Some Eye Problems Are Minor While Others Can Cause Vision Loss
As our eyes age and undergo constant stress, we may experience certain eye problems along the
way. These problems range from simple conditions that can be managed at home to more severe eye
diseases and infections that need professional care. To protect your eye health and get proper
care, the best thing patients can do is to learn about your particular eye condition. If you are
experiencing changes in vision that is like the list of common eye problems below, feel free to
contact us.
Dry Eyes:
Dry eye disease is a common condition that produces abnormalities of the tears and ocular
surface. It is most often a result of either deficient tear production or excessive evaporation
of the tear film.
Symptoms of dry eye include the following:
Dry, itchy eyes
Burning sensation
Foreign body sensation
Tearing
Blurred vision
The diagnosis of dry eye is determined first by a detailed case history and
then with a comprehensive eye examination. Tests such as tear break-up time (TBUT), and tear
osmolarity testing give a more objective measure of the severity of a dry eye condition.
Treatment of dry eye can begin with the use of adjunct artificial tear supplements or with lid
hygiene treatment. For more severe dry eyes, the use of anti-inflammatory drops, advanced
meibomian gland treatments or punctal plugs can be considered.
Glaucoma
Glaucoma occurs when an increase in pressure around your eye’s optical nerve occurs. Glaucoma is
one of the leading causes of blindness in North America. It can often lead to peripheral and
total blindness when left untreated.
Symptoms: Glaucoma can be hereditary and increases in risk after we reach the age of 35. Glaucoma
does not typically have early warning signs and can usually only be detected by your eye doctor.
Common symptoms include eye pain, blurred vision or colored rings that surround lights.
Treatment: Glaucoma treatments are very effective once your eye doctor diagnoses them. Treatments
range from prescription eye drops and oral medications to laser treatment or eye surgery.
Prevention: Once your eye doctor has diagnosed your glaucoma, the eye disease can typically be
halted with treatment. Because vision that is lost to glaucoma cannot be restored, routine eye
appointments and glaucoma prevention from your eye doctor are crucial.
Cataracts
Cataracts slowly degrade your eye vision by clouding of the eye’s lens. But, the eye condition
can progress rapidly in some specific instances.
Symptoms: Cataracts can affect driving or reading for patients in many ways. Those with cataracts
may experience symptoms ranging from blurred and dimmed vision or double vision to light halos
and the feeling of film over the eyes.
Treatment: Cataracts may be surgically removed in some cases. The surgical procedure is one of
the safest, with a near 100 per cent success rate. Patients typically need to change their
eyewear after their surgery.
Prevention: Eyewear with UV protection benefits patients in outdoor settings. Your eye doctor may
also recommend you increase the amount of selenium, vitamin A, vitamins C and E in your diet. It
is also encouraged that those with cataracts limit their use and exposure to alcohol, cigarette
smoke, and pollution.
Macular Degeneration
Macular degeneration takes place when the macula, the part of the eye responsible for detailed
vision, begins to degrade. Macular degeneration is the leading cause of blindness worldwide.
While the eye disease cannot be cured currently, there are treatments available.
Symptoms: Patients with macular degeneration can experience dulled colors, blurred reading
vision, and distorted vertical lines. Macular degeneration is can also be characterized by the
appearance of dark spots or deterioration of central vision.
Treatment: While no cure for macular degeneration exists, early detection is critical in halting
the progression of the disease. Eye clinics use effective laser treatments to stop the
progression of the eye disease.
Prevention: UV protection eyewear is the top recommended solutions to manage macular
degeneration. Your eye doctor may also recommend dietary changes, such as such as zinc, vitamin
A, vitamin C and vitamin E may to support the health of the macula.
Diabetic Retinopathy
Diabetic retinopathy occurs when the delicate blood vessels in the eye begin to deteriorate or
leak. While it is difficult to detect diabetic retinopathy, routine eye checkups will help
manage the progression of the eye disease. People with diabetes especially should schedule
regular eye exams to help manage the disease.
Spots & Floaters
Spots and floaters, as the name suggests, are spots that appear to float in front of the eye.
Spots and floaters are a result of protein particles trapped in the fluid inside the eye, but
can also be a result of fluid deterioration as we age.
Spots and floaters can occur from common eye diseases or injuries. But they may be a sign of
retinal detachment and the development of other more serious eye conditions. Your eye doctor can
treat the issue without long-term eye problems. Consult an eye doctor if sudden flashes of light
or worsening of the problem occurs.
If you are experiencing any of these common eye problems or diseases listed above, contact us
today to get the professional eye care that you need to keep your eyes healthy.
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Austin Heights Optometry Clinic owns and operates a Website at austinheightsoptometry.com (hereinafter referred to as the “site” or
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Austin Heights Optometry Clinic reserves the right to modify the content of this site. At any time, without prior notice.
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This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the province of British Columbia.
Any dispute arising of this Agreement shall be brought before the court in the judicial district of
Austin Heights Optometry Clinic's head office. Address: 1001 Austin Avenue, Suite 1
Suite 1
Coquitlam, BC
V3K 3N9; Tel: 604 936-2400.
PUBLISHING FIRM
Austin Heights Optometry Clinic
1001 Austin Avenue, Suite 1
Suite 1
Coquitlam, BC
V3K 3N9 Tel: 604 936-2400
Acceptance of the Privacy Policy
Thank you for visiting austinheightsoptometry.com (the “Website”), provided to you by Austin Heights Optometry Clinic (“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:
Personal Information, that we can reasonably use to directly or indirectly
identify you, such as your full name, email address, telephone number and any other
identifier we may use to contact you online or offline.
