Red eye my eye

Okay, I’m going to say it ONE MORE TIME.   Please do not use “red eye” reliever drops.  You know the ones, they often go by the trade names of Visine, Murine, Cleareyes, etc…   Here’s why:

Red eye reliever drops work by shrinking or constricting blood vessels.  The smaller the blood vessels are,  the less red the whites of your eyes look.  There are actually small muscles in blood vessels that can make the blood vessels constrict.  The chemicals in these drops that cause this are called “vaso-constrictors.”

After using vaso-constrictors for some period of time, usually a few days, the blood vessels first get smaller for a short period of time but then they also reverse themselves and get bigger than they originally were before you started using the drops. This effect is called “rebound hyperemia.”  So now your slightly red eye is worse than it was.  Or at the least, not clearing up.   It’s the same type of chemical in nose sprays for congestion such as Afrin, etc…  Congestion is swelling due to enlarged blood vessels.  If you use nasal decongestants too much, it does the same thing.  Your nose will stay clogged up all the time at some point from the bigger blood vessels.

Redness of the eyes is almost always caused by either inflammation or infection, which causes inflammation.   Bacterial, viral or other infections can cause a red eye.  Inflammatory diseases like arthritis, lupus, Crohn’s disease, etc… can cause a red eye.  Allergies to many different allergens such as pollen, animal dander, contact lens solution preservatives and makeup, etc…can cause an eye to get red.  Irritants like smoke and dust can cause redness.  Especially poor tear quality or “dry eye” can cause redness as well.    Of course, some medications, drinking alcohol in excess or drug use can cause the eyes to look red too but we will limit this discussion to that caused by inflammation or infection.

So when you use a “red eye” reliever, all you are doing are temporarily making the eye LOOK less red.  You are doing nothing to decrease the inflammation or infection.  In most cases, you are just going to make the eye look and feel worse.  It’s better to try to identify the nature of the underlying problem and treat that.

At least once or twice a month, I have a patient that will come in with a chronic, red eye that is just not clearing up.  Usually it’s sore or painful and sometimes the vision is reduced.  When I ask about any medicine or drops they are using, lo and behold, they tell me they are using a “red eye” drop.  I ask them, “does it burn like fire?” and almost always they emphatically say, “Yes!”  Yet they keep using it.  When I examine their eye, not only is the eye red, but the cornea is usually dried out, swollen and irritated from the chemicals in the drops.  That makes the vision blurrier.

The cure?  I simply tell them to stop using the “red eye” drops, use cold compresses for comfort and put them on a steroid eye drop to reduce the inflammation and to wean them off the other drops.    By the time people come in for an office visit, the original offending problem such as an infection usually  has already cleared.  We just need to clear up the inflammation.   Sometimes an antibiotic or other medication is needed but it’s rarely the case.

So instead of wasting money on something that is camouflaging the actual problem, make an appointment to see what the real problem is.  Trust me, most people end up in my office later anyway and it just takes more time and money on their part.

On second thought, go ahead and use it all you want!  (that is a tongue in cheek comment)

Courtesy of Dumas Vision Source, PLLC and Dr Tory W. Moore, Optometric Glaucoma Specialist and Diplomate of the American Board of Optometry.    Serving the Dumas, Texas,  Moore County and upper Texas Panhandle area for 23 years.   Call (806) 935-2020 for appointment or visit our optical gallery without an appointment.  Visit our website www.visionsource-dumas.com for more information.  Like our Facebook business page:  Dumas Vision Source  and you can also connect on Twitter @eyedocdumas

Tory Moore, OD  – “A Hometown Eye Doctor You Know and Can Trust!”

Board Certification

               

                 

                             Tory W. Moore, O.D.,  Board Certified by the American Board of Optometry

               One of 1200 ODs to Achieve ABO Board Certification

ST. LOUIS, Mo., September 20, 2013 ― Dr. Tory W. Moore, of Dumas, Texas has joined a growing community of optometrists in the nation by becoming board certified by the American Board of Optometry (ABO). Dr. Moore passed the ABO’s Board Certification Examination administered in July of 2013.

To attain this honor, Dr. Moore completed a series of rigorous post-graduate activities. He then passed a challenging 7.5 hour computer based examination on issues spanning the scope of practice of optometry. This achievement  earned Dr. Moore the title of Diplomate, American Board of Optometry.

Dr. Moore has enrolled in the ABO’s Maintenance of Certification program. The ten-year maintenance of certification process is designed to allow the doctor of optometry to demonstrate that he is dedicated to keeping current in the field of optometry and delivering quality patient care.

“We extend congratulations to the group of optometrists who have taken this important step in demonstrating their commitment to lifelong learning,” said Paul C. Ajamian, O.D., ABO chairman of the board.

