With only 2 months left, it's hard to believe how fast the end of the year is approaching. 

This is a great opportunity to take a moment and make sure you are getting the most use out of the eye-care benefits you have been paying for all year. It is recommended to have yearly eye exams as preventative measures to ensure longevity in your eye health and detect any early problems.

Children up to the age of 18 are covered by Ontario Health, but many of your adult eye exams are covered under your insurance plan. 

Insurance coverage also includes Sunglasses. Take advantage of your benefits by booking your end of year eye-exam now. 

Just because Daylight Savings ends on Sunday, November 5 2017, that doesn't mean it's time to put your sunglasses away for the year. Quite the contrary! 

Sunburns and other eye problems resulting from over exposure from the sun are a problem year round. The issue with these later months is that we don't FEEL THE HEAT from the sun, so we don't think there's any danger. 

Top 10 reasons to continue wearing your sunglasses in the Fall months

1. Help Prevent Eye and Skin Cancer. ...
2. Minimize Vision Problems. ...
3. Reduce Glare. ...
4. Aid with Squinting and Eye Strain. ...
5. Avoid Headaches. ...
6. Protect Your Eyes From Debris. ...
7. Dry Eye Prevention.
8. Avoid sunburn around the eyes.
   
9. Anti-aging.
   
10. Following the trends!
    

For full explanations as to why each of these factors are important, please read:
10 Reasons You Need to Wear Sunglasses in the Fall

Pink eye, medically known as conjunctivitis, is a common childhood ailment. Unfortunately, misinformation about this condition often increases the risk of disease transmission, complicates diagnosis, and discourages patients from seeking treatment.

It’s important for adults, especially parents, to be able to distinguish between the facts and fiction of conjunctivitis to prevent the spread of common myths.

1. ALL TYPES OF PINK EYE ARE CONTAGIOUS

One of the most common and most harmful misconceptions about pink eye is that there’s only one, highly contagious type. Pink eye actually has numerous causes, including allergies, exposure to chemical fumes, advanced dry eye, and infections.

Pink eye caused by an infection may result from a virus, usually an adenovirus or herpes virus, or from bacteria. Only bacterial pink eye is contagious. An eye doctor can determine the cause of the condition and let you know whether or not you’re contagious.

Even with bacterial pink eye, patients can usually return to school or work one day after starting antibiotic treatment.

2. ANY PINKNESS POINTS TO PINK EYE

Many individuals believe that any pink or red discoloration in the eye area indicates the presence of pink eye. However, the term “pink eye” applies only to coloration changes of the eyeball itself. Redness around the eye, which may be referred to as “red eye,” is not necessarily related to pink eye.

Often, red eye results from eyeball injuries, like corneal abrasions. In certain serious cases, redness around the eye comes from an infection in the eye socket or the progression of glaucoma. If you experience both pink and red eye simultaneously or experience persistent red eye, consult with an optometrist.

3. CONJUNCTIVITIS ONLY AFFECTS CHILDREN

Pink eye is particularly common among children. However, pink eye can affect anyone. The high rate of infection among children usually results from kids not taking the same precautions against the condition as adults.

To protect yourself and your children against pink eye, always wash up before handling anything that comes close to your eyes, like contact lenses. Additionally, avoid sharing eyeliner, contact lenses, and contact solution to reduce the risk of infection.

4. CRUDE PRANKS CAN CAUSE PINK EYE

Bacterial pink eye can occur due to exposure to a number of different bacteria, including staph. Some types of bacteria that can lead to pink eye are found naturally in the human body. For example, staph can live in the nose, so a child who picks his or her nose could unwittingly transfer the bacteria to the eye area.

These bacteria can also be found in fecal matter, and this fact has led to the myth that if someone were to release gas onto a pillowcase, a person who uses the pillowcase later will contract pink eye.

However, flatulence is primarily methane gas and does not contain bacteria. Additionally, bacteria die quickly outside the body, so unless someone laid down on the pillowcase immediately after it had been exposed to bacteria, the sleeper would be at no risk for pink eye.

5. INFECTION CAN HAPPEN AT FIRST SIGHT

One of the most persistent myths about pink eye is that an infected individual can transmit the disease with a single glance. However, no disease can be passed via eye contact, including pink eye.

This myth can also include the idea that being in a large group of people makes it easier for pink eye to spread. However, because no type of pink eye is airborne, being in a crowd does not significantly raise the risk of contracting pink eye.

6. OBJECTS THAT COME IN CLOSE CONTACT MUST GO

When you notice discoloration of your eye, your first response may be to get rid of anything that came close to the eye area, including bed linens, beauty tools, and clothing items. This drastic measure is rarely necessary.

