EyeMark Newsletters

The Youth. Those Millennials. What Is The World Coming To? Sound familiar? It should... I mean, you guys just don't stop complaining about us. It's always young people this and young people that. For reals, it never ends. Well, you know what? It's Youth Month and I've got some stuff to say. Yip, this is a real Millennial talking. Let's start with the complaint that we can't focus on one task. That's what we call multitasking. (Hello, like obviously...) As we speak I'm polishing my lenses and checking my messages while I'm writing this article. Then people say we don't do anything thoroughly. Well how thoroughly do you want me to check my Facebook status? Thoroughly, really? Whatevs. Then there are those peeps who say we only care about ourselves. Seriously? Look at all the protests around the world. You know, the ones in favour of human rights and the ones against a certain orange president. Who was doing most of the protesting? As a young funky pair of sunglasses, I've been worn to many places where young voices demanded to be heard. So you see? We do care about the world around us. One time I got left behind which was totes awks (meaning totally awkward, in case you don't speak our lingo). Ah yes, our lingo... So. People say we're obsessed with FOMO, which by the way means Fear of Missing Out. Sure, we want to do stuff and experience life. But sometimes there's JOMO (which is Joy of...

"Whatever hand life deals you, you don't have to give in to it. You just need to find a different way of... looking at it!" These wise words sum up the attitude of a man who is used to falling down, picking himself up again, and carrying on, a man used to "looking" at life differently! Richard Monisi was born blind, regaining 5% of his sight after an operation at the age of 12. Forced to drop out of school early, he moved from his rural village to Johannesburg where he discovered long distance running. It was difficult to find time to train, so Richard chose to train in the quiet early hours of the morning, so that he could concentrate on his senses other than sight to guide him through the streets, before the confusing noise of the day began. He has since finished 11 Two Oceans marathons, and is preparing to run his 12th Comrades Marathon on 4th June 2017. During one of his races, he fell four times, picking himself up each time and continuing towards the finish line. As he entered the stadium, he was disoriented by the music and cheering crowds. He lost his balance and fell, but was lifted to his feet by nearby runners, who urged him not to give up, to keep going to the end, something he has been doing throughout his life. In 2013, his guide collapsed due to dehydration, but Richard would not give up - he made sure that...

When we look at an object and see a single clear image, we give no thought to the different areas of the visual system that need to work together to allow us to see this image. Light enters the cornea, the clear membrane over the front of the eye, and the lens helps to focus the light onto the retina at the back of the eye, from where information is carried via the optic nerve to the brain. The muscles of the eye move the eye in different directions. A problem with any part of this delicate system can lead to double vision or diplopia, the perception of two images of a single object. The images can be side by side, one above the other, or a combination of the two; they may overlap or appear as two separate images. Double vision can affect just one eye (monocular) or both eyes (binocular). As well as the obvious difficulties of navigating the world while viewing a double image, double vision can also cause disruptions in balance, movement and reading ability. CAUSES OF DOUBLE VISION Double vision occurs when the eyes are unable to look in the same direction. There are a number of possible causes for this, some relatively minor and others more serious, some of which originate in the eyes, while others may be symptoms of underlying conditions within the body. Monocular double vision is less common than binocular double vision and can be caused by conditions within the eye itself,...

As we get older, we find ourselves holding reading material further and further away. This is not because our arms are getting shorter! Rather, our eyes are losing their ability to focus up close, be it on reading a menu, threading a sewing needle, or tightening a small screw. This is one of the symptoms of presbyopia, the vision condition commonly associated with the aging process, and caused by the gradual loss of flexibility in the lens of the eye. Few people escape presbyopia, even if they have never had a vision problem requiring glasses before. There are a number of treatment options for presbyopia, including glasses, contact lenses and surgery, and within these options there are various possibilities. Discuss these with your optometrist, who will guide you in terms of your specific needs. CORRECTIVE LENSES For those who need glasses for close work, but not for distance vision, the simplest solution is usually reading glasses , which can either be made up by your optometrist or even bought over the counter. Some people prefer to have bifocal (or progressive) reading glasses, with "plano" lenses (no prescription) in the top part of the lens and the reading prescription in the bottom, so that they're able to wear glasses full-time without having to constantly take them on and off. If both distance and near vision need to be corrected, bifocal or progressive lenses would be the answer. Bifocal lenses have two points of focus, the main part being the prescription for distance...