EyeMark Newsletters

When you’re an old pair of glasses, it’s easy to become a hardened cynic. I’ve seen a lot of crazy things in my time, but nothing compares to the frenzy that is the build-up to February 14th. People have a whole year to express their love. You’d think they wouldn’t be fooled by a “holiday” that makes them rush out and buy roses at three times their normal price. But hey, who wants to be the cynic in the room? Well, usually I am the cynic in the room. But this time I’m gonna try to get into the Valentine’s spirit. And so, I give you my tips for a wonderful, romantic Valentine’s Day. A lotta people talk about love at first sight. Now I don’t want to rain on anyone’s parade… but if you meet a new person and you only see hearts and flowers, I’d recommend an immediate trip to the optometrist. I’m not saying it’s astigmatism or anything… but it’s a possible case of myopia at the very least. Then there’s the theory that love is blind, which is the exact opposite if you think about it. This time you don’t see love and roses. You simply don’t see anything at all! If you truly can’t see anything in the presence of your beloved, take my advice and get an eye exam. There’s no need to panic, but cataracts certainly can’t be ruled out. When starting to get to know your mate, they say eyes are the windows...

While travelling on the Gautrain recently, an optometrist overheard a conversation between two other passengers. “I have just collected my new glasses from my optometrist,” said one of the men. “I can see clearly with them, but I find that glare really bothers me.” “Didn’t you discuss that with your optometrist, and couldn’t he recommend something to deal with your problem?” asked his companion. “He made a number of good suggestions to improve my experience with my new glasses, but none of them are covered by my medical aid, so I decided against them.” Making a decision based primarily on what is covered by medical aid may be false economy. Glasses are often an expensive item, but making a co-payment that will not be too taxing on the pocket may be worthwhile in the long run. Lens coatings can improve the performance, longevity, durability and appearance of your lenses, as well as provide necessary protection for both your lenses and your eyes. At the very least one should consider a hard coating, which will protect the lenses from excessive scratching, and thus help to maintain clear effective vision until new glasses are due to be covered by medical aid a year or two down the line. Apart from being irritating, scratched lenses interfere with vision, often leading to eye strain or headaches. While no lenses are completely scratch-proof, treating them with a hard coating front and back will make them more scratch resistant. It is advisable, particularly with certain prescriptions, to...

On the whole, the human eye is an efficient and complex organ which provides us with an accurate picture of the world around us. Light enters the eye by passing through the pupil, ultimately reaching the light-sensitive retina at the back of the eye. The information is then sent via the optic nerve to the brain where it is interpreted. However, there are limitations. Each human eye has a blind spot, an area on the retina without receptors to respond to light, resulting in a “dark spot” where no image is detected. The optic nerve is a cable made up of many nerve fibres between the eye and the brain. It enters the back of the eye and spreads nerve fibres onto the back of the eye to make up the light detecting cell layer, the retina. The small round spot where this cable enters the back of the eye is called the optic disc. Because there are no light-detecting cells on this disc, there is a very small gap in the visual field of each eye. Most of the time, the visual fields overlap, so that the eyes are able to compensate for each other’s blind spot, and we don’t even notice it. The brain is thought to simply ignore the blind spots, or efficiently fill in the missing information, by drawing on other spatial information as well as memory. The following simple activity will demonstrate the existence of the naturally occurring blind spot in each eye:   On a piece...

Is it a coincidence that Healthy Lifestyle Awareness Month comes in February, a month after we have made, and probably forgotten, our resolutions and good intentions to be proactive about living healthier? It is not a coincidence that general good health and well-being impacts directly on eye health. The eyes are not only the windows to the soul, but are often the windows to general physical health. Eye health is directly linked to serious chronic conditions, including diabetes, high cholesterol and hypertension. Comprehensive eye exams can detect these, and can help prevent permanent vision loss. Look at these simple “true/false” statements to find out about overall health and eye health. Good eye health starts with the food on your plate. True or false? TRUE – a well-balanced diet rich in certain nutrients helps to protect against cataracts and macular degeneration, while maintaining a healthy weight lowers the chances of chronic illnesses such as diabetes, which is a leading cause of retinal disease. Balance is key to a healthy diet, which entails eating a wide variety of foods from the five food groups in the right proportions. An unhealthy diet can cause you to wear glasses. True or false? FALSE – the need for glasses has nothing to do with the health of your eyes, nor will a change in diet make a difference to your vision. It is a function of the structure of your eyes, a variation in the size, length or shape of the eye or cornea. Some changes...