Top 5 reasons why annual eye exams are crucial for New Yorkers
Life in the city can be crazy to say the least, but it is super important to take the time for your annual eye exam. In this article I’m going to talk about why new yorkers in particular need to stay on top of their eye care.
New Yorkers face a unique set of challenges when it comes to vision and eye health. Eye exams with an optometrist can address both health and vision concerns, alleviating eye fatigue, redness, and help with long term eye health.
1. Heavy Contact Lens Wear
In Manhattan, contact lens overwear is a huge problem. The average New Yorker wears their contact lenses for significantly longer in a day than people in other parts of the country.
Contact lens overwear is a problem because when you wear your lenses for too long in a day, you deprive your eyes of oxygen, leading to corneal ulcers and long term eye problems. If the lenses are ill-fitting or made of an out-dated material, they could be causing lasting damage that is completely preventable.
Your annual eye exam is essential to stopping problems of contact lens overwear. At Eyebox, we don’t lecture you about wearing lenses too long, instead we provide you with the healthiest lens options to allow you to keep up your lifestyle without damaging your eyes. We have the latest equipment to image your eye health and show you any changes that have occurred and give you the tools to keep your eyes healthy in contacts.
2. Subway Contamination
As all New Yorkers know, the subway is NOT the cleanest place on earth, in fact, it is downright filthy at times. Imagine the level of germs, grime and contamination on the surfaces… platform floor, handrails, train bars, seats etc. Imagine rubbing your eyes with the same hand you touched that bar with, and what you just introduced to your eye.
Our eyes are especially sensitive to foreign contaminants, allergens and infection. It is essential to have a regularly scheduled eye exam to inspect the lid and eye surface for signs of infection and inflammation.
At the base of the lashes, debris and bacteria build up to form a crusty coating that surrounds each lash. If left untreated this leads to a condition known as BLEPHARITIS. If blepharitis is left to fester, small parasitic mites called DEMODEX create nests in the base of the eyelash, leading to long term issues.
At Eyebox eye exams, we use digital technology to image and document the base of the lashes, and can advise you on proper cleaning, infection prevention and treatment.
3. Windy Streets
As a New Yorker, you are constantly subjecting your eyes to extreme wind conditions that don’t exist in other places. The combination of the tall buildings and the seaside geographical location create powerful wind tunnel conditions.
What this does is dry out your eyes to an extreme level almost every time you step outdoors. Contact lens wearers are especially susceptible to these conditions and need to be aware that they are putting their eyes at risk.
At an Eyebox eye exam, we evaluate the tear levels, quality, and corneal damage caused by wind exposure. In addition, modern contact lenses are made to combat the dryness caused by tear evaporation.
4. Digital Overload
We all know how much time New Yorkers spend on their phones and in front of their computers. There are few hours in the day when you are not staring at some sort of screen. This can cause issues for eye health as well as cause focusing issues for your eyes.
Blink rate decreases significantly when looking at a digital screen. Causing your eyes to dry out and creating micro abrasions on the front surface of the cornea. These abrasions can lead to redness, pain, and even scarring of the surface.
Moreover, your eyes have to focus much harder looking at a screen than they do in normal vision. This leads to changes in prescription, eye strain, headaches and focusing spasms.
At Eyebox eye exams we can help this in two ways. First we evaluate how the corneal surface is handling the constant staring at screens. Secondly we look for signs of over focusing and eye fatigue. We often recommend anti-fatigue or blue light protective lens options for our patients.
A combination of lens and eye health treatment is often needed to keep the eyes comfortable and relaxed in the face of the amount of screen time.
5. Long Nights
In the city that never sleeps, our eyes often pay the price. A good night's sleep is essential for replenishing the health of the eye. At work on Friday morning, one look at your co-worker’s eyes tells you whether they were up late last night.
For contact lens wearers this problem is two-fold. Contact Lens overwear, including sleeping in contacts causes corneal swelling and catastrophic problems like corneal ulcers. Not to mention the lid inflammation that occurs from pushing a two week lens beyond its limits.
Even without contacts, late nights prevent your tear film from replenishing the front surface cells of your eyes. We often recommend specific eye drops to accelerate the overnight healing process, allowing for white, fully recovered eyes in the morning.
At Eyebox, we aim to help your eyes recover from your busy lifestyle, and have ways of helping your eyes recover from a late night. We want your eyes to feel and look fresh in the morning. We evaluate corneal health and only recommend 1 day replacement contact lenses for healthy eyes.
Living in New York is rough on the eyes, please remember to schedule your annual eye exam and keep your eyes their healthiest and happiest. Schedule a convenient appointment online on our website.