Are Your Eye Vitamins Living Up To Their Claims?

The Problem
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a chronic eye disease that affects a person’s central vision. It is a leading cause of blindness in those over age 50. For 2 million of Canadians living with AMD, supplements containing antioxidants like lutein, zeaxanthin, and meso-zeaxanthin are vital for reducing the risk of vision loss. However, researchers have pulled the alarm after discovering that a shocking 64% of tested AMD supplements sold in Canada fail to meet their label claim. These products did not have the amount of antioxidants that they claimed to have, meaning they would be less effective!

How is this possible? Currently, Health Canada guidelines for Natural Health Products only require that the quantity of medicinal ingredients be a minimum of 80% of the label claim, leaving leeway for companies. Researchers have notified Health Canada of their alarming findings regarding AMD supplements, and Health Canada will conduct a formal investigation into these products.

How Do I Make Sure I Am Taking The Right Supplement?

At our clinic, we take pride in recommending eye health products, vitamins, and eye drops that are of the highest quality. For our patients with AMD, we confidently recommend Vision Essence Early Defence due their exceptional quality control. They periodically test their supplements using independent labs to ensure their products are safe, pure, and maintain the necessary level of ingredients.

Not only this, but Vision Essence comes in liquid-filled capsules, which are stable and well-absorbed by the body. Studies show gel & liquid capsules are superior to powder-based supplements, which tend to degrade faster, making them significantly less effective shortly after the bottle is opened.

If you are ever unsure about whether you are taking the best eye supplements for you, ask your eye doctor. We are happy to help!

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Written by: Dr. Natalia Fong & Dr. Fabian Tai
Reference: https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/many-supplements-for-vision-loss-do-not-achieve-their-label-claim-researcher-says-1.5468929
Photo Credit: Volodymyr Hryshchenko on Unsplash

*Our authors do not report any conflict of interest. This post is not sponsored by Vision Essence.

Hard Contact Lenses - A Solution for Those Struggling with Conventional Contact Lenses

Do you find that your glasses or contacts are not clear or comfortable enough? Have you been told before that you were not a good candidate for contact lenses? For some people, custom hard contact lenses can offer another solution! Hard contact lenses can help people see better than they can with glasses or soft contacts. They also come in a much larger range of prescriptions. Hard contact lenses are fitted specially to your unique eye’s shape. There are two types of hard contact lenses: corneal and scleral.

People who might benefit from hard contact lenses are:

• Those with high prescriptions

• Those with astigmatism

• Those with corneal disease (e.g. scars)

• Those with an eye condition called keratoconus

• Those who experience significant dry eye that persists despite treatment

If any of the above apply to you, ask our doctors if hard lenses would help you see clearer. I have fit many patients in hard contact lenses who couldn’t believe how clear their vision could be! For example, people who did not have the confidence to drive could now be independent again when wearing their lenses. Hard contact lenses can be fit for almost any age, so it’s never too late to ask!

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Written and image by: Dr. Natalia Fong

How To Prevent Your Child's Glasses Prescription From Increasing

In a blink of an eye, does it seem like your child is suddenly taller than you? Just like growth spurts, the eye can also grow longer than it usually does. This results in myopia (nearsightedness), which is blurry distance vision that is corrected by glasses. But it’s not being tall that determines how much your eye grows. In fact, there are two main reasons for why a child’s prescription might continue to go up.

1. Genetics. If neither of your parents are nearsighted, you have a 1 in 5 chance of being nearsighted. If one of your parents is nearsighted, your chance increases to 1 in 4. If both of your parents are, your chance jumps to 1 in 3.

2. Environment. Genetics isn’t the entire picture considering that 30% of Canadians are nearsighted (and this stat is increasing every year). Studies show that glasses prescriptions are more likely to increase when there is less time spent outdoors in sunlight. Additionally, activities that involve a lot of near concentration (e.g. phones, computers) can also increase myopia.

To slow down a child’s glasses prescription from increasing, there are four options of myopia control:

1. Environmental changes. Spending at least 1.5 hours outdoors daily has shown to reduce myopia progression by 54% in children. We recommend children to have limited exposure (maximum 2 hrs/day) on electronic screens, and to balance their day with time spent outside.

