Questions On Eyecare

How often should I have my eyes tested?

Unfortunately your ocular health is not always accompanied by recognizable symptoms. It is important to have a regular visit as there is often an increased risk to you if timely treatment is not initiated.

After your initial examination, we will schedule regular return visits at a frequency that meets your eye care requirements. If your vision is healthy, general guidelines have been established for recommended checkup visits.

  • 0 – 3 years: 6 months is the recommended age due to increased chance of cooperation with our tests
  • 3 – 5 years: age 3, and prior to entering elementary school is recommended
  • 20 – 64 years: Every 1 to 2 years is recommended based on individual risk factors
  • 65+: Older Adult – Every year is recommended

Will my eyes get worse by wearing my glasses too much?

Your Optometrist will explain the purpose of your prescription and when they should be worn. In most cases, glasses will not cause any deterioration that would not otherwise occur. However, wearing glasses for activities different than recommended (i.e. distance glasses worn to read up close) may make the eyes work harder than they need to.

How can you test my child's eyes if he/she is not able to read letters or speak yet?

We use simple symbols instead of letters. Much of the testing that is done requires little input from your child. It is focused on assessment of the strength of the eye, eye muscle status, and eye health to ensure proper vision development. Critical information can be obtained about your child’s eye without them needing to say a word!

Should I bring my glasses to my appointment?

We do ask that you bring your eyeglasses with you to your eye examination appointment. This allows us to check and compare your current prescription if there are any changes. Even if there is no change, it is good for us to quickly assess for scratches or defects, and to ensure everything is fitting properly.

Why are eye drops used?

Eye drops that dilate the pupils are used in some examinations to enable the doctor to get a better view of the inside of the eye. The doctor will decide how often this type of examination is necessary for each individual depending upon his or her symptoms, age, health, and family history. The drops generally leave your vision a little blurry and sensitive to light, so you may not be able to drive immediately after this procedure. The effect of the drops will wear off in 2 to 6 hours.

Eye drops that relax the focus of the eyes, called cycloplegics are used to accurately measure the degree of far-sightedness of the eyes. These are generally used, when necessary, for children and young adults. These drops also leave the vision blurry and sensitive to light.

Eye drops to anesthetize (numb) the eye are used for procedures that require an instrument touching the eye. The anesthetic does not affect vision and lasts about 15 minutes. Some eye drops contain a dye that helps the doctor diagnose abnormalities of the surface of the eye.

What is 20/20 vision?

This is a ratio used to indicate normal visual acuity. It means that people with ‘normal vision’ on the acuity chart are able to see a certain size of detail at 20 feet. That detail is calibrated to be the same size in all eye examinations so that visual acuity can be standardized when tested between different offices. The detail viewed could be letters, pictures or numbers.

Some people have better than normal vision and some have weaker than normal vision. The top number in the ratio indicates the test distance (20 feet) that the target is calibrated for. The bottom number of the ratio indicates the distance at which a person with normal (20/20 vision) would be able to see that size of target. For example if a person had poorer than normal visual acuity, say 20/400 it would mean that the size of the target that this person sees at 20 feet would actually be recognized by the person with 20/20 vision at 400 feet. Conversely, a person with better than 20/20 visual acuity, say 20/15, would be able to see the small detail at 20 feet that a person with 20/20 vision would have to bring closer to 15 feet to be able recognize it.

How come my eyes get tired at the computer?

A. Being far or near-sighted, having astigmatism, or becoming presbyopic can all make computer use less comfortable. Your eyes may have to exert extra focusing effort or be forced to work harder to maintain a clear image on the screen. This results in eye strain and fatigue.

The following are some helpful tips to facilitate comfortable and efficient computer use:

  • Positioning:Correct positioning of your computer, keyboard, and typing copy is essential. Your screen should be about an arm’s length from your eyes and 15-20 degrees below eye level for optimum alignment and neck positioning.
  • Lighting:Room lighting should be diffuse, not direct, to reduce glare and reflections from your screen. Use blinds or drapes on windows and/or use an anti-glare filter for your monitor.
  • Glasses:Anti-reflective coatings on the lenses of your glasses can be applied to reduce discomfort and to ease reduced vision from bright and/or flickering light sources such as VDTs and fluorescent lights. Don’t forget – your optometrist can talk to you about eyeglasses designed specifically for computer users.
  • Time-out:To prevent eyestrain, try to rest your eyes when using the computer for long periods. Optometrists recommend the 20-20-20 rule: every 20 minutes, take a 20 second break, and focus your eyes on an object at least 20 feet away.
  • Blink:Did you know that, on average, we blink 12 times per minute? But, when we are on the computer, we only blink 5 times per minute? Infrequent blinking causes tear film evaporation; in other words, dry eyes. Relieve the discomfort by using artificial tear drops and remember to blink!

