Getting Cataract Surgery Improves Brain Function

Hello everyone,

Cataracts are something that everyone develops as they get older. A cataract is a cloudiness of the natural lens of your eye. When this happens, your vision gets blurry. You also may have more difficulty driving at night or in the rain. You may see halos around lights and are more bothered by glare. Colors appear to be washed out. When your vision is no longer correctable to 20/20 with glasses or contact lenses anymore, it's probably time to start thinking about cataract surgery.

Well...a new study mentions that visual impairment has been associated with lower cognitive ability among older adults. And the study shows that improved vision after cataract surgery is associated with slower cognitive decline. Although the study doesn't identify the mechanism to explain the relationship of reduced brain function and cataracts, it's thought that more sensory input to the brain is better for cognitive function.

The difference is pretty significant. Cataract surgery can slow down cognitive decline as much as 50%! The same goes with hearing loss. Those who wearing hearing aids for hearing loss can reduce cognitive decline up to 75%!

As an optometrist, I diagnose and manage cataract patients, recommending cataract surgery when the time is right. Will this study influence me to recommend cataract surgery sooner than later? Maybe. What I can tell you is that the amount of people after cataract surgery who say "I wish I would have done this (cataract surgery) sooner" is very high.

So, if your vision is blurred or you have any of the other symptoms at the beginning of this blog post, please consider coming in to our office for an eye exam. Maybe you'll just need an update in your eyeglasses or contact lens prescription. But if you are having issues due to cataracts, I'll make you to get you the right referral for cataract surgery when you're ready...sooner than later, of course!

Take care,
Dr. Weaver

You DON'T Have to Suffer with Dry Eye

Many people needlessly suffer with dry eye, and think that it's "normal." Dry eye disease causes blurred vision, watering, redness, burning, itching, foreign-body-sensation, grittiness, irritation and so on. Dry eye is more common today than 10-20 years ago due to the increase in use of digital devices: cell phones, tablets and computers. I recognized a need for an Dry Eye Center in Berks County, so that our office can adequately diagnose, manage and treat dry eye effectively! I'd like to introduce a new piece of equipment to the office called the Oculus Keratograph 5M. This instrument measures the curvature of the eye to help with complex contact lens fittings. BUT, it also contains advanced instrumentation and software to analyze the meibomian glands...the glands that produce normal tears. If your meibomian glands are clogged or not functioning properly, you're more likely to suffer from Dry Eye Disease. Oculus Keratograph 5M After determining that you have dry eye, I will get you on a treatment plan to alleviate your dry eye symptoms. It may be as simple as using artificial tear eye drops and hot compresses. Or we may have to add Restasis or Ziidra, two prescription medications that act on the anti-inflammatory pathways that typically cause dry eye. Using medicated eyelid wipes and high quality fish oil supplements with an appropriate amount of EPA and DHA will also assist in reducing those nagging dry eye symptoms. So, if you've been suffering from dry eye long enough, and you're finally ready to do something about it, please contact our office to schedule an appointment for a dry eye evaluation. Take care! Dr. Weaver Weaver Eye Care Associates www.weavereyecare.com 610-488-5315

Gross Eye of the Week (Weeks 1 through 10)

Hello everyone,

Here is a summary post on the blog showing the past ten weeks of the Gross Eye of the Week. Enjoy!

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

Week 6

Week 7

Week 8

Week 9

Week 10

There you go! Enjoy! Make sure to subscribe to the Weaver Eye Care Associates YouTube Channel for the latest eye care news!

Take care,
Dr. Weaver

Dr. Weaver's Crash the Superbowl 2015 Doritos Commercial Entry

To boost the video, do the following: Like the video on YouTube, share the video with everyone you know (Facebook and email), and subscribe to the channel. Thanks for your support! Enjoy!

How to Wear Contact Lenses Successfully: Dr. Weaver's Awesome Eye Tips

Gross Eye of the Week! (New video series)

If you can stomach gross videos, Dr. Weaver shows some gross eyes in his new weekly segment, "Gross Eye of the Week." Enjoy (or not)!

An Eye Doctor's Warning on Halloween Contact Lenses (Article with Video)

Press Release to Berk-Mont Newspapers published online 10/13/14. Link to the article here.

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Stores that sell contact lenses without a prescription is illegal. Those who purchase decorative contact lenses as an accessory for a Halloween costume can put their eyes at risk, warns Dr. Brendon J. Weaver from Weaver Eye Care Associates in Bernville.

There are many different designs of Halloween contact lenses out there: crazy, funny, scary, in any color, size and shape imaginable. However, if these lenses are purchased without a prescription from an optometrist, they could lead to blurred vision, red and irritated eyes, and eye infections that can cause irreversible vision loss.