2. Specialty glasses. MiyoSmart and MyoVision are lenses that are designed with new technology to slow myopia progression by up to 60%. Ask your doctor about them!

3. Specialty contact lenses. MiSight (soft lenses) and orthokeratology (hard lenses) slow myopia progression by up to 60%. These require special fittings by your doctor.

4. Pharmaceutical eyedrops. Prescription eye drops specially made by certain pharmacies can be used to slow myopia progression. These are most effective when used with specialty glasses/contact lenses.

Your optometrist can let you know which options are best for you. Feel free to ask us about these anytime!

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Written by: Dr. Natalia Fong

Image Credit: Kyle Gregory Devaras

Raptors Game 7 Loss to the Celtics: Could Better Visual Skills Have Helped?

Like most Raptor fans, I thought we had a huge opportunity to make it to the Finals, especially when the Milwaukee Bucks lost to the Miami Heat.  The Raptors played their hearts out without giving up and clawed their way back into the series after losing two games and possibly a third until OG’s amazing shot at the end of the game with 0.5 seconds left!

As an Optometrist who specializes in Sports Vision Training, I can’t help but wonder how the Raptor’s visual skills were during game 7.  Eye-hand (most will say hand-eye) coordination is something we talk about, but do we really know what it means?  It means that our eyes tell our bodies what to do, such as how to shoot the ball depending on your visual estimation of your shot.  All of those missed shots could have been improved with better vision.

Boston had really good defense, but what else causes miscommunication of plays which leads to a turnover?  Court sense is a combination of vision perception, visual memory and peripheral vision.  Any of these visual factors not properly working will result in poor play judgement or poor sports IQ. 

I know the players will be going home and spending their off-season training to be better for the next season.  Nutrition, strength training, reviewing game tapes and perfecting their shots/moves will take place.  However, will the players work on their visual skills to help them improve their shots and play-making decisions?  I hope sports vision training will be a part of their training program as I hope for another opportunity for a championship run!

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Written By: Dr. Fabian Tai

Image Credit: Joshua Chua on Unsplash

5 Ways To Make Working From Home More Comfortable For Your Eyes

Is working on your computer all day long giving you headaches or eye strain?  Are you experiencing blurry vision when reading on the computer?  Are you having trouble adjusting your focus when looking at the computer or away from it?  Are you waking up with blurry vision?

During this COVID-19 crisis, our world has shifted to a more virtual platform, using technology as a means to connect and communicate with others around you.  This is leading to a society with poor visual habits and some are realizing that their eyes are having trouble coping with their new world.

If you are experiencing problems when staring at the computer screen, it is important to visit our clinic (drfabiantai.com) and book an exam highlighting your computer concerns so we can perform a thorough visual skills exam that focuses on your focusing and tracking skills, compared to a standard eye exam.

In the meantime, I would recommend the following to help you during this time:

1. Take frequent breaks.  Follow the 20-20-20 rule.  Every 20 minutes, take a 20 seconds to look at something past 20 feet away.

2. Go for a 15 minute walk outside to get some sunshine to help reset your eyes from being inside staring at a screen and absorbing all those artificial lights.

3. Stretch your eyes and body.  Your eyes and body are connected together.  Stretching your eyes can loosen up your body and stretching your body can relax your eyes.

4. Close your eyes for 5 minutes and breathe.  I would focus on breathing in for 5 seconds and breathing out for 5 seconds.  This will help relax your brain to allow your eyes to move more naturally.

5. Sleep before 11pm every night (the earlier the better) and wake up when your body is ready to wake up to ensure that it is well rested.  This is a perfect time to rest your body and slow it down for it to recover from your fast paced life.