How can I prevent my vision from getting worse?

Take frequent eye breaks, look up and away from extended near or computer work, spend at least 2 hours of your time outdoors every day, don’t hold reading material too close to your face, and ensure you are wearing a current lens prescription so that you are not unnecessarily straining your eyes.

What are symptoms that may indicate my child is having vision problems?

There are many symptoms that require attention. They include rubbing eyes, squinting, turning or tilting head, losing their place or using a finger to follow along when reading, moving head or mouthing words while reading, headaches, red eyes, wandering eyes, complaints of blurred vision. Many disorders have no symptoms. All children need eye examinations at age 3.

Should I wear my contacts to my appointment?

Yes. If you are a contact lens wearer we do ask that you wear your contacts to your appointment as this allows us to assess the current fit and level of vision and make appropriate recommendations.

How old do you have to be to wear contact lenses?

Although contact lenses can be fit to patients of any age, generally patients have to be mature enough to manage their contact lenses well to prevent eye infections and complications. When one is not capable of being responsible for this management then parents or guardians must be willing to take over the role of responsibility to ensure that the lenses are worn the proper number of hours, cleaned properly, replaced as directed, and inserted/removed properly.

Can I drive after my eye exam?

A. Most patients find that after the eye exam they are okay to drive. During the eye examination eye-drops may be used that dilate the eyes to help the doctor see different parts of the back of the eye. These drops can cause light sensitivity for a few hours after the examination so we recommend that sunglasses be worn after the eye exam during daylight hours. For very light sensitive patients they may be more comfortable having someone drive them home after the eye examination although the sunglasses should suffice for most people. Other drops may be used which temporarily affect one’s focusing system. These patients may have to wear prescription lenses home to see well (or have someone drive them home after the examination). All drops used for the purposes of the eye examination have short duration activity and generally within 3-7 hours the effects of these drops should be worn off. Dilation is not done at every eye exam but is absolutely necessary if there are new symptoms of sudden floaters or loss of vision.

Does laser eye surgery correct all vision problems?

Laser eye surgery is used to correct many cases of myopia (blurred distance vision) and astigmatism safely and predictably. Laser correction of hyperopia (farsightedness) is in its advanced testing stages. Results are not as predictable, nor as successful. Presbyopia, which causes the need to wear reading glasses or bifocals, cannot be corrected by laser surgery. As a result, individuals over 45 years will require reading glasses in most cases following surgery. Amblyopia (lazy eye) or other existing conditions that have caused damage to the eye or loss of vision, cannot be repaired by laser surgery.

Can laser eye surgery correct my need to wear reading glasses?

If you have good distance vision without glasses, but need reading correction only, laser refractive surgery is not an option for you. If you wear bifocals to correct both distance and near vision, you may be a candidate to have the distance vision corrected, but still have to wear reading glasses after.

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Address:
511 Vernon St Nelson, BC V1L4E9;
Tel: (250) 352-7239.

PUBLISHING FIRM

Mountain View Optometry
511 Vernon St Nelson, BC V1L4E9
Tel: (250) 352-7239

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Thank you for visiting mountainoptometry.ca (the “Website”), provided to you by Mountain View Optometry (“We”). We respect the privacy of every individual who visits the Website and are sensitive to privacy issues on the Internet. We believe it is important that you know how we deal with information received about you.

This privacy policy (the “Privacy Policy”) explains how we collect, use, disclose, and protect the personal information of our customers and Website users ("you"), describes the types of information we may collect from you or that you may provide to us, and our practices for collecting, using, maintaining, protecting, and disclosing that information. The Website is for general audiences and is not specifically targeted to or intended for use by children.

