Optometrist in Costa Mesa, CA

The American Optometric Association (AOA) recommends children around preschool age (between the age of 3 to 5 years of age) have their first in-person thorough eye examination to make sure they are set up for success in their school years ahead. An eye exam should include testing for vision related and ocular health developmental problems. If all looks good at this time, your eye care provider may advise the next eye exam be when your child starts school, around 5 years of age.

For patients who wear corrective lenses (whether it’s glasses or contacts), we recommend annual eye exams. For people who have certain health conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, or other eye diseases/conditions, their eye care provider may recommend more frequent checkups and management. For people who do not have any correction and under the age of 60, the recommendation is to see their eye care provider at least once every two years to evaluate both vision and health of the eyes.

The answer is NO. This is a common misconception and may seem that way because the difference between sharp vision with glasses and fuzzy vision without glasses is obvious and noticeable. If we need glasses to see clearly, not wearing them will NOT prevent your vision from getting worse. In fact, straining or squinting to see may cause your prescription to get worse over time.

As an adult, prolonged screen time does not cause long-term damage to the eyes but can cause eyes to feel uncomfortable such as eyestrain and tired eyes. Blue-light glasses for the computer can help relieve some of that intensity and eyestrain. For young children in school, prolonged close-up work can cause stimulation of the eye to grow causing the prescription to increase rapidly. We recommend implementing the 20-20-20 rule, every twenty minutes, look away from the screen and spend twenty seconds focusing on something at least twenty feet away to give your eyes a break.

20/20 vision is considered “normal” vision acuity (clarity or sharpness of vision) measured at a distance of 20 feet. When an eye doctor says you have 20/20 vision, you can see clearly at 20 feet what should normally be seen at a distance. If you have 20/100 vision, you must be as close as 20 feet to see what a person with normal vision can see at 100 feet.

Both optometrists and ophthalmologists are eye care providers. Optometrists address your primary eye health needs and concerns including performing vision tests, detecting vision problems, prescribing corrective lenses such as glasses and contacts. They can also treat and manage many ocular health conditions including prescribing medications for red eyes/infections. Ophthalmologists address all medical and surgical issues with the eyes in addition to the services provided by optometrists. Think of your optometrist as being your primary care doctor for your eyes and your ophthalmologist as a specialist who can perform complex surgeries and treat medical conditions related to your eyes. Here at One EyeCare, we provide both optometry and ophthalmology services to our patients.

Recent studies have shown an emerging epidemic in myopia, or nearsightedness. In 2010, 28% of the world’s population was affected. It is projected that by 2050, that number could reach 50%. The earlier onset of myopia in a child the more likelihood of that child developing high myopia. High myopia is associated with higher risks of disorders such as glaucoma, retinal detachment, and cataracts.There are many ways to manage myopia progression including behavioral/environmental habit changes, atropine therapy, soft contact lenses, multifocal glasses and ortho-keratology. Your optometrist will evaluate your child’s progression and recommend the best approach and method to manage his or her myopia.

Pink eye otherwise known as conjunctivitis encompasses any type of inflammation to the conjunctiva from infection or allergies. Conjunctivitis can be caused by a virus, bacteria or allergies. Bacterial and viral conjunctivitis are highly contagious and easily spreadable from person to person. Allergic conjunctivitis is not contagious. If you suspect a pink eye, call and schedule a visit with your eye care provider who can diagnose and prescribe you the right treatment to resolve it.

Floaters are spots in your vision due to the age-related changes that occur in the jelly-like substance (vitreous) that sits inside and fills the cavity of the eye. With time, this jelly-like substance liquifies and contracts causing scattered clumps of collagen fibers to form within the vitreous. These clumps cast tiny shadows on your retina (the wallpaper that lines the inside of the eye) which you see as floaters. Typically, occasional floaters are not worrisome but if you suddenly see an increase of floaters or very large floaters accompanied by flashes of light or loss in your vision, seek an eye care provider as soon as possible as this may be an emergency situation which needs prompt attention.

No, it is never safe to sleep in contacts. Any time you sleep or nap in your contacts, you reduce the amount of healthy tear exchange and oxygen into the eyes. As a result, the risk of complications, infections, and ulcers increase when this occurs. Even if the brand of contact lenses has been approved for extended wear to sleep in, most eye care providers advise against sleeping in contacts because of this increased risk.

Dry eye can present with a multitude of symptoms including burning, watering, redness, foreign body sensation in the eyes, or even intermittent blur in vision. The most common treatment for dry eyes are artificial/lubricating tears. Many patients don’t realize that artificial tears only provide temporary relief to the eyes and do not address all the underlying factors that cause dry eye. Other dry eye treatments include warm compresses, lid hygiene, in-office treatments such as thermal heat expression and IPL to name a few. Come in for a FREE dry eye consultation and one of our eye care providers can provide you with more information and tailor your dry eye treatment to your specific needs.

Yes, but only for a few and a select amount of patients. Over-the-counter readers are a low-cost, low-quality magnifier that assume the same prescription between both of the patient’s eyes. In reality, very few people have exactly the same prescription between both eyes, and although they won’t harm your overall eye health, the quality of the lens materials and picking the wrong prescription can cause patients to feel eyestrain and headaches. Your optometrist can give you the best spectacle recommendation and a personalized prescription that is tailored to your optical needs.

Styes are a fairly common finding on the eyelids that can be annoying and a nuisance to look at. Although they are usually caused by an infection in the oil glands of the eyelids, they generally are not contagious. When a stye first appears, it is most important to apply warm compresses with digital massage multiple times a day and right away. Many patients either do not warm compress enough or wait too long to seek treatment from an eye care provider. Styes can become much more stubborn to treat when left alone untreated.

There can be so many reasons why you might not be seeing the best you can in your corrective lenses and the cause of that can range from medical to vision related. Ocular conditions such as keratoconus, dry eye, cataracts, diabetes can all cause vision to be blurry or it can be something as simple as a change in prescription. Schedule an eye exam with our team, and one of our eye care providers will be able to give you recommendations to help you see the best you can.