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Written by: Dr. Fabian Tai

Photo Credit: Thought Catalog

What Is Vision Therapy

When we think about vision, we usually picture the eye-chart at the doctor’s office, and whether or not we’re able to see that bottom line. But vision goes beyond your ability to see 20/20. Vision involves how you interpret and process the information that you see, as well as how effectively your eyes work together. There are a range of visual skills that we use to navigate through our daily lives. These include:

• Tracking - such as reading words on a page or following a moving ball

• Focusing strength - changing your focus between an object far away and then bringing it back to an object nearer to you

• Depth perception - the ability to accurately perceive where things are in space

• Maintaining attention - keeping attention focused on the task at hand, ignoring distractions or interfering information

• Binocularity - using both eyes together smoothly and effectively

These visual skills are not always as strong as they need to be, which can cause symptoms of visual stress and strain. You may experience headaches and fatigue, or you may notice you have trouble reading for sustained periods of time. You might be uncoordinated and clumsy, bumping into things, or you may have poor handwriting. All of these symptoms could be a reflection of an underlying visual issue.

A behavioural optometrist and vision therapist can work with you to identify if you may be struggling with a visual issue. Vision therapy can help to improve your visual skills and enhance your visual system. A vision therapist will guide you through different exercises through the course of your therapy program to strengthen these skills. If you or someone you know is struggling with any of these symptoms, vision therapy could be the solution. Contact our office for more information, or find a behavioral optometrist near you.

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Written by: Tali Main

Photo Credit: Stefan Cosma

Holiday Book Drive - Accepting Donations Now!

We invite you to help us support The Children’s Book Bank this Holiday season.

What is the Children’s Book Bank?

The Children’s Book Bank is a charitable organization whose mission is to provide literacy support to children in high-need communities in Toronto. The Book Bank is like a wonderful children’s bookstore, except that the books are available to the children FREE of charge! They also offer informal support through various programs including ‘School Trips with Story Times’ where local schools visit the Book Bank for story time followed by free “book shopping”. Each day, 250 books are shared; last year, 120 000 books were shared!

The Children’s Book Bank is dedicated to the principle that learning to read is the right of every child. This generates real world impact by placing books into the hands of children who might not otherwise have their own. Most of all, the aim is to foster a love for reading and learning that lasts a lifetime.

What Books Can We Donate?

Please take care to ensure that the donated books follow these criteria:

• Booked must be new or gently used (no missing pages, no pages with markings on them)

• Books should be suitable for children up to grade six (age 12)

• Books must be printed within the last 10 years (2009-present)

• No teen/adult books, no textbooks or encyclopedias, no magazines

If you are considering purchasing books, here is a list of titles flying off the shelf: Board books (ABC, 123, colours, shapes), Caillou, Lego, Diary of a Wimpy kid, Dork Diaries, Harry Potter, Percy Jackson Series, Minecraft, Pokemon, Captain underpants, DC & Marvel Superheroes, Babysitter’s club, etc.

A great rule of thumb is if you would gift the book to a child, then it would be a great book to donate!

We are accepting donations at our office until January 4th, 2020.

Thank you for your support! Happy Holidays!

From the Team at Dr Fabian Tai & Associates

5 Reasons Why You Might Have Trouble Focusing

Have you ever noticed that you start off the day with crisp, clear vision, but as the day goes on it gets a little blurry? You feel like a camera struggling to focus, and attempt to blink and look away to ‘reset’ your eyes. This is a common experience of many, but fortunately is not a serious issue for the most part.

Fluctuating vision has different effects on people. Some start their day with perfect vision and it progressively gets weaker throughout the day. Others have it the opposite way. And then there are those that have entirely good vision days and bad vision days. If you can relate to this, you should go to your optometrist to have your eyes checked before it turns into something more serious, which it can.

Those experiencing fluctuating vision most likely have a type of chronic eye condition. Here are some of the most common contributing factors that cause a change in vision:

1. Dry Eyes: Dry eye is a condition that develops when someone is unable to produce and maintain enough nourishing tears to lubricate the front of the eye. Your eyes might feel scratchy, irritated, or even watery, leading to blurred vision that changes with blinking.

