tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36358720303026915782024-03-27T20:53:31.687-03:00Ocean OptometryOcean Optometryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16262553517392913407noreply@blogger.comBlogger77125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3635872030302691578.post-23011942406097337842019-04-30T15:44:00.000-03:002019-04-30T15:44:41.971-03:00TD Tom Davies Factory Tour - Part 4<div style="text-align: justify;">
Next was the Shocking bath. This isn’t what you think! There are no unscrupulous hygiene practices afoot at the TD Factory. This was a vat of oil, maintained at a specific temperature, to enable the setting of any adjustments made to buffalo horn frames. Originally when Tom was experimenting with horn frame production he had used an old ice-cream freezer for this. Want not, waste not!</div>
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Adjacent to the “shocking freezer” was an almost “steam-punk” looking pneumatic ram. This was the temple-shooting machine. This fired the strengthening core, which for all TD Tom Davies frames is high grade titanium, into the acetate temples. On the same desk was the silver solder apparatus and titanium pulse welder.</div>
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Behind this row of equipment, the underneath of the mezzanine is efficiently used. No part of the factory is free from Tom’s innovation and this area is no exception. Housed here, the tumbling and polishing drums. In mainstream spectacle frame production, the pieces of each frame are tumbled in large drums, often filled with bamboo pellets.</div>
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Due to the individual nature of the TD Tom Davies eyewear, this just wasn’t up to Tom’s exacting standards. He has both varied the sizing of these drums to enable individual and multiple frames to be tumbled efficiently, but also uses different types of wooden pellets to achieve different levels of desired finish. Tom doesn’t believe in “one size fits all!”</div>
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Adjacent to the tumbling is the “elves grotto!” Here the state-of-the-art laser engraving is conducted and stock ready to be shipped is housed. Tom was excited to say they have in excess of one million UK pounds (C$1.7million) of ready-to-wear frames ready for customers drastically reducing wait times and improving shipping efficiencies.</div>
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Part 3 ... /<br />
Part 5 ... /<br />
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<a href="https://www.oceanoptometry.ca/the-people/dr-john" target="_blank">By Dr. John Wilson</a></div>
Ocean Optometryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16262553517392913407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3635872030302691578.post-79143209061047749702019-01-24T14:27:00.000-04:002019-01-24T14:27:57.697-04:00TD Tom Davies Factory Tour - Part 3<div style="text-align: justify;">
The polishing machine consisted of two industrial polishing wheels, controlled by way of a foot pedal allowing the operator safe use of both hands, and numerous different grades of polish blocks. Too harsh a polish at the wrong stage would spoil the final result. Alternatively, too fine a polish, too early in the process, would lengthen the time taken to achieve the end result, thus rendering the final completed frames more expensive to manufacture.</div>
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Perpendicular to the polishing station was the hand sand-blaster. This resembled a piece of lab equipment from the film “Outbreak.” A transparent fronted box with two entrance holes attached to thick, rubberized, internal, self-contained gloves used to hold the apparatus being treated (sand-blasted). Tom explained that doing this by hand required proper training, but well worth it, as the finish achieved was far superior to a mass-produced product.</div>
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Behind us was a couple of work benches where an experienced spectacle maker was hand-finishing the ready-to-wear frames ensuring all edges and joints where “square” and smooth when running your finger across it. “It’s what all Opticians expect when they’re selecting their frame stock. The better the joint, the better the finished spectacles.”</div>
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Around the corner to the next set of benches was the lug insertion machine. Tom had pioneered the use of a low melting-point metal alloy to cast a die to hold the frame front in the correct position in order to heat-sink the lug into the acetate front of the spectacles if not riveted. The alloy die could be produced in minutes, unlike the previous method of machining the die. This again allowed more cost-effective production of bespoke frames. Tom was proud to say that this method has been adopted by most of the spectacle industry.<br />
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Part 2 ... /<br />
Part 4 ... /<br />
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<a href="https://www.oceanoptometry.ca/the-people/dr-john" target="_blank">By Dr. John Wilson</a></div>
Ocean Optometryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16262553517392913407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3635872030302691578.post-30881723338636499402018-08-29T13:44:00.000-03:002018-08-29T13:44:56.749-03:00TD Tom Davies Factory Tour - Part 2<div style="text-align: justify;">
First point of call was a large expanse of shelves with adjacent machinery. These shelves contained the banks of acetate material in varying sizes for the spectacle frame fronts and temples. Tom explained how each acetate sheet has a natural curve which dictates the front and rear of the material. “If you go against the curve that frame will continually loosen as it ages” Tom explained. “So if you’ve ever wondered why your sample colours can only be used one way, this is the reason.”<br />
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Next to Tom was a large industrial jigsaw to cut the plates into usable sizes and a shaper machine to reduce the thickness of the plates for various designs. Behind him stood a large industrial looking, stainless steel box fronted by a hefty looking steel door. This was his acetate oven. Once the acetate had been stored for a period it was then pre-aged to reduce shrinkage. Excess water was removed from the acetate so that once crafted into the final spectacle frame it maintained it’s design as closely as possible. Tom expressed that when this care is taken the finished eyewear is much improved in its quality and requires less adjustment after dispensing by the Optician. “It’s part of the reason you pay for quality over quantity. “Tom continued.</div>
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Next on the agenda was a high rendered wall with a rather solid, heavy looking locked door. We all waited patiently as Tom revealed this was his champagne tasting experience. The door opened with a small muted fanfare and we all eagerly edged forward to discover a large empty store room. Tom elaborated that the room would be filled with stock once the factory was running at full capacity, hence the champagne experience, and we were getting a taste of what was to come.</div>
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Our next introduction was to what Tom referred to “as our first real machine on the tour.” This was “TD Bespokeanator 6.” A very sophisticated one of a kind, custom-made, programmable CNC machine. Unlike other CNC spectacle machines, this one had Toms magic bestowed on it. It has enhanced programming and Tom has “bespoked” the tool to his own design.</div>
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This enables its tools to be changed efficiently and programming altered frequently to produce bespoke, one-of-a-kind product with a minimum of down time. “This enables a much more affordable bespoke experience for our customers.” Tom enthused. Side by side with “Bespokeanator 6” was a second CNC machine set up to produce the “ready-to-wear” frame fronts. These would produce Tom’s stock supplies and would run with only the change in colour palette required after each set up.</div>
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Throughout the tour Tom emphasized his ambition to grow the talent in his business introducing us to his three new apprentices. One of these, John, had started just three days earlier and his first job was learning how to hand-polish the spectacle frames. John elaborated that it was expected to take a minimum of three months of training before Tom was confident an apprentice was competent at hand-polishing to his exacting standards.</div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3635872030302691578#editor/target=post;postID=9178020899492668057;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=0;src=postname" target="_blank">Part 1 ... /</a></div>
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Part 3 ... /<br />
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<a href="https://www.oceanoptometry.ca/the-people/dr-john" target="_blank">By Dr. John Wilson</a></div>
Ocean Optometryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16262553517392913407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3635872030302691578.post-91780208994926680572018-08-02T10:39:00.000-03:002018-08-29T13:44:26.028-03:00TD Tom Davies Factory Tour - Part 1<br />
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We were over in London, UK, in January, visiting our
homeland for <a href="https://www.100percentoptical.com/" target="_blank">100% Optical</a>. Dr. Euan and myself (Dr. John) had been invited to give a
lecture on our experiences of practicing optometry in Canada and the UK.
Whilst over the pond Tom Davies of TD Tom Davies invited us to visit his new
Bespoke London factory. Well this was an opportunity not to be missed!</div>
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It was Friday afternoon when we jumped in a “Black Cab” to
head to the factory which is close to Heathrow Airport. Talk about interesting.
London Cabbies know something about everything and our Cabbie was no exception.
Suffice to say we put the world to rights.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Before we knew it, we pulled up at some large white
industrial units surrounded by tall black railings. There were numerous damaged
Mercedes cars in the parking lot (we later found out that this was the storage
compound for the Mercedes repair centre) to our left, but we needed to find
number 1. The security guard directed us to the right and told us we needed to
be at the other end of the building.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Up the final steps we went, only an hour early, and pressed
the buzzer for the intercom. “Euan and John from Ocean. We’re early.” Our reply
was prompt and welcoming, “No worries, I’ll be right down.” The chap that met
us was tall, slim and stylish. He showed us through what seemed a maze of
corridors past rooms with names like “The Lego Room” and the “Staff room of
tranquillity,” then up some black, rugged and industrial looking steps onto the
mezzanine. <o:p></o:p><br />
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Immediately in front of us there were doors to the factory
offices and two retro arcade machines. One had an impressive array of 80’s
video games and the other being an original Star Wars slot machine. Adjacent to
these an impressively stocked black coloured, mirrored bar complete with a
couple of draft ales on tap and fancy bar stools. On the bar was a huge
Bluetooth speaker and “bean to cup” coffee machine.<br />
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To the right of the bar was
the staff area. This consisted of numerous fitted kitchen units, microwave,
large side-by-side refrigerator, central prep island with large chef’s oven and
three large tables and associated chairs. At the furthest of these was Tom,
Allister and another man engaged in a meeting. To the left of us where the
toys. Large air-hockey table covered with a huge artists canvas, a bar football
game, another arcade game and a full-size, two-person Sega Rallye game, the
ultimate console arcade game IMHO.<o:p></o:p></div>
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At this point we were introduced to some of the staff,
graphic designers, sales and admin support. As we were early it was suggested
that we should sample a few drinks at the bar and practice on the Sega Rallye
game, well it would be rude not too! After only a short period we got our
recognisable, robust welcoming from Tom.<br />
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For anyone who’s never see or met Tom,
he’s a decent sized chap, probably 6’ 2’’, with an athletic to heavy build,
strawberry blonde, short cropped hair and sporting a reasonable amount of
designer stubble. His greeting is becoming of his stature but often involves a
hug and this was no exception. He’s a very warm, welcoming and giving man whom
we are honoured to call a friend. Immediately Tom challenged Euan to the Sega
Rally game. This was too much fun not to post live on FaceBook but
unfortunately Tom was well practiced, and Euan was beaten!!!! (Only just if you
ask Euan.)<o:p></o:p><br />
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After just a short wait we were joined by Dr. Michael
Johnson from <a href="http://www.johnsonandfurze.co.uk/" target="_blank">Johnson & Furze Opotmetrists</a>, another Independent Optometrist and
fellow TD Tom Davies stockist. Now the tour was ready to begin!<br />
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<a href="http://oceanoptometry.blogspot.com/2018/08/td-tom-davies-factory-tour-part-2.html" target="_blank">Part 2 ... </a>/<o:p></o:p><br />
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<a href="https://www.oceanoptometry.ca/the-people/dr-john" target="_blank">c</a></div>
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Ocean Optometryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16262553517392913407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3635872030302691578.post-4323552658883590542018-08-01T16:37:00.000-03:002020-04-20T17:28:45.746-03:00TD Tom Davies Factory Tour - Part 5<div style="text-align: justify;">
We were then led along a narrow corridor beside the elves grotto to what can only be called “the staff enrichment region” of the factory.</div>
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Through the first door we were treated to a room full of Lego. Not just bright coloured bricks, although there was a huge number of these, but multiple specialized models from airports to zoo’s. My favourite was the Millennium Falcon and Star Wars collection, which, if you follow us on Social Media will be no surprise, as that morning both Euan and I had attended a fully immersive VR Star Wars game in a nearby shopping mall. Euan had worn his Rebel Alliance Tee shirt especially. Really, he did!!!!!</div>
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The next door was the Room of Tranquillity. As we entered it was dimly lit with LED mood lighting. There was a small atomiser emitting calming scent and towards the back a large, rather comfortable -looking, very padded chair. Tom announced his attendance into the room which brought the chair to life via a Google Alexa device. Once in the chair you can select your desired massage through voice activation. Very cool, and relaxing.<br />
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These two rooms were to both challenge and relax staff through the day to improve their creativity and mood.</div>
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As the work day was coming to a close Tom invited us to stay for a spot of dinner and a drink before returning to our hotel ready for our Independent Optometry Conference the following day. Little did we know that the tour was not yet over. We were then shown up to the roof.<br />
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The entirety of the factory roof had been turned into a roof-top patio area, fully equipped with a fully functioning bar, a BBQ that Tom’s good friend Heston Blumenthal had presented him as a gift on the opening of the factory, which was massive, a raised performance area for invited bands/musicians to play and a life-size ceramic, multicoloured Zebra. Everyone needs a multicoloured Zebra, don’t they?<br />
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Dusk had fallen but this being London, the street and building lights filled the night sky with an ambient glow that only a large conurbation can. In the distance were planes taking off and landing at Heathrow Airport but with the music playing you could easily have imagined being in a trendy Mediterranean bar, that is, if there wasn’t a frigid breeze reminding you that, “this, my friend, is London in January and don’t you forget it!”<br />
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Part 4 ... /<br />
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<a href="https://www.oceanoptometry.ca/the-people/dr-john" target="_blank">By Dr. John Wilson</a></div>
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Ocean Optometryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16262553517392913407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3635872030302691578.post-23641209367876182492018-06-27T13:42:00.001-03:002018-06-27T13:42:26.839-03:00Dry Eye - a new approach<h2 style="text-align: center;">
Dry Eye - a new approach</h2>
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<b>Dry Eye Disease </b>is a chronic, or long term condition which can cause ongoing discomfort, poor vision and at its worst serious permanent damage to the eyes. With our current lifestyle and environment, it is also a condition which we are encountering more and more often.</div>
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Dry Eye is perhaps a poor name for a multi-factor condition, there may be not enough tears present, or the tears could be of a poor constitution with too much oil or protein in them. At times we can even have too much tears, but they are watery and not very good at lubricating the eyes.</div>
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Surely tears are just tears?</h3>
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Tears are a very complex structure:<br />
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They are designed to ensure the front surface of the eye is properly hydrated, protected from infection, environmental irritants and foreign bodies. They are essential for good vision, when light enters the eye the tear film is the first layer that it must go through. A poor quality tear film will interfere with our overall quality of vision, just think how bad it is to look through a car's windshield when it is smeared with greasy/muddy water.</div>
