Indianapolis Optometrist

For years now, our country has been one that loves 2-week contact lenses.  While other countries overseas are embracing daily disposable contact lenses, it is still a lens modality that has struggled to catch on here with any real success.  For the life of me, I can't figure out why.  The only guess I have is that we aren't as educated about this type of contact lens.  With this, I urge you to take a look at Daily Disposables (CooperVisions's ProClear 1 day & ClearSight 1 day as well as Ciba Vision's Focus Dailies) as on option for premium contact lenses.

The reasons are two-fold: better eye health and better comfort.  The reasons it is better for eye health are simple:

-  Since you have to change your lens on a daily basis, this promotes good ocular health.  Daily Disposables have the highest compliance rate of any modality at 94%.
-  Daily Replacement means less deposit build up, reducing problems associated with this, such as GPC
-  Daily disposables have the lowest infection rate since you are putting in a new, fresh lens every day

The reasons for better comfort are obvious as well.  Putting in a new lens every day means you are getting a fresh lens with no deposit build-up, allowing for a more comfortable wearing experience. 

If you haven't tried daily disposable contact lenses, please take some time when you see your Indianapolis Optometrist or Indiana Eye Doctor to discuss this modality and the benefits it can provide. 

My 5 year old son had his final soccer game of the season last Saturday in Indianapolis.  It was a great game and actually went to a shoot out at the end to decide the game.  Okay, these are 5 and 6 year olds so there was no goalie and they basically had to kick the ball straight into the goal from 30 yards away, but nonetheless it was pretty exciting.  Our team lost, but as with any youth soccer game the focus was more about getting their medals and what the snack of the week was. 

It was a great fall day in Indiana and I got some sun, which is rare for early November.  It got me thinking about how most people are unaware that extended exposure to the same harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays that affect their skin can also harm their eyes.  While outside on Saturday, all of the children's eyes were exposed to the sun's rays.  Some of the parents on the sidelines had sunglasses on, while others were wearing hats, which are both helpful in blocking UV rays from reaching the eyes.  When I am outside, I typically wear contact lenses that block UV rays and I also wear polarized sunglasses, which are great for absorbing and blocking UV rays, while also reducing glare from the sun. 

The next time you and your children are playing outside, stay focused on the health of your eyes by wearing sunglasses, brimmed hats or premium contact lenses with UV blocking.  If you don't have these items available, make sure you go to your Indianapolis Optometrist, Eye Doctor or a local vision eye center.

Last Friday, Team Tavel spent the morning at Duke Realty's annual employee Health and Wellness Fair.  I received a call from their office and they wanted Dr. Tavel to attend as the primary eye care provider for their employees.  We gladly accepted and took some equipment to be able to do a vision screening for any employees that came by our tables. 

This was a great opportunity as we were able to screen vision for almost 100 of Duke's employees.  The overwhelming outcome of these screenings is that most of the employees need to come to Dr. Tavel for an annual eye examination.  While there were a few employees who regularly take advantage of their health care insurance and see their Indianapolis eye doctor, most people don't.  There were several people who admitted they hadn't been to their Indianapolis optometrist in 5 plus years! 

This never makes much sense to me.  First, most employers like Duke offer vision insurance whereby employees can get an annual eye examination for free or for a nominal co-pay.   Second, eye exams are so much more than just telling you what your error of refraction is.  We had some people say they haven't had problems seeing so they haven't had a need to see an Indiana eye doctor.  This is one of the biggest misconceptions about seeing Dr. Tavel.  Our eye examinations are done by the best eye doctors and they examine for multiple common eye diseases as well as several age-related eye diseases such as macular degeneration, glaucoma, cataracts and diabetic retinopathy. 

Overall, it was a great opportunity to partner with a great company and educate, inform and screen vision.

We recently modified and updated our website with a new version of our contact lens e-commerce site.  This is a great benefit to our existing patients who want to order premium contact lenses on-line.  When a Dr. Tavel contact lens patient comes in to see one of our Indianapolis Optometrists or an Optometrist at any of the other Dr. Tavel vision eye centers, you are going to not only get a comprehensive eye examination and a contact lens fit, but you will now be able to walk away with a user name and password to easily re-order your premium contact lenses through www.drtavel.com. 
Why is this important and how is it any different than ordering contact lenses through another on-line provider?  When you go to www.drtavel.com to order contact lenses on-line, you can be sure that the lenses you are ordering are for your exact prescription without the hassle of having to input the Rx from the side of their contact box.  Your unique login will pull up the information and exact prescription given to you by your Indianapolis Eye Doctor or your Indiana Eye Doctor.  It is as simple as logging in, plugging in how many boxes you would like and having them shipped directly to your home. 
The biggest question is going to be how we compare to the other on-line providers on price.  At Dr. Tavel Family Eye Care, we offer some of the best prices on contact lenses anywhere.  We are incredibly price competitive so you can be sure to get the RIGHT contact lenses at the RIGHT price, every time with the convenience of having them shipped directly to your home.  So whether you wear Acuvue Oasys, Air Optix Aqua, Purevision or another premium contact lens, feel free to come to us for your Indiana eye care needs.

This morning in Indianapolis it absolutely poured rain! I was on my way in to work and hit all sorts of obstacles because of the crazy thunderstorm that is going on right now. I drove through a 2 foot deep puddle, was rerouted due to a lightning induced fire, and hydroplaned several times. How anything could be on fire in all this rain, I have no idea. But it was.

As I drove up Kessler Blvd. I noticed myself squinting and slowing down to almost 15 miles per hour to make sure I was staying on the road. It occured to me that if I hadn't been wearing my glasses I probably would've been in the ditch.

This situation is certainly a scary one, but its a good note to remind you how important it is to have an eye examination. There are so many obstacles (both natural and man-made) that make it difficult for our eyes to function properly that can be eased with customized lenses.

Dr. Tavel and his associate Indianapolis optometrists  are consistently prescribing premium contact lenses and the highest quality eyeglasses Indianapolis has to offer. Be sure to schedule an appointment for you and your family at any of our convenient Indiana locations.
www.drtavel.com/schedule/

ABC 7 - a TV station out of Chicago published a wonderful article titled "Detecting Disease Through the Eyes" on July 15th. This couldn't be any more relevant.

The introduction reads:

"July 15, 2009 (WLS) -- Most people think of their eye examination as time to update their lens prescription or catch the beginnings of eye disease like glaucoma, but few people know an eye exam can catch early signs of diabetes, stroke, high blood pressure and brain tumors."

Absolutely right! Few people realize that an eye exam can quickly identify so many life threatening diseases without being invasive at all. There are no needles involved, we won't strip you down and put you on a scale, and we certainly won't sit you in the exam room and make you wait 20 minutes for the doctor to arrive. 
 
As the most prominent Indianapolis Optometrist and most well known Indiana Vision Center, Dr. Tavel is proud to say that our staff is highly educated and thoroughly trained to be positioned as the medical expert when it comes to eye care.

Let our family serve your family. Trust your vision to Dr. Tavel.


For the full article: abclocal.go.com/wls/story