High deductibles about to be reset.

Minnesota's Star Tribune (12/30, Yee) reports that patients with high-deductible health plans "are more likely to hold off getting care" early in the year "because they are paying out of pocket." But, "later in the year, some have paid enough to reach their deductible and
insurance kicks in." Insurance will then cover "most medical services -- whether at 80 percent, 90 percent or completely -- until the deductible resets in the new plan year, Jan. 1 for most of them." During this time, patients will "cram in colonoscopies, hysterectomies, hernia surgeries
and knee replacements." And, "at a time when the weak economy is hurting the industry, medical groups say they are grateful for the bump in business." High-deductible health plans "with health savings accounts were introduced in 2004" to help "slow the growth of medical spending."
Meanwhile, "deductibles for traditional plans -- known as preferred provider organizations -- also have jumped, with a $1,000 deductible now the national norm, according to benefits consultant firm Mercer."

Short term savings may cost more.

The Los Angeles Times (12/29, Kritz) reports, "Millions of consumers are weighing their medical costs and trying to see what expenses they can jettison to save some money," according to Cathy Tripp, a senior consultant with benefits consulting firm Watson Wyatt. In fact, a survey
conducted by Watson Wyatt showed that of 2,500 U.S. employees, 17 percent "had avoided a recommended doctor's visit this year to save costs." Meanwhile, healthcare experts "worry that short-term savings could lead to serious illness, and even deaths." Dana Goldman, head of
health economics at research firm Rand Corp., noted that "consumers are willing to take risks by not doing what they perceive to be small things," which "becomes a problem for society." She stressed the "deeper financial burden" placed "on a hospital or city" resulting from "an
increase in hospitalizations for chronic illnesses." J. James Rohack, president-elect of the American Medical Association urged consumers "to take steps to stay healthy" and find "help through private and public channels to help pay for healthcare costs."

Corneal Molding

Enjoy clear vision through the day without glasses or contacts. A corneal mold reshapes the eye during sleep to provide clear vision throught the day. It is safe for kids, great for active people and is about 1/2 the cost of LASIK. Corneal molding is also known as orthokeratology. It has been around for a number of years but new technology has greatly increased the accuracy and predictability of orthokeratology.

Contact lens contest

Clear View Eye Care is pleased to announce a new contest. Simply text 'eyecare' to 83043 and you are automatically entered to win a contact lens package. Package includes exam, contact lens consultation, a free pair of lenses, a case and solution. Contest ends January 31st.

Flex

http://lifehacker.com/5105272/get-moving-on-your-health-spending-account

I have a new series of ads that will be going out on TV's in a restaurant. I wanted to show you the slides and tell me what you think of them. Are they eye catching? Does it make you think good things about Clear View?

Vision Therapy for Convergence Insufficiency

Here's a news article that came up from the AOA news.


New Jersey's Courier Post (11/24, Callahan) reports that "convergence insufficiency" is "a condition that prevents the eyes from focusing on a subject...without difficulty and strain," and may affect "about five percent of the nation's children." The National Eye Institute recently "launched a study to compare two commonly prescribed approaches" to treat the condition. That four-year study, which was "conducted in part" by Michael Gallaway, O.D., FCOVD, associate professor of optometry at Pennsylvania College of Optometry, found that children "fared better
when given office-based vision therapy along with at-home reinforcement." Specifically, "nearly 75 percent of" the 221 "youngsters who had office-based vision therapy with at-home reinforcement achieved normal vision or had significantly fewer symptoms" after "12 weeks of
treatment." Dr. Gallaway explained that vision-therapy programs "employ various devices, including prescription lenses, prisms, optical filters, and eye patches," and are tailored to individual patients' needs.

Prevention is better than cure.

Preventive measures are the best way to manage risk of vision threatening disease. diabetes, glaucoma and high blood pressure are among the most common causes of blindness yet the early stages often do not have symptoms. A regular eye exam can identify risk factors that could threaten your sight. Furthermore, your health insurance will often pay for your eye exam.

