Think Globally, Wink Locally

These old eyes

What should you know about aging eyes and eyesight?

First and foremost our eyes are one of the most important organs in our body.   Unfortunately eyeballs and vision always seem to be taken for granted until there is a problem.

Physical changes in our eyes occur as we age which can cause a decline in vision over time.  It is more common to start needing a better light source to view both distance and near objects.  I hear my patients comment that they need more light for reading and other near tasks. Driving during the day is more comfortable and night driving becomes more difficult. 

There are eye diseases that are more common as we get older.  Many of these diseases are actually treatable if they are caught in their early stages.  The problem is that frequently we don’t “feel” like there is anything wrong so we just keep going about our business while changes in our health develop.  Failing eyesight is one of the last indications of an ocular problem.

Cataracts, glaucoma, macular degeneration and retinal detachments are the most common diseases I see but there are many others that can cause severe vision loss if not detected quickly.  I highly recommend yearly eye checkups along with regular health checkups to focus on monitoring our overall health.

If you have diabetes, hypertension or have had strokes or heart attacks you may need to be seen more frequently.  Also, certain medications you take for these and other diseases can cause severe dry eyes.  If you are taking hypertension medication, antihistamines/decongestants, hormones, antidepressants, antipsychotic medicines, pain relievers, dermatologic medicines, gastrointestinal medicines or chemotherapy medicines you should be having your eyes checked often for any eye changes that may occur due to taking these types of medications.

Take home messages:

*Have your eyes checked yearly with a glaucoma check and dilation

*Wear sunglasses when you are outside

*If you have loss or dimness in your vision, double vision, increased headaches, a sudden increase in floaters, flashes of light in your vision, eye pain, discharge in the eye, swelling, and redness contact your eye doctors office right away

*Most eye diseases do not hurt.

I will be blogging more about our eyes aging in the near future.  

 

Wink Hosts Boulder Chamber Breakfast

By: The Wink Team

Wink Optical hosted a fantastic Boulder Chamber Breakfast last week.  We had 68 participants who are now exposed to Wink.  Everyone had a great time eating burritos from Santiago's on the Hill and donated baked goodies from Boulder Baked.  If you have not tasted the donuts and cookies from Boulder Baked give them a try.  They are worth every single calorie.

Wink Optical: featured on design website

Hi from Wink,

 

Wink Optical in Boulder Colorado is proud to have been featured on the Kirei website.  Kirei Board is a large part of our overall design and is what we used on our walls in our eyeglass showroom.  http://images.kireiusa.com/Kirei-Board/Retail-Kirei-Board/Display-Options-Kirei-Board/5251193_c9TGQ#369865410_Fhcfd

What is kirei board you ask?  Kirei is a strong, lightweight, and eco-friendly substitute for wood.  It is manufactured from reclaimed sorghum straw that is woven together to make a durable board that can be used to make furniture, cabinetry and other interior design elements like we did at Wink Optical.

Come in to see what we have done with our design.  We would love to meet you or of course see you if we already know you!
 

Eye yie yie- A Tale of Melted Plastic on the Eye!

by: Dr. Liz

OK all of you who have done weekend projects without your safety glasses on..LISTEN UP!

This is a story of molten plastic glued to the cornea of an eyeball.  If you are lucky this will never happen to you but always seems to when you least expect it.

True story: 

A few weeks ago on a Sunday afternoon a neighbor of mine drove up to my house with his hand over his left eye, tears streaming out from underneath telling me that he needed help.  It turns out he was working under his house with hot plastic and a torch without his safety glasses on (they were on his head) trying to get some plumbing completed.  The hot plastic snapped and a piece flew up into his eye and now he couldn't see out of that eye and he was in a great deal of pain.   He told me that he had his safety glasses off for just a second and that's when it happened.

I looked at his beet red eye and sure enough he had a large piece of plastic covering the center of his left pupil.  I told Steve that we needed to go to my office immediately. 

We jumped in my car and drove to Wink Optical so I could get a better look with my fancy microscope.  He was very happy when I numbed up his eye because now it didn't hurt and he could open his eye wide enough for me to take a good look.

Sure enough the extremely hot plastic adhered to his cornea and I had to figure out how I was going to peel it off...  Thankfully I had the tools to extract it off Steve's cornea and clean up the area so he did not  have a secondary reaction where the plastic and the cornea met.

This story had a good ending with this patient having little to no permanent vision loss but I have to say he is one of the luckier cases I have seen.

Please wear your safety glasses even when you are doing simple projects.  All it takes is one unlucky moment that can change your life forever.

Wink Optical: Why we do what we do!

By Brian

Granted we need to make a living but "if it aint fun it aint worth doing" and we like what we do.  We have a beautiful, bright shop in Boulder, CO and enjoy each other's company.  Ther'es a pretty good buzz when we not only get someone to see well but look good too.

Our shop has only been around for two years but our collective experience is a staggering 112 years.  Despite our advanced years I think we maintain a youthful vigor in our approach to life...Which includes work.