What Do Your Eyes Reveal About You?

An individual’s eyes can reveal a lot about them, including their mood, feelings, and even emotions. By simply looking at them, eyes can convey a warm, bright, and inviting vibe as well as a cold and repellent one – they are the window to a person’s soul.

The Iris: What is it?

The iris is the part of the eye that produces color, and is the first thing most people draw to. It is a thin, circular piece of tissue, responsible for controlling the diameter and size of the pupil. It works much like a camera’s aperture, regulating light levels and helping us focus. The color of the iris varies from person to person and is one of the traits that are responsible for giving us our individual appearance. In ancient times, a prediction of an individual’s destiny was based on the unique characteristics of their iris.

Fingerprint VS. Iris

As early as the 1950s, scientists and health professionals suggested that the characteristics of the iris could be used for identification purposes. However, it wasn’t until much later that a system to recognize and catalog these identification points was developed. It is undeniable that our fingerprints are one-of-a-kind, but the uniqueness of the iris is far greater in comparison. The iris contains approximately 250 different characteristics that determine a person’s identity, which is five times more than a fingerprint!

The iris identification error rate is about one in a million – even less when you correlate it with other biometric scanning like fingerprinting or facial recognition. Because of the tiny elevations and depressions in the iris, false negatives are about 10 times less common in iris scanning than in facial recognition.

Even identical twins, with the same DNA, do not have the same iris characteristics or the same fingerprints!

Eye Colors

Eye color is determined by the amount of melanin, or pigment, in the iris tissue. More melanin means darker eyes and less melanin means lighter eyes. A green iris, for example, has blue and some yellow while a brown iris contains mostly brown. Brown eyes have the most melanin, green eyes less, and blue eyes have none. Listed below are some interesting facts about eye color:

• Brown eyes are the most common eye color in the world with over 55% of the world’s population having brown eyes.
• Hazel eyes have a higher concentration of melanin around the eye’s border, which can result in a multi-colored appearance that varies between copper and green. About 5% to 8% of the world’s population has hazel-colored eyes.
• Green eye color is the rarest color found around the world, estimated at only 2%.
• Approximately 8% of the world’s population has blue eyes, and they share a common ancestor with every other blue-eyed person in the world.
• Silver eye colors along with grey and black are also quite rare, although many consider silver eyes to be a variation of blue eye color.

Ask us to photograph your iris at your next eye exam! Under magnification and bright light, your iris color may surprise you. Please reach out to our Botwin Eye Group – Oculus Optical team!

Potential Alcohol Effects on Vision & Eye Health

While we all know that drinking alcohol can harm our bodies, what does it do specifically to our eyes? Short-term exposure to alcohol can alter vision, but what about repeated exposure to alcohol? Are there any permanent effects that you need to worry about?  

People who consider themselves to be “social drinkers” are at risk of developing long-term health issues because of the amount of alcohol they regularly consume. Regularly drinking doesn’t mean binge drinking or getting drunk daily – it can be defined as 3 alcoholic beverages for men or 2 for women daily. A common form is wine, which is a staple for many Americans during their evening meal. The majority of people do not realize that consuming alcohol on a regular basis can be the cause of significant long-term health problems and other life-threatening effects.

Short-Term Effects

Short-term or immediate vision effects of drinking too much can impair your peripheral vision, resulting in tunnel vision. This makes it harder for your pupils to react, so they can’t constrict or dilate properly. Even common tasks, such as driving at night, can become a challenge with the direct impact of headlights decreasing reaction times.  

In addition, alcohol has been proven to alter the ability to perceive contrast. Researchers in Australia found that consuming alcohol at their legal limit of 0.05% greatly affected the ability to visually adjust for brightness and contrast. The perception of contrast was reduced by 30% at the legal blood alcohol level. According to the study, this short-term disability is caused by how our visual system processes contrast or brightness differences, making distinctions between different objects based on lightness and darkness, like stoplights, much more difficult.  

Other effects of drinking alcohol regularly can result in dry eyes and eyelid twitching, known as myokymia. This triggers short-term inflammation and double vision that causes burning and itching of the eyes, migraines, and sensitivity to light. Long-term symptoms of this effect may cause the blood vessels in your eyes to grow, making your eyes often appear red and bloodshot.