Dr. Moore is originally from Dumas, graduating from Dumas High School in 1982.  He received a B.S. in microbiology at Texas Tech University in 1986.  After completing his internship at Shepherd Air Force Base Hospital in Wichita Falls and graduating from the University of Houston College of Optometry in 1990, he returned to begin his private practice.  He is a general practitioner and has expertise in contact lenses and ocular surface diseases.

For more information, or to schedule an appointment with Dr. Tory Moore, you may call his office, Dumas Vision Source at (806) 935-2020.   You can find his website at www.visionsource-dumas.com and also like his Facebook page, Dumas Vision Source.  He writes regularly about vision related topics on his blog at The Eyes of Texas Blog.

About the American Board Optometry (ABO):

The American Board of Optometry was founded in 2009 by the American Academy of Optometry, American Optometric Association, American Optometric Student Association and the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry. For more information, please visit http://www.americanboardofoptometry.org.

Courtesy of Dumas Vision Source, PLLC and Dr Tory W. Moore, Optometric Glaucoma Specialist and Diplomate of the American Board of Optometry.    Serving the Dumas, Texas,  Moore County and upper Texas Panhandle area for 23 years.   Call (806) 935-2020 for appointment or visit our optical gallery without an appointment.  Visit our website www.visionsource-dumas.com for more information.  Like our Facebook business page:  Dumas Vision Source  and you can also connect on Twitter @eyedocdumas

Tory Moore, OD  – “A Hometown Eye Doctor You Know and Can Trust!”

Why are glasses so expensive?

From time to time I hear the question, “Why are your glasses so expensive?  I can get them a lot cheaper at Bigmart.”  To which I reply, “The real question is why are their glasses so cheap?”

Let’s think about this.  Why are some glasses more expensive and some so cheap?  It’s like anything else, you get what you pay for.  Whether it is a car, furniture, jewelry, tools or shoes.  Yes, you technically can get a pair of glasses at some places for $37.53.  That should be your first red flag because there is no tax on glasses as a health care device.  So why is there some crazy, arbitrary sounding, odd number like they added tax or something?   I submit it is a marketing ploy.

There is a lot of advertising done by the discount opticals, both in print and on television.  They usually have a large store with several employees also.  The optical equipment that it takes to make eyewear is not cheap as well.  So…just how can they pay for all those expenses with high overhead costs and still make it as a business.  Well, you sell low quality materials and don’t pay employees very much.  I assure you that you don’t get the best trained employees and the best customer service with minimum wage salaries and limited benefits.

Just like other material goods, eyewear can have different levels of quality.  Ever bought a piece of particle board furniture that lasted only a year or less?   A hardwood bookcase that your grandma has could be 75 years old and still going strong.  Materials used to make eyewear frames and optical lenses matters.  A lot!   All metal is not the same.  Iron and aluminum are both metal but have very different strengths and weight.   Frames made of inferior metals bend out of shape and turn green with the oils from your skin.  It’s almost impossible to keep them adjusted well on your nose and ears.  They don’t have good soldering points and break under the littlest of pressure.  The finish on them that is supposed to protect them and keep them shiny can come off very easily as well.

Plastic frames also vary in quality.  Plastic is plastic you might think.  Well the plastic cutting board you might have is a lot harder than your plastic kitchen spatula.  Plastics vary in quality as well.  If you have a cheap plastic frame, it will not stay in adjustment to your face too.  The hinges often loosen in cheap plastic frames and can even pull out of the plastic.  Cheap plastic is very brittle and breaks very easily.

Optical lens materials vary as well.  Plain plastic lenses(CR-39) and polycarbonate are known to have distortion.  Some brands are more optically pure than others but many big opticals are using the cheaper made versions that have inferior quality from places in China to keep down costs.  The optical quality is not good with distortion and waves in them, much like a fun house mirror.  This can cause headaches, eye strain as well as just poorer vision.  The Transitions tint they supposedly sold you, that makes your glasses change darker outside are probably not the actual,  better Transitions brand.  Scratch resistant and no glare lens treatments are often one-sided protection and older, inferior technology that peels off easily.

It also takes time and money to train good opticians.  Part of the eyewear price includes their services in helping you select eyewear, take measurements and for their education and training.  The best opticians are certified by the American Board of Opticianry.  In the course of interviewing opticians from these Bigmart stores and applying myself for a job at one once, it is a fact they employee minimum wage or slightly higher employees with rudimentary training.  How does it feel knowing that someone in the tire shop or the ladies clothing department 10 minutes earlier is now measuring your eyes for glasses?   I don’t know about you but I want someone who is an expert at it.

So how do I know what I’m getting is better quality?

