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.

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?

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!

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!

Every Vision Clinic office was represented by our gals in their favorite pairs of sunglasses! Which was your favorite?

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.

Oh and don’t forget to come visit us before your insurance is up or those Flex dollars disappear!

Purchase a $50 gift card and get a $10 gift card (at no additional charge) for yourself.
Purchase a $100 gift card and get a $20 gift card (at no additional charge) for yourself.

AND… We will have hot cider and cookies at the South National and Nixa offices for a shopping breather on Black Friday!

First, we have some Vision Source deals to pass along to you.  We have Ciba Contact Lens rebates of up to $100 off!  That means that this is a perfect time to get a year supply of Dailies, Multifocals, o2 Optix and Night&Days.  Be sure to call us for details!  Also, we have $50 off of glasses that include AR or Transitions.  Second, we have a Facebook contest called “My Dream Pair.”  Just stop into any of our 4 offices, pick out a pair of the most amazing frames, and let us snap a photo.  We will put your photo on our main location’s page and you can have your friends like your photo! If your photo gets the most likes, you win the frame AND get a chance to win a weekend at Big Cedar.

They both end at the end of the year so stop in the office today to check out our great promotions and the contest!  Everyone likes to save money and win frames!!!

Last year, we decided to plan a 5K for 2012′s World Sight Day Challenge. And on September 29th it happened! We had a blast and raised over $4,000 for Optometry Giving Sight!

Registration started at 7am at the National Location

We walked over to the Starting Line on the corner of National and Walnut Lawn

And then they were off!

Officially 132 timed for our 5K Race and some did our 1 Mile Fun Run Option all running for a great cause!

The Winner! 16.04

Heading to the Finish Line!

Dr Mitzi with Gannon and Gaige (our 10 and under winner!)

Dr Kory and his family (their 1st official family 5K)

A few of our fabulous walkers!

After the race back at the office. We had Vendors, Awards, Breakfast and plenty of Refreshments!

So many folks making a difference for Optometry Giving Sight!

More photos can be found at http://myvisionclinicblog.com/2012/10/07/world-sight-day-challenge-vision-clinic-5k/

Thank you again to all of our Sponsors!

Visionary Sponsors: Steak N’ Shake, Ozarks Bottling Company, Viva and Missouri Eye Institute

20/20 Sponsors: Commerce Bank, Cooper Vision, Buxton Kubik Dodd Creative and Great southern Travel

Mile Marker Sponsors: Thrive Fitness, Sumits Hot Yoga, 417 Magazine, Essilor, Heim Young and Associates, The Copy Shoppe, The Hair Company, Harmison Law, and First Home Savings Bank

In Kind Sponsors: First Impressions Printing, Krispy Kreme

And Award Sponsors: Melanie Dixon with 31, Jordan Essentials, Christian County Collision, Jacks Upholstery, Enterprise Park Lanes, Red Star, Oakley, Safilo, Mercy Fitness, and the Meyers Center.

For official race times, click HERE

If you would like to donate to Optometry Giving Sight, please click HERE