Long-Term Effects

Over time, consuming alcohol regularly can increase your risk of developing premature cataract formation. This can develop as early as your 40 years of age. Long-term impairments may also include permanent blurring of vision or double vision, which are caused by the weakening of the eye muscles, resulting in a slower reaction time.  

One of the most vision-threatening effects of long-term alcohol consumption is optic neuropathy or optic atrophy. This condition can also be referred to as tobacco-alcohol amblyopia, caused by people who drink or smoke excessively. It results in a painless loss of vision, decreased peripheral vision, and reduced color vision.

Due to the increased risk for heart disease caused by alcohol, signs of heart disease can be observed in the eyes. Symptoms include optic neuropathy, atrophy, bleeding in the retina from vascular occlusions, and even hypertensive retinopathy.

Contact Us!

If you have questions about your eye and vision health or are experiencing any of these symptoms, please reach out to our Botwin Eye Group – Oculus Optical team. We look forward to speaking with you!

You’re Never Too Old to Try Contacts!

Are you one of those people who tried contacts in the past, but had no luck? Perhaps you found them dry and uncomfortable, or your allergies made them impossible to wear?  Maybe you were unable to see as clearly compared to your glasses, or you never needed glasses but now you’re struggling to see up close?

If you’ve answered “yes” to any of these questions, it’s time for you to try contacts again!

Advances in Contact Lenses

Over the last decade, contact lens technology has continued to make significant improvements. Do not let your age, prescription, or any previous experiences keep you from giving them another try.

The most common reason for discontinuing contact lenses is due to discomfort, especially at the end of the day. Other common reasons are poor distance vision, or the inability to see both near and far for those over 40 years of age. With the latest contact lens technology, almost all end-of-day discomfort can be eliminated as can the difficulty achieving acceptable vision at all distances.

Early generation soft lenses were thick and known to become dry by the end of the day. Soft lenses today are much thinner, lighter, and more comfortable than the contacts 10 years, 5 years, and even 1-2 years ago.

Wearing contact lenses over a period of days or even weeks causes them to absorb natural oils, mucus, and proteins from our tear film. When these substances accumulate, they can cause contact lenses to dry out faster, resulting in irritation. Today there are many different materials such as silicone hydrogels, water gradient lenses, and other innovations that are designed to reduce drying and enhance the overall comfort.

Disposable Contacts

Are you still having issues with weekly or monthly contacts? Try switching to daily disposable soft contacts! Daily disposables are worn for just one day and then thrown away. Using new, fresh lenses each day avoids the potential problem of debris build-up, which is often the cause of discomfort and blurred vision. In fact, daily disposable lenses may help relieve dry eyes for some users.

Commonly, many people do not close their eyelids completely while blinking, exposing their eyes to air which leads to dehydration. When fitted correctly with the appropriate material, contacts can help seal in moisture to help avoid this issue. The new water gradient design lines both sides of the contact lenses with a thin film of water that keeps the eye moist. The comfort is truly remarkable allowing our doctors to use this lens type for not only vision correction, but for the potential treatment of dry eye as well.

What if I need glasses to see up close while wearing contacts?

Adults over the age of 40 typically have three options when it comes to wearing contact lenses for clear vision. One option is to wear contact lenses for distance vision and then use reading glasses in addition to contact lenses to achieve an acceptable near vision. Second, multifocal contact lenses are designed to allow you to see at both near and far distances and if needed can include an astigmatism correction. Monovision, on the other hand, is the third option which uses a fitting technique fitting one eye with a lens for optimal close-up vision, while the other eye is fitted with a lens for optimal distance vision.

More Information

Need help deciding which option is best for you, or want to schedule a fitting appointment? Contact us at one of our locations!

Cosmetic Procedures and Blurry Vision

Cosmetic procedures have been prominent for both women and men for years. While the popularity of certain procedures tends to decrease and incline in waves, temporary facial “improvements” like Botox injections have become and remain one of the most popular cosmetic procedures. The popularity is thanks to its noninvasiveness, and less important influences like social media app filters that give you a visual perception of how different you can look by “just getting a little work done…”

Botox is also used at times to maintain eye alignment and treat uncontrolled eyelid twitching.

The decision is ultimately yours. While we do not oppose personal decisions within this realm, our team is here to help answer questions about anything that can pertain to the health of your eyes.