“Whether they correct your vision or not, all contact lenses, including Halloween or decorative-only contacts, are considered medical devices by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA),” said Dr. Brendon J. Weaver in Bernville.

Halloween contacts are commonly sold at Halloween costume stores and flea markets, as well as beauty salons, convenience stores and the Internet. These contact lenses put consumers’ eyes at risk for bacterial infections, allergic reactions, and inflammation, which may then require a medical visit with your local optometrist to treat the corresponding problem.

“Consumers may feel they’re saving money by skipping the trip to the eye doctor to get properly fitted with decorative contact lenses. However, not only do over-the-counter contact lenses pose a higher risk of eye problems, but the consumer’s perceived savings may go right out the window with the numerous office visit co-pays and eye-drop medications prescribed to treat the eye problems resulting from those lenses,” added Dr. Weaver, who created a YouTube video warning consumers on the risk of wearing Halloween contact lenses (found below).

According to the AOA’s 2013 American Eye-Q® consumer survey, 17 percent of Americans have worn decorative contact lenses that don’t provide vision correction as part of a costume or for other cosmetic purposes. Of those individuals, 24 percent purchased them without a prescription from a source other than an eye doctor—a great concern to doctors of optometry.

If someone is interested in wearing decorative contact lenses for Halloween, it’s important for the optometrist to examine that person’s eyes to make sure they are healthy enough to support the wear of contact lenses. The optometrist will select the appropriate material, curvature, diameter and power (if corrective vision needed as well in the specialty contacts) to ensure that the lenses are fitting their best and that the patient has the best possible vision and comfort with those lenses.

The American Optometric Association offers the following recommendations for all contact lens wearers:

• Wear contact lenses only if they are fitted and prescribed by an optometrist.

• Do not purchase contact lenses from gas stations, video stores, websites, or any other place not authorized by law to dispense contact lenses.

• Make sure contact lenses are properly cleaned and disinfected as instructed by your eye-care professional.

• Make sure you wash your hands before handling and cleaning your contact lenses.

• Never swap or share contact lenses with anyone.

• Never sleep while wearing contact lenses unless they are extended-wear lenses specifically designed for that purpose.

Information on violations should be well documented and reported to the FTC as quickly as possible with a request for FTC investigation and action. Violations can be reported to the FTC electronically directly through the FTC website, https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov.

If a consumer has been harmed or injured due to the illegal sales of Halloween contact lenses, report the incident to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) through the FDA’s website, http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch/HowToReport/ucm085568.htm.

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Please share to those thinking about wearing Halloween Contact lenses this year!

Thank you,
Dr. Weaver

World's Worst Eye Exam (a.k.a. Episode #7 of The Dr. Weaver Show)

Episode #6 of The Dr. Weaver Show: Getting Your Child Ready for School...Visually

Episode #5 of The Dr. Weaver Show, How to Survive an Eye Exam: Part 1

Preview to Episode 5 of The Dr. Weaver Show: An Optometrist and His Boy Scout Merit Badges

Winners Announced of the 2nd Annual Tulpy 5th Grade Poster Contest!!!

Thank you to all the 5th graders who created posters for this year's theme, "Eyes of the Future." It was very difficult to narrow it down to the top three, since there were SO MANY good entries. Here are the winners:

Featured in photo (left to right): Dr. Weaver, K'drian Vega (3rd place),

Jordan Baer (2nd place), Victoria Tankred (1st place)

Winners received a monetary award, and their artwork will be hung on the walls of Weaver Eye Care Associates.

I would recommend checking out the artwork in person, but if you can't make it to our office, here are close-ups of the winners:

First Place, Victoria Tankred

Second Place, Jordan Baer

Third Place, K'drian Vega

Congratulations to the winners, who were acknowledged during the April 8th School Board Meeting! Thank you to Dr. Albert (Tulpehocken Superintendent) for allowing me to sponsor this poster contest for the kids, and Marie DeFilipps, the elementary school art teacher, for encouraging her students to do good work! 

Dr. Weaver's Rap (One or Two)...enjoy!

If you enjoyed this, please subscribe to the

Weaver Eye Care Associates YouTube channel.

Thanks for the support and please comment, like & share!

TDWS Episode #4: Myths and Urban Legends of the Eyes

Eye-Related Studies (BCPs, Coffee, Smoking, Video Games and Their Effects on the Eyes)

Episode #2 of The Dr. Weaver Show = The Bologna Method (VIDEO)

Dr. Weaver's Tips on Proper (and Healthy) Contact Lens Wear (VIDEO)

Back to School Time: August is Children's Eye Health and Safety Month

Hello everyone,

It's back to school time. And you know what that means! School buses are back on the roads. Morning and afternoon commutes are taking a bit longer than usual. Kids are hitting snooze on their alarm clocks as they dread leaving their warm beds in the morning to get ready for school.