We will only use your personal information in accordance with this Privacy Policy unless otherwise required by applicable law. We take steps to ensure that the personal information that we collect about you is adequate, relevant, not excessive, and used for limited purposes. Privacy laws in Canada generally define "Personal Information" as any information about an identifiable individual, which includes information that can be used on its own or with other information to identify, contact, or locate a single person.

By accessing or using the Website, you are accepting the practices described in this Privacy Policy, and you are consenting to our processing of your information as set out in this Privacy Policy. We may modify or update this Privacy Policy from time to time; if we change this Privacy Policy in a manner that materially impacts your privacy rights, we will provide a notice to you. Your continued use of the Website or our services after any modification to this Privacy Policy will constitute your acceptance of such modification. However, when required by law, we will confirm your consent to the revised Privacy Policy terms. This Privacy Policy is incorporated into and considered a part of the Website Terms and Conditions of Use, located here


What information we collect

We collect and use several types of information from and about you, including:


How we collect the information

Information You Provide to Us

The information we collect directly from you may include:

Information We Collect While You Interact With Us Through Cookies and Other Automatic Data Collection Technologies
Information We Collect About You From Third Parties

How we use your information

We use your information, including your Personal Information, to manage our business and to maintain and develop commercial relationships with you. We will collect, use, and disclose such information only to the extent that is necessary for those purposes.

We use information that we collect about you or that you provide to us, including any Personal Information:


How we share your information

We will not rent or sell your information to third parties without your consent. We only share your data as specifically provided in this Privacy Policy.

Other Disclosures

In addition to any disclosure you may have consented to or permitted under the terms of this Privacy Policy, we may transfer your data, including Personal Information to third parties in the following limited circumstances:

  1. information you expressly consent to be shared;
  2. when relating to anonymized information (individuals cannot be identified by it);
  3. when you decide to make the information indexable by search engines, to share or to distribute the information to people or otherwise to make it available to the public;
  4. to satisfy any applicable law, regulation, legal process or enforceable governmental request within or outside your country of residence when we have a good faith belief that the law requires it;
  5. to enforce this Privacy Policy, the Terms, or an agreement, including investigation of potential violations thereof;
  6. to detect, prevent, or otherwise address fraud, security or technical issues, or protect the operations or you;
  7. to protect our rights, property or safety as well as yours, the public, or others;
  8. in connection with an acquisition, merger, change in control, debt financing, reorganization, sales of assets, bankruptcy or other change of our corporate structure or status; or
  9. as necessary in connection with the performance of requested services or solutions, or as otherwise appropriate in connection with a legitimate need.

How we store and secure your information

Information Security

We are committed to protecting the confidentiality, integrity, availability and privacy of your Personal Information. We have put appropriate physical, technological and procedural security measures in place designed to help prevent your Personal Information from being lost, used, modified or accessed in an unauthorized way, or improperly disclosed. Examples of such measures include restricted access to offices, training of personnel, using passwords and well-defined internal policies and practices. We also use encryption technology and Secure Socket Layers ("SSL") in all areas of the Website where your personal account information is required.

In addition, we limit access to your Personal Information to those employees, agents, contractors and other third parties who have a business need-to-know. They will be required to process your Personal Information only on our instructions and they are subject to an obligation of confidentiality. Our service providers are required to maintain adequate security protections in place designed to help safeguard your Personal Information and are not permitted to use it for any purpose other than fulfilling services to us.

If you have any questions about securing your personal data, please contact us in accordance with the “How to Contact Us” section below.

Information Retention

We will retain your Personal Information for as long as it is needed:

  1. to provide the products and services that you have requested;
  2. to communicate with you about a purchase or a request you have made to us;
  3. to manage your choices and rights you have exercised pursuant to this Privacy Policy;
  4. to comply with our legal and regulatory obligations and to demonstrate compliance,
  5. to resolve disputes and to enforce our rights and agreements.

We may retain non-personal information that has been sufficiently aggregated or anonymized for a longer period.

Once the retention period is over, we will dispose of your Personal Information as provided for in our internal data retention and disposal policy.

Where We Store Information

We use facilities operated by "Amazon Web Services" and located in Canada as our information storage and processing infrastructure. Our service providers can also, from time to time, store your Personal Information in accordance with purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy.


How to contact us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, you can contact us at (250) 352-7239.