More kids show eye strain from digital devices, optometrist warns parents

A Calgary optometrist says she's seeing more cases of digital eye strain among kids and, as they head back to school, now is the best time to get that problem sorted out.

"We're seeing it more for them than we have in the past," said Andrea Lasby. 

"So where it used to be primarily a millennial — 20-, 30-, 40-year-old problem — we're kind of seeing it intergenerational at this point, including children."

The root cause could be parents who don't understand the effects on children.

Not taking breaks

An online survey commissioned by the Alberta Association of Optometrists (AAO) revealed that 59 per cent of parents in the province "are not aware of or do not encourage their children to take steps during or after using digital devices to reduce the impact on their eyes."

"Digital eye strain is the discomfort experienced after screen use for more than two hours at a time," Dr. Jim Asuchak, practicing optometrist and president of the AAO, said in a news release on the study.  

"Alberta children are, on average, spending at least double that amount of time on digital devices, and we are seeing the results in our exam chairs."

Kavan Shergill, 8, sitting for an exam with Lasby, said his eyes have been dry and itchy lately and that he gets headaches, especially after spending time on his iPad. 

"I'm trying to not go on it, but like, I can't," he said. "It's hard." 

Eye irritation and blurriness can impair learning

According to Lasby, Shergill's symptoms are all early signs of digital eye strain.

She says the long-term impacts are not yet known because it's such a new phenomenon, but the irritation and blurriness can impact learning in the classroom.

"Children oftentimes don't know what they're feeling is inappropriate or that it's not normal, so they don't complain. They just think blurriness, that's normal," said Lasby.

"Or perhaps they say 'I'm reading, it's blurry, I don't feel like doing this anymore,' and now they're hyperactive and they move around a lot, so sometimes that hyperactivity is a misdiagnosis and it can be an eye problem."

How to avoid eye strain

Parents can also encourage children to take preventative measures at home and at school to reduce the risk of digital eye strain, including:

• Take regular breaks.
• Follow the 20-20-20 rule by looking 20 feet away every 20 minutes for 20 seconds.
• Don't hold screens too close, especially for long periods of time.
• Eliminate screen glare by reducing overhead lighting.
• Position computers slightly below eye level and at arm's length.
• Increase text size on digital devices.
• Adjust screen brightness.

Teens spend almost 8 hours daily on digital devices

According to the AAO survey, Alberta parents said elementary school-age children spend more than four hours each day using digital devices at home and at school. For teenagers, that number increases to nearly eight hours each day. 

Lasby says symptoms can be treated with eye drops, special eye glasses and blinking exercises. She said there are also apps that can adjust the colour temperature of screens to reduce the impact.

The AAO's survey was conducted online through the polling firm Angus Reid from July 13 to July 18 among 506 Albertans with children under the age of 18.

For comparison purposes only, a random sample of this size would yield a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

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What Does It Mean To Be Nearsighted Or Farsighted?

Time to explore two of the most common refractive errors: myopia and hyperopia!

Normally, Light Is Focused Directly Onto The Retina

Before we delve into what it means to be nearsighted or farsighted, let’s first talk about how a normal eye functions. Vision occurs when light enters the eye and, working together, the cornea and the lens refract light to focus onto a point at the very back of the eye called the retina. The retina converts this light into electrical impulses and sends them to your brain. Your brain then produces an image.

When there are imperfections in the eye that prevent light from being focused perfectly on the retina, a refractive error occurs.

The Way The Eye Is Shaped Can Determine Vision

Myopia

Myopia, commonly known as nearsightedness, affects nearly 30 percent of the U.S. population. It occurs when light is focused in front of the retina, instead of directly on it. This happens when the cornea is too curved or the eyeball is too long.

People who are nearsighted have an easy time reading, working on the computer and doing other close work. They struggle seeing when driving, reading a whiteboard at school, watching a movie or trying to identify faces from far away.

Hyperopia

When an eyeball is too short or the cornea isn’t curved enough, farsightedness–or hyperopia–is the result. This causes light to be focused behind the retina, making a farsighted person able to see far away but not close up. Only around 10 percent of Americans have hyperopia, making it much less widespread than myopia.