I had a patient come through my office last year who had a history of abusing his contacts. This meant that he kept his contact lenses far beyond the recommended wearing time. When we fit him for contacts I reminded him to come back to order lenses withing the month. "Buying lenses is far cheaper than dealing with a contact lens induced eye infection," I exclaimed. I did not see him again for three months. When he returned he had a large corneal ulcer. This time there was a risk of permanently losing vision and $500 worth of services.

In these volatile economic times neglecting the important can cost more if it becomes and emergency. Common knowledge states that cars should have their oil changed every 3 months or 3000 miles. Preventive maintenance can extend the life of a car. This applies to eye care also. A yearly checkup can allow an eye professional detect and manage conditions that affect your vision.

Vision for Hunting Season

Make the most of hunting season by maximizing your vision.

Start with a good prescription, binoculars, scopes and good sunglasses.
Using the right tints in the right envioronment will increase your ability to see what you are looking for.

Come see us to optimize your hunting vision.

Sunglasses tints that will maximize hunting season:
1. Target shooting. Use Yellow or copper lenses.
2. Field hunting. Brown tint will increase contrast.
3. Bright sun. Gray will reduce glare.

Economic Hardware

Adding a scratch coating to your glasses offers the hardware
that will protect them from undue wear.

The Essilor TD2 scratch coating is so durable that it has a 2 year unlimited warranty. This kind of protection offers the peace of mind that your glasses will last.

Quality costs less.

Managing health risks

Preventive measures are the best way to manage risk of vision threatening disease. diabetes, glaucoma and high blood pressure are among the most common causes of blindness yet the early stages often do not have symptoms. A regular eye exam can identify risk factors that could threaten your sight. Furthermore, your health insurance will often pay for your eye exam.

At Clear View Eye Care we feel that it is best to check your parachute before you jump.

Prevention costs less

Many people are concerned about the economy. Gas prices continue to rise and foreclosures seem innumerable. In a tme like this many people begin to cut back and spending slows. While this may be good for those who have been living beyond their means there are fundamentals that should not be negleceted.

One such aspect is in healthcare. I have seen a trend in the area where people are neglecting their health. They are cutting back on vision exams, dental visits and the like citing that it is too costly for them. However, people who neglect their health end up spending more than those who took advantage of preventive care.

Case in point. Glaucoma is a debilitating vision disorder. It usually has no symptoms and can progress to late stages without the patient's realization. A regular doctor visit can detect early signs of glaucoma and begin treating it with a nightly eye drop. However, if a person waits until symptoms arise before evaluation the treatment is more uncertain and costly. Intense procecdures and surgery are often need to preserve what is left of sight. The cost is not just monetary as vision, in the later stages of glaucoma, becomes much harder to preserve.

So, my advice for anyone reading this: Don't neglect your health. Ride your bike to your doctor and get the care you need. Preventive care costs less.

Local information

If you are looking for information about the St. George area checkout www.stgeorge.us

When to see the eye doctor

When to see the doctor.


Good vision is best promoted by preventive medicine. There are many eye diseases and vision disorders that often go undetected (glaucoma, amblyopia etc). For those who have neglected regular eye care the following is a list of telltale signs that it is time to visit Clear View Eye Care. (Source: The Vision Council)
* Blurry vision
* Poor night vision
* Visual “floaters”
* Problems reading
* Eye Stress, tired eyes
* Poor visual acuity even in broad daylight
* Increase in the frequency or severity of headaches

For children
* Sitting too close to the television
* Holding objects close to the face
* Trouble seeing the blackboard
* In turned our out turned eye


If it has been more than a year or you are having any of these symptoms call for an eye exam.

