Dr. Bladh, O.D. Optometry Inc.

  With spring just around the corner, that means our office is about to get real busy with allergy patients coming in. We are the leading dry eye and allergy care eye doctors in the area so there is a lot to consider when talking treatment for your seasonal allergies . We first have to talk about symptoms and differentiate between allergies versus dry eyes. Both manifest in very similar ways, but for purposes of this particular post we will be discussing allergy symptoms only. The most common allergy symptoms : Sneezing Nasal Congestion Runny Nose Coughing Watery Eyes Itchiness Sleepiness Most of the time you will experience multiple symptoms at the same time, or one symptom will have a causal effect leading you to experience sneezing fits or the desire to just lay down and let your body recover through sleep. All of these reactions from your body are telling you there is something in your immediate environment that is imbalanced. Luckily for you we have the be

Contact lens exams are a vital part of the Optometry profession. Can you believe that people stick pieces of plastic in their eyes on purpose? The evolution of contact lenses will have to be written about in another post. We're here to explain what a contact lens exam is and why you need one every year. What is a contact lens exam ? The terminology used in the industry is a "Contact Lens Evaluation". This is in fact, separate from your yearly vision exam. During your yearly vision exam, there are certain tests and measurements that our good eye doctors take, but during the contact lens exam our doctors check for fitting, comfort, GPC ( Giant Papillary Conjunctivitis ) which is a fancy way of seeing if the patient has a mild allergic reaction to contact lenses and other measurements. Fun fact, the majority of patients actually have a different contact lens prescription than their glasses prescription. The FDA and State of California put an expiration on the c

If your monthly or 2 week contact lenses are drying up quicker and quicker everyday, we have just the solution for you. That gritty feeling doesn't have to be something that you just tolerate and only get temporary relief by using eye drops every hour. There are daily contact lenses that one patient described exclaiming, "This feels like heaven!" Yes, we think so too. The feeling of a new contact lens after your previous contact has reached its useful life , is one of the best feelings in the world! That instant relief where your eyes say, "Oh, I remember what this feels like, why don't we do this everyday?" If we truly listen to our body, the relief that your eyes feel with a new contact lens is something they would prefer on a daily basis. Yes we are personifying the eyeballs in this scenario. There is a daily contact lens that we prefer at Dr. Bladh's office , the Biotrue ONEday contact lenses from Bausch + Lomb . It is a fantastic lens

Patients often ask me "When should my child have their first  pediatric eye examination ?" The answer surprises many when I tell them that the   American Optometric Association    recommends the first eye examination between 6 and 12 months of age. Any child considered "at risk" should be evaluated before 6 months. At risk is any child who: Was  premature , had  low birth weight  or was given oxygen at birth. Family history of  retinoblastoma , congenital cataracts, or metabolic disease. Infection of mother during pregnancy. Difficulty during labor. Eye turn (strabismus) . Know or suspected  central nervous system dysfunction , developmental delay,  cerebral palsy ,  seizures , etc. High refractive error . If you've never seen a true pediatric eye examination, you are in for a treat. It is the most fun I have during my day. I get to break out all of the toys and use all the knowledge gained throughout the years of practicing. We assess more tha