Dear patients,
✨ Happy New Year! ✨We hope you enjoyed some time off during the holidays to rest and relax! This edition of our newsletter will cover the importance of comprehensive eye examinations, a new product to help with fogging this winter, and some information about our exciting new equipment at the Bolton office.
A comprehensive or full eye exam from an optometrist is analogous to a routine, physical check-up from your family doctor. Unlike a simple sight test, a comprehensive eye exam includes the assessment of the health of your eyes from front (eyelids, cornea) to back (retina, optic nerve), and your visual system.
As the pandemic continues, our doctors have made the safety of patients and staff their primary focus. Therefore, to limit close contact at the slit lamp in the examination room, until further notice our office has implemented a mandatory retinal imaging policy with all comprehensive eye exams. The retinal image is a photograph of the back of the eye, taken with a special camera. The test emits no radiation and is safe for all ages. The image is a digital record that our doctors can review from visit to visit, to monitor changes in the back of your eye that may indicate early signs of eye conditions such as glaucoma, macular degeneration, and diabetic retinopathy. Retinal imaging is not covered by OHIP and does come with a small fee.
Fogging is undoubtedly the arch-nemesis of all glasses-wearers, especially with having to wear masks this past year; but it is always more of a nuisance during the wintertime. Our office now carries Fog Blocker, available as single-use wipes, or reusable cloths to help with this problem! Fog Blocker products are formulated without soaps or alcohol, and are effective on all lens surfaces. A single application can provide 48-72 hours of anti-fog; and they can also be applied to face shields and safety goggles. Ask our staff to demonstrate this product the next time you are in the office!
If you have already visited the office for an eye exam, then you will have already met one of our new pieces of equipment! This device consists of an Auto-Refractor and a Non-Contact Tonometer. The Auto-Refractor objectively measures your prescription; this measurement is used as a starting point or additional data in determining your glasses prescription in the exam room. The Non-Contact Tonometer checks your eye pressure with a small puff of air, and replaces the manual device the doctors have previously used to check your eye pressure, thus reducing close contact between your optometrist and you.
We have also brought in a new Visual Field Analyzer, which allows us to perform a wide variety of tests to assess peripheral and central vision, which are important for monitoring the risk of certain eye conditions such as glaucoma and hydroxychloroquine maculopathy.
We are excited to bring a higher standard of care with this new technology!
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Thank you for reading the Winter edition of our newsletter! Stay tuned for our Spring newsletter.
Until then, we wish everyone health and happiness!
Sincerely,
