FAQ:
Q. HOW OFTEN SHOULD I HAVE MY EYES EXAMINED?
As a general rule of thumb, you need to have an eye exam once per year.
For adults annual eye exams are important because your vision can change over time due to aging, medication, and overall health factors. When you get older, the lenses of your eyes can lose flexibility and make it difficult to read up close. Certain health conditions, such as diabetes and high blood pressure, can also have an impact on your vision. With changing vision, your prescription may increase or decrease, which is why it’s necessary to know how often you should go to the eye doctor if you wear glasses or contact lenses. This is also true for children, but the vision may change because of normal growth.
Your daily environment also plays a role in your eye health. If you work with technology and electronics on a regular basis, you may exhibit symptoms of digital eye strain, including blurry vision, dry eyes, or eye fatigue. Anytime you experience these symptoms, schedule an appointment with one of our highly skilled optometrists. In some cases, such as this one, you may need to see an eye doctor sooner than your next annual exam.
For contact lenses wearers, annual eye exams are required in order to refill you prescription for addition supplies of lenses.
Q. WHY IS BUYING EYEGLASSES ONLINE A BAD IDEA?
Here are three reasons why buying glasses online can be risky.
- The accuracy of the glasses may not be exactly correct.
Buying glasses online is a risky proposition because the consumer has to manually enter their prescription into the website. The is rarely, if ever, a double check on the accuracy of your prescription. Most online sites don’t even require you to submit your prescription or provide a doctor’s contact information. This can lead to prescriptions being incorrectly applied to glasses.
- Quality Suffers
You get what you pay for—many online retailers use the cheapest materials available. For consumers, this means that glasses could quickly break or could even cause skin reactions because of questionable material. Additionally, it can be hard to resolve complaints with online orders—especially if the company is located overseas.
- Improper Fit
Glasses that fit properly are just as important as having the correct prescription. When buying glasses online, you have to rely on frame specifications to see how big they are, and even if you can try them on first-what do you know about fitting eyewear. Additionally, many sites ask you to measure your own Pupillary Distance (PD) which is an extremely important measurement to have and also easy to miscalculate.
The professionals at Wavecrest Optical Shop have years of experience in the selection and proper fitting of quality, precision eyewear. You only have one pair of eyes, so treat them with care.
Q. WHAT ARE THE WARNING SIGNS THAT A CHILD MIGHT NEED GLASSES?
Common signs that a child has a vision problem that requires corrective eyewear include:
- Consistently sitting too close to the TV or holding a book too close
- Losing his or her place while reading
- Using a finger to follow along while reading
- Squinting
- Tilting the head to see better
- Frequent eye rubbing
- Sensitivity to light
- Excessive tearing
- Closing one eye to read, watch TV or see better
- Avoiding activities that require near vision, such as reading or homework, or distance vision, such as participating in sports or other recreational activities
- Complaining of headaches or tired eyes
- Receiving lower grades in school than usual
- Schedule an appointment with our eye Doctor if your child exhibits any of these signs. Wavecrest Optical sees children ages 6 and above.
Q. WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN OPHTHALMOLOGIST, AN OPTOMETRIST AND AN OPTICIAN?
- An ophthalmologist is a doctor – an M.D. – with expertise in medical and surgical eye problems who performs operations on the eyes. An ophthalmologist can perform a comprehensive eye exam.
- An optometrist is a health care specialist who assists patients with the health of the eyes and related vision. Optometrists are trained to prescribe and fit lenses to improve vision. They also diagnose and treat various eye diseases. An optometrist can perform a comprehensive eye exam.
- An optician is a specialized practitioner who designs, fits and dispenses lenses for the correction of a person’s vision. Opticians determine the specifications of various ophthalmic solutions – from prescription, to eyeglass frames, to lens technology – that will give the necessary and best correction to a person’s eyesight.