this point, we only offer this option for daily contact lenses, but it is a great option for those who love the daily contact lens modality and are unable to pay for the entire year at once.  The best thing about it is that there is no extra charge for this service.  The contact lenses are available for the same price as they are in our office.  The only extra fee you pay is for shipping.  The contact lenses are shipped automatically every three months.  You sign up, and then you don’t have to call our office for the rest of the year to order contact lenses.  Of course, for those of you who still like to order your year supply at once and take advantage of the manufacturer rebates, you can still take advantage of that option.  This just provides an alternative.

Diabetes

We’ve often heard that diabetics need to get their eyes checked regularly, but why is that the case? What effect does diabetes have on the eyes? The truth of the matter is that diabetes, particularly uncontrolled diabetes, is one of the leading causes of acquired blindness. High blood sugar, which is the major consequence of diabetes, causes damage to supportive cells of the blood vessels called pericytes. When pericytes are damaged, blood vessels become weak and leaky. The retina, just like many structures in the body, has its own blood supply. Hence, it requires oxygen delivered from that blood to function correctly. When the retinal blood vessels become damaged and leaky, blood is no longer supplying the areas of the retina it is supposed too. When those areas start to lack oxygen, a whole host of problems develop, eventually leading to severe vision problems. Blood and fluid can also leak in the central portion of the retina, called the macula, which can also cause significant visual compromise.

One of the best ways diabetics can prevent severe diabetic retinopathy is to control their blood sugar and maintain regular visits to their physician. This also means regular trips to the eye doctor. For routine diabetic checks, it is essential that our patients are seen at least once a year. We may recommend more frequent visits if we start to see diabetic retinopathy. At each evaluation, we communicate with our patients’ physicians, so they are aware of the results of the examination. In many cases, managing diabetes is a team effort among a group of doctors all working hand in hand to provide the best care for patients.

Your eyelids need cleaning too!!

Most of us would agree that one important aspect of health is good hygiene.  Well…Believe it or not, that translates to the eyes also.  One of the most common and difficult conditions we manage on a day to day basis is dry eye syndrome.  Dry eye syndrome has many causes, but one of the most common is blepharitis.

Blepharitis is characterized by a crusty, flakey eyelid margin.  In addition, the small oil glands along the eyelid margins become clogged.  These oil glands play a vital role at keeping our tears nice and healthy.  If these glands are no longer producing normally, the tears become unstable.  The resultant condition is dry eye.  In addition to the clogged oil glands, blepharitis often causes an overgrowth of bacteria along the eyelid margins.  These bacteria often irritate the eyes and can cause a variety of problems.

A very effective way of combating blepharitis is with eyelid scrubs.  We are big fans of the commercially available lid scrub solutions on the market today.  Often, you can get the formulations in single use pads or in a foam.  Both are very effective at keeping blepharitis under control.

Blepharitis is a chronic condition, so frequent lid hygiene is essential.  I wish I could tell you that you can just treat this condition for a week, and it will be eradicated.  Unfortunately, though, that is not the case.  The only way to keep blepharitis under control is to perform lid scrubs often.  I often tell my patients to make it part of their shower routine.  In many cases, the eyes will feel remarkably better, and it’s quite possible that they will become less reliant on artificial tears.

 

Doctor Bert, these no line bifocals make me sick.

Have you ever tried progressive lenses (no line bifocals) only to have them make you literally sick to your stomach? One always inevitable side effect of progressive lenses has been the “swim effect”. The swim effect is a product of progressive lenses which causes images to move around when looking through the peripheral aspects of the lenses. This effect can be quite disorienting and in some cases, nauseating. In many cases, this effect can be overcome with adaptation. Sometimes, however, patients cannot adapt, and a switch to a less desirable lined bifocal option is the only choice.

Enter Essilor’s S Series 4D lenses. This completely new digital design has virtually eliminated the swim effect. The result is a more natural visual experience to progressives. The Essilor S Series lenses are only available through eye care providers with the Visioffice digital system. If you’d like more information, or you would like to check out the system, come by our office. We’d love to show it to you!

Three reasons why contact lens wearers absolutely need a pair of glasses.

1. Your eyes need a break! Studies have shown that the risk for adverse events from contact lens wear decreases when contact lenses are removed more often. Glasses encourage frequent contact lens removals.
2. If you do have a contact lens related adverse event, you can’t wear your contact lenses. Many adverse events can be treated very effectively with ocular medications; however, it is not safe to wear your contact lenses during treatment. Glasses prevent the added inconvenience of not being able to see during the therapy period.
3. Glasses provide a different look to your wardrobe. Let’s face it. A trendy pair of glasses can really update your appearance.