Blog - Doig Optometry

Adjusting to Progressive Lenses

Congratulations on your transition to progressive lenses! You have made a choice that will help your own comfort and vision. If it doesn’t feel like an easy switch right away, don’t worry. It takes time for many people to get used to progressive lenses. This blog will tell you about some of the tricks you can use to get a better gaze from your new lenses.

Nose Trick for Farsightedness:

This is a good trick to have on hand to know whether or not your lenses are working properly for your eyesight. It’s a test for your near vision (farsightedness) so start by grabbing something to read, then point your nose in the direction of the text you want to read. Finally, while keeping your head level, slowly lower the text down. You can stop whenever the text comes into focus – you should be gazing out of a lower portion of your glasses. Keep in mind the bottom left and right edges of your glasses may have a soft focus or blur to them, so ensure you are looking squarely through the middle-bottom. If you try this method and you still seem to be having vision problems, it might mean that your lenses aren’t quite right, and you should visit your optometrist.

Tilt Forward Trick:

If you’re having problems with your far-away vision (nearsightedness), progressive lenses will provide the best assistance the further up the frame you gaze through. To test for the accuracy of this, pick a point to fix your gaze at on the other side of a room. While staring straight ahead, tilt your head slightly forward, so you are peering through the highest point in the frame. Far away objects should be the most visible here. If not, it could indicate a problem with your prescription.

Professional Consultation:

If you’re thinking of inheriting glasses, or getting what claim to be progressive glasses from an online retailer, you’re getting yourself into trouble. Unnecessary head or eye strain can be caused by ill-fitting glasses, and your optician will know to not only find the right prescription for your vision, but to position it in such a way that promotes comfort and ease.

We hope these tips ease your transition to progressive lenses. As always, if you are having difficulty with your eyesight, give us a call at (403)-333-3353 to arrange an appointment

Progressive vs. Bifocals

When your vision requires a prescription that aids near-sighted and far-sightedness, your optometrist will give you the option of progressive (sometimes called ‘no-line bifocals’) or bifocal lenses. But what are some differences between bifocals and progressives?

Do I Need Big Frames?

Those familiar with bifocal lenses know how they look. Bifocal lenses consist of frames with smaller windows at the bottom of each frame. The smaller frame will assist with your near vision (farsightedness), and traditionally are within big frames to fit both windows. With progressive lenses, you don’t need big frames to accommodate for this window, as progressive lenses transition from accommodating for farsightedness at the bottom of the frame, and nearsightedness at the top of the frame.

Progressive Bifocals Aren’t Made That Way for Aesthetic Reasons.

Although they will sometimes be called ‘invisible bifocals’, progressive lenses are actually made the way they are to support a variety of viewing distances. What that means is that, instead of having a drastic change in lens from the top portion to the bottom portion of your lenses, there is a gradual change. What you experience is a smooth transition from looking at far away objects to up-close objects, and what the lens actually contains is a set of incremental changes to accommodate that.

If You’re New to Progressive Lenses, be patient with yourself. There may be a period of time where you won’t quite be used to your new lenses. For some, this takes less than a day. For others, especially if you’ve been wearing bifocals for most of your life, this could take a few days. In time, your habits will change and you won’t need to tilt your head or change the angle of your gaze as much to get the right vision.

Are you a bifocal wearer, curious about progressive lenses? Doig Optometry is now accepting new patients, and as a welcome gift we’re giving away $25 to spend in our office on regular priced eyeglasses or contacts. Call us today to arrange an appointment (403)-333-3353

Signs That You Need New Glasses or Contacts

While we recommend that patients get routine eye exams, there are some times when a physiological change will signal that you’re due for an appointment sooner rather than later.

Headaches & Eye Fatigue

Whether or not you already have a prescription for glasses, getting headaches after reading or being in front of a computer can indicate that there are issues with your eyesight. The sensation of a headache from eye strain can vary, but typically it feels like there is pressure on the back of the eye or around the temples. Eye fatigue – like far away objects going out of focus sometimes during the day – can also mean your eyes are being strained. Most people will experience this sensation in the afternoon or evening after using their eyes for reading, writing, or calculating. Nearsighted eye strain, however, doesn’t necessarily mean you are nearsighted. When one aspect of your vision being strained, another can show its signs, such as headlights on a highway being splayed, or small text being doubled.

Why Do We Squint?

Squinting is another sign that your eyesight is poor. When we squint, we reduce the amount of light that hits the back of the retina. With less light, we are able to focus on one object better. It’s not the case that your eyelids improve your vision, but they assist in reducing the amount of light from what you’re trying to focus on.

“I Can See Fine But My Arms Are Getting Shorter”

Are you frequently moving screens or paper away from you in order to see what they say better? Pulling something close or holding it at a distance is a subconscious action we might do to move objects into the area of our vision that’s stronger. Holding a book away from you may bring it into focus, but then your eyes are strained to figure out what text says from far away.