It also means that August is Children's Eye Health and Safety Month: a time to bring awareness to parents to make sure their children have healthy eyes and that they are seeing well. During summer vacation, kids play outside a lot, so their visual requirements for reading and studying are probably at a low point. However, as an optometrist, I've noticed that at "back to school" time, children start complaining of not being able to see the board in the front of the room, or they're getting headaches or double vision when they read for a while.

It's important for kids to see well in order to be able to learn well. More than 80 percent of early learning is visual. What can be misinterpreted as laziness, lack of interest, of poor intelligence be actually be trouble seeing in a young child.

The most common vision problem in kids is nearsightedness. Myopia, or nearsightedness, is being able to see up close, but not far away. There are many different degrees of myopia, so a kid with mild myopia may be able to squeak by the school's vision screening exam by squinting. Other issues, such as astigmatism and farsightedness (hyperopia), can also cause blurred vision and trouble reading.

Other major issue in young children is amblyopia, which is where one eye does not develop properly, resulting in poor vision compared to the fellow eye. This happens when one eye has an eye turn or when one eye has a high prescription compared to the other eye.

Everyone has two eyes, and people use their two eyes, together, all of the time. So if one eye is blurry, it can easily be ignored or overlooked because of the great vision of the better seeing eye. This is why it is important for every child to get an eye exam, EVEN IF THEY ARE NOT COMPLAINING OF BLURRED VISION, because amblyopia is treatable, but only if it is diagnosed at an early age and treated appropriately.

Obviously, as an astute parent, if your child is obviously complaining of blurred vision, it's easy to make the decision to bring them in for an eye exam. However, the parent should also look to see if the child has any of the following symptoms:

• Frequent eye rubbing or blinking 
• Squinting
• Headaches
• Covering one eye
• Short attention span
• Avoiding reading assignments or holding reading materials close to the face
• A turned eye
• Double vision
• Losing place when reading
• Difficulty with reading retention

These symptoms can also be the result of trouble with eye focusing, eye tracking and eye coordination problems, which can all affect school performance.

According to the American Optometric Association, many children are mislabeled as having Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), when they many actually have an undiagnosed vision problem. Vision is an important component in learning. A child with blurred vision or focusing problems doesn't know any better because they don't have the perspective of perfect functioning visual system.

So, that's children's vision in a nutshell. If there are any visual concerns with your child, make sure to bring them in for an eye exam sooner than later.

Sincerely,
Dr. Weaver

Ps. And check out our Merchandiser advertising over the next month for our "Back To School" savings for eyeglasses.

Practice Update, Pennsylvania Driver's License Vision Requirements

Hello everyone,

I seems that my blog posts have been sporadic lately, but there is good reason for that. Things have been very busy this past year at the practice. If you remember, I opened Weaver Eye Care Associates in January of 2011, now almost two and a half years ago! With any new cold start practice, business is a snails pace, which gave me plenty of time to write blog articles.

The business grew 20% in the following year, 2012. Empty spaces on the schedule were less, and more eyeglasses and contact lenses were ordered. I fly a banner in front of my office welcoming new patients. I send out practice emails to those who are lucky enough to have already visited the office, keeping you updated on practice specials and news. I advertise mostly through postcard mailers, which seems better than newspaper advertisements. The ABSOLUTE BEST advertisement, though, is the word of mouth referrals. Despite all of this, there are many, many people who still do not know that there is an eye doctor in Bernville...

So far, in 2013, the business is growing and it's looking like at least 25% growth from 2012 so far, which could be higher or lower than that depending on the rest of the year. The positive thing about this is that the practice is heading in the right direction. So, I'd like to extend a BIG THANK YOU to all of you who are satisfied patients, as well as friends and family that support me.

Now, onto the vision topic of the day...

I have patients that come into my office sometimes with a Pennsylvania Driver's License examination form. Mostly, patients get this form in the mail randomly from PennDOT to ensure that the driver's vision is "up to par" so that they are legal to drive.

So, what is legal to drive? If you can see 20/40 or better with both eyes, you are legal to drive. If you can get this without glasses or contact lenses, you do not need a "corrective lenses" restriction on your license. If you can not see 20/40 without glasses or contacts, but the glasses or contact lenses allow you to see better than 20/40, you get the "corrective lenses" restrictions, meaning you must wear your eyeglasses or contact lenses to drive. Otherwise, you will get in trouble if you get pulled over.

If your vision is not correctable to 20/40 with both eyes, but can be 20/70 or better, you may drive ONLY during daylight hours. If your vision is not correctable to 20/70 but is better than 20/100, you also have to take and successfully pass a driver's examination, you are limited to certain roads (no highways), can only drive passenger vehicles (no motorcycles), are limited to a certain radius around your house, AND must get approval from the eye doctor.

