Help others see, and save money!

Donate your old pair of glasses or sunglasses to the Lions Club, and receive $5 off any self pay fees at our office!

The Lions Club has a special program for donating eyeglasses to needy people throughout the world. When Dr. Paull was in optometry school, she participated in a missions trip to Belize where over 12,000 pairs of Lions club glasses were lugged to hundreds of needy people in the rural areas of Belize. Each pair of glasses was carefully cleaned by a volunteer, and the exact prescription was measured. Volunteer doctors measured the patients' prescriptions and checked for eye disease, and then glasses are given to patients who were sometimes able to see clearly for the first time in their life! To date, the Lions Club has helped over 100 million people with eye care services throughout the world.

Do not let your glasses gather dust in your house! Bring them in to our office and we will thank you by taking $5 off any self-pay fees (not applicable towards insurance copays, limit is 2 per patient). And don't forget those old sunglasses! We will accept non-prescription sunglasses as well, giving you an excuse to update your style!

A Recipe for 20/20

Did you know that eating healthy can help boost your vision as well? Your eye's health is dependent on your overall health, and if your overall health is good - your eyes will function better and you will have clearer vision. Many common antioxidants and nutrients have been proven to help prevent cataract as well as macular degeneration. For example, vitamins A, C, D, and E, as well as omega-3 fatty acids, lutein and zeaxanthin, have all been proven to help fight eye diseases. Foods that contain these nutrients include all colorful fruits and vegetables, salmon, walnuts and spinach. Interestingly, we have one patient in our practice, J.B., who was found to have small spots in the back of her eye due to a degeneration of her retina that could potentially lead to macular degeneration and blindness. She started taking vitamins that contained the antioxidants needed for the eye, and when she returned a year later, the spots had diminished! Eating healthy can help save your sight. For more information on nutrients and the eye, please visit: http://www.allaboutvision.com/nutrition/nutrition_summary.htm.
Feeling hungry? Enjoy a delicious recipe that contains foods that help support eye health:

Strawberry Spinach Salad
Ingredients:
2 TBS Seasame Seeds
1 TBS Poppy Seeds
1/2 Cup Olive Oil
1/4 Cup Distilled White Vinegar
1/4 tsp Paprika
1/4 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 TBS Minced Onion
10 Ounces Fresh Spinach
1 Quart Fresh Strawberries
1/4 Walnuts
DIRECTIONS:
1. In a medium bowl, wisk together the sesame seeds, poppy seeds, sugar, olive oil, vinegar, paprika, Worcestershire sauce and onion. Cover, and chill for 1 hour.
2. In a large bowl, combine the spinach, strawberries and walnuts. Pour dressing over salad and toss. Refrigerate 10 to 15 minutes before service.
**Add salmon to this salad for an omega-3 boost!

Retinal photo of the year

TOP PHOTO: the retina of the right eye of our patient, D.C. Note the white area where the retina has detached.

BOTTOM PHOTO: the retina of the left eye of our patient, D.C. Note the normal, red retina throughout the photo.

Our patient, D.C, sure must be glad that he has a 'spare tire' when it comes to eyes. When he was in his late teens, he obtained a basketball injury to his right eye. The injury caused the retina to detach from the back of his eye, so he is unable to see normally in that eye. Interestingly, a small part of the retina remained attached to the eye in the top part of the eye, so now he can actually see things that are below him only (the top part of the eye sees the bottom of our visual field). The injury also caused a traumatic cataract in his right eye, so there is less light entering that eye as well.
The beautiful retinal photos above show the retinal detachment in our special patient's eyes. He can still see normally out of his left eye, so you would never know from looking at him that he had one eye that was essentially blind. Aren't you glad God gave us two eyes?!

Celebrate OneDay - helping those in need

Since 1988, over 7 million people have received complimentary vision care and eyewear through LensCrafters' charitable programs. In 1993, one day of the year was designated to help people in need receive no-charge eyecare and vision services.

This year, the designated day is Tuesday, December 13th. It will be celebrated as "OneDay": the single largest day of giving across the Luxottica company worldwide. Dr. Amanda Paull & Associates will be participating with this event. Eye exams and eyewear will be provided at no charge for those who fill out an application demonstrating financial need. Appointments may be scheduled by calling the office at (804) 272-0848. Please spread the word to those who would benefit from seeing more clearly!

We'll pay your way to the movies!

Have you seen the movie 'Courageous'?
Dr. Amanda Paull & Associates wants to support this funny, inspirational, family-centered movie. Just go see it in the theatres, and just bring in your movie ticket receipt. You will receive that amount off of any self-pay fees at our office (not applicable towards insurance copays). Be sure to bring a box of tissues - this movie is a real tear jerker and a great cure for dry-eye! Offer expires December 15, 2011. Spread the word to family and friends - it is a movie you will never forget! Check it out at: www.CourageousTheMovie.com

Lions are Rockin' the world!