First of all, go to a reputable, independent optometry office.  Someone that is going to be there for you and not gone the next year at a Bigmart or a mall store.  There usually is a reason they are working in places like that.

Secondly, use an optical that has ABO certified opticians.  They at least have taken a 4 hour exam to certify they have more optical knowledge and training.

Next, opticians should be able to explain why they are using certain brands of materials.  Why they will perform better for you.  They should be able to customize eyewear for your specific needs.

Try on an expensive frame that is well made of better material and you will be able to see and feel the difference in a cheaper frame.  It won’t be as flimsy and bendable.  It just feels solid.

Brand name materials that are better quality will often have a card or certificate of authenticity to make sure you are getting a real Transitions or other lenses like Hoya digital progressive lenses with EX3 anti-glare treatment.  Make sure the optician gives you that documentation if you are not sure.  If you are paying for the best brand, you should get that brand.

The best materials will have better warranties that come with the eyewear, not something you pay extra for.  Most optometry offices provide one year warranties on good frames and lenses at no extra charge.

Quality eyewear is not expensive when you realize that compared to other common items like an Iphone or Ipad, that cost as much or more and are really just convenience items, they are helping your eyes function well and see your best with little inconvenience.   You use your eyes everyday, all day.   Why settle for something second-rate?    If you are sacrificing clarity of vision, always needing them fixed or adjusted and making your life aggravated, is that really worth paying for cheap glasses?  You may get “cheaper” glasses but you are not getting the same thing cheaper.  It’s not apples to apples.  You are getting cheaply made, inferior glasses for a low cost.  A Kia is a cheaper car but it is not a Mercedes.  I don’t think you would brag excitedly to someone, “I’m driving a Kia!” but you would with a Mercedes or Cadillac.   Take pride in your eyewear and take pride in knowing your vision and your eyes are going to be at their best with good quality eyewear.  You do get what you pay for.

Courtesy of Dumas Vision Source, PLLC and Dr Tory W. Moore, Optometric Glaucoma Specialist and Diplomate of the American Board of Optometry.    Serving the Dumas, Texas,  Moore County and upper Texas Panhandle area for 23 years.   Call (806) 935-2020 for appointment or visit our optical gallery without an appointment.  Visit our website www.visionsource-dumas.com for more information.  Like our Facebook business page:  Dumas Vision Source  and you can also connect on Twitter @eyedocdumas

Tory Moore, OD  – “A Hometown Eye Doctor You Know and Can Trust!”

Eye Myth Busters – #1- Eating Carrots Makes Your Eyes Better

You may have been told or heard that “carrots are good for your eyes” but not for the reasons that most people think.  Most people when they hear that statement assume it means you won’t need glasses or it reduces the need for them.  The need for glasses is determined by the optics of the eye (how light rays are bent)  which is more related to genetics and eye structure than the nutritional state of the eye tissues.

Carrots are rich in the supply of beta-carotene, a carotenoid, that is made into Vitamin A by your body.  However, if your body doesn’t need Vit. A, it doesn’t make more.

What vitamin A does is help with your ability to see by allowing the receptors in your eye to work more efficiently.  Vitamin A is needed in the chemical processes that occur that change light signals into electrical signals that get sent to the vision center in the brain.    It is especially needed for night vision.  Often times though poor night vision is the result of uncorrected vision problems that glasses would help with.  A state of the art, anti-glare treatment on the lenses also maximizes the sharpness and comfort of the night vision as well.

Actually, other vegetables are probably better for your eye health overall.  Spinach leaves or other dark leafy vegetables like Kale are better due to the amount of lutein and zeazanthin carotenoid pigments as well as vitamins and minerals.  All darker colored fruits and vegetables with red, orange, dark green, yellow and purple colors are going to be great for the eyes.   Pale colored iceberg lettuce doesn’t count, it’s basically fiber.

So while you might think, “A salad a day keeps the eye doctor away, ” this is partially true.  At least in regards to the health of the eye.  If your eye does not refract light correctly, no food in the world will make it focus better.  Only a lens in front will make you see clearly.  So go ahead, eat those carrots and other veggies to help keep the eyes healthy.   Just make sure to leave off the ranch dressing.

Courtesy of Dumas Vision Source, PLLC and Dr Tory W. Moore, Optometric Glaucoma Specialist.    Serving the Dumas, Texas,  Moore County and upper Texas Panhandle area for 21 years.   Call (806) 935-2020 for appointment or visit our optical gallery without an appointment.  Connect on Twitter @eyedocdumas and like our Facebook business page:  Dumas Vision Source You also can visit our website www.visionsource-dumas.com for more information.   Tory Moore, OD  – “A Hometown Eye Doctor You Know and Can Trust!”