So, let’s talk about it.

THE DECISION-MAKING PROCESS

To start, you may be wondering why we are focusing more on Botox than dermal fillers. Dermal fillers are different substances and most often used to increase volume in areas farther away from the eyes, like the lips. Botox is most often used to hinder wrinkles in the forehead and around the eyes.

While Botox injections for cosmetic reasons are often self-decided most prevalently among women older than 30, both men and women in their 20’s have started to take this facial aging preventative measure into consideration too.

As the Botox user rate increases along with other possible threats to eye health and the common problems that increase by age, one of the most proper precautions to protect your eyes is to schedule a check-up with your Optometrist first.

This precautionary action is especially important if your plan is to receive injections between the eyebrows and above the nose. This area, referred to as the glabella, is one of the riskiest areas where injections can result in vascular blindness.

THE CERTIFIED PRACTITIONER PURSUIT

Taking a risk is always based on looking for a reward. Don’t take two risks in the pursuit of one reward!

The doctor or practitioner of your choice must be able to:

1. Recognize any complications immediately
2. Have the ability to treat them appropriately

Here are a few things to take into consideration when making the practitioner decision:

1. Do you feel comfortable in the facility?
2. Have the procedure risks been mentioned and fully discussed prior to your consent?
3. Have you seen before and after photos or been able to reach out to a current patient to discuss their experience?

THE POSSIBLE PERILS

Botox injected by an untrained hand can permeate the wrong muscles causing a droop of the eyelid, which will ultimately settle but can be very bothersome.

The first visual disturbance case from a cosmetic facial filler was listed in 1988. The report showcased a reaction of retinal artery occlusion.

After speaking with a few users of the botulinum toxin, we received a story of one experience worth notating from a consumer in her late 20’s:

“I had Botox under my eyes once! It basically relaxed my eye muscles so much that my eyes wouldn’t shut all the way when I slept at night. It was a frustrating 3 months. It was supposed to help with the bags under my eyes but the result wasn’t as I expected. I also was extremely sensitive to light during that period of time. Other than that … my “vision” was fine.” – Julie

As facial fillers with high negative results have surely declined over the years, droopy eyelids are one of the most reported side effects that can last up to 6 months.

Other possible perils include:

• Allergic reactions as a rejection from the body which can be detrimental to vision and eye health
• Irritations noticeable by bloodshot eyes and temporarily blurred vision
• Vascular occlusion, otherwise referred to as a decline of blood flow

One tip: do not rub the area of injection! Rubbing a sore area is one of the most common reactions to reduce discomfort. But, after an injection, rubbing can cause Botox to spread into other areas and lead to unwanted effects.

An immediate, emergency visit to your trusted Optometrist is suggested for reactions such as loss of vision and reactions that are highly painful or prolonged.

MORE QUESTIONS?

Contact us at one of our locations to ask questions or to schedule an appointment!

Sensitive Eyes & Cosmetics Guide

Putting makeup on is fun! It can also be considered one of the most relaxing and satisfying parts of getting ready… If it is being done on time, and not in a rush, which we can admit is pretty rare.

Of all the little mishaps that can take place during the getting ready process like, nicking your leg with a razor, or burning your arm with a curling iron, harming your eyes with cosmetics is a common mishap, too.

You might be surprised to read that everything from mascara to foundation and powder can have an effect on your eyes.

Allow us to guide you in what to look out for when buying and what to make sure of when using certain types of cosmetics.

Before You Buy:

List Out: Go ahead and take notes from influencer led social media videos, the newest products of your favorite brands and cosmetics that your friends and family members love.

Read Up: Don’t simply let the influencers, family, and friends easily influence your purchase decisions. There are still two steps to take. The next one? Read up on the list of product ingredients as some can lead to negative reactions to the delicate skin that helps safeguard your eyes.

Avoid These Ingredients

A few things to check for and avoid are parabens, phthalates, and fragrances. Otherwise known as “man-made” chemicals used to help preserve products, prolong their scents and the plastics they are packaged in. Keep in mind that these chemicals often are not simply listed as “parabens”, “phthalates”, and “fragrance”. These ingredients typically have more specific names in the ingredients list.

One of the easiest suggestions? Look out for products listed as paraben-free and fragrance-free, meaning they do not have any of those manufactured chemicals in the product recipe.

