Why the Optomap is so important
20 AprHey guys! It is Dr Katie. This afternoon I was picking up food from one of my local favorite eats (Big Fat Burritos) and overheard a woman talking about the Optomap to another gal. This made me realize that even though we have had the Optos Optomap technology in our offices for years, some of you have not yet seen what it can do!
This is one of my favorite technologies that we have in our Springfield and Nixa offices. Imagine trying to see the world by looking through the inside toilet paper roll. What you can see is clear but you are missing all of your peripheral vision. This isn’t a very effective (or safe) way to see. A huge and important thing that is right outside your field of view could be missed.
This is how I view the Optomap. Looking at the back of your eye with an ophthalmoscope, lenses used when you are in the slit lamp, or even a non-dilated photo can provide me with some great information about the health of your eye. I can see your optic nerve health (important in diagnosing glaucoma), I can see your macula (central vision) and some of your blood vessels (which can sometimes tell us if you are having issues from Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, etc).
But what if you had a retinal bleed right outside the area that we can see? Or what if there is a tear or hole in your retina that is in your far peripheral retina? This might be missed unless we dilate you so that we can use a light and a lens to see your whole retina through bigger pupil. The small area marked #2 on the image below is what we can see without dilation. The areas marked ’1′ are hemorrhages that would of been missed.
Who loves dilation drops??? Ha, very few. Trust me, I am not a fan of having dilation drops in my eyes either! With the Optomap, we can avoid dilation most of the time. The Optomap takes a picture of nearly your entire retina through a regular sized pupil.
The doctors will show you your retinal images back in the exam room. We can see anything from retinal hemorrhages, tears or holes, and sometimes we can catch melanomas. All very important things! We save these images so if there are any changes seen on your retina, we can compare to older images that you have taken in the past.
Below is a photo of a normal healthy retina…
Below is a photo of a retinal detachment…
If you ever have any questions about this amazing technology, just call and ask 417-886-5444.
Another great Health Magazine article on Doctors Visits!
18 Apr
Remember that all the doctors are here for you! Ask us anything and make sure all of your needs are met. Have you had your annual visit this year?
Health Magazine on Eye Care
12 AprDid you see April’s Health Magazine? Here are some parts to the article on Eye Health!
Call on the Vision Clinic to help with anything from getting an Rx for itchy allergy eyes, updating your glasses, checking your retina for diabetic changes, or even setting you up for LASIK!
Join us Saturday!
8 AprWe will be at this exciting event… And you should too!!!
Saturday, April 13
8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Advanced tickets: $15
*$20 at the door
Presented by Ollis and Company
O’Reilly Family Event Center
935 N Summit Ave, Springfield, MO 65802
Join the fun at an interactive fitness expo for women!
Here’s what you can expect:
• Choose from eight invigorating fitness classes
• Get advice from the regions’ experts
• Attend a healthy cooking class
• Enjoy a complimentary power lunch
• Shop for fitness apparel
• Visit with health-focused vendors
• Enjoy a relaxing massage
• Get a mini consultation
• Educate yourself at a wellness seminar
• See the announcement of our Wellness Warrior winner
• And more
Ticket price includes access to all fitness classes, educational sessions, the marketplace and a complimentary power lunch provided by Infused Catering.
Visit
http://www.417mag.com/livewell/
for more information!
417 Fashionation
24 MarDid you see our Vision Clinic models at 417′s 7th Annual Fashionation Event on March 22nd? Here are some shots from the fun fashion show!
Every Vision Clinic office was represented by our gals in their favorite pairs of sunglasses! Which was your favorite?
Dr Katie on Dyslexia
20 FebDid you know that Dyslexia isn’t just switching up letters in words? Actually there are 3 different types of Dyslexia…
1) Dyseidesia a type of dyslexia where the individual has difficulty making an immediate sight-sound match. These individuals will read laboriously, have poor sight-word vocabularies and rely on a phonetic approach to decode words.
2) Dysphonesia is a term used for an individual that has an issue phonetically spelling an unknown word. Substitution errors are common e.g., using the word “home” for “house”. Characteristic spelling errors include non-phonetic equivalents e.g., Solw for Slow.
3) The third type of dyslexia is called dysnemkinesia. This is less serious and easily remediated in most cases. These individuals can be distinguished by their frequent letter reversals e.g., d for b.
**In normally developing children, there is usually a decrease in reversal frequency as children mature and gain experience with reading and writing.**
At the Vision Clinic, we have a few tests that can help us tell if your child is struggling with Dyslexia. These are called The Dyslexia Screener and the Jordan Left/Right Reversal Test.
The first step is to get a comprehensive eye exam to make sure that a refractive problem is not the issue and then we can do these additional tests. We are here to make your child has the best chance at succeeding that is possible. Call us at 417-886-5444 for more information.
