I had a patient come in this morning for an eye examination. He had lasik eye surgery to correct his distant vision. He was capable of clear vision at distance and needed reading glasses for up close. One of his main complaints was that he could not read the greens when he was putting while wearing his sunglasses. So he did not use them playing golf. The problem is that his lenses were polarized. Normally polarization helps with the sun particularly when you're on the water. However, some golfers do have problems with polarized lenses, particularly around the greens. The second thing about his sunglasses was that they were made with glass lenses. I had a patient who was struck around the eye with a golf ball while playing. Fortunately, he was wearing lenses made of polycarbonate. The lenses did not shatter. I feel that glasss lenses possilbly would have shattered and done injury to the eyes. Also, by not wearing sunglases while golfing over a long period of time, the patient was exposing himself to increase risks of cataracts and macular degeneration.

I was hearing that the increase in texting has led to individuals developing carpal tunnel syndrome. In fact there are young individuals who text 100 times, per day. Viewing a screen that close for that duration could very well affect one's vision. This is especially true in that many of the prolific texters are young. For information regarding extreme close up work over a period of time, go to our website at www.wehelpuc.com.

I had the pleasure of attending the International Congress of Behavioral Optometry last week. Even though I was only able to attend one day of the Congress, the information I learned was wonderful. A lot of the information dealt with how we process information, visually. There were speakers from all around the world. I learned about a new lens that specifically for the over 40 set who work on a computer. I am anxious to try it on myself. Also I saw professors who
I had 30 years ago. I really enjoyed everything.

An issue often overlooked with children is eye safety. Particularly if the child doesn't need a prescription to see clearly. I have seen kids (and for that matter adults) who play various sports including soccer, tennis baseball, football and other sports who have suffered eye injuries from being hit by a ball, person or racket. These injuries sometimes are sight threatening. We recommend that anyone participating in sports should wear a sports goggle with impact resistant lenses for protection. If the individual wears glasses normally, they should be a special frame that will withstand substantial impact. It could make all the difference in the world.

I had a new patient come into the office with a very red eye. He was a contact lens wearer who had just used a different solution than what he was using previously. I am currently treating him. I am not sure whether he had an allergic reaction or the bottle he used was contaminated. Either way, when using contact lens solutions, try to stay with the same brand in order to avoid possible problems.

My office staff and I visited the Vision Expo in NYC last week. We plan on making a few additions to the office. The advances in contact lenses, lenses for spectacles and diagnostic imagery is fantastic. It is very important to realize also that there is a person behind the eyeballs.

We have now celebrated our 21st year in my practice here in Rancho Cucamonga, CA. I so enjoy being in private practice. Optometry for me has been a most rewarding career. I have seen many of my patients grow from childhood to adulthood. It is most gratifying when patients have confidence in the practice to refer their family and friends. I am quite involved with the happenings in the surrounding area. I'm involved with three different chambers of commerce. Interesting enough, I am one of the only health care professionals that is active in the functions of the chambers. I thoroughly enjoy both the direct networking and social networking (electronic) aspects of my business.

If I had to do it all over again, I would certainly pick the same profession.