Do you know what the largest service organization in the world is? It is the Lions Club. This international organization provides glasses and vision services for needy people all over the world. They have also helped over 8 million people receive cataract surgeries. Over 120 million children have been able to receive help with vision services through the Lions Club. There are opportunities for anyone to participate with this wonderful organization. In fact, Dr. Paull supports her local Lions club and they work hard with fundraisers and fun events to provide glasses and to help with special needs of local residents. If you know of someone who is in need of glasses or an eye exam but may lack the funds to pay for it, please contact our office at (804) 272-0848 and we can direct you to the correct Lions coordinator that may be able to help.
To see more about the fun that the Lions members have, watch the humorous hip hop video below!

An Optometrist's Prayer

Optometrist's Prayer

God bless this optometrist.

Help me do all that I might

To care for all my patients

And improve their precious sight.

I pray that You will guide my hand,

And may it be Your will

That I shall daily strive to grow

In knowledge and in skill.

All the sunsets and the rainbows;

A smile; a flag unfurled -

May I help them see more perfectly

The beauty of Your world.

Lord, please bless my practice

And may I always be

A willing tool within Your hand

To help my patients see. Amen.

Ramona K. Cecil

(Dr. Paull posted this - It is a great reminder that is needed every day!!)

The Tech Savvy Patient of the Week

Our patient, A.T is smart. So smart that he thought ahead before his eye exam and actually took a picture of his contact lens box on his iphone. During the exam, when I asked if he knew what his former brand of contact lenses was, he just whipped out his iphone and showed me the exact information I needed. This is the model patient - someone who photographs their prescription information so that it is easily retrieved when necessary!

I am proud of patients who take advantage of technology. In fact, I had a patient who sent me a picture message to my cell phone of the eye infection she had on a Sunday. She was also out-of-town, so it sure did help me tell her the best treatment for her situation. Although seeing the real thing is much better, when necessary, technology can help in many situations!

I'm thankful for all of our smart, tech-savvy patients!

Don't let "Anchors Aweigh" cause "Vision Away"

From Dr. Levy:

I had a patient recently who was complaining that he couldn't read any of the menus on a recent cruise he had been on, nor could he read his books on deck or on the beaches they stopped at on the cruise, despite the fact that he could normally read. His left eye was completely blurred up close, and his right eye somewhat less so. He also noticed that everything was brighter than normal, but he attributed that to being in the Caribbean. When he got back on land, the inability to read continued for several days, although by the time he made it in for his exam, it had returned.

"What happened?", he asked."Let me ask you a question," I responded; "Do you suffer from seasickness when you go on a cruise?" "Yes, why?" "Did your doctor prescribe you a patch?" "Yes." "Did you put it behind your left ear?" "Yes..."

One of the more popular seasickness patches contains scopolamine, a medicine that helps with motion sickness, but is also used in an eyedrop we use to dilate people's pupils.

By putting the scopolamine patch behind the patient's ear, enough scopolamine was absorbed through the skin, that it dilated the patient's pupils, relaxing the patient's focusing system, leaving him unable to focus up close. Because the patch was put behind the left ear, more of the medicine was absorbed on the patient's left side, and affected the patient's left eye more severely.

Although the patient was reassured that the condition was completely subsided by this point, he was still somewhat annoyed that he was inconvenienced on his cruise by something that was supposed to help him.

"Good thing the waiter recited the specials each night..." he quipped.

So any time you are given a new medicine by a doctor, it's always a good idea to read up on, or just ask, what the potential side effects might be!

Lesson Learned - money and time wasted on online glasses ordering

Last week I had one patient who learned about online glasses the hard way. He came in wondering why he couldn't see anything out of his new glasses that he had purchased online with his brand-new prescription. I had him put his glasses on, and I marked where his pupils were in the glasses. They were almost 1 centimeter LOWER than where the prescription was located. Poor guy, he was seeing through a place in the glasses that was 50% less prescription than what it should have been. No wonder he wasn't very happy! He learned that in certain prescriptions, it makes a difference whether you look through the top of the glasses, the bottom of the glasses, and in some cases, even the sides of the glasses. He said that the online order form just filled in an 'average' for the distance between his pupils, and that it put an 'average' for how high the bifocal line should be. Well, in order to see clearly out of your prescription, your pupils must line up correctly behind the lenses. In this case, we confirmed that the prescription was actually correct in the glasses, however, it was located in an area that didn't match his face and his eyes. This means that you must try on the frames to your face and make accurate measurements about where your pupils are in the frames. Sometimes, you get what you pay for! I have always been pleased by the customer service offered by LensCrafters, and I know they do an excellent job at making sure everyone's glasses are fitting them properly. Next time you get a glasses prescription, make sure it is accurately fit in the glasses frames as well!

Picture: A Progressive lens design shows that the prescription for distance vision is at the top, while it progressively changes to a near prescription at the bottom. Depending on your prescription, it may be different at the top than what it is at the bottom!