Tips for Dry Eyes

With Utah being the second dryest state in the nation dry eyes are virtually ubiquitous. Dry eyes can cause symptoms of burning, decreased vision, and tearing. Our hot summers, wind, and long hours at the computer can make these symptoms worse. The following are tips for dealing with dry eyes.

1. Use artificial tears (eg., Optive, Systane, Refresh Tears). Use them four times per day.
2. Lower your computer screen. Having your computer screen below your line of sight will expose your eyes less.
3. Blink. People forget to blink when doing computer work. Make a consious effort to blink every ten seconds.
4. Lid scrubs. There are multiple components to tears. The tear glands can get plugged. Use a warm wash cloth to clean the margins of your lids.
5. Protection. Keep your eyes out of the wind with a good pair of sunglasses.

Relief from dry, irritated eyes will come by simply taking these measures. If these suggestions are not enough to relieve your dry eyes we can help you with more aggressive treatment.

Taking care of dry eyes is part of clear, comfortable, healthy vision.

Six tips for Red, itchy, watery eyes

Six tips for
Red, itchy, watery eyes

More than 22 million Americans suffer from allergies. Most of these people also have allergic conjunctivitis (allergies in the eyes). This can cause itchy, red, watery eyes. Though many people simply endure these symptoms there is much that can be done to relieve your allergies.

1. Avoid the allergan. If you know what causes your eyes to itch then avoid it, if you can. This cannot always be done but is the most effective when possible. Unfortunately, people with allergies are often allergic to many things and cannot avoid them.
2. Don’t rub. Rubbing your eyes induces and increases the allergy response. When you rub your eyes it releases histamine, a chemical that induces itching.
3. Cool compresses. A cold wash cloth will help settle the cascade that causes the inflammation and itchiness.
4. Drops. Eye drops such as Elestat, Pataday, and Zatidor can relieve itchy eyes and will reduce allergies when used regularly
5. No Visine. This may get the redness out but can lead to a rebound effect where your eyes are worse than when you started.
6. Artificial Tears. These can be useful in rinsing out your eye. A clean eye will have less to react with.

Taking one or more of these measures can often relieve those itchy, red, watery eyes. You do not have to suffer from ocular allergies. If the tips above do not relieve your symptoms, talk with us about more aggressive treatments.

Never too young for contact lenses

There is no age limit for contact lenses. Someone can wear contacts when they are ready to care for them. Furthermore, in the case of progressive myopia, fitting a child with corneal molding lenses may be prescribed at a young age.

Family First

It is important to put family first. Everyone in the family, including children, should be seen by an optometrist. Yesterday I asked my wife why she took the kids to the dentist if their baby teeth were going to fall out anyway. She answered well indicating the problems that can occur in children's teeth. Our eyes need the same care that we give our teeth. Regular check ups to check for retinopathy, glaucoma, strabismus and refractive error will prevent sight threatening and uncomfortable conditions in the eye. Scheduling regular eye exams is one more way we can put family first.

Quality is embedded in Crizal

Crizal Avance with Scotchgaurd is the ultimate in Anti-glare for lenses. Coatings that boasted anti-reflective properties in the past had issues that may make people wary of putting it on new lenses. They were hard to clean, crazed and cracked.

Great advances have been made since the inception of anti-relfective eyewear. With the advent of Crizal Avance many of these problems have become history. First, Avance is embedded into the lens. By marrying the Crizal to the substrate the phenomenon of crazing becomes less of an issue. Furthermore, a hydrophobic/oleophobic layer repels dust, oil and static making the lens very easy to clean.

Clear View Eye Care recommends Crizal to all patients. The treatment is so good it comes with a two year unlimited warranty. This reflects the confidence that the product will perform.

Kids need eye exams too.

For those with children how many of you took your child for their wellness exams? The doctor checks an infant often to ensure good health and discover potential problems early to promote good development. A child's vision is no different. The American Optometric Association suggests having your child see the eye doctor within their first year of life. An optometrist can detect vision and life threatening diseases that may not be identified by the child's pediatrician. Amblyopia, cataracts and retinoblastoma are a few examples of disorders that can be detected by an optometrist.