2. Lack of sleep and excessive screentime:  We need to give our eyes a break, and the best time to do so is when we sleep. A minimum of 6 hours of sleep is required to revitalize our eyes, as lack of sleep will reduce the secretion of tears and cause itchy, dry, blurry vision. It is also important to minimize screentime and take many breaks from digital devices. When we stare at a screen, our eyes become dry and our focusing muscles become strained.

3. Eye-Brain Coordination Difficulties: Our brain and two eyes work together so that we can see things in focus without having double vision. If you feel that you are struggling to focus at distance or up close, this may be a result from coordination issues between the nervous system and our eye focusing muscles. This can lead to headache and eyestrain, especially after work and towards the end of the day.

4. Diabetes: Those that are diabetic are aware that changes in blood sugar levels can have very serious consequences. One being vision. Diabetes damages the lining of blood vessels, especially the tiny vessels of the eye. When the blood sugar level is not under control, you may experience a change in vision. Diabetes Canada recommends that all those with diabetes should have an eye exam yearly - in Ontario, this is covered by OHIP.

5. Drugs: Many medications (e.g. allergy pills) have side effects, including dry eye which can lead to blurry vision. We are not usually conscious of the fact that when we take prescription drugs or over-the-counter medications, that they can have a visual side effect, but unfortunately it can be serious, so be careful.

If you feel that something is not right, or that your vision fluctuates throughout the day, please see your optometrist to rule out any potential problems.

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Written by: Sandy Aziz

Photo Credit: Devin Avery

Buyer Beware: 5 Dangers of Ordering Glasses Online

We absolutely love the ease and convenience of shopping for deals online; however, when it comes to glasses, it’s not so simple. Glasses must be custom-made to your prescription and facial measurements. Since they are Class I medical devices, they must also meet ANSI (American National Standards Institute) and ISO (International Organization for Standardization) requirements, which are rarely regulated online. So, when patients ask for our opinions on purchasing online, we warn them of the following dangers.

1.  Prescription Issues. Glasses must be made accurate to the prescription, with acceptable limits of error. Not only must the strength be right, but the center of the lens must also sit in front of the eye’s pupil. This relies on having a correct pupillary distance (PD) measurement. A PD that is off by even 1 mm can create ‘prismatic effects’ which change the prescription. This can lead to eyestrain, headache, blur, and double vision. In a Canadian study assessing popular online retailers, 81% of glasses had the wrong prescription.

2. Fit Issues. Frames should never squeeze your temples, leave uncomfortable imprints on your nose, sit too close or too far, fit too wide or narrow, tilt at an odd angle, or slip down your face. Their shape should complement and enhance your face. And these days, a trendy pair of glasses are a fashion statement! Virtual fitting simply does not compare to trying on frames in-store, with the input and advice from a certified optician or optometrist. 70% of frames purchased online do not meet basic comfort and position criteria.

3. Safety Issues. All lenses must meet a minimum thickness for safety reasons. In cases where shatter-resistance is required, these standards are even more strict – the lenses must be even thicker and only certain lens materials provide maximum protection. Again, there is no guarantee of these standards being met by online retailers. One study showed that 23% of eyewear ordered online failed impact testing, compared to <0.5% failure rate for lenses produced by ophthalmic labs that undergo regular inspection.

4. Coating Quality Issues. There are many different types of anti-reflective, scratch-resistant, and blue light coatings. Low-quality coatings damage easily, and are also much harder to clean. Everyone knows how frustrating it is to constantly clean dirty fingerprint-covered lenses! Ordering online also does not guarantee that you get what you ask for – many lenses end up being sent with missing coatings.

5. Accountability Issues. We strongly believe that you should never be stuck with a pair of glasses that you can’t use. If something goes wrong with either the prescription or frame, it’s important that there is someone who can help problem-solve through the issue. Your glasses should have a dependable warranty that includes the ability to change the prescription if you are unable to adapt to it.

The bottom line? Protect yourself by ensuring that your glasses have been inspected to meet medical standards. We encourage ordering your glasses from a reputable retailer with a physical store and trained staff. When it comes to vision, it is well worth investing in glasses with high-quality materials and coatings so that you can see your best. 

