Today's Spotlight
Did the DREAM Study Change Your Thinking?
For more than a decade, omega-3 fatty acid supplements have been hailed for their role in helping to alleviate dry eye symptoms with no significant side effects. While they’re not effective in every case and are typically used in conjunction with other methods, this avenue of care is pretty well-established. Then came the Dry Eye Assessment and Management (DREAM) study last May, which seemed to upend the validity of fish oil, as it found omega-3 fatty acids offered no benefit over the olive oil placebo.
Today's Spotlight
Build A Better Dry Eye Protocol
In 2017, the Tear Film & Ocular Surface Society updated the Dry Eye Workshop (DEWS II) to reflect a decade’s worth of advances in our understanding, diagnosis, treatment and management of dry eye disease (DED). For the optometrist looking to better incorporate the findings of DEWS II into their practice, this article boils down the report’s lengthy discussion into actionable recommendations.
Today's Spotlight
The Time March is On
Let’s break the history of our lives in optometry down to easily digestible bites. Your journey is different than mine, but some things are universal, so I think you’ll see yourself in here somewhere.
Today's Spotlight
Three Steps to Dry Eye Coding
As providers on the frontline, ODs must capture this population presenting to their practices on a daily basis, whether it’s obvious clinically significant dry eye, a contact lens dropout or that troublesome patient who complains that their eyes just don’t feel as comfortable as they used to throughout the day.
Today's Spotlight
What Snellen Ain’t Tellin’
Oftentimes in practice, we encounter patients who subjectively report changes to their vision—but we then check their acuities and find no measurable difference in Snellen acuity. In these cases, we should consider an alternative measurement of vision quality: contrast sensitivity (CS). This brief, cost-effective screening tool can help us reveal factors relevant to their overall quality of vision.
The News Feed
OCT-A Detects Earliest Diabetic Eye Changes
May 21, 2019
Statin Use Lowers POAG Risk
May 21, 2019
Always Look on the Bright Side of Life
May 20, 2019
Frequency of HZO in the US Doubles
May 20, 2019
VKC Treatment Takes a Toll
May 20, 2019
Low IOP Doesn’t Reduce Progression Risk in NTG
May 17, 2019
Migraine Patients Experience Dry Eye Differently
May 17, 2019
Müller Cells May be Key to Retinal Disease
May 17, 2019
Dry Eye Patients Have Hypersensitive Corneas
May 16, 2019
OSSN Interventions Get High Marks
May 16, 2019
Microcirculation Changes May Precede DR
May 16, 2019
Contacts Keep Surgery at Bay in Some Dystrophies
May 15, 2019
FTC Seeks Comments on Contact Lens Rule Changes
May 15, 2019
Primary SLT Effective in Treatment-naïve Eyes
May 15, 2019
Moment of Neovascular AMD Conversion Pinpointed
May 14, 2019
Study: Implants for Retinal Disease Safe
May 14, 2019
Cognitive Impairment Compromises VF Test Results
May 13, 2019
Maryland, Oklahoma ODs See Statehouse Successes
May 13, 2019
POAG a Risk Factor for Pseudophakic CME
May 10, 2019
PVD Patients at Risk of Delayed Retinal Break
May 10, 2019
Some Untreated DME Patients Maintain Vision
May 10, 2019
Alzheimer’s Drug May Treat Normal Tension Glaucoma
May 09, 2019
AREDS Scale Measures Risk of Late AMD Vision Loss
May 09, 2019
Clean Living Prevents Glaucoma
May 09, 2019
Anemia Affects DR Progression
May 08, 2019
Cholesterol Drugs Differ on DR Risk Impact
May 08, 2019
Kidney Problems Associated with Diabetic Retinopathy
May 08, 2019
OCT-A: Changing Diabetic Retinopathy Diagnosis
May 08, 2019
AMD Linked with Increased Inpatient Stays
May 07, 2019
Height Associated with AMD Likelihood
May 07, 2019
Hyper-reflective Foci Signify AMD Progression
May 07, 2019
Proliferative DR Highly Correlated with nAMD
May 07, 2019
AI Learns to Spot Glaucoma Better than Humans
May 06, 2019
Be Wary of 10-2 Visual Fields for Early Glaucoma
May 06, 2019
SLT Still An Effective Option for Advanced Glaucoma
May 06, 2019
Topical Agents Amplify SLT Effect
May 06, 2019
Cytokine-coated Lens Could Treat Dry Eye
May 03, 2019
Research Disputes Popular Pterygia Theory
May 03, 2019
Scleral Users at Lower Risk of Keratoplasty
May 03, 2019
High-fat Diet Linked to Dry Eye
May 02, 2019
Lipid Layer Spread Can Indicate Dry Eye Severity
May 02, 2019
New Assessment Tool Predicts Post-op DED
May 02, 2019
Tear Viscosity Correlates with Dry Eye Severity
May 02, 2019
Clues to Pellucid Marginal Degeneration Identified
May 01, 2019
Look Inside The Current Issue
Features
Did the DREAM Study Change Your Thinking?