Another issue relating to this is school screenings. Parent are often mistakenly comforted by school screenings. If he can read the eye chart then his eyes must be OK. These school screenings are very good for finding children who are nearsighted. However, they miss some very real and serious aspects of vision. Vision efficiency, hyperopia, strabismus and anything related to health are most often missed. A thorough eye exam from an eye care professional should be conducted on a regular basis to rule out an manage any of these potential concerns.

Tintilation

For those of you who like outdoor sports, the right tint can help enhance your performance. For instance, a brown tint is good for field hunting. If you like tennis and/or golf try a green tint to enhance the contrast of the ball. When choosing prescription sunglasses ask your doctor what colored tint might be best for your outdoor activities.

Seeing Hunters Through Rose Colored Glassses

For those who are getting ready for hunting season remember there is much you can do optically to maximize your chances of a good hunt. Sunglasses for instance can help you see what you are looking for. When field hunting a brown tint in your glasses will increase the contrast helping your prey to stand out.

Many people will spend thousands of dollars on binoculars and range finders. Remember that the whole system needs to be optimized and that includes a good prescription. If you wear contacts get your prescription updated and ask about toric contacts if you have astigmatism. The Rx can also be optimized for your shooting eye. Ultimate clarity will only occur if you have good optics all the way through.

Cell Phone Bucks

We were recently dropped from one of the phone books in town. It was an unfortunate occurrence. Nevertheless, we are bouncing back with cell phone bucks. This is a promotion we are doing to bypass the phone book system. Anyone who puts our company phone number in their cell phone will receive a dollar from us.

School screenings are not enough

SCHOOL SCREENINGS ARE INADEQUATE FOR DIAGNOSING VISION PROBLEMS

July 8, 2008--Parents and children often believe their child’s vision is healthy because he passed the school screening. However, school screenings miss elements of vision and eye health that are essential for good performance in school. Clear View Eye Care now offers a solution through full vision exams and visual efficiency screenings.

According to the American Optometric society, an estimated one out of every four children suffers from and undiagnosed vision problem that interferes with their ability to read and to learn. Basic school screenings are often the reason that these problems are not diagnosed. When a child read’s the 20/20 line on a vision chart the assumption is made that the child has normal vision.

Over 80% of learning is processed through the eyes. Therefore, when problems arise in the way that eyes track, team or focus, performance declines. Vision problems can manifest themselves in many ways such as loss of place when reading, poor reading comprehension or attention problems. Furthermore, many children are labeled as ADD when the real problem lies in their vision.

When reading and learning problems exist, Clear View Eye Care can perform a visual efficiency evaluation. Test that measure a child’s ability to work together, focus, and follow words and objects are assessed. Often these visual problems are treatable through vision therapy. Vision Therapy involves a number of doctor prescribed exercises to strengthen visual skills. Clear View Eye Care is the only practice in Washington County to offer full vision therapy services.

Time of treatment and costs vary with the severity of the case and are discussed following an efficiency evaluation. For more information you can visit www.clrvue.com, visit us at 1100 Canyon View Dr. in Santa Clara or call (435) 674-3502.

Before and after

I recently made a change to the building sign. The illumination and visibility has improved. Check it out

See the signs

We finally got our marquee sign for the building. I am hoping that this will make us much more visible at Clear View Eye Care. Also, we painted the building sign black and reversed the LED's. The resulting effect is miraculous. The retro illumination is much brighter and the visibility during the day is better too. I am very pleased with the results.

New directory

I just added a request to be listed on a new directory http://saintgeorgeutah.us. It is a growing directory that looks promising by offering free links to local residents.

Graphics improvement

The brand of Clear View Eye Care has improved over time. If you notice the following picture you can tell that my artistic ability has improved. The brand has developed well over the last year. A practice has its own life and its personality is developing. We only deliver high quality goods and services.

