Ask Dr. Beach Archives - Coastal Vision Optometrists

JUL

2013

9 out of 10 Doctors want their patients to ask more questions

Ok, I admit I completely made up that statistic. But, personally, I do want patients to ask more questions about their vision and their ocular health. One of the things I enjoy most is a patient who presents some questions to me during the exam room encounter. Whether these

BY Russ Beach

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TAG eye health

FEB

2013

Why do we check blood pressure as part of your eye exam?

You may have noticed, at our office, the patient care technician checks your blood pressure as part of your testing during the eye exam. But why? What does blood pressure have to do with your eyes or your vision? The answer: a lot! Almost everyone—the news, our

BY Russ Beach

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TAG hypertension, retina

FEB

2013

Is a glaucoma medicine the cure for baldness?

I’m pretty sure my few remaining hair follicles are holding on for dear life, so I’ll admit this headline would catch my attention. And although there is no “cure” for thinning hair or baldness, one company is looking to a derivative of a particular

BY Russ Beach

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TAG glaucoma, latisse

DEC

2012

Ask Dr. Beach: “Can my 8 year old child wear contact lenses?”

At Coastal Vision, almost half of the patients who visit us are children. So, we frequently get questions about how old a child must be in order to wear contact lenses. The truth is there is no magic age or set answer to this question. But, there are several studies that

BY Russ Beach

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TAG children's vision, contact lenses, dailies

DEC

2011

Ask Dr. Beach: “Are ‘dailies’ better than 2 week and monthly contact lenses?”

Since every person is unique in their combination of visual needs, ocular health, and amount and type of prescription it’s hard to say that one type of lens is absolutely the best for everybody. But now that we have that disclaimer out of the way, I would say that

BY Russ Beach

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TAG allergies, contact lenses, dailies, eye care virginia beach

NOV

2010

Ask Dr. Beach: Does Eye Color Affect Vision or Eye Health?

An interesting fact is that iris color is actually the result of the amount or density of pigment cells in the iris. Pigment cells, called melanocytes, produce the pigment known as melanin. The amount and density of the melanin determines what colors of light are absorbed

BY Russ Beach

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TAG cataract, eye color, macular degeneration, polarized, sunglasses

OCT

2010

Ask Dr. Beach: “Why does my eye or eyelid twitch?”

Twitching of the eye or the eyelid can be quite a disturbing event to experience, but it’s actually a pretty common problem. Most often the twitching is something called “eyelid myokymia.” Myokymia is a local irritation of the nerve controlling some of the

BY Russ Beach

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TAG blepharospasm, eyelid, myokymia, stress, twitching

AUG

2010

Ask Dr. Beach: “What are these yellow spots on the white part of my eyes?”

I received this question from a facebook fan yesterday. And practicing in Virginia Beach, where outdoor activities are such an important part of our local culture, this is a pretty common question. The yellowish, slightly raised areas on the white part of the eye are called

BY Russ Beach

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TAG pinguecula, pterygia, UV light

APR

2010

Ask Dr. Beach: “What are Polarized Lenses?”

This is a great question emailed to us yesterday by one of our facebook fans. Polarized lenses present a great benefit to almost any person who finds themselves outside driving, playing sports, or just relaxing in the sun. The technology behind how polarized lenses work is

BY Russ Beach

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TAG polarized, sunlight

FEB

2010

Ask Dr. Beach: Visual ‘Floaters’

Ask Dr. Beach: “What are these floaters or spots I’ve had in my vision?” Floating spots or strands within your vision, also known as “floaters,” are a pretty common occurrence and in some cases can be pretty annoying. Despite the annoyance,

BY Russ Beach

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TAG flashes, floaters, posterior vitreous detachment, retinal detachment, vitreous

Category

9 out of 10 Doctors want their patients to ask more questions

Why do we check blood pressure as part of your eye exam?

Is a glaucoma medicine the cure for baldness?

Ask Dr. Beach: “Can my 8 year old child wear contact lenses?”

Ask Dr. Beach: “Are ‘dailies’ better than 2 week and monthly contact lenses?”

Ask Dr. Beach: Does Eye Color Affect Vision or Eye Health?

Ask Dr. Beach: “Why does my eye or eyelid twitch?”

Ask Dr. Beach: “What are these yellow spots on the white part of my eyes?”

Ask Dr. Beach: “What are Polarized Lenses?”

Ask Dr. Beach: Visual ‘Floaters’

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