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In the past all we could really recommend to alleviate this condition was artificial tears to lubricate the eyes. With continuing understanding of the tear film and the factors that affect it, though, we are now much better able to look at the causes of tear film and ocular surface issues and recommend personal regimes to restore balance to them.</div>
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Proper diagnosis is key.</h3>
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Our <b>TFOS</b> (Tear Film and Ocular Surface) appointments will gather many different assessments of the eye, including the volume and osmolarity (saltiness) of the tear film.</div>
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<a href="https://imedpharma.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/ipen_SUS_box_1024x1024-300x248.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="248" data-original-width="300" height="165" src="https://imedpharma.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/ipen_SUS_box_1024x1024-300x248.png" width="200" /></a><a href="https://imedpharma.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Picture5-1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="124" data-original-width="300" height="165" src="https://imedpharma.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Picture5-1.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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Establishing baseline measurements and creating personal wellbeing programs ensures that as the condition is brought under control, not only does vision and comfort improve, but we can appropriately measure the success of the different steps that we take.</div>
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Dr. Euan McGinty and Dr. John Wilson have undertaken hours of specific training and education in this field to ensure that they are able to offer appropriate advice and care. To book a TFOS assessment, please contact our office for an appointment.</div>
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Ocean Optometryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16262553517392913407noreply@blogger.com05240 Blowers St, Halifax, NS B3J 1J7, Canada44.6450438 -63.57407819999997421.577303300000004 -104.88267219999997 67.71278430000001 -22.265484199999975tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3635872030302691578.post-21572603323229547022018-03-01T17:55:00.000-04:002018-03-01T17:55:17.009-04:00MiSight Myopia Control contact lenses - part 2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik4mL8cOwn4ZuMG1iS6Xy15jOVVomL0x_75koyw8n7_26OnAIjwmaO3V8-ngINUCQHEQYI1UvPX28ycxmGPP6gAnWCV_shSc1LX2l-FR-TXgjwtJeSJ37s5jKs3ngY80A-Wy-6hOXOk2I/s1600/misight_toric_static_1700x-425_patient.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="265" data-original-width="1000" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik4mL8cOwn4ZuMG1iS6Xy15jOVVomL0x_75koyw8n7_26OnAIjwmaO3V8-ngINUCQHEQYI1UvPX28ycxmGPP6gAnWCV_shSc1LX2l-FR-TXgjwtJeSJ37s5jKs3ngY80A-Wy-6hOXOk2I/s640/misight_toric_static_1700x-425_patient.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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MiSight lenses were launched at the beginning of 2018, but the technology behind them has been thoroughly tested.</div>
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Firstly the lens material has been around for over a decade, we know that it performs well on the eye. It is comfortable to wear and stable. We also know that single use daily disposable lenses are the safest way to wear contact lenses.</div>
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When studying the lenses, CooperVision choose children from age 8 - 15 years old. One factor they looked at was how successful the children were in taking care of their contact lenses, and after a month of wear with the contact lenses 100% of the children could easily remove their contacts, 85% also found them easy to insert. Over the three year study, 100% of those that remained with using the contact lenses reported that they were "happy" with the overall experience.</div>
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In the same study, the myopia progression for those wearing the lenses was 59% less than those wearing regular one day single use lenses of the same material, but without the ActivControl Technology. Importantly this coincided with the measurements of the elongation of the eye, which was 52% less.</div>
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It is this eye elongation which we think leads to many of the risks of ocular side effects including retinal detachment and glaucoma. To be clinically successful in protecting the health of the eyes, the contact lenses don't just need to manage the focus of the eyes, but also the elongation.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnWaVenCVCpVcFWQ_3afTz4gplvtKvK677FyDrhCrBnjogNcdzWEw_pCA4nb3vGWEfvYnHMrwjuBz_KGtLgpv5QZ7igGBwwaVrJyQTCFKASpbJe0HpzB-4IivFCh9FTkhk6VCIA1vOBV4/s1600/misight-technology.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="316" data-original-width="693" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnWaVenCVCpVcFWQ_3afTz4gplvtKvK677FyDrhCrBnjogNcdzWEw_pCA4nb3vGWEfvYnHMrwjuBz_KGtLgpv5QZ7igGBwwaVrJyQTCFKASpbJe0HpzB-4IivFCh9FTkhk6VCIA1vOBV4/s640/misight-technology.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The lenses work by providing the retina with different focusing zones, this use of peripheral de-focus has been an emerging concept which we have followed with interest over the last few years. It completely changes some of our thoughts and models relating to how myopia develops, but it also provides an exciting opportunity to start to understand how we can slow myopic progression.</div>
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It must be noted that this may provide some minimal ghosting or a soft-focus type effect on the overall vision, studies have found that this is not unacceptable and doesn't impact on the overall quality of vision experienced by children wearing the lenses.</div>
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If you are interested in finding out more about this exciting development in the world of contact lenses and children's vision then don't hesitate to make an appointment. We will go through all of the information about the contact lenses, starting with a comprehensive eye examination to assess the prescription and the health of the eyes.</div>
Ocean Optometryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16262553517392913407noreply@blogger.com05240 Blowers St, Halifax, NS B3J 1J7, Canada44.6450438 -63.57407819999997419.123009300000003 -104.88267219999997 70.1670783 -22.265484199999975tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3635872030302691578.post-28721090187424587072018-02-08T16:56:00.000-04:002018-02-08T16:56:49.730-04:00MiSight Myopia Control contact lenses - Part 1<div style="text-align: justify;">
A brand new contact lens has been launched onto the market with some pretty bold claims, we wanted to find out more about it.</div>
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There is no doubt that myopia (or nearshightedness) is becoming increasingly common. Studies have shown that in the US over 40% of the population are nearsighted and in some Asian countries this level can be over 80%. With the current trends, these numbers seem set to continue to rise.</div>
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Myopia doesn't just inconvenience someone by requiring them to wear glasses or contact lenses to see distant objects clearly, but also makes the eye more prone to serious sight threatening conditions. It is this concerning aspect of myopia which makes controlling its development of particular interest. If we can reduce the risk of retinal detachment, glaucoma, cataract development and myopic macular degeneration then we can make a real impact on the health of our patients' eyes.</div>
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Currently we do not fully understand why myopia develops, although we are aware of various risk factors. It is also common to find that once myopia starts in childhood, it tends to continue to progress developing throughout the teenage years and even in to the early twenties.</div>
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There have been various different systems for slowing myopia progression used over the years including rigid contact lenses, orthokeratology, bifocal and multifocal spectacle lenses, bifocal contact lenses and even specific eye drops.</div>
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Studies have also shown that if children spend consistent time outdoors in natural daylight, myopia progression is significantly reduced, so we do encourage making lifestyle changes to try to minimise myopic changes.</div>
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All of the various systems that have been used previously have advantages, but significant hurdles, which has kept their use to a minimum before. CooperVision's new single use daily contact lens, MiSight, has the possibility of being a real game changer!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb-lYOnVTLvN4lLemaeJkj3MA0Ah3_9LWq39VpBon2a56iC1K-yianfYb3YlCD29yi-mVj24BViIQbEtH5D5ihCXVjrGF0QIWO9i6yEtXRBnOT6y4FtTuED7aOEP2dKqpT2a7KTwLa5WA/s1600/misight_callout_image_homepage_825_x_609_px.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="203" data-original-width="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb-lYOnVTLvN4lLemaeJkj3MA0Ah3_9LWq39VpBon2a56iC1K-yianfYb3YlCD29yi-mVj24BViIQbEtH5D5ihCXVjrGF0QIWO9i6yEtXRBnOT6y4FtTuED7aOEP2dKqpT2a7KTwLa5WA/s1600/misight_callout_image_homepage_825_x_609_px.jpg" /></a></div>
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So our first piece of advice is to ensure plenty of outdoors time for children!<br />
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Our next post will look more at the actual technology of the lenses themselves.Ocean Optometryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16262553517392913407noreply@blogger.com05240 Blowers St, Halifax, NS B3J 1J7, Canada44.6448998 -63.57406059999999621.5783693 -104.8826546 67.711430299999989 -22.265466599999996tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3635872030302691578.post-34172629376600529852017-11-07T15:32:00.000-04:002017-11-07T15:32:17.682-04:00#OceanShoot2017<div style="text-align: justify;">
This year we decided the team at Ocean deserved some proper staff photos. No more Instagram selfies (those filters are so forgiving!), but something that makes it clear we’re proud to be unique with our own sense of style. The results were amazing, and this is the story behind those great shots. </div>
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We’re fortunate in Halifax that there are so many great businesses, especially downtown, but <b>Applehead Studios</b> is a standout company. If you’re not aware of their work, you should be, it’s amazing! They’re highly-regarded for their beautiful wedding photography, but they can do so much more and we gave them permission to give us the Applehead treatment ... complete creative free reign. Were we nervous, absolutely!</div>
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An easy rapport was struck because we both respect what each other does. They were grinning that we didn’t want the usual straight-laced headshots for corporate clients and politicians. No, we wanted something creative to capture not just what we do but some of our spirit. Ocean Optometry has always been something more than testing eyes and selling glasses. We aspire to help our customers express themselves and provide real care in everything we do.</div>
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For us, testing eyes isn’t just our job. You only have one pair of eyes and so our exams are thorough with an unusual attention to detail, but a key difference is how we make them personal. We appreciate that you’re unique and so a conveyor belt approach doesn’t fit with our ethos. Also, you might of noticed, we <b>LOVE</b> eyewear. We don’t do off-the-shelf products with brands attached to sell you an image. People come to us for the finest eyewear, and we give it to them. On our shelves you’ll find pieces made by artisan craftsmen, with the beautiful acetates, titanium, horn, and wood. Naturally, we use the best ophthalmic lenses too. This is another thing that ourselves and Applehead agree on, the optics produced by Nikon in both their camera technology and their spectacle lens technology is astounding. Your eyes will thank you, and they’re welcome.</div>
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We wanted to ensure that the photographs captured something of the individual people, a geek, a biker, a reader and an outdoorsman; that they captured the essence of Ocean Optometry. Having traveled an ocean to get here, we’re proud of our new home, and wanted to capture this with a strong reference to the history of Nova Scotia and its connection with the sea.</div>
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After many ideas, the concept was decided upon and we’re pleased to introduce:</div>
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<b>#OceanShoot2017 – The Fishing Shack</b></h3>
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Set in a timeless moment, perhaps early in the morning, eyes full of optimism for the day ahead. A classic scene, peaceful and enduring, where victories aren’t easily won, but gratefully earned.</div>
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The sea salt is ingrained in every pixel, a sense of excited expectation palatable in the air.</div>
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Just beware of the seagull.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_rilZkrJgC8SAnHXGv_TILkOW5XvGTGNmtBUeEChzs4pgmTyzp0cJT0QurCGCHlrknrHOoaIKgQlE7EhrVoGb0jNX7MRzM56Z2BwOtSdnBbu8vk60MhKB94RAVKadBXvEj_WOQOE6j1I/s1600/OceanOptometry1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_rilZkrJgC8SAnHXGv_TILkOW5XvGTGNmtBUeEChzs4pgmTyzp0cJT0QurCGCHlrknrHOoaIKgQlE7EhrVoGb0jNX7MRzM56Z2BwOtSdnBbu8vk60MhKB94RAVKadBXvEj_WOQOE6j1I/s640/OceanOptometry1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mike Bonang</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCm95i22LmM7TcuZD4bKR6h-x5w-B6lpd-EJZ89-m_dYkh9syIWuhqUCfqyuBhRDFi0T5JULcp9A7WEDlAJCUQ7XjuPi6ThAkjWCBXRjXIpr9n1fWi6HCoNMgGJfBHLsqwwsDD2FH3WOk/s1600/OceanOptometry2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCm95i22LmM7TcuZD4bKR6h-x5w-B6lpd-EJZ89-m_dYkh9syIWuhqUCfqyuBhRDFi0T5JULcp9A7WEDlAJCUQ7XjuPi6ThAkjWCBXRjXIpr9n1fWi6HCoNMgGJfBHLsqwwsDD2FH3WOk/s640/OceanOptometry2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alicia Austin</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI84GOqfPaBW-i6A45xWjZv7ivR4IMFKk-Czs15z00QWZnW0YzHnujJxQSUZxeSx9fOw8MIGroxbXBl8nm9r7ZXz6XOsfq5F8YV0rPAAv1QbPnxSSlGjJTtdnJ-QrYHlkKtvy7cDI86r8/s1600/OceanOptometry3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI84GOqfPaBW-i6A45xWjZv7ivR4IMFKk-Czs15z00QWZnW0YzHnujJxQSUZxeSx9fOw8MIGroxbXBl8nm9r7ZXz6XOsfq5F8YV0rPAAv1QbPnxSSlGjJTtdnJ-QrYHlkKtvy7cDI86r8/s640/OceanOptometry3.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dr. Euan McGinty</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfNVFQO0XZbwbFtD8gaee1hr3DlMm7OR3V1ukBw9nF44jBEovCqastEjTNDtWSR6fq-YENJZc0AdOkh1Yi68QCKBXV4rJ3T7WTRAGeQZSzi-EyYNubCyARrxuatPH8kqQcwFtNoEAFMeY/s1600/OceanOptometry4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfNVFQO0XZbwbFtD8gaee1hr3DlMm7OR3V1ukBw9nF44jBEovCqastEjTNDtWSR6fq-YENJZc0AdOkh1Yi68QCKBXV4rJ3T7WTRAGeQZSzi-EyYNubCyARrxuatPH8kqQcwFtNoEAFMeY/s640/OceanOptometry4.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dr. John Wilson</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQrFepxpo-WjlG1W_gR95Ce_0V9VlTV4qkBA60skTzeEv72olzF7N0HXZO21ojaI0fbnS9xjdtnvGv3-qNjC-RcDU8VOUUyiCEAKGM_SHXVMDCtnlAGqCE7yVnnpGhd7UDc9i20ai_tME/s1600/OceanOptometry5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQrFepxpo-WjlG1W_gR95Ce_0V9VlTV4qkBA60skTzeEv72olzF7N0HXZO21ojaI0fbnS9xjdtnvGv3-qNjC-RcDU8VOUUyiCEAKGM_SHXVMDCtnlAGqCE7yVnnpGhd7UDc9i20ai_tME/s640/OceanOptometry5.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Outdoorsman</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUmV6m6tinDzlepDqBlvEVxO9YHi5HUyuIKt2vEqs8dJKoES2-6fB6Q0DicCTwiJe6gzw4brrAswYjL0DKYahhq7hMqmx9HoSpDLdsZWBY5Tn9-BdzKrVjViMYz2PHKZdk-PFJAiA1-zQ/s1600/OceanOptometry6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUmV6m6tinDzlepDqBlvEVxO9YHi5HUyuIKt2vEqs8dJKoES2-6fB6Q0DicCTwiJe6gzw4brrAswYjL0DKYahhq7hMqmx9HoSpDLdsZWBY5Tn9-BdzKrVjViMYz2PHKZdk-PFJAiA1-zQ/s640/OceanOptometry6.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reader</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCbaMdQaDK3_IDFgRPz9tOcQf5sH5QJChv8maWk74sGLVCwEu3m9Fp7AmKGdrovf_-QjgdSHT5uBptGVLl-DA7hw3PzIsELv9zeydfhQQAtXQTSugzOn5pYMO_26AZI64Xm2KvuJsriLs/s1600/OceanOptometry7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCbaMdQaDK3_IDFgRPz9tOcQf5sH5QJChv8maWk74sGLVCwEu3m9Fp7AmKGdrovf_-QjgdSHT5uBptGVLl-DA7hw3PzIsELv9zeydfhQQAtXQTSugzOn5pYMO_26AZI64Xm2KvuJsriLs/s640/OceanOptometry7.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Geek</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxJejULZZ93KD_PzpNYvqogWNCp8PIJRxTbHw_7vQU6kecapESF5o7lnpjGpVucpA8YZnP8x0tKlG-IUE-YAIXt_Guc0YS3vUvDIdRpU3b5RqYEKglLZlNzPdKGywaUx1qFh6UBRuLEoU/s1600/OceanOptometry8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxJejULZZ93KD_PzpNYvqogWNCp8PIJRxTbHw_7vQU6kecapESF5o7lnpjGpVucpA8YZnP8x0tKlG-IUE-YAIXt_Guc0YS3vUvDIdRpU3b5RqYEKglLZlNzPdKGywaUx1qFh6UBRuLEoU/s640/OceanOptometry8.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Biker</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Many thanks to <a href="http://www.appleheadstudio.com/" target="_blank">Applehead Studio</a> for knocking this one out of the park!<br />
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Ocean Optometryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16262553517392913407noreply@blogger.com05240 Blowers St, Halifax, NS B3J 1J7, Canada44.6448998 -63.57406070000001821.578375299999998 -104.88265470000002 67.7114243 -22.265466700000019tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3635872030302691578.post-71397214584406008362017-08-15T06:15:00.001-03:002017-08-15T06:15:25.888-03:00The Coast's Best of Halifax 2017<div style="text-align: justify;">
We make no bones about it, we love being part of the community of Halifax and, in particular, in playing our role as a downtown business. We also love being in Nova Scotia, our connection with the sea is a strong one!</div>
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Practicing optometry in Nova Scotia means that we have to comply with the Standards of Practice for Optometry set by the Nova Scotia College of Optometrists (NSCO). As such, we have just received a news bulletin from the College which makes it very clear that we cannot participate in any "Best of" award run by media or organisations such as the Chambers of Commerce.</div>