Those who are farsighted can easily read an eye chart, but may have trouble reading the text book right in front of them. Consequently, farsightedness is often missed in simple vision screenings performed at school. For your next eye exam, visit one of our Doctors of Optometry and get your eyes checked by an eye care professional. We will not only ascertain your visual acuity but they will also assure that every aspect of your vision health is taken care of.

Everyone Deserves To Have Good Vision

If you have frequent headaches or eyestrain, you may have a problem with your vision. If you already have glasses or contacts and experience similar symptoms, you may just need your prescription updated. So whether you’re going in for some new frames, renewing your prescription, or suspect that something in your vision might be off, our Doctors of Optometry would love to see you. It’s our philosophy that everyone deserves to have good vision!

We love being the eye care professionals you trust!

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The Value Of Back-To-School Eye Exams

With school starting up again soon, now is a great time to start thinking about scheduling an eye appointment for your child.

Classroom Vision Problems Are Varied

Experts estimate that 10 percent of preschoolers have a vision problem significant enough to impact learning, and being nearsighted or farsighted aren’t the only problems you can have with your vision. Colorblindness is also common, as is astigmatism, which causes blurred visionat any distance.

These are all issues with the structure of the cornea and lens or with the retina. Even if none of these issues are present, a person could still have trouble seeing effectively if their eyes don’t work together well. Eye teaming, tracking, and focusing are all crucial visual skills for learning, as are hand-eye coordination and visual perception (the ability to mentally process what the eyes see).

Keep An Eye Out For Common Symptoms 

Children with vision problems are unlikely to tell their teachers and parents because they don’t realize the source of the problem. It’s crucial, therefore, for us adults to watch the children in our care for symptoms such as:

• Poor reading comprehension
• Slow to finish schoolwork
• Short attention span for close work
• Tendency to fidget and look away from work
• Frequent headaches
• Tendency to cover one eye
• Frequent blinking or eye-rubbing

If several of these symptoms sound a lot like the symptoms of ADHD and dyslexia, that’s no accident. Not being able to focus on close objects or use the eyes together as a team can make it unpleasant and frustrating to try to concentrate on their work. This gives the child the appearance of having a disorder like ADHD. In fact, many children are misdiagnosed as having ADHD when they really just have an undiagnosed vision problem.

Undiagnosed Vision Problems Affect Learning

Up to 80 percent of the learning children do is through their eyes, so having an undiagnosed and untreated vision problem can have far-reaching effects on their education, confidence, and ability to socialize. Unlike adults, kids might not know how to explain what’s wrong. They don’t know how other people see, they just know that even though trying to read words or stay focused on people’s faces is physically uncomfortable, they get in trouble for not doing it.

This frustrating situation leads them to act out and disengage from learning and other people, which is a tragedy. Luckily, however, it’s a tragedy that can be averted with comprehensive eye exams and correct treatment.

Comprehensive Eye Exams Go Beyond 20/20

Unlike the simple screening done by a school nurse, a comprehensive eye exam involves checking for color blindness, eye alignment (teaming), ocular motility (tracking), and depth perception in addition to doing the standard E-chart visual acuity test. Your optometrist would also check that the structures of your child’s eye look normal and healthy.

We’re Here For You And Your Children

Whether or not you suspect your child has a vision problem, our Doctors of Optometry would love to see them this summer to make sure their vision is working well or to start planning treatment for a vision problem.

Your family’s vision is our top priority!

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Solar Eclipse Eye Safety: Be Prepared!

Are you ready for the total solar eclipse on August 21?

What Is A Solar Eclipse?

The sun is about 400 times larger than the moon, but it’s also 400 times farther away from the earth, which is why they look the same size in the sky. When they line up with the earth just right, the moon can block out the sun, resulting in a solar eclipse. Anywhere the moon’s shadow falls, we see the eclipse, but it’s only a partial eclipse unless we’re in what’s called the “path of totality.”

What makes this year’s eclipse particularly rare and special is that it is a total eclipse. The moon’s orbit isn’t 100 percent consistent. Sometimes it’s closer to the earth and appears larger, and sometimes it’s farther away and appears smaller. When it lines up with the sun while farther away, the result is an annular eclipse, where you can still see a “ring of fire” around the silhouette of the moon because it isn’t big enough to completely block the sun.

