February 2015 Business

Opticianry on the Move

The beginning of every year, usually late January or early February, the OAA (Opticians Association of America) brings all of the State Associations together for a Leadership Conference. Las Vegas was the meeting place this year from Feb. 5 – 7.

January 2015 Fitting and Adjusting Frames

Name That Drug

Medication being prescribed by the eye doctor is a daily task. They are treating everything from glaucoma to different types of eye infections and inflammations.

September 2014 Business

Vision Complaints and Saving the Doctor's Chair Time

When our normally calm and pleasant Optometrist barreled into the optical department frustrated because she had been scheduled to ReRefract a patient who was having problems seeing had her right and left lenses switched in her frame.

August 2014 Lenses

Converting Prism Into an Order

The Opticians Handbook received this question about a prism Rx for a patient experiencing vertigo:
"I recently got a prescription where the doctor asked for 1.5 degrees of prism base down at axis 255 right and 1.5 degree base down in the left at axis 255. What should I order? The doctor told me to order 1.1 base down with 0.50 Base Out right and 1.1 Base Down with 0.50 Base In."

July 2014 Eyes/Optics

Eye Infections, Part Two

This author has put together the "fearsome five" i.e., the worst five afflictions based on my rankings. Here are the first two.

June 2014 Fitting and Adjusting Frames

Eyeglass Challenges for Children With Down’s Syndrome

Normally, I like to start out my articles with some kind of witty turn of phrase or a backhanded story that somehow segues into my main point. My topic this month, however, is too serious for either of those approaches, so I’m just going to get right into the thick of it: We need to be aware of the needs of children with Down's Syndrome.

June 2014 Specialty Lenses

White Is In The Eye of The Beholder

To see how white balancing algorithms work in a computer (or digital camera) it's important to know what we mean by "white." First of all, "white" is relative. Something that looks white will look gray when compared to a brighter "white."

June 2014 Eyewear

Look Your Age: Pez Power

"But I don't want to be ugly!"
It was the cry of a despondent six-year old, recently diagnosed as a relatively high-minus myope. She'd been complaining to her mother of headaches and stared with glee through a pair of trial frames; yet when her mother told her it was time to pick out a pair of glasses, the hesitant smile became a brave front became a trembling fear.