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We have only been open for four years and in that short time we have been fortunate to have been nominated for a Chamber of Commerce Best New Business award and several of The Coast's "Best of Halifax" award. Once again we have been nominated for The Coast's "Best of" awards (although as we placed Gold last year, we were also automatically included).</div>
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Having received the above recent communication for the NSCO, we immediately contacted The Coast to ensure that we are withdrawn from their awards.</div>
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We are very grateful for everyone who has thought us worthy of their vote and their support since we opened just a few years ago and it is with much regret that we have to withdraw from the contest. </div>
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We never opened Ocean Optometry to win awards though, we opened with the desire to bring the world's finest eyewear made by independent companies to Halifax and to provide excellent optometric care for our patients. We have done this without relying on promotions, discounts or specials; believing that people appreciate fair and reasonable pricing without gizmos and giveaways.</div>
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We wish everyone participating The Coast's Best of Halifax 2017 awards well, we would encourage you <a href="http://thecoast.secondstreetapp.com/l/Best-of-Halifax-2017" target="_blank">to vote</a> for your favourite businesses, venues, places and fine folks. More importantly, we'd encourage you to support the many great local independent business that Halifax has with your custom!</div>
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<b>Best of luck, everyone, and thank you for your ongoing support.</b></div>
Ocean Optometryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16262553517392913407noreply@blogger.com05240 Blowers St, Halifax, NS B3J 1J7, Canada44.6448998 -63.57406070000001819.122865299999997 -104.88265470000002 70.1669343 -22.265466700000019tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3635872030302691578.post-26060125184769611172016-05-11T16:33:00.003-03:002016-05-11T16:35:17.499-03:00Life lessons from a NYC Cabbie!<h2 style="text-align: center;">
Happy Cabbie NYC!</h2>
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Every year we travel to some pretty amazing destinations to find the world's leading eyewear of distinction to bring back to Halifax. In April we headed to New York to see what we could find. With all our appointments taken care of, evening events attended, art appreciated and tunes grooved to, we finally had some personal time.</div>
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We headed out with some personal goals to tick off, and swiftly after enjoying some fine New York Pizza (Alicia) and beautifully designed Japanese merchandise (Euan) we started to explore the best that Manhattan had to offer ... and we kind of got tied up in traffic!</div>
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A few hours later we had explored, travelled and enjoyed, all meaning that were now a bit further away from where we'd hoped to be with a deadline to get back to the exhibition centre, collect our luggage and catch a bus to the airport.</div>
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Nothing for it, let's hail a cab and get us back to base ASAP.</div>
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A few minutes of searching and strategic positioning amongst the streetscape resulted in a yellow car pulling over, Mike had his hand raised, he was the winner, he'd hailed the cab. Our motley crew - Mike & Alicia (opticians to the generally fabulous), Euan & John (optometrists par excellence) piled in. Mike was in the front, and the three remainers were in the back.</div>
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Perhaps we should have suspected something when our cabbie exclaimed, before we piled in, <b>"I AM SO HAPPY THAT YOU ARE GOING TO BE MY RIDE!".</b></div>
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Really?</div>
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Directions given, "Javits Center", we sat back and thought, well this is going to take as long as it's going to take. We all sat quietly downhearted at the thought of a trek to the airport taking somewhat longer than necessary. Little did we know that this was going to be no ordinary cab ride!</div>
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A couple of streets past, we were starting to make good time, I sat back a little. The window was wound down, fresh air was flowing. The driver had quite the thumping soundtrack going and was making swift progress down Murray Street. We made to cut across West Broadway, but several lanes of stationery traffic blocked our progress. This was nothing more than a challenge to our cabbie, who started to wave his hands as though trying to part the Red Sea. As soon as the slightest inch was given, he moved in to the space. None of this was done in an aggressive or forceful manner, but with a humble, pleading gestures and a smiling expression on his face.</div>
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The expression on Mike's face was quite the picture as well. Riding shotgun, Mike was getting the full experience of the cab ride, only to be heightened when our driver turned to Mike, while the car was straddling several lanes of traffic, and started to advise, "My friend, in life, you need to focus on the rose."</div>
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"Focus on the ROAD" was Mike's prompt reply, "No, no," our driver reassured, "not the road, but the rose." all the time with his hand cupped in the air like a stem flower, slowly opening in the sun.</div>
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"You see everything in nature, everything natural, is beautiful".</div>
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Was that the Avenues of the Americas we'd just torn down? Pausing at lights beside a Maserati dealership, maybe there was beauty all around. The whole car rocking back in forth in time to the beat, as our happy cabby pumped the brakes and flashed the internal light on and off. Disco cab!</div>
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Bedford Street!</div>
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What were we doing on Bedford Street? In the back we felt like we needed to suck in breath to try to help the cab squeeze past the parked cars lining both sides of the narrow. It felt like we were driving through a movie set, with brownstone buildings and zig-zag fire escapes all around us.</div>
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"You have a gap, just like Madonna" the driver said, staring in to the rear view mirror. Fine time to be noticing small gaps! "It's very lucky, my daughter has the same!". Never mind the gap between Alicia's teeth, let's make sure the cab can go through that gap ahead!!</div>
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We burst out from traffic on to West Street, the sun sparkling on the Hudson as people were on bikes, roller blades and long boards enjoying the afternoon sun on the Greenway.</div>
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"You must look after your queen". Now this was a confusing instruction, lots of ambiguity, but after more suggestions we worked out that the advice was to take good care of your loved one, your significant other (we think). </div>
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A few more twists and turns, ducking under the Highline a couple of times and all of a sudden we emerge with five minutes to spare at the Javits Center. As we are paying, our cabbie advises, "Search YouTube - Happy Cabby NYC - that's me!" Four of us in the cab and not one of us had thought to grab our cellphones.</div>
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We all left the cab with big grins on our face, it had been a wild ride with life lessons along the way. As we stepped away, someone in the crowd coming towards us yelled, "Hold that cab" ... with pleasure - enjoy the ride!</div>
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If you're in New York and you're lucky enough, we too hope that you get to have a ride with Happy Cabbie NYC!</div>
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Here's some videos from people who didn't forget they had cameras in their phones!</div>
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Peace & Love!</div>
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Ocean Optometryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16262553517392913407noreply@blogger.com0Manhattan, New York, NY, USA40.7830603 -73.97124880000001240.590684800000005 -74.293972300000007 40.9754358 -73.648525300000017tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3635872030302691578.post-17289298641904713052016-04-11T10:00:00.000-03:002016-04-11T10:00:09.354-03:00Wine and Glasses - a unique wine pairing event<div style="text-align: justify;">
To celebrate our <b>third birthday</b> we decided to throw a unique party, where we explored wines paired to our glasses collections. Sommelier Shelley Joyce did a great selecting different wines to compliment the different collections that we have at Ocean, here's the journey we went on.</div>
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<b>To start the evening, the first wine</b> was from local vineyard Petite Riviere (<a href="http://www.petiterivierevineyards.ca/">http://www.petiterivierevineyards.ca/</a>). BonBon is a sparkling fruit wine with NY Muscat blended with apple and cranberry wine. This is a fun, light, bubbly wine and paired perfectly with <b>Kirk & Kirk's Kaleidoscope</b> collection.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwVHRDVnSX5A5ZkxGBHuf7Q9XD0v4cJZfpU0QvFSH5GFr_lVs0ob6v-_y9Yen7fTYH1MM3OOLNa3l3ha8vvs9Yt6laveOdiMzp9XOQHkhJ811GwTIZ_Up7gcu-8R2IdfJYQvKTRkojGCk/s1600/Bon_Bon_indeed_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwVHRDVnSX5A5ZkxGBHuf7Q9XD0v4cJZfpU0QvFSH5GFr_lVs0ob6v-_y9Yen7fTYH1MM3OOLNa3l3ha8vvs9Yt6laveOdiMzp9XOQHkhJ811GwTIZ_Up7gcu-8R2IdfJYQvKTRkojGCk/s200/Bon_Bon_indeed_.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<b>For our second wine, we headed over to Europe</b> and enjoyed a German Riesling, paired with <b>ic! berlin</b>. Moselland Ars Vitis has a crisp, clean taste, precise in its structure with almost mineral or industrial flavour notes to it. What a great match for the stainless sheet metal that is ic! berlin.</div>
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<b>Heading slightly further south</b>, we next enjoyed our first red of the evening and the first offering from France - Montmija Le Bistro Rouge. This blend of Merlot, Carignan and Syrah parallels beautifully with <b>TD Tom Davies</b>. With TD Tom Davies we can blend different colours and shapes together to make unique made to measure eyewear.</div>
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<b>We continued to travel south through Europe</b> on our winery tour, this time heading to Spain. This was actually going to be our last wine of the evening, and was our second red. Shelley had wanted to choose something particular to pair well with the natural material eyewear that <b>Rolf Spectacles</b> creates, so she choose a biodynamic wine from Priorat, Maquinon. Garnacha grapes create a beautiful wine which is aged in oak barrels and has a distinctive intense cherry colour, almost violet in fact. Considering the time, dedication and precision that goes in to every pair of Rolf Spectacles, this wine is a wonderful pairing.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1oJty5-PvyIybG2fxSzoCDAoEC26sEUOWHumonf2PUDpTXAOp4VkeahAcsfayw4_1SGZKxdpB0DORt9FbB6j7pcG4VbpwGstQE8_I8qTGexhKWR6w3spUZwH-rNN9T6ib1UprCp6gRUs/s1600/Moving_on_to__rolf_spectacles__we_re_pairing_this_with_a_biodynamic_Spanish_red_wuch_is_aged_for_5_months_in_oak_barrels.___WineAndGlasses.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1oJty5-PvyIybG2fxSzoCDAoEC26sEUOWHumonf2PUDpTXAOp4VkeahAcsfayw4_1SGZKxdpB0DORt9FbB6j7pcG4VbpwGstQE8_I8qTGexhKWR6w3spUZwH-rNN9T6ib1UprCp6gRUs/s320/Moving_on_to__rolf_spectacles__we_re_pairing_this_with_a_biodynamic_Spanish_red_wuch_is_aged_for_5_months_in_oak_barrels.___WineAndGlasses.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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<b>The evening was well rounded off with</b> a beautiful vintage Cognac Château de Montifaud VSOP. This fruity cognac which is naturally coloured through aging alone, comes from the Petite Champagne growing region. Luxurious, fashionable, classical, glamorous, cognac pairs beautifully with Oliver Goldsmith Sunglasses. Just like the cognac, <b>Oliver Goldsmith Sunglasses</b> are iconic with a heritage which is second to none, worn by celebrities from the 60's onward OG is the stylish choice of the likes of Audrey Hepburn, Princess Grace de Monaco, Michael Caine, Peter Sellers to name but a few.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq9TU0fbqZB5-oBQu4WcZQrFlEMuu9Mj2AM5SZqS4dleFs4AfVbhMcJsnI4Yz5ahIrjXMuz0-CyqBAXb3SEJ0lWD2XnlRy_goJQti1ORr6bwOIwyZFKQ6NWW-0_HP4cj7cVXJox2kgs58/s1600/To_finish_off_the_evening_a_perfect_vintage_cognac_paired_with__olivergoldsmithsunglasses_-_sensational__classic__fashionable__glamorous.___WineAndGlasses.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVQEPGNm-QphbDqEV-oCx_feVNVqakOP6Ujne2IyFY5zSxPJK6rv-ActLSePKpL3yoPNHPfuKDd7KBO3jT43nmsl7iYryY-X7HzNws2TCiI3ebqRy2id8ecG942aNEppYGEhM9xZQ0Dw8/s1600/chateau-de-montifaud-vsop-cognac.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVQEPGNm-QphbDqEV-oCx_feVNVqakOP6Ujne2IyFY5zSxPJK6rv-ActLSePKpL3yoPNHPfuKDd7KBO3jT43nmsl7iYryY-X7HzNws2TCiI3ebqRy2id8ecG942aNEppYGEhM9xZQ0Dw8/s320/chateau-de-montifaud-vsop-cognac.jpg" width="105" /></a><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq9TU0fbqZB5-oBQu4WcZQrFlEMuu9Mj2AM5SZqS4dleFs4AfVbhMcJsnI4Yz5ahIrjXMuz0-CyqBAXb3SEJ0lWD2XnlRy_goJQti1ORr6bwOIwyZFKQ6NWW-0_HP4cj7cVXJox2kgs58/s320/To_finish_off_the_evening_a_perfect_vintage_cognac_paired_with__olivergoldsmithsunglasses_-_sensational__classic__fashionable__glamorous.___WineAndGlasses.jpg" width="320" /></div>
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<b>What a great fun evening </b>and a fabulous way to celebrate this milestone in Ocean's journey. We are very grateful to Shelley for taking us on this journey and for picking a wonderful collection of wines to enjoy alongside our unique eyewear collections. If you'd like to get in touch with Shelley she can be reached on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/wileywordsmyth" target="_blank">@wileywordsmyth</a>.</div>
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Some more pictures from the evening:</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR0gEwHTWytYZ0eSKn235nhpA4KYucasVd-1RWJBxT4zTIH6BRBpc_w4kPYWIHBdxRBnVTUQ1RNHalvwWm3dUhtzB_3pzmzF33-UPNb-sVm0t6qrGYXk-6HCuJoxQxfT-ArE2gQWQZ8HA/s1600/Shelley_Joyce__our_sommelier__leading_us_on_an_amazing_journey_pairing_wonderful_wines_with_glamorous_glasses____WineAndGlasses__PrivateParty__ThirdAnniversary__HappyBirthdayToUs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR0gEwHTWytYZ0eSKn235nhpA4KYucasVd-1RWJBxT4zTIH6BRBpc_w4kPYWIHBdxRBnVTUQ1RNHalvwWm3dUhtzB_3pzmzF33-UPNb-sVm0t6qrGYXk-6HCuJoxQxfT-ArE2gQWQZ8HA/s640/Shelley_Joyce__our_sommelier__leading_us_on_an_amazing_journey_pairing_wonderful_wines_with_glamorous_glasses____WineAndGlasses__PrivateParty__ThirdAnniversary__HappyBirthdayToUs.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shelley Joyce - our fabulous Sommelier </td></tr>
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Ocean Optometryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16262553517392913407noreply@blogger.com05240 Blowers St, Halifax, NS B3J 1J7, Canada44.6448998 -63.57406070000001818.9898283 -105.05843570000002 70.2999713 -22.089685700000018tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3635872030302691578.post-12689574614484472852016-03-24T16:52:00.000-03:002016-03-24T16:52:08.852-03:00What a year, 2015! (Part 2)2015 was a year filled with just so much awesomeness that we had to split the review in to two parts, madness I hear you cry, but that's just how it is!<br />
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<b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">July</span></b><br />
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So for some if you've read the <a href="http://oceanoptometry.blogspot.ca/2016/01/what-year-2015-part-1.html" target="_blank">first part of the review</a> (and it would be rude to get to this stage and to<br />
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not have done so!), you're probably thinking, "Wait a minute, they've missed out something kind of important ... Alicia!". You're right, Licensed Optician Alicia Austin joined the merry crew of Ocean Optometry in May. <br />
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Alicia came to us with years of experience as an optician, however, the range of unique, handmade products that we have was new to her. Really loving the challenge, Alicia has been very quick to learn the intricacies of all of the ranges and the special details which make them unique. It seemed like no time at all, for example, before Alicia was creating tailor made eyewear with the TD Tom Davies range. It's an incredible experience to receive a pair of glasses which have been made to measure specifically to fit you, crafted with the unique colour palette that you desire; as an eyegeek, there is nothing quite like helping someone through that process and seeing the end creation of all your work being worn by someone!<br />
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Come in, say Hi! to Alicia, check out her level of eye-geekiness and see if she can stand up to the challenge! At the same time she can't help sort out some fabulous eywear for you.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">September</span></b><br />
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This was an incredible month for us, which really set Ocean Optometry apart on the world stage. We knew that Kirk & Kirk were launching a new collection in the Fall of 2015 and these launches coincide with the eyewear exhibitions at Paris, Vegas or Hong Kong (Spring is Milan or New York). Just how excited were we, then, to have Jason & Karen Kirk with us as the first optical business in the world to see and show the collection! Very!<br />