Your eye doctor may recommend getting rid of your contact lenses and any contaminated contact solution, as well as eyeliner and mascara used while your eye was affected. He or she may also suggest that you wash the linens and clothes you’ve used recently to kill any lingering bacteria.

However, if your pink eye is caused by allergies or exposure to irritants, you may simply need to stop wearing contact lenses and eye makeup until the inflammation subsides.

7. PINK EYE CAN CAUSE BLINDNESS

While pink eye can be embarrassing and uncomfortable, the condition is not dangerous on its own. In fact, many cases of pink eye go away without treatment in one to two weeks.
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If you experience unusual symptoms, consult with an eye health professional to determine whether the pink eye is related to or contributing to a more serious condition. These serious symptoms may include fever, rash, persistent headache, nausea, or changes in eye discharge.

It was only a matter of time until an eye syndrome would develop that’s directly related to the modern human habit of staring relentlessly at computer and device screens for hours on end. This contemporary eye syndrome affects those who focus on screens all day as part of their jobs or studies. It also impacts the eyesight and eye comfort of those who look at their phones for hours on end.

Regardless of the cause, digital eye strain (DES) is a very real phenomenon that’s been reported by 31% of adults and over twice as many millennials. The condition is also called “computer vision syndrome,” and it’s not fun.

Understand the Causes of DES

There isn’t one reason why your eyes may start to feel dry and itchy after staring at your computer all day. There isn’t one easy-to-pinpoint reason why your eyesight gets blurry after scrolling through social media on your tablet all evening. The truth is, there are multiple reasons why your device usage is impacting your vision and eye comfort.

Once a proper eye exam rules out problems like glaucoma, myopia, and astigmatism, you must address vision-impacting issues in your workspace. Are you sitting too close to the screen? Experts advise being at least an arm’s length away.

You may need to view text in a larger font or adjust the height of your desk, chair, or computer screen. What’s the angle at which you view your device? Aim for a downward angle from your eyes to your device, usually an angle of about 15 or 20 degrees. Sit up straight, making sure you aren’t having to slouch or stretch to see your monitor.

Stock Up on Items to Reduce DES

Special glasses definitely help, but you may need to invest in some other helpful items to reduce the likelihood or impact of DES. Since excessive glare is one cause of computer vision syndrome, reduce the glare in your environment with room-blocking curtains.

If a lamp is the source of glare, purchase a darker lampshade or move the lamp to a spot where it doesn’t beam onto your screen. Purchase monitor- and device-friendly wipes to keep screens free of smudges and debris.

Next time you’re at the pharmacy, grab some gel-filled eye masks you put in the fridge for a cooling eye refresher. Ask your optometrist to recommend eye drops that help keep your eyes moist. If you have allergies, take steps to reduce pollen in your environment, and remember to take your antihistamine as prescribed.

Wear Your Computer Glasses

You can purchase specialty computer glasses or have your eye doctor create a custom pair of glasses for you. These glasses have features such as anti-glare lenses and lenses that filter out the blue light emitted by devices.

Many computer glasses are tinted yellow. This helps increase the contrast between letters and backgrounds on device screens. There are also progressive lenses available that let you go from looking at a computer to reading a book or viewing something in the distance easily.

But the glasses won’t work if you don’t wear them. If possible, leave one pair of computer glasses at home and one pair at work so you always have some at hand.

Compromise to Save Your Eyes

Set limits on yourself when using your PC or devices. Go beyond the 20-20-20 rule, which is the advice to take 20 seconds to look at something 20 feet away every 20 minutes. Give your eyes routine breaks from devices altogether.

Get out in nature without your phone, or go for a walk without your tablet, and let your eyes take in all of the world around you. By letting your eyes enjoy periodic vacations from the little screens in your life, you exercise your eye muscles. They grow stronger when you look at clouds, skyscrapers, and faraway mountains.

Remember to blink when looking at your devices too. Because of the way people read text on computers, they tend to blink their eyes far less often. This is one of the reasons your eyes may dry out and grow itchy after looking at your phone or laptop for a long time. By blinking, you refresh your eyes with natural lubricant.

In most cases, DES resolves itself once you take a rest period away from screens. Computer glasses often help when you must stare at a device for long periods. If your problem is due to another underlying eye problem, specialty treatment or glasses for that problem may resolve the DES too.

​Vision therapy is sometimes prescribed for people who have difficulty with focus and depth perception. A simple pair of glasses is not enough to fix these problems or problems related to weakness or degeneration of eye muscles.