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Written by: Dr. Natalia Fong

Photo Credit: Photo by John Schnobrich

References:
https://optometrists.sk.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/OnlineEyewearEvaluation.pdf
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21871395

Why Do I Get Carsick?

The trunk is packed, the music’s blasting, and the road trip snack bag is full! But road trips, or any length of time spent in the car, can bring on car sickness for many people, making car rides a stressful and unpleasant experience. But what many people don’t know about motion sickness is that it is highly connected to vision.

Motion sickness is brought on when a person’s visual system is not working together with their vestibular system. The vestibular system provides us with a sense of balance and gives us spatial awareness, or knowing where our body is in the environment. When we sit in a car, our body can sense subtle acceleration and deceleration of the vehicle. If our eyes don’t communicate that same information to the brain, we get nauseous. People who have visual problems, such as a lazy eye or post-concussion difficulties, may be more prone to motion sickness due to a mismatch between the visual and vestibular systems.

Some simple ways to reduce feelings of motion sickness are to try sitting in the front seat of the car or staring out the window. Your visual system will sense the movement, reducing feelings of sickness. You can also try sipping on ginger tea to help soothe an upset stomach. However, if there is a greater visual issue at play, vision therapy may be helpful. Our vision therapists, along with Dr. Tai, can help identify potential visual issues you may have, and will work alongside you to help improve and reduce your road trip dread!

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Written by: Tali Main

Photo Credit: Dan Gold

Why Am I So Light-Sensitive?

Growing up we believe that people with light-coloured eyes are more sensitive to light, but how true is this? The scientific term for light sensitivity is photophobia, which is discomfort caused by difficulty focusing in bright lights. It can be a mild temporary nuisance (such as when going outdoors in bright sunlight) or a debilitating condition leading to headache and eyestrain (such as in some suffering from concussion). Sunglasses provide relief for most, but sometimes even they are not enough.

During an eye exam, the doctor checks to see how your eyes reacts to light. Lighter-coloured eyes have less melanin pigment, meaning they are unable to filter out sunlight as well as darker eyes. Thus, those with blue or light hazel eyes do tend to be more light-sensitive. Regardless, there are still many people with dark eyes that are light-sensitive.

The problem of photophobia escalates once you find it necessary to wear glasses indoors. Although uncommon in the general population, we see this often in our concussion patients. Concussion symptoms include not only sensitivity to light, but also to sound, motion, and other distractions. In Vision Therapy, we work with different coloured filters, as well as relaxation techniques, to reduce photophobia.

Fun Fact: Did you know that eye colour is typically not determined until around age 3? Even then, eye colour can change throughout adulthood with certain metabolic conditions.

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Written by: Sandra Mazur & Dr. Natalia Fong

Image Credit: Mathew Janzen

Are Your Child's Eyes Are Ready for School?

Did you know that 80% of a child’s learning is through vision? In Ontario, although 25% of school-aged children have vision problems, only 14% have an eye exam before entering Grade 1. Often, children do not realize they have blurry vision or difficulty crossing their eyes - both of which may lead to challenges in reading and poorer school performance. Only an eye doctor can examine this thoroughly.

According to the Canadian Association of Optometrists, a person’s first eye exam should be at 6-9 months of age. Children should also have an eye exam before entering JK, and then annually afterwards. Although most kids will not show any signs even if they have visual issues, here are some things to look out for:

• Squinting or rubbing of eyes

• Headaches, eyestrain

• Moves text closer to read, or moves closer to the TV to see

• Not meeting grade-level in reading or math

• Skips lines/words when reading, mixes up letters, or reads backwards

• Poor handwriting

• Has difficulty with concentration, and is easily distracted

• General fatigue

The Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) covers for standard eye exams annually for children aged 0-19. Our clinic also offers advanced retinal imaging to ensure the back of the eye (retina) is healthy, which is especially important for a growing child. So if you notice any of the above (or even if everything seems completely normal), we would be happy to see your child for an eye exam to make sure they are seeing well for school!

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Written by: Dr. Natalia Fong

Image Credit: Santi Vedrí