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Kaleidoscope is a unique collection of handmade frames, colourful and like they have the appearance of almost being made of glass. These frames are made from a unique Italian acrylic which makes them lightweight and comfortable to wear.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL_LYjJCP0kQCwjjnsu8wU8sthHGIycAnjt-XglVQq4ZSOhoVzH0Q98pK0DLs-OLIR_9VDVurYWEYS-aUWzqCWPEJV8fgR2JPL6Upu0mqmqr4rQQTxpQzHrzsBQYa3ySoJd9aIyakctho/s1600/They_re_here___Jason_and_Karen__award_winning_desingers_of__kirkandkirk_came_by_for_a_surprise_visit__Stop_by_tomorrow_10-4_to_meet_their_lovely_selves_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL_LYjJCP0kQCwjjnsu8wU8sthHGIycAnjt-XglVQq4ZSOhoVzH0Q98pK0DLs-OLIR_9VDVurYWEYS-aUWzqCWPEJV8fgR2JPL6Upu0mqmqr4rQQTxpQzHrzsBQYa3ySoJd9aIyakctho/s400/They_re_here___Jason_and_Karen__award_winning_desingers_of__kirkandkirk_came_by_for_a_surprise_visit__Stop_by_tomorrow_10-4_to_meet_their_lovely_selves_.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jason & Karen Kirk - Designers / Owners of Kirk & Kirk</td></tr>
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To be the first location to show off these beautiful creations three weeks before the industry first got to view them was an incredible honour. Jason & Karen were here to answer questions and chat with people about their amazing eyewear, including the Vivarium and Solarium collections and the new Kaleidoscope range. They were definitely a hit with Halifax as we had orders for new frames even before the were being hand made in France!<br />
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<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: small;">November</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">Just when you think things are going to be plain sailing, another idea pops up and you're off on adventure again! After all of the excitement of having Kirk & Kirk with us, we'd enjoyed being part of the City Harvest and Nocturne events again and our thoughts were turning to the coming Winter and Festive Season. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">One thing that we always enjoy throughout the year is the space that our window provides for some fun displays, don't forget to check them out if you're walking along Blowers Street! Here's our pretty winter scene to finish off the year!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW85W7roG2Gq6HhFUJROuCRQsJOB1T6G5Q01wioNDcHwH1U53n4s3LBd0hkXuPuGZ_-pxNdS0j5fJY50QVYJm6FJxHrPIlhhblyKUyW2AfjXfa4CCNrs0dTU3vXtuIl7CwX38QVuVSc38/s1600/Looks_like_our__Window_fairy_is_feeling_a_little__festive__Can_t_think_why__tistheseason.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW85W7roG2Gq6HhFUJROuCRQsJOB1T6G5Q01wioNDcHwH1U53n4s3LBd0hkXuPuGZ_-pxNdS0j5fJY50QVYJm6FJxHrPIlhhblyKUyW2AfjXfa4CCNrs0dTU3vXtuIl7CwX38QVuVSc38/s640/Looks_like_our__Window_fairy_is_feeling_a_little__festive__Can_t_think_why__tistheseason.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large; font-weight: normal;">Many thanks to everyone who made 2015 such a fabulous year!</span></div>
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Ocean Optometryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16262553517392913407noreply@blogger.com05240 Blowers St, Halifax, NS B3J 1J7, Canada44.6448998 -63.57406070000001821.577159299999998 -104.88265470000002 67.7126403 -22.265466700000019tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3635872030302691578.post-5741333128592882752016-01-21T10:51:00.000-04:002016-01-21T10:51:28.016-04:00What a year, 2015! (Part 1)It's that time of year when you reflect somewhat and look forward even more, this is exactly what I did when I realised that it'd been a few months since our last blog! Oops - there's a New Year's Resolution right there! Must do better!<br />
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<b><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;">2015 ... WOW!</span></b></div>
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What a great year! As a young business we are always looking for the next milestone, perhaps even the next reassurance that we are on the right path. You could say it's a little needy, but you pour your hopes and dreams in to the business you create and so it helps to seek reassurance that they're not just going to crash and burn.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">January</span></b><br />
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The year started off in a great way, continuing to create fabulous eyewear for folks to wear. When <br />
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/xXaWp4mQfM/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt=" Bethan with her bespoke frames, before and after." border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7GJa15UnR-ANvsHgztqNLpgt1CLsstuI0llci7kxXqHlCugBWdoQabVQ8qwnmxq-EdCNDDD1-1vqJ7aSX_huQ15z-BqkuA-IkAPRJHx1esnWv1HQFW9Ub_fgTYi-4KmH_k-jUnZe8aUY/s200/Ocean_s_Catch_of_the_Day__Bethan_in_her_couture__tdtomdavies_-_before___after___Couture.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
we say create, we really do mean that we can individually make one-off custom frames exactly to the desires of the wearer.<br />
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A great example of this is shown with local designer Bethan. We had a definite look in mind, and starting with a slightly cats- eye shaped frame, we weaved some wonderful design magic using the TD Tom Davies Supertool CAD system. The end result - nailing exactly the look we were going for.<br />
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One of the great things about working with TD Tom Davies is that not only do you get to have fun with the creativity of designing the frame, you also end up with a beautifully fitting pair of glasses. Like a made-to-measure tailored suit, the glasses just feel wonderful to wear. This really set the tone for the rest of the year.<br />
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Then do you remember what happened next? How can you forget! Snow! Snow, snow, snow, snow and snow. With a side of ice.</div>
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/yhQuL9GQdP/" target="_blank"><img alt=" Snow" border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhST3y-xMg5lsJkJ82zPK-vk1VD47GVbHmLEmfcjrpyheYIvWrBMqIjT2Uck3iB3SX-LslJufmkC_Vuj0dVh5SVv6eYoKsxRRjWveoy71BkHVwC-bzJgu7ho6VrQBeulsePZBiU4dVasRE/s200/Slushy_old_morning_in_the_neighbourhood__Love_watching__Downtown__Halifax_wake_up_.jpg" width="200" /></a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/zXX-7LGQeE/" target="_blank"><img alt=" Snow" border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrDBpFr5mW_lfKdKvvN5mTQpxH1JeNy6leiTs61cZ7kCWHSCwS_JSarith912s2AH2JwaQVsxz9uWoBE47BhuKYfNHhkKrKDmEYG22_zxCtYPW-f6ypO4eN7ElmunBme9RUspHwbY1d08/s200/You_say_snowbank__we_say_creative_marketing_opportunities___SnowGrafitti.jpg" title="" width="200" /></a><span id="goog_1239234601"></span><span id="goog_1239234602"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a></div>
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The first few months were brutal and there's no getting away from it, there were some hard old days in those first few months for Downtown Halifax. Sadly some of our friends on the downtown business scene were not able to make it through.</div>
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Getting out in these days and exploring the downtown is an incredible support for all of the many wonderful local small and independent businesses that make up the vibrant scene in Halifax. If the weather happens again in 2016, you know what you've got to do.</div>
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<b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">March</span></b></div>
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<span style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/0XfOVamQTX/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCRsLykPhyphenhyphenDhWsLmWiVHQGP8Nzr20VZgXtUGdD-bCW8neF8NFMmMVtn6tV_i6v1Wyz4KWFQ7jOaW8ed9CKeKTtyvkgmUEKS4xyngmS2e5GftqZhRgvnGWMd-VnmCs1kA5aUBcMxngmtFQ/s200/LLBean_for_Hunting___Fishing___Kipping_in_the_parking_lot_at_3_am__cause_you_ve_driven_overnight_through_a_snowstorm_and_you_re_shattered___ParkingLotZZZs__WellLit__Open247__OceansRoadTrip15.jpg" width="200" /></a>On the night that the worst snow storm rolled in to Nova Scotia, our two docs (and owners) Dr. John Wilson and Dr. Euan McGinty headed off in to the wilderness.<br /><br />Well, not quite, but they started an epic road trip to head to New York. Driving cautiously in a blizzard all the way through New Brunswick, then travelling further on driving right through the night to get to New York, was definitely a moment which cemented the friendship of the creators of Ocean!<br /><br />Why were they doing it? Did they really stop to have a snooze at LL Bean? Did they learn their lesson that when meeting border guards you <i>are not</i> the one allowed to crack the first joke? In a snow storm? At midnight?</span></div>
<span style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">The simple reason - to bring the finest independent eyewear from throughout the world back to Halifax.</span></b></span><span style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">It was time to venture to the Big Apple again, on one of our buying trips looking for incredible eyewear to have exclusively at Ocean. We seek out independent manufacturers who can produce eyewear which meets our exacting standards. What are they? They must be high quality, superbly designed, well made and have that 'X' factor - that they excite us.</span><span style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">The trip to New York is a real highlight in our calendar and there is so much that we could share with you about it, here's just a few pictures:</span><span style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><br /></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5-EF0Qltm7HYsmYunxOlXfnjdeLhx4jxumEKrIYT0kJAvDPiOg4xguOL24FWXXO3xDnHS46j-sn93R57QGDl4uFYpnmJmfSZmIGK_SiQMB9biEZcaS2YCIVUo4ZNtkC3preovMklXNQ4/s1600/Good_mrning__NYC___yotel_edition__Great_to_be_back_at_this_hotel__well_rested_and_ready_for_some_amazing_eyewear.__OceansRoadTrip15__RolfSpectacles__bevelspecs__tdtomdavies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5-EF0Qltm7HYsmYunxOlXfnjdeLhx4jxumEKrIYT0kJAvDPiOg4xguOL24FWXXO3xDnHS46j-sn93R57QGDl4uFYpnmJmfSZmIGK_SiQMB9biEZcaS2YCIVUo4ZNtkC3preovMklXNQ4/s320/Good_mrning__NYC___yotel_edition__Great_to_be_back_at_this_hotel__well_rested_and_ready_for_some_amazing_eyewear.__OceansRoadTrip15__RolfSpectacles__bevelspecs__tdtomdavies.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUyh0XDuBcxAa3_hTHRLiDzKYj22hqzzzvUx5iFMQ2JqeNCivivFWhG-Y9_NeiGTZb4OGL0zvjYBzLG_42fRyBgmQNxDkPmGh-3-Y8KEErA0HLVA1RKWXN6-6Mu8duitmOV6uzK5E4KGI/s1600/So_this_rather_special_event_is_happening___tdtomdavies__Teaser__OceansRoadTrip15__PorchLight.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUyh0XDuBcxAa3_hTHRLiDzKYj22hqzzzvUx5iFMQ2JqeNCivivFWhG-Y9_NeiGTZb4OGL0zvjYBzLG_42fRyBgmQNxDkPmGh-3-Y8KEErA0HLVA1RKWXN6-6Mu8duitmOV6uzK5E4KGI/s320/So_this_rather_special_event_is_happening___tdtomdavies__Teaser__OceansRoadTrip15__PorchLight.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTUkV8DvX4MzvZa63sxznoJHrz1VZRkLeO4dArvntm90U2KYaTykKCs7riWDV1_4cVjwKTTGMgN1-4CE-xUclnatOUZBhbfdsOi7JQwx9wRB4rdnRME8Kl3QYj0Ski-OyNKM11d6e6OZA/s1600/We_ve_picked_this_one_just_for_you___OceansRoadTrip15__RolfSpectacles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTUkV8DvX4MzvZa63sxznoJHrz1VZRkLeO4dArvntm90U2KYaTykKCs7riWDV1_4cVjwKTTGMgN1-4CE-xUclnatOUZBhbfdsOi7JQwx9wRB4rdnRME8Kl3QYj0Ski-OyNKM11d6e6OZA/s320/We_ve_picked_this_one_just_for_you___OceansRoadTrip15__RolfSpectacles.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">May</span></b></div>
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<span style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggcp1vOmKdaGwOUL_vo2A6bV5lurnQutrvIOsB4JNu6RUiNLURRiFHxVqFoITHry-tIlSiVLWZYSS6bI4iZiF6aIm9ezVa7yBsIHIiLebP2z61SFCVb9HHIZ-T1rbeFqsStIJmNOnEYCY/s1600/Lots_of_people_browsing__but_we_know_they_re_really_just_waiting_for_a_NZ__MeatPie__pie_humble__OpenCity.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggcp1vOmKdaGwOUL_vo2A6bV5lurnQutrvIOsB4JNu6RUiNLURRiFHxVqFoITHry-tIlSiVLWZYSS6bI4iZiF6aIm9ezVa7yBsIHIiLebP2z61SFCVb9HHIZ-T1rbeFqsStIJmNOnEYCY/s200/Lots_of_people_browsing__but_we_know_they_re_really_just_waiting_for_a_NZ__MeatPie__pie_humble__OpenCity.jpg" width="200" /></a>Finally the weather started to warm up and, as you know, the sun is always shining on Blowers Street!<br /><br />As the weather started to play nice, the city started to wake up out of hibernation and one of our favourite events came around - Open City. <br /><br />This year we were joined by Humble Pies from Dartmouth who came across with a warmer and their most delicious pies.<br /><br />If your in Dartmouth and looking for some fine food, then definitely check them out - http://humblepiekitchen.ca/</span><span style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">It was a lovely day and we met lots of new people who we kind of new through the Twitterverse, as well as spending a fun day with the Humble Pie folks. Humble Pie is a lovely new business creating the most delicious New Zealand style pies, if you haven't experienced them already they now have a permanent home over on King Street in Dartmouth, they also have a regular Friday pop-up in Fred, Halifax.</span><span style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPvLNIz77wAB0eEQG25EiyyUaklrc6GvGWe7QvE8nbFZWdVgD5Ee0ySpkoW0mLhP2_uvkypubpSsh5fCnIWXhcbW-Ge61JnNzSk2XeHzxRc7sl21gSZIhT5lEx-Yxiws13iG8bnQmm8e4/s1600/Finally_kicked_the_last_folks_out_of_our_office_an_hour_after_we_closed__and_now_these__EyeGeeks_can_relax.__Have_a_happy__LongWeekend__folks__and_we_ll_see_you_on_Tuesday..jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPvLNIz77wAB0eEQG25EiyyUaklrc6GvGWe7QvE8nbFZWdVgD5Ee0ySpkoW0mLhP2_uvkypubpSsh5fCnIWXhcbW-Ge61JnNzSk2XeHzxRc7sl21gSZIhT5lEx-Yxiws13iG8bnQmm8e4/s200/Finally_kicked_the_last_folks_out_of_our_office_an_hour_after_we_closed__and_now_these__EyeGeeks_can_relax.__Have_a_happy__LongWeekend__folks__and_we_ll_see_you_on_Tuesday..jpg" width="200" /></a>It really wasn't long before we were starting to enjoy some beautiful evenings as well, as well as working hard, at Ocean, we like to enjoy life and relax as well.<br /><br />Spending time with the people you love doing the things you love is incredibly important, don't forget to do it. We love Nova Scotia and the fact that in the winter you can be skating on the lakes, but when summer rolls around you'll be swimming in them. </span><span style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">The first six months of the year aren't over and already so much has happened, but to top it all, in May we were also honoured to meet Mayor Mike Savage. First Dr. Euan and Dr. John were privileged to go to his office and then Mayor Savage came to Ocean to find out all what we were about.</span><span style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">I'm not sure he quite got what he was meant to be doing during the eye examination, but it really was a wonderful experience meeting him and we are humbled by the time that he shared with us.</span></div>
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Through out all this busyness we did also manage to help some fabulous folks into some fine, fine eyewear! We love regularly featuring them as our "Catch of the Day" through our social media feeds, so make sure you give us a follow on FaceBook, Twitter and Instagram.<br />
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<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: large;">Stay tuned, we're only half way through 2015 ... more to come!</span></div>
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Ocean Optometryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16262553517392913407noreply@blogger.com05240 Blowers St, Halifax, NS B3J 1J7, Canada44.6448998 -63.57406070000001821.577159299999998 -104.88265470000002 67.7126403 -22.265466700000019tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3635872030302691578.post-62640318973734027342015-09-23T13:33:00.000-03:002015-09-23T13:33:07.790-03:00Omega 3 Supplements (Part 2)We continue our series of questions reviewing the benefits of Omega-3 fish oils with Drs. Wilson and McGinty (<a href="http://oceanoptometry.blogspot.ca/2015/07/omega-3-supplements-part-1.html" target="_blank">part one available here</a>).<br />
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<b>4. Can I not just eat more fish and not use supplements?</b><br />
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"YES!!!!!!! is the short answer. You would need to eat approximately 3.5oz of fish every day to acquire the desired daily amount of Omega 3 oil. You also need to remember that this figure can vary due to things like the variety of fish you choose or how it's prepared." Dr. Wilson answers, "As with most things fish is much healthier baked or broiled. Deep frying may just undo all the good work you're trying to do."<br />
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He goes on to add, "With supplements you have the really big advantage of consistency - you can know that you are consistent with your doctor recommended dosing regime. Another advantage of using a supplement for Omega 3 is all reputable manufacturers screen their product for unwanted elements, like mercury, thus reducing the health risks associated with these heavy metals. The supplements also make it easier to add in to a busy lifestyle, whereas switching to a fish rich diet may mean a major change for some."<br />
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<b>5. So if I'm going to start taking these supplements, is there an omega 3 fish oil that is better quality?</b><br />
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"That's a really interesting question," Dr. McGinty responds, "To answer this it really is best to look at the kinds of fish oil supplements available, there two different kinds:<br />
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a) Triglyceride or TG and<br />
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b) Ethyl Ester or EE<br />
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TG is naturally occurring and the EE is synthesized chemically. Putting it another way. EE omega 3 is like having fruit juice made from concentrate and I for one prefer my juice freshly squeezed. TG<br />
for me then!"<br />
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"Great point!" Dr. Wilson adds to the explanation, "There has been various studies into the comparison between the two forms and the long and short is that the EE is not absorbed nearly as effectively as the TG. Some studies showing an absorption rate up to 50 times slower for the EE derivative. Strike 2 for EE!"<br />