Non-personal information is information that does not directly or
indirectly reveal your identity or directly relate to an identified individual, such as
demographic information, or statistical or aggregated information. Statistical or aggregated
data does not directly identify a specific person, but we may derive non-personal
statistical or aggregated data from Personal Information. For example, we may aggregate
Personal Information to calculate the percentage of users accessing a specific Website
feature.
How we collect the information
Information You Provide to Us
The information we collect directly from you may include:
Communicating with us: When you contact us about a customer service issue,
Vision Entrepreneur services or to make other inquiries, we collect the content of those
communications, as well as your full name, clinic name, email, phone number, city, province,
and any additional information that allows us to answer your request.
Information We Collect While You Interact With Us Through Cookies and Other Automatic Data
Collection Technologies
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:
To provide you with information, products, or services that you request from us.
To fulfill the purposes for which you provided the information or that were described when
it was collected, or any other purpose for which you provide it.
To improve the Website, products or services, marketing, or customer relationships and
experiences.
To allow you to participate in interactive features, social media, or similar features on
the Website.
To measure or understand the effectiveness of the advertising we serve to you and others,
and to deliver relevant advertising to you.
In any other way we may describe when you provide the information.
For any other purpose with your consent.
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:
information you expressly consent to be shared;
when relating to anonymized information (individuals cannot be identified by it);
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;
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;
to enforce this Privacy Policy, the Terms, or an agreement, including investigation of
potential violations thereof;
to detect, prevent, or otherwise address fraud, security or technical issues, or protect the
operations or you;
to protect our rights, property or safety as well as yours, the public, or others;
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
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:
to provide the products and services that you have requested;
to communicate with you about a purchase or a request you have made to us;
to manage your choices and rights you have exercised pursuant to this Privacy Policy;
to comply with our legal and regulatory obligations and to demonstrate compliance,
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 604 936-2400.
Cookie Policy – austinheightsoptometry.com
This Cookie Policy explains what cookies are and how we use them. You should read this Policy to
understand what type of cookies we use, the information we collect from the cookies, and how
that
information is managed. For further information on how we handle, store and keep your personal
data
secure, see our Term of use.
What are Cookies?
Cookies are small text files which are stored on the browser or hard drive of your computer or
mobile
device when you visit a webpage or application. A “session cookie” stores temporary information
that
is deleted when you close your web browser or turn off your computer or device. A “persistent
cookie” enables the site to recognize when you return to it and remains stored on your computer
until you delete it. Cookies work to make your experience browsing our site as smooth as
possible by
remembering your preferences the next time you visit the site.
What types of cookies do we use?
There are four variety of cookies which operate on our website:
Essential cookies allow you to be able to experience the full functionality
of
our site. For example, these cookies allow you to change your preferred language and enable
the
website to remember it. Without these cookies, some parts of our site may not work as they
should.
Performance cookies tell us how you use our site and help us to improve it.
For
example, these cookies count the number of visitors to our website and see how visitors move
around when they are using it. This helps us to improve the way our site works, for example,
by
ensuring that users find what they are looking for easily. The information collected by
these
cookies is anonymous.
Google Analytics are performance cookies used to track visits to
our
website and user behaviour on site. The data collected is anonymous and is used for
benchmarking purposes to monitor the performance of our site and to measure user
engagement on our site.
Social media cookies from social media sites such as
Facebook, Instagram, and
Pinterest
are used to enable social media buttons on our site to work. Social media buttons
allow
you to share content and interact with your social network. These social media
platform
may set their own cookies on your device. We do not control the settings of these
cookies so we suggest you check the social media website for more information about
their cookies and how to manage them. Our website will not collect or store any
personally identifiable information from the user. To find out how you can opt out
of
accepting these cookies, please visit the cookie policy and privacy policies of the
social media site.
Customizer cookies allow our site to remember your preferences, helping to
customize your experience on our site.
Our customizer cookie, which helps us to manage the technology and cookies which are
used across our site.
Targeting/advertising cookies are set by third party advertising partners
through our digital touchpoints to build profiles based on your interests. These cookies
enable
us to send you relevant content and advertising based on your preferences and track the
effectiveness of our ad campaigns.
Below are several advertising and targeting cookies that are used to identify
different
browsers and devices. They collect data anonymously for the purposes of ad
selection,
reporting, behavioural targeting, and cross-device advertising (i.e. associating
multiple devices together). In some instances, we may provide a hashed version of
your
email address or other information to the platform provider for such proposes. More
information can be found at the following links.
How do you change cookie preferences or block cookies?
Within your browser, you can choose whether you wish to accept cookies or not. Different browsers
make different controls available to you. Generally, your browser will offer you the choice to
accept, refuse or delete cookies at all times, or those from providers that website owners use
i.e.
third party cookies, or those from specific websites. Each browser’s website should contain
instructions on how you can do this.
If you block cookies on our website, you may be unable to access certain areas of our website and
certain functions and pages will not work in the usual way.
Changes to the Cookie Policy
We may update this Policy from time to time. If we make significant changes we will let you know
but
please regularly check this Policy to ensure you are aware of the most updated version.
This Cookie Policy was last updated on September 25, 2023.