A total eclipse only happens if the moon is closer to the earth when it lines up with the sun, and the only way we can see the diamond ring effect, the sun’s corona, stars during the day, and other amazing effects is during a total eclipse.

To learn a bit more about solar eclipses, check out the video below:

Shield Your Eyes!

It’s never a good idea to look at the sun, and that includes during a solar eclipse. It’s already important to wear UV-blocking sunglasses outside during the brightest hours of the day even when we aren’t looking directly at the sun. The light-sensitive cells that allow us to see are like delicate instruments, and looking at the sun overloads them. You can actually burn your retinas—a condition called solar retinopathy—by looking at the sun, and it doesn’t take long.

So how can we enjoy a solar eclipse if it’s never safe to look at the sun? We just need eclipse glasses! These are special glasses designed to block out all of the harmful UV rays and the excess light so that you can look at the solar eclipse without fear of damage to your eyes.

Eclipse Glasses Differ From Normal Sunglasses

Eclipse glasses are not the same as ordinary sunglasses, and even the very best polarized UV-blocking sunglasses are not sufficient protection for looking at the sun. In order to be approved by NASA, eclipse glasses can’t let more than 0.00032 percent of the sun’s light through them, they can’t have any bubbles or scratches, and they should include safety instructions printed on the earpieces. Do not risk your vision health by wearing eclipse glasses or using a solar viewer that doesn't meet ISO 12312-2 international safety standards.

Please contact us at www.visionsourcenw.com or 604.553.3900 if you have any questions!

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Fireworks Eye Safety

Explosives Are Not Toys

To anyone lucky enough to have never been injured by fireworks, they might just seem like exciting lights and sounds, but the fact of the matter is that fireworks—from bottle rockets and Roman candles to mortars and artillery shells—are explosives. Even when they fire in the right direction, they can project tiny pieces of shrapnel toward nearby spectators at high speeds.

Even poppers and sparklers aren’t as safe as they seem. Sparklers burn at temperatures over 1200°F! That’s not something we want anywhere near our eyes. A few good rules for sparklers are to always supervise children under age 12 when they use them, don’t run with them, hold them at arm’s length from the body, and only use one at a time.

Eye Injuries Are Too Common

Every year, thousands of people are injured by fireworks. In 2014 alone, 1,300 people went to emergency rooms specifically for eye injuries. More significantly, it was the bystanders who suffered the majority of those injuries, not the operators.

All it takes is one spark or fast-moving piece of shrapnel to cause permanent blindness. Don’t let this happen to you or your loved ones!

Safety First!

The safest thing you can do is avoid home fireworks entirely and only go to professional displays, but if you are doing fireworks at home, make sure you follow these safety tips:

• Carefully follow all safety instructions on the labels of your fireworks.
• Always use protective eyewear. When shrapnel goes flying, goggles can be the difference between being blinded for life and walking away completely unharmed.
• Supervise young children at all times. Better still, keep children under age 12 away from all fireworks, even sparklers and firecrackers!

Here's a few more safety tips for using sparklers to celebrate this summer:

If There Is An Injury…

Sometimes accidents happen even when we follow all the rules. If you or anyone else you know sustains an eye injury, here are some steps to follow:

• Do not rub, rinse out, or apply pressure or ointment to the injured eye. Any of these will likely do even more damage.
• Go straight to the emergency room (don’t even pause for pain medication on the way). The sooner the eye receives treatment, the better its chances are for recovery.

Have A Blast (As Long As You’re Safe)!

We want you all to be safe as you celebrate this summer, but we also hope you have a great time with family, friends, food, and fireworks.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at www.visionsourcenw.com or call us at 604-553-3900.

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The Science Of Sunglasses

Have you ever wondered just what sunglasses do for your eyes, and how? It’s a little more complex than just dropping a dark filter over your vision.

Different Tints Do Different Things

Did you know that the color of your sunglasses’ lenses affects what they do for your eyes? This goes beyond just putting a color filter on your field of vision; different colours actually serve different purposes:

• Yellow and amber lenses are ideal for outdoor sports, particularly snow sports, as they filter out blue light, which may be harmful to your vision, and they reduce glare off the snow while improving contrast and depth perception.
• Rose and purple lenses increase contrast of objects against a blue or green background, which makes them great for hunting or water skiing.
• If you don’t want the colors you see to be altered by your lenses, you’ll probably prefer sunglasses with gray, black, or green lenses. Green lenses have the added benefit of filtering out blue light.