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"Looking into it further, there's also some debate about the harm that could come from the metabolism of the EE type in the intestines. During it's synthesis the EE form has a single fatty acid molecule bonded to an ethanol “backbone” whereas the naturally occurring TG has 3 fatty acid molecules bonded to a glycerol “backbone”. The ethanol is released when broken down in the gut and this for many is a cause for concern. That said, tests have shown that the amounts of ethanol (an alcohol) should be safe for humans. Not quite strike 3 but that bonding to the ethanol “backbone” also means technically that the EE form isn't a true oil.<br />
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That's a home run for TG in my game!"<br />
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<b>6. Can I not just take omega 3,6 and 9 combined?</b><br />
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Dr. Wilson is enthusiastic to answer this question, "Firstly Omega 3 and 6 are essential acids and need to be consumed in our basic human diet through food sources or supplements. Omega 9 is non-essential and as such isn't actually required so why supplement it at all.<br />
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Omega 3 has a potent anti-inflammatory response in the body. This helps reduce the pain and swelling from most inflammatory responses in the body whereas Omega 6 has the complete polar opposite being pro-inflammatory. Maintaining a balance between these two important acids is critical. The kicker is that Omega 6 is abundant in the Western diet so you're much less likely to need a supplement.<br />
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So, yes, you could take an Omega 3, 6 and 9 supplement but in the words of my esteemed business partner, Dr. Euan McGinty, “You can but you'd be wrong!”<br />
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In conclusion, I believe supplementation of Omega 3 fish oil in the Western diet is essential, but, as with many things, the simple rule is everything in moderation. Obtaining it in it's most natural form is always preferred and regularity works best. Always check with your doctor before starting any new medication or supplements.<br />
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Remember, we're always interested in peoples experiences, comments or concerns and would love to hear from you so please do not hesitate to fill in our <a href="http://www.oceanoptometry.ca/index.php/the-location/contact-form" target="_blank">contact form</a> or reach us through our social media with a <a href="http://twitter.com/oceanoptometry" target="_blank">tweet</a> or a <a href="http://www.facebook.com/OceanOptometry" target="_blank">post</a>."<br />
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Many thanks to optometrists Dr. John Wilson and Dr. Euan McGinty for taking the time to answer these questions.Ocean Optometryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16262553517392913407noreply@blogger.com05240 Blowers St, Halifax, NS B3J 1J7, Canada44.6448998 -63.57406070000001821.578354299999997 -104.88265420000002 67.7114453 -22.265467200000018tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3635872030302691578.post-46493416784351479752015-07-17T14:04:00.000-03:002016-02-27T13:51:12.273-04:00Omega 3 Supplements (Part 1)<div style="text-align: justify;">
Here at Ocean, Dr's Wilson and McGinty are strong advocates of the use of Omega-3 fish oil for the health of your eyes, especially when a patient has dry eyes. We decided to interview our optometrists to find out more and answer some of the common questions that you may have about Omega-3 fish oils and the eyes.</div>
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<b>1. Why Omega-3 fish oil? Won't flax seed or hemp oil do?</b></div>
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"There are 3 acids that make a complete omega 3 molecule. These are ALA, DHA and EPA. ALA is found mainly in nuts and plants, e.g. walnuts and flax seed, but to a lesser degree in fish. DHA and EPA are found to be more concentrated in fish derived Omega 3." Dr. Wilson explains.</div>
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"Until recently, this wasn't considered an issue as all Omega-3 was really considered equally beneficial. More recently, however, studies have found that the processing of ALA in the human body isn't nearly as efficient. It's conversion to the more usable DHA derivative is limited and slow."</div>
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"Now, I'm not saying there are no benefits to the ALA form." Dr. Wilson adds, "It's still beneficial as a supplement for vegans and vegetarians who may wish not to take the fish oil, but you need to consume approximately 80% more than the equivalent fish oil supplement to achieve the same effect."</div>
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<b>2. When should I take my fish oil?</b></div>
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Dr. McGinty responded, "Conventional reasoning states that Omega-3 supplementation should take place with meals, or just prior to meals. Probably to help combat the fishy aftertaste that is sometimes encountered by some and also to promote good uptake through digestion. It is also wise not to take fish oil prior to working out as this may cause gastrict distress." </div>
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"Did you know that I used to have really trouble with taking them?" Dr. Wilson asks, "Then I was chatting about them with a retired pharmacist who said “Why don't you just freeze them and take them at night before bed?” I was amazed that this worked so quite often will recommend this to my patients and so far no-one has complained of any gastric distress through the night"</div>
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"I had never heard of that" remarked a surprised Dr. McGinty, "every day's a school day!"</div>
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"Indeed! I would value your feedback if anyone tries it (good or bad I'm interested) so if you do try this tip, please e-mail me with how you get on: <a href="mailto:dr.john@oceanoptometry.ca">dr.john@oceanoptometry.ca</a>."</div>
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<b>3. How much fish oil should I take?</b></div>
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"Now, as optometrists we are dealing with the eyes primarily, but have to remember that the eyes are connected to the rest of the body and therefore have to consider any potential side effects." explains Dr. Wilson, "I never recommend more than the daily recommended amount of Omega-3 fish oil, which is between 900-1200mg/day. This amount should contain a minimum of 600mg of DHA so check those labels carefully."</div>
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Dr. McGinty adds, "Sometimes you actually have to take 2-3 times the amount of “oil” to get the appropriate concentrations depending on the quality and type of fish oil you choose. </div>
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There are also times that amounts higher than this that may be recommended by your Physician for other health issues, especially increased blood triglycerides, but this is done in careful consideration of any other medications you're taking at the time. Omega-3 acids can both enhance and decrease the effectiveness of a number of medications."</div>
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"Absolutely" agrees Dr. Wilson, "There is even evidence that excessive amounts of Omega-3 can, in some people, increase their risk of stroke. I, for one, believe in everything in moderation so the daily recommended amount values sit well within my ethics and personal feelings."</div>
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<b>To be continued .../ <a href="http://oceanoptometry.blogspot.ca/2015/09/omega-3-supplements-part-2.html" target="_blank">(Part 2)</a></b></div>
Ocean Optometryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16262553517392913407noreply@blogger.com05240 Blowers Street, Halifax, NS B3J 1J7, Canada44.6448998 -63.57406070000001818.9898283 -105.05843570000002 70.2999713 -22.089685700000018tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3635872030302691578.post-26457193641535046542015-05-26T12:18:00.001-03:002015-05-26T12:21:26.573-03:00Contact lens wearers are all idiots!<h3 style="text-align: justify;">
There, he said it!</h3>
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A series of recent encounters with contact lens wearers coming to us for the first time has led our optometrist, Dr. Euan McGinty, to this conclusion, shall we find out why?</div>
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Dr. McGinty writes:-</div>
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The eye is perhaps the most exquisitely sensitive organ in the body, one which provides information that we are highly dependent upon. Lets take some cold hard facts - 40% of all nerve fibres connected to the brain are linked to the retina. More of our neurons are dedicated to vision than the four other senses combined. When our eyes are open, vision accounts for two thirds of the electrical activity in our brain.</div>
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There's no denying it, we like to see!</div>
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Contact lenses can be a great way to correct our vision and we now have options available to cover most prescriptions and eye-curvatures.</div>
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Over the years I have been practicing as an optometrist, perhaps the best single factor in contact lens development has been the move disposable contact lenses. Compared to years ago, the frequent disposal of contact lenses has dramatically reduced the number of complications I see day-to-day related to the wear of contact lenses.<br />
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<b>Disposable lenses are much safer</b></h3>
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Studies have shown the compliance with proper contact lens care improves dramatically with the use of disposable lenses and, by a long margin, the best regime is single-use daily disposable lenses.</div>
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I was recently discussing this with a contact lens patient who we were refitting with new lenses. This person had been running in to problems with discomfort, red eyes and variable vision with his regular contact lens regime.</div>
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As we discussed all of the options, two things became apparent - firstly, that the idea of single-use daily disposable lenses was something this patient was very keen on and; secondly, that although the current lenses being used were monthly disposable lenses, these had routinely been used for in excess of a month.</div>
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Let's make one thing clear, daily lenses are to be used for one day, two-weekly lenses for two weeks and monthly lenses for one month. That's from when you open the packet until you throw them away, it is not two-weeks' or a month of "wears".</div>
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There was no doubt that a lot of issues had arisen for this patient due to the poor contact lens regime and that sorting out the routine, in terms of lens renewal, hygiene and cleaning and also ensuring a good contact lens fit would resolve a lot of the issues.</div>
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We really were tempted to switch out to a single-use daily disposable lens, for him the fresh-lens comfort every day was great and for me the excellent safety profile was highly desirable.</div>
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<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/45/A_small_cup_of_coffee.JPG/1280px-A_small_cup_of_coffee.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/45/A_small_cup_of_coffee.JPG/1280px-A_small_cup_of_coffee.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a>The stumbling point? </div>
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Price.</div>
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This then caused quite a moment of humour as we realised that purchasing daily disposable lenses would be a third less in cost compared to the cup of coffee that he had come in with and that he picks up every day. The difference is that you don't buy a year's worth of coffee all in one transaction.</div>
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He'd never thought about it in those terms, however, with a bit of perspective it became apparent that great vision and healthy eyes were at least as important as his daily cup of Joe.<br />
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<b>If you hear hooves, don't think of zebras</b></h3>
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The second encounter which really led me to the conclusion that all contact lens wearers are idiots was a lady who was scheduled for an eye examination. She contacted us on the day of the eye examination to cancel and reschedule, she had a red-eye. We suggested that this would be an ideal time to see her optometrist, however, for whatever reason, she didn't want to do so.</div>
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I then saw her two weeks later. We were chatting about her eyes and her recent red eye, she was quite frustrated by it. She was sure that there must have been a faulty contact lens, or an issue with her solutions. She had just opened up a new set of lenses and put them in, so they must be to blame. She stopped wearing them, used some over the counter antibiotic eye drops and it had eventually resolved. So, in her mind, it was definitely the contact lens's fault.</div>
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I examined her eyes and noticed a corneal scar in her eye that had been the affected one. In my assessment this had been a recent corneal ulcer and she was fortunate that it had resolved, as they have the potential to be quite damaging, especially when associated with contact lens wear.</div>
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I discussed my findings and again we went through the lead up to the red-eye to see if we could tease out what had gone wrong. It was only at this point that it turned out that this patient had slept in the contact lenses and worn them for almost 48 hours straight - something they were never intended for!</div>
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We like to have cause and effect, and somewhere to lay the blame. In this patient's opinion it was the new contact lens which had caused the issue.</div>
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This was a contact lens which, until it was opened, had been in sterile packaging.</div>
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This was a contact lens which then had been used inappropriately.</div>
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I politely suggested that this may not have been the contact lens which had caused the issue, however, it was much more likely to have been caused through "user-error"!<br />
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<b>Okay, maybe not all contact lens wearers</b></h3>
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These are just two stories of recent encounters which reminded me again how much we take our eyes and vision for granted ... until something goes wrong. There is no doubt that there are many successful contact lens wearers who run in to no problems whatsoever.</div>
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I'll admit it, of course not all contact lens wearers are idiots, but there are some things we should think about.</div>
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It doesn't really matter if you believe in all-powerful being, in evolution, or in some other explanation of how we got here, if we were meant to have contact lenses in our eyes, we would have. We don't! Contact lenses are a foreign body, to our eyes, they're not meant to be there.</div>
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Therefore, when we wear contact lenses, we have to accept we are increasing the risks of having something adverse happen to our eyes. We need to ensure that we follow simple care steps to make it as safe as possible.</div>
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Preferably we should look at single -use daily disposable lenses.</div>
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Even with all of these steps, things can go wrong, a recent news story on the BBC website highlighted this: <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-32797394">http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-32797394</a></div>
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More information about our contact lenses can be found on our website here: <a href="http://www.oceanoptometry.ca/index.php/the-collections/the-contacts-collections">http://www.oceanoptometry.ca/index.php/the-collections/the-contacts-collections</a></div>
Ocean Optometryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16262553517392913407noreply@blogger.com05240 Blowers Street, Halifax, NS B3J 1J7, Canada44.6448998 -63.57406070000001821.473842299999998 -105.05843570000002 67.8159573 -22.089685700000018tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3635872030302691578.post-7403407202277267612015-04-07T11:40:00.000-03:002015-04-07T12:51:53.155-03:00April #SpringForLunch with I Love Local HFX<div style="text-align: justify;">
We're proud to be members of <a href="http://www.ilovelocalhfx.ca/v1/" target="_blank">I Love Local HFX</a>, being an active part of this great community of local businesses has helped us make many good business friends since we opened. I Love Local HXF brings awareness of the best local businesses in our city to a large audience and also inspires the businesses to think of different ways to think collaboratively so that we all benefit from having a diverse and thriving business community.</div>
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This winter has been a harsh one and I Love Local recognised that and the feeling that we all need to get out and about, shake off those winter blues and enjoy what our fine city has to offer. To encourage us to do that, they're turning April into #SpringForLocal month! Throughout the entire month lots of different businesses and restaurants will be providing customers and guests with specials and promotions to get folks out from behind their desks and exploring the wonderful businesses within the city.</div>