If you’re experiencing any of these symptoms, it’s likely that you either have the wrong prescription or you may need glasses or contacts. Calgary’s Doig Optometry is now taking new clients, so give us a call at (403)-333-3353 to receive $25 to spend in our office on regular price glasses or contacts. Hope to see you soon

Why You Should Have UV Block Coating On Your Lenses.

When presented with the option of UV coated lenses, most people won’t consider the instances when it could protect their vision. Even if you only use glasses for part of the day, those hours may count towards degenerative eye conditions that could be easily avoided.

What Type of Sunglasses Should I Buy?

If you don’t wear glasses, or only wear them for part of the day, you’ll still need some sort of UV eye protection this summer. Dark-coloured glasses without UV protection don’t protect your eyes, so it’s better to pay for something that says ’100% UV protection’ or ‘UV coated’ regardless of fashion or price. Dark coloured glasses without this sort of protection can actually harm your eyes as, with the tinted lens, your pupils remain large, staying exposed to unfiltered rays.

What Do UV Rays Do?

Just like how we need to be cautious about the effects of UV rays on our skin, we need to be be careful of instances where it can affect our vision. UV rays can lead to the development of cataracts, as well as eye-surface problems like macular degeneration, pingueculae and pterygia. Just like sunburns can be easily prevented with sunscreen, proper UV protection can greatly reduce your risk of these.

Times That Call for UV Protection:

It’s not only our time on a beach that we should consider eye protection. Driving, playing sports outdoors, commuting, and sitting in a sunny café are all times when we should consider protecting our eyes. And that doesn’t mean you need a dark tint. Many of our prescription glasses or a shop’s nonprescription sunglasses appear transparent, but still have UV protection.

Don’t let unfiltered rays stop your summer fun from happening. Face the world with the right protection. Calgary’s Doig Optometry is your place to ask questions and get the right glasses for your lifestyle. And, we’re taking new patients! Give us a call at (403)-333-3353 to receive $25 to spend in our office on regular price glasses or contacts. See you soon!

Summer Sunglasses

When it comes to protection from the sun, your eyes are at just as much risk as your skin, which is why finding a comfortable, reliable pair of sunglasses is so important. With our help, you’ll find them, and look great too!

Style Variety:

At Doig Optometry, we can create a pair of glasses for you that are dedicated sunglasses, or a pair of prescription glasses that are tinted with a UV block. Some people prefer a dedicated pair of sunglasses for UV protection, usually when they’re farsighted and only need prescription glasses for reading. Other nearsighted folks may want a separate pair just for the outdoors. Keep in mind, however, that our ‘tinted UV block’ is available clear or in a variety of colours.

Not Spending Much Time in the Sun?

You may not think UV rays affect your lifestyle much, but those UV rays are in places you might not expect. They can still reflect off water, snow, cars, or other light-bouncing surfaces. A car windshield will not protect you from UV rays, but a pair of shades that live in your glovebox might.

We Take Your Lifestyle Into Account and consider your personal needs when choosing the right pair of glasses. Your lifestyle will make your needs unique, and we take pride in accommodating for that. The summer months are when we get the chance to play more outdoor sports, or spend sunny days with our kids in the park. Don’t put yourself at risk, especially when UV damage can be so easily avoided.

All it takes is mentioning sunglasses at your next eye exam at Doig Optometry. Don’t have an appointment yet? Make one today at 403-333-3353!

The Right Age for Your Child to See an Optometrist

It can be difficult to discern whether or not your child is having vision problems. Noticing the distance they sit from books or a television can be an obvious clue, but other times you’ll need a more nuanced approach to really understanding if your child can see to the best of their ability.

Your Child Had Their Eyes Checked most likely at birth and at six weeks. This was likely done by a midwife, and would have involved a check for any visible cataracts using a light. Things will be quite blurry for your little one as they pass through each developmental milestone, but as the weeks pass, aspects of their vision will improve just like hearing and physical awareness. They will have just begun to focus at a distance of 30cm around the age of 1 month old. At around two months, their distinguishing of primary colours improves. From four to eight months their depth perception will occur and gradually improve.

At Around 5 Years Old, routine eye exams should begin taking place for your child. It coincides with the age most children start school, which makes it an easy age to remember. Vision loss for children can affect them both physically as well as emotionally (more so than it might for adults), so consider the importance of a routine check.

Signs of Problems…

If you are worried about your child’s vision, try to observe any of the following activities which may help in the event you visit an optometrist:

Rubbing eyes
Blinking
Sitting close to a TV/holding objects close
Squinting
Inwards/Outwards turning eye.
Problems navigating darkness

As always, if you have any general questions about developmental milestones for vision, don’t hesitate to contact our office or ask us on social media. If you would like to arrange a test for your son or daughter, call us at 403-333-3353.

