Month: October 2022

With Halloween fast approaching, we wanted to take some time to give you some insight into costume contact lenses, just in case you were thinking of adding them to finish off the perfect Halloween costume!

What are Costume Lenses?

Let’s start with the basics. Costume lenses are contact lenses that are only used for superficial reasons. There is no medical reason to have these contact lenses. The typical use is to change the color of your eyes, but they also make specific ones that go with a certain character you may dress up as for Halloween or for another reason.

Examples of costume lenes include:

• Black out contacts
• Cat eyes
• Zombie eyes

How to know if costume lenses are safe:

There are many retailers who sell costume lenses that do not require a prescription, but we want to make sure you understand the risk that comes with using those lenses. It may seem easy to just pick them up where you buy your costume, but you could suffer the consequences later. The FDA warns against buying costume lenses from:

• Halloween stores
• The internet if no prescription is required
• Beauty supply stores
• Street vendors
• Beach shops
• Convenience stores
• Boutiques
• Beach Shops

If you do acquire these lenses without a prescription, there are a couple of risks. Without getting an eye exam, the generic lenses you buy could fit poorly and cause cuts and scratches on your eye that could get infected. Another downside of poor-fitting lenses is that it can restrict oxygen to the eye which doesn’t let your eye breathe. This in turn can cause abrasions, ulcers and bacterial infections on your eye.

What should you do?

The best way to get costume lenses would be to make an eye exam appointment and get fitted for them. An eye doctor will be able to make sure  you get lenses that fit properly. Once you have an exam an eye doctor will give you a prescription for the exact right size lenses you need.

If you think costume lenses might be something you want to add to your costume this year, give us a call so we can make sure to get you in the right ones!

Everyone have a safe and happy Halloween!

Headaches are a very common occurrence for a lot of people. There are so many causes of headaches it can be hard to tell what is causing yours. Sometimes you can just treat a headache with some over-the-counter pain medication but if your headaches are occurring frequently, it could be a good idea to try to find out the root cause. In some cases, headaches can be linked to your eyesight. If you are someone who doesn’t get a regular eye exam yearly, there could be small changes in your vision that are straining your eyes, and consequently your head.

Main Causes

While an exact cause of Headaches and Migraines related to eye problems has not been found. There are a number of factors that could cause headaches.

• Eye Strain
• Near and Farsightedness
• Presbyopia
• Dry Eye

How do you know?

It is really hard for you to be able to tell if your headaches are connected to vision issues. Since there are many reasons aside from vision problems that can cause headaches, you can try ruling out some of the other reasons. Make sure you have had enough water, eaten enough and if you have been out in excessive heat find a cool place to bring your body temperature down.

A severe cause of headache due to vision problems is called a Retinal Migraine and can also be referred to as an Ocular Migraine. Some theories as to how this happens are that possibly the arteries or veins in the eye become narrow, or it could be genetics. A “Retinal Migraine” can be identified by some telltale signs:

• Flashing, sparkling or twinkling lights
• Temporary blindness
• Blind spot
• Pulsing or throbbing pain
• Nausea and Vomiting

What can you do?

The first line of defense against eye-related headaches is to get a regular eye exam. This will catch any changes in your eyesight early so that you can properly address them with glasses or contacts.

Your eye doctor will assess the following to see if you fit the criteria for this type of headache:

• Does the headache cause blindness in one eye?
• Does the headache spread gradually for 5 or more minutes?
• How long do the symptoms last?

If diagnosed, your doctor will discuss the treatment options available. It will differ from person to person so we highly recommend making an exam appointment to determine the best solution for you.