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If you take part in this city wide promotion, you may even be lucky enough to have your lunch paid for you! You could also pay it forward, when was the last time that you sprung for a co-worker's or a friend's lunch?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpQ0bSguBmmYUeSpRWlXc43rM4hZ9ftCH1R8nemHraN-pVZrvtUCV5q5cFOxFtSFgFKSbqJybZmhgLESb1cA-1gaHciNCw7i8WNmUy-rSsrEbgi-mZh6fPNMqVXaitmnpcYArvNaUDoEE/s1600/unnamed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpQ0bSguBmmYUeSpRWlXc43rM4hZ9ftCH1R8nemHraN-pVZrvtUCV5q5cFOxFtSFgFKSbqJybZmhgLESb1cA-1gaHciNCw7i8WNmUy-rSsrEbgi-mZh6fPNMqVXaitmnpcYArvNaUDoEE/s1600/unnamed.jpg" height="267" width="640" /></a></div>
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To help really enjoy the opportunity to <b>#SpringForLunch</b> we've teamed up with our pals down on Barrington Street, <a href="http://www.go2doorsdown.com/" target="_blank"><b>2 Doors Down</b></a>.<br />
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<a href="http://www.go2doorsdown.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_LEVejwwZ37as6gR7hwjbPx3rW8fPLivrkFPd-kHxz2FiM6NULww0k4UK35wsza00zi_io6uGgM_MbGI2lj_r4YJf2OnhRPT9UmckCafP6Q4L9IgWULP0NbAfVRV-hBwxUJdmol3V328/s1600/logo.png" /></a></div>
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At Ocean, what we do really well can be summed up in three phrases:</div>
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<li style="text-align: justify;">Eye Examinations</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Fine Eyewear</li>
<li style="text-align: justify;">Contact Lenses</li>
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So during April, if you partake in any of these fine offerings from ourselves, you will be automatically entered in to one of four draws for a $50 gift card for 2 Doors Down. If you're one of the lucky winners, we'll #<b>SpringForLunch</b> for you!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZu5KYIhMQe46uvrvn_-zj1ELNFoG5et2IsxFWT8VoMEchfNtydR7ycpkdGvog9Ommq77FN8Jv571Peqw5ERjGWie262h0LKsE-yFIjnmO-K9hlpHNEfU0_Z9ZSdHh_ubV7HfRWkQInzg/s1600/2DoorsDown_GiftCards2.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZu5KYIhMQe46uvrvn_-zj1ELNFoG5et2IsxFWT8VoMEchfNtydR7ycpkdGvog9Ommq77FN8Jv571Peqw5ERjGWie262h0LKsE-yFIjnmO-K9hlpHNEfU0_Z9ZSdHh_ubV7HfRWkQInzg/s1600/2DoorsDown_GiftCards2.PNG" height="320" width="222" /></a></div>
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We'd like to thank <b>2 Doors Down</b> and <b>I Love Local HFX</b> for their support of what we do!</div>
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NB - only one entry per person for the whole month and there are no alternatives or substitutions available.</div>
<br />Ocean Optometryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16262553517392913407noreply@blogger.com05240 Blowers Street, Halifax, NS B3J 1J7, Canada44.6448998 -63.57406070000001821.474153799999996 -105.05843570000002 67.8156458 -22.089685700000018tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3635872030302691578.post-34566298919946559992015-03-27T16:19:00.000-03:002015-03-27T22:36:39.935-03:00Please don't come to us!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It may seems strange for any business to say that, but we sincerely mean it ... in certain circumstances. In fact, by this stage you've maybe already decided that we're not for you - that's fine, move along!</div>
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This is something which is quite core to everything we do here at Ocean Optometry and has been part of our journey from our very earliest discussions. When we started shifting from the pipe dream of, "We should do something", to actually saying, "We're doing something", we had to consider how our office would be.</div>
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From the outset there seemed to us that there are already plenty of optometry offices serving Halifax and Nova Scotia who do a good job, providing optometric services and a fair selection of eyewear to choose from. If you want to get your eyes examined or want to get some glasses, they'll sort you out.</div>
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So why did we need to create Ocean Optometry?</h3>
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We had a need to offer something different, something new and something exciting. We wanted to create an optometry office which was contemporary, urban, relaxed, fashionable, friendly and fun to attend.</div>
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Initially we even thought that we would carry ranges from all the fashion labels and have wall-to-wall</div>
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brands covering our shelves.<br />
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We're so glad we didn't.<br />
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The more we looked into these ranges, the more we became disappointed! Now, these are just our personal feelings, if you like branded eyewear and they resonate with you, wear them loud and proud, it's really important to enjoy your eyewear.<br />
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To our eyes, though, it became pretty obvious that these ranges very quickly appear somewhat generic ... blah, even, they are predominantly manufactured by one of three <i>huge </i>corporations. They often have very little association with the actual brand they represent, in reality it tends to be a licensing agreement.</div>
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When the same few companies are manufacturing a huge amount of the eyewear, it's little surprise that they begin to appear "samey". When these companies then have sales and distribution channels which means that they pervade virtually every optometry office and optical, while owning their own stores as well, you do really begin to wonder just how something so generic has managed to create the allure of something exclusive ... they're "designer" after all. Or, at least we did.</div>
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Then we took a leap of real faith, we believed in our abilities and skills to do our work well. Now it was time to put our belief into products which also represented our independent nature. We sourced all of our ranges from independent companies, who deal mainly with the leading eyewear boutiques around the world ... and us!</div>
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Fashion's bleeding edge</h3>
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What has been really surprising is how well this decision has been received, very pleasantly surprising! There does seem to be a real desire to get beyond the consumerism of brands and have a genuine sense of providence over the purchasing decisions we make. Eyewear is no different and folks are telling us the choices we are making are good choices!</div>
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A fortunate happenstance of this pinnacle decision is the eyewear we carry is actually at the leading edge of fashion trends. The corporations produce eyewear to sell as a commodity and volume is key, they are duty bound to maximise turnover and profit for their shareholders. Therefore they don't lead the fashions, they follow and try to capitalise on them. Every company needs to make a profit, obviously, however, in our experience when dealing with independent companies this is not their driving goal.</div>
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When you come to Ocean Optometry you should find all of those features mentioned earlier, that we are contemporary, urban, relaxed, fashionable, friendly and fun. If this appeals to you, come right in. If you want to choose eyewear which says more about you than a corporation, then we're definitely for you. If your sense of style is not generic, but you have an attention for detail and fine design and products then the welcome mat's right there.</div>
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<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1e/Vienna_Convention_road_sign_B2a.svg/1010px-Vienna_Convention_road_sign_B2a.svg.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1e/Vienna_Convention_road_sign_B2a.svg/1010px-Vienna_Convention_road_sign_B2a.svg.png" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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If you're thinking that by writing this we've completely lost the plot and if you want a brand or label on your glasses, if you want a bargain basement deal, or a <i>twofor </i>proposition, then you are going to be disappointed. If you want to be just a sheep in the flock, then probably best to avoid us.</div>
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Seriously, stay away, we're going to irritate you with our friendly cheerfulness, humour, cool musical vibes and desire to make the eyewear of the Maritimes that bit more beautiful one pair at a time. You know what, we're not even apologetic about it!</div>
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<i>As an aside, when I was penning this article I didn't realise where the phrase "<a href="http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pipe_dream" target="_blank">pipe dream</a>" came from - every day's a school day!</i></div>
Ocean Optometryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16262553517392913407noreply@blogger.com05240 Blowers Street, Halifax, NS B3J 1J7, Canada44.6448998 -63.57406070000001821.4742148 -105.05843570000002 67.8155848 -22.089685700000018tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3635872030302691578.post-89313981008960618742015-02-26T12:45:00.002-04:002015-02-26T12:45:33.749-04:00New frame range arrives @ Ocean Optometry<h2 style="text-align: center;">
Kirk & Kirk - Vivarium</h2>
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This may not come as a surprise to you, but we really do love our eyewear ranges here at Ocean! We travel to the best international exhibits to meet with the finest creators of eyewear in the world. At that point we then individually select the frames to bring back to Halifax for you to enjoy!<br />
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That may sound like quite the process, however, it makes a world of difference for our office! It means that we don't just have generically styled and humdrum collections for you to choose from.<br />
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The arrival of a completely new collection is always an exciting event, and recently we had the great pleasure of opening up quite a special box from Kirk & Kirk. Launched in September 2014 at Silmo, in Paris, these were a must have for us as soon as we saw them.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0614/7625/files/KIRKBROS_large.jpg?1010" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0614/7625/files/KIRKBROS_large.jpg?1010" height="246" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kirk Brothers</td></tr>
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Heritage</h3>
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Jason and Karen Kirk have quite the pedigree as eyewear designers, so when they announced their <br />
new venture, we knew it was going to be special.<br />
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Sidney and Percy Kirk first opened their workshop creating eyewear in 1919 in London, UK. Renowned for their innovation and style, the Kirk Brothers soon became a benchmark to be compared against. Three generations later, Jason and Karen Kirk are doing it all again!<br />
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One thing that we become quite nerdilly obsessed about, attention to detail - Kirk & Kirk has this in bucket loads!<br />
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Their inaugural ophthalmic collection is called Vivarium. Vivarium is inspired by the Victorian obsession with science and nature, each frame is named after a famous scientist of that era - models include such great names as Curie, Fleming, Darwin and Carson.<br />
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Hand Crafted</h3>
Beautifully handmade in France, the frames balance a strong look, with contemporary styles and fashion leading shapes. Kirk & Kirk have sourced an exceptional Italian acrylic material to create the frames with, allowing for a unique colour palette. The metallic finish to the colours gives a warmth and depth which just isn't available in any other material.<br />
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The collection features blue, bordeaux, anthracite, brown, green and silver colours. Describing them does not really do them justice, though, you need to try them on and see how the colour subtly alters as you move your head. In some ways it almost seems like the frame is alive!<br />
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The idea of life is brought out in another unique feature that the collection has - decorative pins. Each frame features two pins made in either 925 sterling silver or 9 carat gold, crafted with incredible detail by artisan jewellers in England. Studying the workmanship that the pins features really highlights the attention to detail that Kirk & Kirk have used when creating this collection.<br />
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<a href="http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0614/7625/files/Download_Kirk_and_Kirk_Vivarium_Lookbook_grande.jpg?1080" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0614/7625/files/Download_Kirk_and_Kirk_Vivarium_Lookbook_grande.jpg?1080" height="640" width="450" /></a></div>
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Intricate and whimsical, delicate and yet bold all at the same time you can be sure that you will be in touch with your inner Victorian Dandy when you choose Kirk & Kirk Vivarium!<br />
Ocean Optometryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16262553517392913407noreply@blogger.com05240 Blowers Street, Halifax, NS B3J 1J7, Canada44.6448998 -63.57406070000001821.578379799999997 -104.88265470000002 67.7114198 -22.265466700000019tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3635872030302691578.post-48923809201760341382015-01-29T15:47:00.000-04:002015-01-29T16:02:24.680-04:00The eye examination photo series - Part 1<div style="text-align: justify;">
We are always looking for new ways to share what we do at Ocean through our social media. To kick off 2015 with a blend of style and information, one of our optometrists and owners, Dr. John Wilson, decided to create a series of Instagram images showing the eye examination in 10 steps.</div>
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We've already talked about what a comprehensive eye examination involves (<a href="http://oceanoptometry.blogspot.ca/2014/11/what-exactly-is-comprehensive-eye.html" target="_blank">see blog here</a>), bringing it to life with pictures is lets us share it in a whole new fashion! Great thinking, John.</div>
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Let's take a look at the pictures and give a little more detail as to what is going on. This first series of pictures involves the steps that go together for our preliminary assessments.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLWUY6CkOG-NFvHV_Q4-4oRjJLfrmFGOQtbaNnXrS5vL4nsTfI3Lk1XAbMKc0SwO827adJOVLtvRELEtcz2POoaClOgTQbVmG3PgvH-U-zrZQ771Hjj_9bAX-eqIiHw8hvR7vgiFXVpdo/s1600/Ocean_s_Eye_Exam_Series__1st_of_10__Come_meet_our_Auto_Ref-Keratometer.__Call_us_at_902-446-4470_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLWUY6CkOG-NFvHV_Q4-4oRjJLfrmFGOQtbaNnXrS5vL4nsTfI3Lk1XAbMKc0SwO827adJOVLtvRELEtcz2POoaClOgTQbVmG3PgvH-U-zrZQ771Hjj_9bAX-eqIiHw8hvR7vgiFXVpdo/s1600/Ocean_s_Eye_Exam_Series__1st_of_10__Come_meet_our_Auto_Ref-Keratometer.__Call_us_at_902-446-4470_.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Auto-refractor/keratometer</td></tr>
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This machine may appear a little scary, however, there's really nothing to it. We get you all lined up, one eye at a time, so that you see a picture. The picture helps the eye to focus into the far distance, so usually they have images with items on the horizon, like hot air balloons or houses. Once it is completely aligned you may see the image go in and out of focus as the instrument goes through a series of steps to gain a complete reading.</div>
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The information the instrument provides is an estimate of the focus of the eye and a measurement of the curvature of the front surface of the cornea.</div>
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The next instrument, the tonometer, is perhaps the one most people have concern over. The tonometer measures the pressure of the fluid in the eye using a gentle puff of air. It is definitely not sore or uncomfortable, however, our natural reflexes make the air-puff seem like quite the surprise.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Non-contact tonometer</span></div>
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It is important for us to measure the pressure of the eyes as part of providing a comprehensive assessment of the overall eye health. For those that are really squeamish, however, we do have another technique for assessing eye pressure - just let us know.</div>
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The last of the trio of instruments used in our preliminary assessments is the digital fundus camera.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Digital Fundus Camera</span></div>
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This last step is very straightforward, just keep looking straight at the flashing light, keep your eyes nice and wide open and we'll take photographs of your retinas. These pictures provide a great way to both initially view the retina and also to monitor the health of the retina over time.</div>
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At each eye examination we can compare the newest retinal photographs with previous ones on file, either side-by-side or even overlaying them one on top of the other. We also have filters and effects which can be used to enhance the images to assist with interpretation.</div>
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One last great feature of taking retinal images, that we love, is that it gives our optometrists the ability to show you exactly what they are looking at when they are examining the back of your eyes.</div>
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If you have any questions about any of these steps during the eye examination, do not hesitate to ask. Both Dr. John Wilson and Dr. Euan McGinty are very keen to make sure that you have an excellent experience when you come in to Ocean Optometry. Taking time during their eye examinations is definitely something that they will do.</div>
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If you are reading our blog and thinking, "Hey, I need an eye exam." then we would be honoured to take good care of your eyes. You can call us directly on (902) 446-4470 or use <a href="http://bit.ly/BookEyeExams" target="_blank">this link</a>.<br />