Hard vs. Soft Contact Lenses

New to contact lenses, or curious about the jargon that your optometrist uses to discuss your prescription? In this blog we explain the differences between the two varieties and why they remain equally viable options for contact wearers.

Technology Has Come A Long Way since the early days of contact lenses in the 1970s. Since then, hard and soft contact lenses have improved in quality due to the refinement of materials used to make them. Generally speaking, ‘hard contacts’ take their name because of the manner by which the polymer lenses retain their shape on the eye. Soft contacts, on the other hand, are made of a flexible plastic that changes shape.

Better Optics vs. Comfort: As there’s yet to be a contact lens invented that seamlessly brings the best of both varieties together, contact wearers and their optometrists will compare the benefits and drawbacks of each type of lens and find a match that best suits specific needs. Some contact wearers will even alternate between hard and soft contacts according to their lifestyle and the amount of hours they plan to wear them.

Quality is Improving for Both types of contact lenses. The popularity of soft contacts, when they first hit the market, was due to the comfortable shape. As the flexibility and breathability of hard lenses’ improves, their comfort improves, and many people still believe that the optic quality of hard lenses weighs out any other reason not to wear them.

If you’re not sure which type of contact lense is best for your lifestyle, why not speak to your optometrist about trying both? Especially if you’re a first-time wearer, having the option to switch back and forth may improve your introduction to the world of freedom contact lenses offer. Arrange an appointment with us today for your switch from glasses to contacts at 403-333-3353!

Urgent Eye Care

In most instances, vision problems have a very gradual onset. That means that the majority of people won’t have to receive urgent eye care in their lifetime. However, if issues develop with your retina, cornea, or lens, they can cause quick onsets of vision problems.

Speed: Some vision problems will occur and disappear, and they can be caused by a whole number of factors from light fatigue to acting as an indicator for a much greater physiological issue. When relaying information about quick-onset vision problems to your optometrist, try to provide as much information as possible. This should include details such as: 1) Has the problem occurred quickly and stayed, or has it been coming and going away? 2) Are you – or were you – experiencing pain? 3) What, if any, unexpected things are you seeing (flashing lights, dark spots, double vision)?

D.Eye.Y Diagnosis: It is difficult to tell exactly what part of your vision is being affected when you experience vision problems. The severity of vision problems often can’t be determined until pupils have been dilated and the eye can be properly examined. One thing that’s important to consider is that if a vision problem is likely to “go away”, it will probably do so in the first hour. For instance, if you have a sudden hypoglycemia-related migraine, your vision could be affected and you could be in a lot of pain, yet taking some time to rest and drinking plenty of fluids will begin remedy the problem in the first hour. On the other hand, a serious migraine or pain that won’t go away after the first hour will likely need professional care.

Vision Problems That Affect Your Independence should be immediately addressed. If a sudden onset of dark spots or double vision has rendered you unable to perform daily tasks, you should contact your optometrist, even if it hasn’t been very long since the issues appeared. What seems like a problem with your vision could indicate a greater physiological problem.

At Calgary’s Doig Optometry, both Dr. Chorel and Dr. Doig are experienced in dealing with urgent eye care needs. More importantly, we care about the wellbeing of all our patients, old and new. If you think you’re experiencing symptoms which require urgent eye care, call us at 403-333-3353.

Considering Contacts

When your loved ones keep asking “Why don’t you just get contacts?”, many glasses-wearers will have their comeback ready. Many believe that contacts are uncomfortable or unsafe, but these modern myths are about to get busted…

Myth-busting 101: Once upon a time, what we now call “hard contact lenses” were all that the optometry market had to offer. They were revolutionary at the time, but the materials used limited the amount of oxygen required for healthy eyes. This could make contacts feel dry and uncomfortable. But now, with years of innovation, contacts are more comfortable than ever before, and new materials help our eyes get the oxygen they need. If you haven’t tried contacts recently, you don’t know what you’re missing.

Glasses Keep Getting in the Way: Contacts are also great if you’ve recently become more active. If you have a new fitness routine, enjoy going out dancing with a partner, or love to get outdoors and enjoy the breathtaking sights that Alberta has to offer, you’re missing out on the possibilities that contacts can provide. Contacts are great for active lifestyles because you don’t have to worry about all the issues that come with glasses, such as:

Fogging Up, Falling Off, and Getting Wet. These are all sorts of things glasses wearers have to worry about. There’s nothing worse than going for a walk, run, or bike ride, and having to stop to wipe rain droplets from your glasses. With contacts, you can be as active and outdoorsy as you like. They’re also easier to pair with a good pair of UV protection sunglasses.

So get outside and enjoy the rest of summer while it lasts! Come in to Doig Optometry this August to try out contacts. Book an appointment with us by calling 403-333-3353.