Try Before You Buy

We’re sure you’ve heard the term Try Before You Buy before. We agree, it is one worth following. Brands and stores will often provide samplers for certain products. Or you can always start your search for your personally best options by buying gift sets that house several different types of one cosmetic necessity like eyeliners or mascaras.

Give these picks a try and keep track of how your eyes and the skin around your eyes react before you transfer from testing out the snack-size product to investing in the king-size one.

While You Use:

Preparation

Wash. Your. Hands: We know you know how important this step is and that it shouldn’t only apply after your toilet has been flushed. Anything that is left on your hands like facial serums or moisturizers can transfer onto other surfaces… This brings us to step number two…

Contacts: Put your contacts in! But make sure your hands are 100% dry before application as some tap water might contain dangers to the eye. Inserting contacts before embellishing with makeup is important because it prevents your lenses from getting dirty and damaged and trapping makeup between your eye and the lens.

Clean: Also keep track of the last time you’ve washed your brushes and sponges. These very important tools can harbor and grow types of mold and bacteria dangerous to the health of your eyes.

Application

Check Expiration Date: If you’re looking to use a product you haven’t used “in a minute”, see if you can find the expiration date. Cosmetics do expire! When a product expires, your skin expires to it. If you can’t find the date, keep this in mind: properly stored and/or unopened makeup lasts for an average of 2 years.

Eyeliner: When it comes to eyeliner, we have two pieces of advice for you: always sharpen your pencil and avoid the inside of your lash line. An unsharpened pencil makes it harder to precisely apply and can scratch your eyelids and lash lines. Even if you use a liquid liner or an eyeliner pen, applying it to the inside of your lash line can block important glands and lead to painful styes.

Removal

Wash Your Face: Do not, we repeat, do not go to bed without washing your face and removing all your makeup! One of the most common issues that results from sleeping before cleansing — especially if the makeup you used is borrowed or expired—is an eye infection called conjunctivitis, better known as pink eye.

Makeup Remover: Looking to try something organic to remove your eye makeup? Try a simple concoction of witch hazel and water which often also helps reduce eye inflammation.

Replace: If you ever experience an infection of any sort, removal of the brushes and products used in that area of the face are the best next step! Quickly remove and replace to avoid spreading the bacteria that caused the infection any further.

Questions? Infections?

Contact us at one of our locations! Our team at Botwin Eye Group – Oculus Optical is here to help.

When the Whites of Your Eyes Just… Aren’t Quite White

White eyes have just about the same cosmetic priority as white teeth or unblemished skin. In fact, several surveys reveal that about 30% of people initially notice eyes when they first meet someone. While you can be a generally healthy human with stained teeth and imperfect skin, your eyes can reveal a lot about you… including your health.

First, allow us to introduce you to the sclera. The sclera is simply the medical term for “the white of the eye”. And it comes with high importance.

The sclera is four coats of protection that wrap around most of the eyeball, from the front of the beautiful colored part of the eye- the iris, to the back with sensitive optic nerves. This eye armor is no more than one millimeter thick, which amounts to the thickness of about 10 sheets of paper, layered on top of one another!

The layers of protective armor that give your eye its white color and the sclera its overall strength include randomly patterned collagen fibers and tissues called the episclera, the stroma, the lamina fusca, and the endothelium.

Typically, the entire sclera, not just one layer, changes color or accumulates spots.

Here are 4 hues to keep a lookout for along with a few reasons why:

Yellow: A yellow tone brings along with it a couple of main suspicions, jaundice and “surfer’s eye”.

A buildup of red blood cells that are normally filtered out by the liver can have several different causes but can trigger jaundice which often includes a yellowing of the eyes and skin. Surfer’s eye should really be given the nickname of “Outdoor A Lot Eye” as it is a sign of untreated UV damage from the sun combined with high winds or areas filled with dust.

Blue: A tint of blue/gray might not be easy to detect by looking in a mirror, and often these tints are unavoidable because of long-term use of important medications.

Tints of blue are still important to observe with help from your OD to consider or dismiss certain health conditions like genetic bone disease or iron deficiency.

Red: Chances are we’ve all experienced eyes with a shade of red, whether it was thanks to allergies or exhaustion or any other typical culprit.