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To check out our Instagram feed, just click on the logo!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://instagram.com/oceanoptometry" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt=" @OceanOptometry Instagram" border="0" src="https://fbcdn-dragon-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xap1/t39.2365-6/851582_417171855069447_55288290_n.png" /></a></td></tr>
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Ocean Optometryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16262553517392913407noreply@blogger.com05240 Blowers Street, Halifax, NS B3J 1J7, Canada44.6448998 -63.57406070000001819.122865299999997 -104.88265470000002 70.1669343 -22.265466700000019tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3635872030302691578.post-9129607614267476172014-12-18T12:09:00.000-04:002014-12-18T12:09:46.485-04:00'Tis the season!<h2 style="text-align: center;">
Seasonally named eye conditions!</h2>
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We're sure that you've come to recognise our optometrists, Dr. Euan McGinty and Dr. John Wilson, are eye geeks through and through. So for this holiday season, our eye guys thought they'd share some seasonal naming quirks for eye conditions!</div>
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All of these are real eye conditions ... well ... almost all, for a bit of Christmas fun we're throwing in a fake one - let's see if you can pick out the fake one.</div>
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1- Christmas Tree Cataract</h4>
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Usually cataracts are a haziness or discolouration of the natural lens inside the eye, which sits just</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: justify;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.medscape.com/boards/user/1e1ae00e/ce653982ef.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://img.medscape.com/boards/user/1e1ae00e/ce653982ef.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Christmas Tree Cataract - (image Medscape)</td></tr>
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behind the iris. They can look foggy or smokey to look at and can cause a similar effect on our vision. Christmas Tree Cataracts are slightly different, this cataract tends to form highly reflective particles in the eye, which significantly bend the light or refract it. These refractive and reflective properties give the cataract a highly coloured, iridescent and sparkly appearance which is where it gets its name from.</div>
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Similar to other cataracts, we would monitor this for its affect on your vision and look for associations with medical conditions. While it is very pretty to look at, its affect on your vision would depend upon how significant it was in size and its location in the lens.</div>
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2 - Frosted Angiitis</h4>
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This uncommon condition gives an distinct appearance to the blood vessels at the back of the eye and can unfortunately lead to significant degradation in the quality of vision. Perhaps due to its rareness, the cause can sometimes be a mystery (idiopathic); however it is thought to be associated with an immune response from the body.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://theoptom.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10356/normal_Idiopathic_Frosted_Angiitis_jpg.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://theoptom.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10356/normal_Idiopathic_Frosted_Angiitis_jpg.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Frosted blood vessel appearance</td></tr>
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3 - Rudolph Vasculature</h4>
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A normal and healthy eye, which has a slightly unusual presentation in the blood vessels entering and</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Y8YCcDQZEWlvWWTCwxo0L8sXJMu__gksHD6r0twXG9lbNs2StDtNZXJIwc-LbQ-44Ay_B0eRaEL0cg92RM7g_dCU5NWe-UlVberMbUa6R1oO4_o_Fh27UE5nlg8uxEvJgFKRHbPaNVw/s1600/Rudolph_Vasculature.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Y8YCcDQZEWlvWWTCwxo0L8sXJMu__gksHD6r0twXG9lbNs2StDtNZXJIwc-LbQ-44Ay_B0eRaEL0cg92RM7g_dCU5NWe-UlVberMbUa6R1oO4_o_Fh27UE5nlg8uxEvJgFKRHbPaNVw/s1600/Rudolph_Vasculature.jpg" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Classic Rudolph Vasculature presentation</td></tr>
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leaving the optic disc at the back of the eye. The optic disc is the natural blind spot at the back of the eye, where there are no light receptor cells. At this point the optic nerve leaves the eye to carry the nerve pulse signals to the brain and where the blood vessels enter and leave the eye.</div>
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In Rudolph Vasculature the blood vessels all leave going upwards, giving the appearance likened to the antlers of a reindeer, and due to the twisting of the blood vessels there appears to be a "red nose" in the center of the optic nerve. No known side effects are associated with this condition.</div>
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4 - Snowball Vitreous Floaters</h4>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.optos.com/RecognizingPathology/pages/Peripheral/images/ParsP1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.optos.com/RecognizingPathology/pages/Peripheral/images/ParsP1.jpg" height="209" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snowball floaters (bottom-left) - (image Optos.com)</td></tr>
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Floaters are not an uncommon finding and often we can be aware of them in particular lighting conditions or against blank backgrounds - a white wall or a blue sky. As floaters can also be a sign of activity in the eye, they definitely should not be ignored and if you experience new floaters always arrange an appointment for assessment without delay.</div>
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Snowball floaters are usually inflammatory cells, which are white in appearance, and occur in a condition called Pars Planitis. The presence of floaters may actually be the only symptom of this condition, which is generally benign and may only cause a small effect on vision, if at all.</div>
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5 - Macular Star</h4>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://eyewiki.org/w/images/1/f/f4/Figure1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://eyewiki.org/w/images/1/f/f4/Figure1.png" height="300" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Macular Star (yellow star to the right) - (photo EyeWiki)</td></tr>
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The macula is the central part of the retina, which is the most sensitive area responsible for fine detail and colour vision. When we talk about seeing 20/20 vision, it is this part of the retina which is working for us.</div>
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A Macular Star forms due to leakage of lipid rich fluid leaking from the blood vessels into the tissues of the retina, often forming a classic star pattern around the macula. </div>
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If seen, it is important to try to identify the cause, although sometimes the cause is unknown. It can be related to hypertension or to nerve inflammation. The nerve inflammation, when caused by infection, is most commonly related to cat-scratch disease.</div>
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Thankfully, for most of these conditions, they are quite rare to see!</div>
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<a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/101523885893078427477/101523885893078427477/posts/MaUEZCVdYJj" target="_blank">Click here to give your choice as to which condition is our "Christmas Cracker"</a></h4>
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This will be our last blog until 2015, we do hope you are enjoying them.</div>
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<b>Many thanks to all our friends, followers, supporters, customers, patients who have made 2014 such a fantastic year for Ocean Optometry - we can't wait for 2015!</b></div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">Happy </span><span style="color: #6aa84f;">Holidays </span><span style="color: red;">from </span><span style="color: #6aa84f;">all </span><span style="color: red;">at </span><span style="color: #6aa84f;">Ocean</span><span style="color: red;">!</span></b></h2>
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Ocean Optometryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16262553517392913407noreply@blogger.com15240 Blowers Street, Halifax, NS B3J 1J7, Canada44.6448998 -63.57406070000001821.578368799999996 -104.88265420000002 67.7114308 -22.265467200000018tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3635872030302691578.post-11037641779327198162014-11-20T09:07:00.000-04:002014-11-21T09:00:34.793-04:00What's scary about choosing eyewear?<div style="text-align: justify;">
We have many wonderful interactions with people coming in to Ocean Optometry to look for eyewear, but in the eighteen months since we have opened we have come to realise that perhaps we do things a little differently! I'm not sure if it's right or wrong; better or worse ... it's just how we do things!</div>
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Then I remembered - we have a blog! What a perfect vehicle to explain how we do things here at Ocean!</div>
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So here's some things to be aware of:</div>
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<b>1 - We don't bite!</b></div>
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Seriously, we don't! I know some people are concerned about asking for help - perhaps we will pounce on them? We won't!</div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: justify;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmBahObLXNHA0b_yZPGM_D2jSYlhCrwwwFRD_V8iut0i84GB_MTRMBtstAVhsolyMvXFYbsnQutDTYpo-wHCno5baYYHrr1G4FSRW_UWZYF3Zd1U-_TO8tXhuZzTKLuuO5rLAYKvmoSt0/s1600/_stuartswing_perusing_our_collection_of_couture_eyewear_by__tdtomdavies__DayintheLifeNS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmBahObLXNHA0b_yZPGM_D2jSYlhCrwwwFRD_V8iut0i84GB_MTRMBtstAVhsolyMvXFYbsnQutDTYpo-wHCno5baYYHrr1G4FSRW_UWZYF3Zd1U-_TO8tXhuZzTKLuuO5rLAYKvmoSt0/s1600/_stuartswing_perusing_our_collection_of_couture_eyewear_by__tdtomdavies__DayintheLifeNS.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mike, our optician, going through frame options with Stuart</td></tr>
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We always try to make sure that when you come in to Ocean you are acknowledged, even if we are busy. It's nice to be acknowledged. We may even strike up a conversation, and that's just being polite.</div>
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If this is your first time visiting Ocean, we will explain a little about the collections of eyewear that we carry and give you a brief idea of the layout. This lets you get a feel for the lie of the land. Some people at this stage will want to then have a look unaccompanied, and we will always respect this.</div>
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It's fun to be able to try on different frames, without feeling that you are being watched. One thing to be aware of, though, is we have hundreds of frames to choose from and it can all get somewhat overwhelming. This is when having expert assistance in selecting eyewear comes in to its own, and that may not be the family or friends that are with you!<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: justify;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo6Gtl1wPqVXGUSmyc-fdQkPYh_S-FdbAzoPCPhJ9wxwhDnK1ener5yVilJtAN1Yh6K3CiI_jrHhm89KbBH1QELl4aIGIr5_ZsswlfKJ_EpLDryqPIL3DAYaNSetGFX9AjEDykF8RNPDM/s1600/Ocean_s_Catch_of_the_Day__Having_great_fun_with_Hana__definitely_in_tune_with__activisteyewear__LimitedEdition__agentofchange__handmade.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo6Gtl1wPqVXGUSmyc-fdQkPYh_S-FdbAzoPCPhJ9wxwhDnK1ener5yVilJtAN1Yh6K3CiI_jrHhm89KbBH1QELl4aIGIr5_ZsswlfKJ_EpLDryqPIL3DAYaNSetGFX9AjEDykF8RNPDM/s1600/Ocean_s_Catch_of_the_Day__Having_great_fun_with_Hana__definitely_in_tune_with__activisteyewear__LimitedEdition__agentofchange__handmade.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hana falling in love with an Activist frame</td></tr>
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At Ocean we are expert in choosing the right frames for you both in terms of form and function. </div>
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The frames have to look fantastic and be just what you are looking for, but they also have to work with your prescription.</div>
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Especially with frame ranges like TD Tom Davies where we can make a one-off frame completely from scratch just for you, having expert advice is invaluable.</div>
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We are sure you won't regret letting us help you choose your eyewear!<br />
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<b>2 - There are no boys and girls!</b></div>
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We don't have our frames displayed by "gents" and "ladies" or male/female; boys/girls ... however you want phrase it! These are collections of fine eyewear, not washroom selections!</div>
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The collections of eyewear that we carry all have unique characteristics - this is one of the advantages of working with independent eyewear manufacturers.</div>
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The frames selections that we have are not mass-produced homogenized product with a brand label stuck on it through a licensing agreement. The eyewear collections are all hand made, often in small production runs, by artisan craftsmen with years of skill, knowledge and tradition. They are producing styles created by designers who are the very cutting edge of eyewear fashion and the creators of the trends that others follow.</div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: justify;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4N1ILMKOA0p25GQEjwA7yD5elzAN5qVndv7JqM95OnygMj2zGmo9utm039o4CnzrKNZcjN3NqpH8roFlUQyCFlgt8WodeD141xL0slfXmhaJ7n7CiPp7nh6MoreXV6LtA0ANsEp2c4U4/s1600/IMAG0298.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4N1ILMKOA0p25GQEjwA7yD5elzAN5qVndv7JqM95OnygMj2zGmo9utm039o4CnzrKNZcjN3NqpH8roFlUQyCFlgt8WodeD141xL0slfXmhaJ7n7CiPp7nh6MoreXV6LtA0ANsEp2c4U4/s1600/IMAG0298.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eyewear by collection</td></tr>
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Often you may hear terms like "designer eyewear" and it has become, in many ways, an overused and somewhat meaningless phrase. What would perhaps be more correct would be "brand eyewear" or "label eyewear", where an eyewear manufacturing company has either bought a company for its brand, or has bought the licensing rights for a well known brand.</div>
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These frames are then designed in house, produced by that manufacturer and using the added strength of the brand attraction. In many ways, what was originally attractive, inspirational or unique about a particular brand may no longer be true. Eyewear brands such as Oakley and Ray-ban are no longer manufactured by the original makers, but produced by the same company. If all that is important is the brand, and this may indeed be the key feature you are looking for, then you will be satisfied with your purchase. At Ocean, however, we would rather pay for quality than a name!</div>
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Having definite collections to choose between allows you to really get a feel for the different eyewear ranges, so have fun exploring to find out what appeals to your senses.</div>
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<b>3 - Is your eyewear exclusive or one-off?</b></div>
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Well, yes and no!</div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCj_D0yPkb2Cmxy1aJERPBVi5N7FqW1Az0HkdHPUtM2Ja1xAs0uxt8NPltGlszelBjZ3UCT2wt2DvUKght3Cf0uA4V-C7Mgeivy92PAKHFr7nDv4lUyX3R_oN9o0UpVeh4d7EeFEfT2DE/s1600/10748306_773957919336435_171105614_n.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCj_D0yPkb2Cmxy1aJERPBVi5N7FqW1Az0HkdHPUtM2Ja1xAs0uxt8NPltGlszelBjZ3UCT2wt2DvUKght3Cf0uA4V-C7Mgeivy92PAKHFr7nDv4lUyX3R_oN9o0UpVeh4d7EeFEfT2DE/s1600/10748306_773957919336435_171105614_n.png" height="200" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hand made, embedded with French lace</td></tr>
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If we design a Couture TD Tom Davies frame then it's definitely a one-off frame. Some of our frames are made from or incorporate natural materials, so they are definitely one-off frames, you will never find exactly the same colouration or patterning again.</div>
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When we choose our frame ranges, we like to offer something different. Generally we are the only office within the Maritimes to carry any of the frame lines we do, in fact, there may not be anyone east of Toronto with the frame collection, perhaps even all of Canada!</div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbVcbfhFbarQ6XNsmskLA777U8g_J_DLyKooVjEE7ia7E9ZipZWS5r8LvoFCmUdyewEI57VkgRU6eCSPVE4vCCiqi94ekck8-5ZYwMriu7PAoWhrGGdNiZPlU7jTebRUdgDQ55ekYYHbA/s1600/10809775_729345313808183_414413833_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbVcbfhFbarQ6XNsmskLA777U8g_J_DLyKooVjEE7ia7E9ZipZWS5r8LvoFCmUdyewEI57VkgRU6eCSPVE4vCCiqi94ekck8-5ZYwMriu7PAoWhrGGdNiZPlU7jTebRUdgDQ55ekYYHbA/s1600/10809775_729345313808183_414413833_n.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">SALT. are handcrafted in Japan</td></tr>
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As the frame collections are hand made in limited production runs it is also important to remember that <u>it may not be possible for us to order in a frame again</u>. When we do order eyewear, we don't like to repeat frames models and colours, we always like to have fresh and new selections to pick from.</div>
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We do advise people looking at our collections of this, and perhaps some think this is just a sales gimmick, but we can assure you it's not. If someone comes back in and asks us for a frame which has already been chosen, there is nothing that we would love to do more than sell it again - that makes our lives so much easier! <i>There can be huge element of disappointment, though, to find out that the frame you set your heart upon last week has now gone.</i></div>