The controversial findings led some ODs to question the role of omega-3s, while others dispute the study itself. Here, several experts share their views.
My Patient Has Diabetic Retinopathy...Now What?
The optometrist has a valuable role to play in monitoring the stages of this condition and guiding patients through treatment.
A Guide to Conjunctival Tumors
These are benign half the time—but when they are malignant, you need to be ready to refer.
Build A Better Dry Eye Protocol
The DEWS II report provides a roadmap to help streamline your treatment regimens.
Cyclosporine Shoot-out: How Do They Match Up?
After more than a decade with just a single agent to use, your options are expanding. This story explains their differences.
Visual Fields in the Era of OCT
Is functional testing with visual fields still necessary in the age of advanced structural imaging with optical coherence tomography?
Departments
Getting Hosed
Blunt trauma can leave major damage. But optometrists can learn to treat and monitor to minimize long-term issues.
What Snellen Ain’t Tellin’
Contrast sensitivity testing can help identify visual changes an acuity test might miss.
A Hairy Eyeball
The most common ocular tissue to be affected by leukemia is the retina.
A Paralyzing Etiology
Patients with Guillain-Barré syndrome face significant systemic and ocular complications, including optic disc edema.
Add Billions to Optometry
Managing dry eye can be a huge opportunity for your contact lens patients—and practice.
Pinpointing the Problem
Amiodarone doesn’t usually have a significant effect on vision. But be more vigilant when it’s used in a patient with other acuity-reducing issues.
The Time March is On
It’s not all bad. I’ve been doing this for 40 years now and I’ve survived—you can, too.
The Unkindest Cut
A leading surgical society uses its antipathy toward optometry as a selling point, limiting its own prospects.
Three Steps to Dry Eye Coding
Don’t let the myriad testing and treatment options fool you into using all of them every time.
To Be Blunt
A calm, thorough evaluation of ocular trauma can determine the best course of action.
When Things Aren't Looking Up
Lesions in the brain stem can be a sign of dorsal midbrain syndrome.
Upcoming Events
Continuing Education
May 2019 • 2.00 Credits
Visual Fields in the era of OCT
April 2019 • 2.00 Credits
Be an Ocular Foreign Body Fixer
March 2019 • 2.00 Credits
Can You Spot These Retinal Vascular Abnormalities?
February 2019 • 2.00 Credits
Take a Clinical Approach to Anterior Uveitis
Additional Publications
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2019 Ophthalmic Drug Guide
Supported by an unrestricted grant from Bausch + Lomb.
In these pages, we offer you our collective clinical wisdom, gleaned from over 75 years of combined experience.
Don’t Get Stuck in Traffic
Capturing the Presbyopic Patient Astigmatic Opportunity
Innovations in Glaucoma Care & Treatment
Women in Optometry - March 2019
Ophthalmic Product Guide - February 2019
Jobs
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Optometrist
Crystal Clear Eyecare
5/21/2019 -
Physician's Assistant
ASSOCIATES IN OPHTHALMOLOGY, LTD.
5/21/2019 -
Optometrist
Emerging Vision
5/21/2019
Review of Cornea & Contact Lenses
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A Systematic Approach to Solving Contact Lens Discomfort
Comfort may be the number one factor in achieving a successful, long-lasting contact lens fit. Take a stepwise approach when comfort can’t be found. -
Ring Around the Cornea
Peripheral edema occurring many years post-op, signifying Brown-McLean syndrome, may be initially alarming, but it’s nothing to worry about. -
How to Refit the Unhappy Multifocal Patient
These tips can help you turn a negative experience into a postitive one. -
Four Contact Lens Complications to Combat
Any one of these could cause significant visual problems, so do your best to be proactive to prevent further damage. -
Get Daily Disposables On Your Radar
These lenses come with many benefits, but we need to make sure we’re doing our best to shed light on what they are. -
Navigating the Crosslinking Possibilities
Future modifications to the standard protocol already in use abroad may soon make their way stateside.
Women in Optometry
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See You In St. Louis on June 19: Women In Optometry® Summit
Speakers have been announced for the inaugural Women In Optometry Summit, Flex Your Superpowers, on Wed., June 19.