However, it is still important to schedule an appointment as soon as possible since a red eye can also signal an infection or a broken blood vessel, especially if accompanied by discharge, pain, or blurred vision.

Brown: Brown spots are on both ends of the spectrum. They range from completely harmless to life-threatening. High levels of melanin, the natural skin pigment which makes skin, hair, and the iris of your eyes a darker color can curate spots outside of the iris and within the sclera which are nothing to worry about.

However, if a dark spot that resembles a freckle that changes over time develops during or after your 30’s, we suggest you make an appointment. These more serious brown spots are not at all melanin-related and can become cancerous if left untreated.

So, when the whites of your eyes just… aren’t quite white, contact us! Keep note of what is accompanying your sclera color change and alert us about anything such as…

• Blurred vision
• Discharge
• Pain
• Light sensitivity
• Swelling or bulging

…and our team at Botwin Eye Group – Oculus Optical will handle the process to lead your eyes—and your entire self—back to health.

This or That: Maintaining Your Eyesight

365 days can manifest a great deal that you might not be able to set your sights on quite yet. Don’t wait until you can’t see it to believe it.

Quiz yourself in a quick “This or That!” and see where you stand when it comes to maintaining your eyesight and what’s worth *looking* into for your eye health before 2022.

What age group is likely to develop an eye concern within 1 year? 

THIS — 10-20 years old 

THAT — 50-60 years old

Did you pick 10-20 years old? You are correct!

The focus of children and young adults is their education. They spend five days a week and several hours a day turning pages in textbooks and staring at computer screens. The small fonts in books and bright screens place a significant claim on visual abilities which can turn into a challenge if not appropriately addressed.

When they’re not training their brains in the classroom, they’re often training their bodies on a court or on a field. This is a realm where healthy eyes are just as important to enable high performance.

Eye issues that can hinder focus, visual acuity and other crucial visual skills are just as likely to develop within one year for children, teens, and young adults as they are for older individuals.

If you chose 50-60 years old, you are also right.

Regardless of overall health, adults often start developing vision problems 10 years prior to this age range. Eyes will begin to lose ability to focus, to produce tears and to recognize the difference between certain shades of color. These visual frustrations along with several others can worsen within the course of a year causing daily activities to become monumental tasks when suffering causes of certain vision-related problems.

Which form of smoking causes an issue in eye health? 

THIS — Smoking Cigarettes 

THAT — Smoking Vapes

This is yet another question where both responses are true.

Quitting smoking cigarettes is a very strong step in the right direction! Still, it can often lead to simply replacing the disposable pack with a refillable vape. There is a commonly made assumption that vaping is not as harmful to the body as smoking cigarettes. Since those assumptions have been determined as false, new vape products are showing up, highlighting their regression of nicotine to present the product as “healthier”.

While nicotine removal from vapes is a thoughtful move, it is important to understand that they—along with cigarettes and original vapes— still contain chemicals that could pose health risks to your eyes.

Some of the most harmful eye issues from smoking include increased risk of cataracts, glaucoma, and macular degeneration.

If you are a smoker, have recently quit or have intentions to quit in the future, make a yearly visit to your optometrist a top priority.

What can lead to a vision impairing eye complication? 

THIS — Daily use of unprescribed (OTC) eye drops 

THAT — Forgetting to remove contact lenses

Let’s start with this question with “that.”

If you’re a contact wearer, sleeping in contacts should only be done if approved by your eye doctor. For most, chances are you’ve been advised to not keep your lenses in all day and all night. Sleeping with contacts in is still a common mistake. This can lead to several different types of bacterial infections that can cause permanent scarring, a need for eye surgery, and last but certainly not least, loss of sight.

The complications that can arrive from overuse of over the counter (OTC) eye drops are different but still play a role in vision impairing scenes. OTC eye drops can come in handy! However, many of the eye drops offered over the counter contain strong preservatives that can also degrade the quality of your cornea and eyesight. Using them daily can also over dilate blood vessels in the eye and hinder more serious problems from being recognized and professionally treated. If you feel the need to use these drops daily, ask your eye doctor what the most appropriate drop should be for your condition.

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At this point, we’re sure you’ve gotten the gist! Both this and that are right answers. Now is the time to make use of your remaining end of year health benefits and schedule an appointment with one of our practice ODs for a comprehensive eye exam and walk into the new year with clarity.

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