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Our best advice is if you find something you like, go for it!</div>
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This way you avoid any chance of disappointment. It is not feasible for us to put frames aside, this would not be fair on other people coming in to look for their new eyewear.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSc6tyvnIrOcKxMGgly-Bn4dRjS1FaBhXj1U4jV9GxCZ5Y0LrldiF0ah7omqKkfZVbw17D-sWBCMWUm6b325ucaWCTSAOQFNov3iaGcWbNa2NHPVEoYkvvoX__s6_zqZvm4vDuQ0_9OYQ/s1600/10802789_1571353046432087_748870720_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSc6tyvnIrOcKxMGgly-Bn4dRjS1FaBhXj1U4jV9GxCZ5Y0LrldiF0ah7omqKkfZVbw17D-sWBCMWUm6b325ucaWCTSAOQFNov3iaGcWbNa2NHPVEoYkvvoX__s6_zqZvm4vDuQ0_9OYQ/s1600/10802789_1571353046432087_748870720_n.jpg" height="220" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Drift - handmade with reclaimed wood from sailing ships</td></tr>
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If we are able to order in a frame which has gone, it is useful to remember there may be additional costs due to single piece shipping/customs charges. With hand made products, we also find that there can be slight variations even when we receive the same model/colour again - this is part of their beauty. If a patient has also requested that we do not re-order a particular frame we will also always respect that.</div>
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<b>What's the take home message?</b></div>
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<li style="text-align: justify;"><b>Choosing new eyewear should be a fun experience, let us help you and it definitely will be!</b></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><b>Find out about the different collections, knowing the history behind them make appreciating the design elements all the more significant.</b></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><b>Don't be a commitment-phobe! If you find eyewear that you like, then make that decision and order them.</b></li>
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We will always give our honest opinion when you are choosing eyewear as we want people to love you in your new glasses - that way they will ask you where you got them from! It's not all about you, after all ;-) !<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0w5hmZvxHXaxGOcjNu-oQfz2Py_CnzaeP6Rh8e8BtkLZtl-eyd6oW1J6GIT0AzUBzAzvFvoRmJZLDmhscBsXLxBQCk3YQGbAqKpib56OKWiA_Ooy5JN2DwZpA2nvA_qFIqE__pOMrH3Q/s1600/Ocean_s_Catch_of_the_Day__Our_man_Mark_looking_mighty_fine_in_these__TDTomDavies_beauties__Great_neighbours___sailorbupsbarbershop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0w5hmZvxHXaxGOcjNu-oQfz2Py_CnzaeP6Rh8e8BtkLZtl-eyd6oW1J6GIT0AzUBzAzvFvoRmJZLDmhscBsXLxBQCk3YQGbAqKpib56OKWiA_Ooy5JN2DwZpA2nvA_qFIqE__pOMrH3Q/s1600/Ocean_s_Catch_of_the_Day__Our_man_Mark_looking_mighty_fine_in_these__TDTomDavies_beauties__Great_neighbours___sailorbupsbarbershop.jpg" height="640" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mark coming down to his final choice!</td></tr>
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Ocean Optometryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16262553517392913407noreply@blogger.com05240 Blowers Street, Halifax, NS B3J 1J7, Canada44.6448998 -63.57406070000001821.4742318 -105.05843570000002 67.8155678 -22.089685700000018tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3635872030302691578.post-86384494715189178852014-11-04T09:44:00.000-04:002014-11-05T10:44:19.509-04:00What exactly is a comprehensive eye examination?When you schedule your eye examination at Ocean Optometry, you can be sure that we are going to take very good care of you and your eyes. Many people may wonder what is involved in an eye examination and may even be a little nervous about it, so let's try to demystify it a little.<br />
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We have designed our comprehensive eye examination to be a flexible approach to gathering a range of baseline measurements to best assess the health of your eyes, the best focus for your eyesight and lifestyle and to provide an opportunity to address any concerns that you may have.<br />
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To begin with we will ensure all of the basic information that we have for you is correct, for example your address and contact information and then we will take preliminary assessments prior to your time with one of our optometrists.<br />
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There are three main instruments that we currently use for our preliminaries: auto-refractor/keratometer; non-contact tonometer and the digital retinal camera. This gives a range of information which is useful to gather for most people. We tend not to use the auto-refractor/keratometer and the non-contact tonometer on people less than 20 years of age as it is not the most reliable way to gather this information on younger eyes.<br />
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When we gather any information as part of our eye examinations we want to ensure that the information is good quality information and we want to ensure that there is a real need/reason to gather this information. Perhaps this is a good example, at a simple level, of what we mean by having a flexible approach. There is little benefit in doing tests for the sake of doing tests, we are not interested in merely performing the test, but in the information that we gain.<br />
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Once the preliminary assessments are carried out, you will be introduced to whichever optometrist is scheduled to see you. Optometrists Dr. Euan McGinty and Dr. John Wilson are not only our optometrists, but also the owners of Ocean Optometry. With over 30 years experience in the whole "testing eyes thing", they both have a wealth of experience and knowledge to draw on, however, they are not your stuffy/bossy doctors, so feel free to call them Euan and John. We're pretty relaxed here!<br />
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The first thing our docs will do is review all of the information so far and then have a chat about why you have come in for the eye examination, finding out if you had any specific issues needing addressed or have any specific goals that you'd like to achieve.<br />
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From here on in, things are really going to get personal! We will generally ensure that we assess the quality of your vision and find the optimum focusing requirements for any spectacle lenses you may need. (refraction) We will assess the alignment of the eyes, the way they work individually and as a pair (binocular vision). At times, however, this may not be appropriate to do at this visit and we will discuss this with you as well.<br />
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During your appointment we will also carefully assess the health of your eyes. We will look at the front of the eyes under high magnification, all the time asking ourselves questions about how healthy they look? Are the eyelids working properly? Are the front tissues quiet and clear?<br />
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We will then carefully review the internal health of your eyes, looking at the crystalline lens, the fluids inside the eye and right back to the retina and the optic nerve head. If this is your first eye examination with us we will be looking to establish baseline assessments for all of these features and considering if the appearance falls within the expected normal variations found within healthy eyes.<br />
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If it is not the first eye examination we will further consider how this compares to previous visits and look for any signs of change which could indicate any abnormalities with the eyes or even with your overall general health. There are also indicators linked to neurological assessments which will be reviewed when we are examining your eyes - for example do the pupil reactions function normally?<br />
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Once we are satisfied with all of our findings, we will make appropriate notes and then discuss all of our findings with you, where possible sharing the findings with you when we can review it with our digital instrumentation.<br />
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We will make sure that any concerns that you came in with are addressed, that we have discussed any issues that we may have found during our examination and answered any questions which you may have.<br />
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Once we are sure that all of the i's are dotted and the t's are crossed, all concerns and questions are covered we will then conclude the eye examination and advise when your next eye examination is recommended. If it is within a reasonable time we will in fact schedule the appointment there and then, so we know that the clinical time has been set aside for you (don't worry, we can always re-schedule down the line if we need to).<br />
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What many find surprising, however, is that John and Euan will then accompany you either to help you choose frames, or to discuss your spectacle requirements with our optician, Mike, or to make sure all matters are taken care of with our front desk.<br />
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Even beyond this, though, if you go home and think "Oh, I wish I had asked this ..." then please send us an e-mail, contact us through our website, call us or drop in.<br />
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We like to consider that once you choose Ocean Optometry to take care of your eyes, then we're going to take care of them exceptionally well and for a long time. It's not just about a quick "one/two"; "better/worse" rapid appointment every couple of years, or whenever you remember! We'll be your go to resource for all things eyes and eye-related!<br />
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For further information about our eye examinations, please visit this section of our website: <a href="http://www.oceanoptometry.ca/index.php/the-collections/the-examinations">http://www.oceanoptometry.ca/index.php/the-collections/the-examinations</a>Ocean Optometryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16262553517392913407noreply@blogger.com05240 Blowers Street, Halifax, NS B3J 1J7, Canada44.6448998 -63.57406070000001821.4742908 -105.05843570000002 67.8155088 -22.089685700000018tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3635872030302691578.post-25305378472007690852014-09-13T15:39:00.000-03:002014-09-15T11:26:21.078-03:00Dry Eye - an interview with our optometristsDry eye complaints are something both our optometrists, Dr. John Wilson and Dr. Euan McGinty are seeing more and more of in their day to day consultations.<br />
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With people spending more time doing visually intensive tasks, working on computer screens for extended periods and working in environments with controlled atmospheres which are often dry, it is perhaps not surprising that it is becoming an increasingly common complaint.<br />
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<b>Therefore, we decided to quiz our doctors a little further about dry eyes.</b><br />
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"While the symptoms of dry eyes can be very frustrating", John says, "the clinical issues associated with it can be equally significant. A dry eye can often be a compromised eye and therefore more vulnerable to infections or even scar tissue formation. These both can further complicate the picture and early intervention to provide long term management really is key."<br />
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"If you suffer from dry eyes, which can often be recognised through its signs and symptoms, then it is important to have it properly assessed so that we can give you the correct advice specific to your condition."<br />
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"This is important", Euan adds, "not all dry eyes are the same. From that point of view we often have people whose symptoms can range from a burning/gritty sensation, an itchy sensation, to just some discomfort. What is surprising is we also have patients whose eyes are watering, they can find it strange when we start to talk about 'dry eyes'."<br />
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"Looking at the eyes, patients can present with red eyes or inflammation of the tissues of the eye and eyelids, at other times the eye looks quiet and healthy, but the symptoms are all there. From this point of view dry eyes can be an incorrect label, really we are talking about the tear film not functioning properly."<br />
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"When we are performing a dry eye assessment we will be looking at all of these factors, taking into account the symptoms, the appearance of the eye and the tear film and the quality and quantity of tears present. This will help us to arrive at a care plan which is individual and appropriate for each patient."<br />
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"I can't agree more", adds John. "This really isn't a one-size-fits-all type condition. With an appropriate manage plan, the condition can often be turned completely around. It does take effort and commitment from both the patient and ourselves, especially in the early days and weeks. When we review patients and compare their initial metrics to those after appropriate management, the improvements can be marked."<br />
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"This can translate into real world differences, not just in their comfort, but also in their quality of vision."<br />
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<b>We asked, is there any general advice which could be helpful?</b><br />
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Euan replied, "It's hard to be general, but there are some things which I do keep going back to. <br />
<a href="http://candorvision.com/wp-content/themes/candorvision/img/hylo_thumbnail.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://candorvision.com/wp-content/themes/candorvision/img/hylo_thumbnail.png" height="320" width="195" /></a> Firstly, not all artificial tears are the same. It is important to find one which works well for you, although I would say that preservative free artificial tears are generally all better than others."<br />
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"There may be an element of trial and error to begin with, however, my go-to artificial tear at the moment is one called "Hylo". This contains an excellent agent for nourishing and protecting the eye, Sodium Hyaluronate, which is found naturally in the tear film. It comes in unique bottle allowing it to be both preservative free and usable for up to six months from first opening."<br />
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We have found this to be so successful we have decided to stock it in our office to make it easier to find, it is available at pharmacies and drug stores, however, some patients did comment that it was difficult to find.<br />
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As Hylo is preservative free it is also suitable for contact lens wearers to use, even with their contact lenses in. So if you find that your contact lenses dry out your eyes or have difficulty in handling your lenses at the end of the day, this may just be the solution you are looking for.<br />
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"There are two things I keep coming back to as well," responds John, "Omega-3 fish oils and an eye mask"<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_7GF0CQtmrr4rdqPqWzaPCampJyLo653Kki0e480bFaKxUvPQ8y-9Ccy4dH0BUOCZD8NVBMD0yAZNTSY8s8Upy_0HwXXQ4Pb3yLlgsk8jia-Cv0wrx_l3zzh-JX3S4uHvQrlv0Ra6RlE/s1600/Tired_of_using_a_wet_facecloth_for_your_dry_eye_compress_We_have_just_the_thing__Introducing_the_Thera_Pearl_Eye_Mask._Available_now_at_Ocean_Optometry..jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_7GF0CQtmrr4rdqPqWzaPCampJyLo653Kki0e480bFaKxUvPQ8y-9Ccy4dH0BUOCZD8NVBMD0yAZNTSY8s8Upy_0HwXXQ4Pb3yLlgsk8jia-Cv0wrx_l3zzh-JX3S4uHvQrlv0Ra6RlE/s1600/Tired_of_using_a_wet_facecloth_for_your_dry_eye_compress_We_have_just_the_thing__Introducing_the_Thera_Pearl_Eye_Mask._Available_now_at_Ocean_Optometry..jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dr. John Wilson using a Thera Pearl Eye Mask</td></tr>
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"The Omega-3 supplements have been shown to be useful in helping manage dry eye conditions, it is important to choose the fish oil, however, and not the flax seed oil (which may have other benefits). There are certain things to look for, so a little research is definitely useful to ensure it will fit in with your needs and lifestyle."<br />
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"Eye masks are a great resource for patients with dry eyes. We recommend the Thera Pearl eye mask and again have decided to always have it available here at Ocean, as we were so impressed. It can be used for both warm compresses, to help open up the meibomian glands and improve their function, and cold compresses, to help calm down an angry and inflamed eye. I have been so impressed with this simple product that I have one at home for myself to use!"<br />
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John concludes, "While this advice may not be for every patient, it may be beneficial for many patients and, at times, I do wonder if we should all be performing eye-lid cleaning and warm compresses as part of our daily routine, like brushing and flossing our teeth."<br />
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One final piece of advice from both or our optometrists: Don't forget the <b>20</b>/<b>20</b>/<b>20 </b>rule - for every <b>20 </b>minutes you are using your computer (or tablet/smartphone) you need to look at something <b>20 </b>feet away for at least <b>20 </b>seconds.<br />
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If you have any concerns about dry eye, please feel free to make an appointment. The first step is a comprehensive eye examination to rule out other factors and then, if appropriate, we can schedule a dry eye assessment appointment.<br />
<br />Ocean Optometryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16262553517392913407noreply@blogger.com0Halifax, NS, Canada44.6488625 -63.575319644.4671425 -63.8994161 44.8305825 -63.2512231