Glare Elimination With Polarized Lenses

Polarized lenses are particularly effective at getting rid of glare. Think of them as windows that have microscopic slats. Light can only enter from certain directions, so light bouncing off shiny or bright objects around you can’t get past the lenses!

A quick way to tell whether lenses are polarized or not is to hold them up to a light source and slowly rotate them to see if the light coming through changes. If it does, they’re polarized and will protect your eyes from glare!

Cheap Sunglasses Are Dangerous

A cheap pair of sunglasses might look cool and save you from having to squint your way through a sunny day, but you could actually be putting your eyes in more danger by wearing them than you would if you simply went without. You might think that as long as the sunglasses are dark enough, you’ll be fine from eye-damaging UV radiation. Not so!

What makes these sunglasses worse than no sunglasses at all is that the dark tint tricks your eyes into dropping their guard. You won’t squint and your pupils will dilate, letting in all those harmful rays that squinting and contracted pupils offer some protection against.

That’s where high-quality and prescription sunglasses come in. UV protection is one way you get what you pay for. Prescription sunglasses have it, and you can check the labels of non-prescription pairs to make sure they do. Only buy sunglasses that offer 99 to 100 percent UV protection or up to 400nm UV protection!

Any Questions?

Is there anything else you’d like to know about sunglasses, the protection they offer, and how to choose the right pair for you? Don’t hesitate to ask!

Wishing our patients an awesome summer!

Risks Associated With Sun Exposure

Ultraviolet (UV) radiation is an invisible component of sunlight that is most commonly known to cause sunburns and skin cancers. While some UV is filtered by the ozone layer, increasing amounts are reaching the earth as the ozone layer steadily diminishes. Because exposure to UV is cumulative, direct contact with sunlight for even short periods of time can cause several long-term eye health problems, many of which begin symptom-free.

To help reduce UV radiation damage to your eyes, consider the following tips:

• Beware of high sources of UV exposure in the workplace. The Canadian Center for Occupational Health & Safety indicates examples of workers at potential risk from exposure to UV radiation including outdoor workers, construction workers, paint and resin curers, plasma torch operators, welders, farmers, food and drink irradiators, hairdressers, laboratory workers, lighting technicians, lithographic and printing workers and police.
• Recognize sources of man-made ultraviolet radiation. Examples include various types of UV lamps, arc welding torches and mercury vapour lamps. In dental and medical practices, UV radiation can be used for killing bacteria, creating fluorescent effects, curing resins and phototherapy. Sun tanning booths also use UV radiation.
• Wear sunglasses, prescription or safety glasses with anti-UV coatings. Sunlight is by far the greatest source of UV radiation.

Exposure to its UVA and UVB rays, as well as man-made sources of UVC rays, can lead to long-term eye damage including:

• Age-related macular degeneration
• Cataracts
  • Eyelid skin cancer
  • Premature age spots around the eyes
  • Tissue growths on the surface of the eye including pinguecula and pterygium, of which the latter can encroach on the corneal axis

• If you wear corrective contact lenses, consider wearing UV-blocking contact lenses for an added layer of UV protection. Sunglasses are important, but aren’t always enough. Depending on the frame size, shape and position, as much as 45 per cent of UV rays can still reach the eyes of people wearing some sunglasses. Contact lenses with UV protection are an effective way to block light that gets in the sides and protects from harmful UV radiation reaching the cornea and into the eye. Not all contact lenses offer UV protection so check with your doctor of optometry to find out which ones are right for you.
• Recognize symptoms of UV eye damage, including immediate pain, inflammation of the cornea and an aversion to light. UV burns are commonly known as welder’s flash, snow blindness, ground-glass eyeball, or flash burn, depending on the UV source. Should you experience these symptoms, see your doctor of optometry right away.

While the symptoms listed above indicate eye damage caused by UV exposure, many long-term problems caused by UV exposure are symptom-free. To learn about the UV damage your eyes may already have, visit your doctor of optometry for a thorough eye examination.