At least they ended up at the right place...

If your vision is not correctable to 20/100 with both eyes (that's just two lines down from the big E, FYI), you are out of luck. You are not legal to drive.

In addition, you must have good peripheral vision as well, as this can restrict your license.

From my experience, most PA Driver's license vision exam forms that I fill out is just a precautionary measure. Those patients are already legal to drive, and they can continue to do so even after seeing me for my professional evaluation. However, there are times where a patient's vision has become so poor that they should not be driving, and when I tell them that fact, their response is usually: "I'm fine. It's just a little blurry." This is when they can only make out the big E with both eyes, 20/400.

She's not even looking through her glasses!

The issues are eye conditions or prescription changes that cause visual blur. The blurred vision changes can be sudden, but usually it's such a slow, gradual change that the patient adapts to the blur as it occurs, kind of like the 6-year-old in Kindergarten or First Grade that sits in front of the classroom because he/she can't read the board from the back of the room. The kid doesn't know he/she needs glasses. The child just adapts.

The purpose of the PA Driver's License exam form isn't to ostracize elderly drivers, even though there is humor revolving around that topic (see photo above). It's to make driving safe and remind people to get their eyes examined more than once every 20 years. Many times, a patient may just need a change in their eyeglasses prescription to get him/her back to legal driving status. Or, maybe there is a huge cataract causing the problems and the patient needs cataract surgery to give the best vision to him/her in numerous years. Or, it's possible the patient has glaucoma and doesn't know it...they've permanently lost his/her peripheral vision and are not legal to drive, but the condition is still caught by the optometrist so the patient can undergo treatment to preserve the remaining vision so complete blindness doesn't occur.

So, I hope all of you are driving safe. And if you're having any visual difficulty driving, like in the rain or at night, your vision may not be optimal. It would probably be safer for you and other drivers and pedestrians to get an eye exam and see what the heck is going on...so you don't have to cringe when you get that dreaded letter in the mail from PennDOT.

Sincerely,
Dr. Weaver

Ps. Oh! And I think the Berks Mont newspapers Blue Ribbon Award voting is happening soon. Don't forget to vote (for us). 2012 winners in Eye Care last year. Hope we get two years in a row!

Is it really an eye emergency?

Hello everyone,

How are your eyes doing? Are they itchy, scratchy, watering, red, painful, blurred, irritating, swollen, sensitive? And they've been like that for HOW LONG?!

Yes, it seems that self-medicated remedies are the way to go to save a trip to the doctor. Have a little muscle ache = use some Tylenol. Have a little headache = use some Advil. Have some sinus issues = use some Sudafed.

If you walk down the isles in the pharmacy, you can see how each section is inundated with opportunities for self-prescribed healing...and it can be confusing. This medication has this active ingredient, and that medication has that active ingredient, but this medication has this active ingredient AND that active ingredient. Do I take the medication with the cough suppressant when I'm not coughing? Do I take the allergy medication if I'm not sneezing? And on and on and on...

The same thing with OTC (over-the-counter) eye remedies. There are tons of options for itchy. There are tons of options for dry eye. There are TONS of options for itchy AND dry eyes. But, do they all work?

Unless you get the advice from your eye doctor on what OTC medications to use, you're really just guessing. There are certain OTC medications that used to be prescription medications that work extremely well for eye allergies, and there are some "homeopathic" eyedrops out there that are just plain money wasters.

But you're not alone...millions and millions of people purchase OTC medications to save that trip to the eye doctor. Like I said, there's nothing wrong with that...as long as there's nothing wrong with your eyes.

When I say "nothing wrong," I mean "nothing majorly, or severely wrong." Honestly, certain conditions are self-limiting, such as allergies or dryness. These conditions are due to the time of the year, or the working environment, or the air quality, etc. They may go away on their own, and the OTC medications or lubricating drops will do the trick to alleviate or remedy the problem.

However, if there is blurred vision and you think it's from allergies and it's not getting better, stays the same or gets worse...it's probably something else other than allergies. If your eye is red and painful and you stopped wearing your contacts (the right thing to do) and it still hasn't improved with those over-the-counter artificial teardrops, it's probably not dry eye.

So here's the list again (it's not comprehensive, just a short list as a guide). If your eye experiences:

1) pain
2) blurred vision
3) redness
4) light sensitivity
5) flashing lights
6) floaters
7) irritation
8) itching

...you probably should see an eye doctor. Many conditions may not get better on their own, and a quicker diagnosis usually leads to quicker recovery.

Sincerely,
Dr. Weaver

Ps. Seeing patients for routine, medical and EMERGENCY eye exams. Call 610-488-5315 for an immediate appointment. :)