Pediatric Eye Exams

Many people do not realize that children are at risk for eye disease. Strabismus, Amblyopia, refractive error or retinoblastoma can be present in young children. It is important to have your child examined by an optometrist to rule out visually devastating diseases. The recommendation by the American Optometric Society is to have your child examined between 6 months and 1 year.

Services

I have been thinking about how I can help other people with their vision. So, here's a partial list of the problems that we can help with.

• Dry eyes
• Itchy eyes
• Burning eyes
• Crossed eyes
• Vision loss
• Distorted vision
• Double vision
• Crusty eyelids
• Swollen eyelids
• Twitching eyelids
• Flashes and floaters
• Glare
• Red eyes
• Blurry vision
• Troubles with reading
  

You get what you pay for. `

Quality is an important issue when it comes to glasses. For instance, Crizal Avance antireflective coating will double the cost of a simple pair of lenses. Still, eventhough the no glare coating adds to the price of the lenses it is value added. The Crizal Avance coating reduces glare at the computer, under fluorescent lights and while driving at night. The hydrophobic properties make it easy to clean. It resists dust and fingerprints. Furthermore, when you have an anti-reflective coating like Crizal Avance, it makes it easier to see your eyes.

When you purchase glasses remember that you get what you pay for. Quality will pay for itself in durability, functionality and in beauty.

Question of the day.

I have a medical issue that I am trying to figure out. If there are experts in the bloggosphere that comes across this I am interested in your advice. I am 30 and recently had cataract surgery in my left eye. Now I have one eye that sees 20/25 with no focusing ability and one eye that sees 20/15 and can focus. My trouble is that when I try to focus it shakes the IOL and makes my vision funny. I am thinking of getting some progressive glasses but I am not sure how that affects things like creating early presbyopia, visual balance etc. If you have any thoughts let me know by leaving a comment.

Allergy Season

Allergic Conjunctivitis is not fun. The eyes can get watery and itchy. It can make it difficult to do those things that you have fun with. If you have sinus allergies don't leave your eyes out of the equation. Simple solutions like Pataday or Elestat can help. These mast cell stabilizers and histamine blockers are designed to deal with allergies in the eyes. Check out www.clrvue.com for a place to find a doctor to help make your eyes feel better.

Don't settle for eye strain

Eye tracking is an important part of sports and reading. When visual efficiency lacks in saccades (eye jumping) and pursuits (smooth eye movements) this can cause poor performance in sports and cause a student to struggle with reading. This is something that vision therapy can help. A person can learn, through specific training, to improve these functions. If you have trouble keeping your eye on the ball, we can help.

We can help.

In an effort to focus on the need of others our new ad campaign will be listing specific elements of vision that we can address. This is an exciting new series of photographs that highlight my own family and inform patients of services that may not be familiar to others.

New promotion

We are not offering half off a second pair of glasses. This is to help those who need more than one pair of glasses in their lives. This is good for a second pair of reading glasses, sunglasses, a spare pair for the car or just a different look. This offer is good for the same patient ordering on the same day.

Vision Therapy - A way to see

Vision is more than 20/20. For those who struggle with reading and eye strain this is a familiar concept. Eye teaming, tracking and focusing relates to vision as much as visual clarity. In fact, it has been said that up to 1 in 4 children could have visual efficiency difficulties. These challenges can affect schooling and sports. At Clear View Eye Care we can help. Vision Therapy is a system designed to diagnose and treat vision efficiency problems. If you have having troubles with you or your child at school, if they skip words, will not read for more than a few minutes, complain of headaches they may have a vision efficiency problem.

Visit www.clrvue.com to find out more about vision therapy.

Welcome `

This is our first post for Clear View Eye Care. A small blog to inform patients of upcoming events. Information regarding their vision etc.