Depth Perception Training

Depth perception training is very important in improving eyesight for patients who spend a lot of time on the computer. Specifically, if people are involved in Esports and gaming, they need to focus on many parts of the screen and adjust their eyes quickly.
Rancho Cucamonga Optometric 7211 Haven Ave, Ste A Rancho Cucamonga, California 91701 (909) 980-3535 http://www.ranchoeyedoctor.com/

The Importance of Frame Adjustment

Making sure your frames sit correctly on your face is an important part of our office staff duties.

Rancho Cucamonaga Optometric Center (909) 980-3535 7211 Haven Ave, Ste A
Rancho Cucamonga, California 91701

Severe Glaucoma

Treating a severe case of Glaucoma.
Rancho Cucamonga Optometric Center 7211 Haven Ave, Ste A Rancho Cucamonga, California 91701 (909) 980-3535 www.ranchoeyedoctor.com

Purchasing Glasses

When you buy your glasses in our office our staff is highly trained on how the frames should fit your face, and if your prescription will fit in the frames.

Rancho Cucamonga Optometric Center
7211 Haven Ave, Ste A
Rancho Cucamonga, California 91701
(909) 980-3535

http://www.ranchoeyedoctor.com
Optometrist · Sunglasses & Eyewear Store · Optician

Long Time Patients

Thank you to our long time patients. Seeing the generations of families visit my practice is always such a great experience.

Rancho Cucamonga Optometric Center
7211 Haven Ave. Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91701
(909) 980-3535

Blue Light Lens Filter

Our blue light lens filter helps block the blue light that comes from smart devices and computer screens.
Rancho Cucamonga Optometric Center

7211 Haven Ave. Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730

Gary V. Inspiration

I take a lot of inspriation from Gary Vaynerchuck and his videos. I apply his principals in my daily life.

Do you suffer from headaches?

A patient came into my office suffering from headaches and blurred vision. After an examination, I referred her to another doctor to found out she had an aneurysm. Our teamwork helped save this patients' life and secure a healthy future.

Contact Lens Healing

When there is a scratch on the cornea, often times we can apply a contact lens bandaid which will allow the eye to heal itself.

Rancho Cucamonga, California

A patient recently complained of dry eye and his other optometrists were not helping. We tested out a new eye drop for him and he felt relief immediately. 

Keratoconus

Keratoconus, a condition in which the clear tissue on the front of the eye (cornea) bulges outward.

Eye Infection Gone Bad

A contact lens patient called my office saying she was recently treated medically at an urgent care center  for an eye infection last week.  She was given a basic antibiotic and did not return for care.  She noticed the vision was getting worse.  She called my office (for the first time) about a week later and my staff told her she needed to be seen in our office immediately.  When we examined her she couldn’t even see the big E with her glasses.  Worse, though, was that she had a dense, central corneal scar.  We immediately contacted her insurance company and we referred her to the emergency room immediately at a local hospital where it was stated she needed to seen an ophthalmologist and preferably, a corneal specialist.

The take home point is that if you’re treated at urgent care for an eye infection, you need to be followed up by an optometrist or ophthalmologist to rule out progression of the disease.  We are hoping that there isn’t any permanent loss of vision with this patient.

- Dr. Robert Rothbard

Another Great Reason For Practicing Optometry

A couple of days ago, a seven-year-old boy came in for an eye examination.  The mom came in with information from the school nurse as well as the history of her son.  The nurse at the school said the boy’s distance vision was about 20/50 and he had a lot of trouble focusing up close.  There was also a history of a non-malignant growth on the brain.  The mom said even though her son was in second grade, he was only reading at kindergarten level.  The school was developing a special individualized plan for his education.

When I examined the patient, I found him to be 20/20 in each eye and he responded to questions exceedingly well.  He perceived him to be very intelligent, well spoken and probably very frustrated.  When I checked his focusing ability at near (around 12″), he had a very poor focusing system.  I held a pair of lenses in front of him and checked his reading.  To the almost shock of the mother and my surprise, his reading ability was tremendously improved.  Most young patients don’t have this type of focusing deficit and response to this type of prescription,  but this patient did.

I get so excited when we are able to make such a dramatic change in an individual’s vision as well as performance.  I am looking forward to following up with this patient.

- Dr. Robert Rothbard

Prisms to Correct Vision

A patient of mine came in with her friend. She was 20/20 – no need for Prescription. Did a peripheral vision test and notice she could not see anything to the right of her nose while each eye was covered separately. She was not blind, or blurred, she had no vision.

With her left eye covered she could not see anything to the right of her nose. With her right eye covered, she could see nothing on the right of the nose.

No right field of vision…so that tells you it’s the brain. As it turns out she had brain surgery for another condition, and that surgery resulted this condition.

]Maybe the fibers that that lead from her eye to the back of the brain were severed. They performed a brain scan, they determined that there was an aneurysm. We gave her specialized glasses, known as prisms that shifted her world from left To right. It does not correct the vision, but just shifts them.

Her life was restored. She was able to drive, read, and work. Her quality of life improved dramatically.

Facts

1. Vision Loss may involve certain parts of the visual field

2. Loss of ¼ to ½ of vision field are common head injuries or tumors.

3. Prism lenses re-orientate the eyes into seeing ordinary

Part Science, Part Art, All Heart

A dentist in the Inland Empire used these words to describe his profession.  I feel they really apply to optometry.  A major part of our profession of course deals with “science.”  Development in lens styles, treating disease and measuring visual findings has improved due to developments in science.  In dealing with the “art” however, we are dealing with the human mind, 2+ 2 doesn't always equal 4.  If it did, there would be one best contact lens, one best style for frames, and basically we would never have to redo someone’s glasses due to comfort.  We would just put them in front of a computer and it would come out with a prescription and it would be perfect.  This does not exist.  Also, there is not just one great drug or treatment for a disease.  The “art” part comes from experience and listening to the patient.  When you deal with a patient, everyone is an individual and you must as a practitioner, accommodate and interpret the findings around the patient.

The “heart” part of the statement is particularly true in optometry.  Nobody cares what you know until they know that you care (an old proverb).  There is a lot of empathy surrounding my profession, or at least there should be.  You have to listen to the wants and needs of a patient.  This could never be ascertained by just a computer finding or just asking, “which is better, one or two?”  Just the fact that you show care for a patient could make the difference whether your treatment is successful.  Patients want to be listened to and feel their concerns are being addressed and considered and as individuals, they want to be valued.

- Dr. Robert Rothbard 

Testimonial – 1/13/2014

Dr Rothbard,
I would like to personally thank you for your efforts and for going out of your way for me and a lot of your patients. I am in the healthcare field myself and I do know that it’s very rare to find a healthcare professional who goes out of their way for a patient. I walked into your office last week Friday after reading great reviews about you and your staff on Yelp and I briefly spoke to Katie and a gentleman at the front desk. They were both very helpful and took the time to listen to me and talk to me about my current issue with my PPO insurance. Katie was awesome and very attentive! After talking to them about my condition and insurance problems, they took down my number and told me that I should expect a call back on Monday. Little did I know that YOU will be calling me and leaving me a personal message on my cel phone about where to go to get RGP lenses fitted. Even though you knew that you were not going to be able to provide me with services, you still went out of your way to call me and tell me who to go to. I want to use this opportunity to thank you. As a health care provider in the inland empire, I am constantly encountering patients who are looking for the “best” doctors. Just so you know, you have topped my list of “best” optometrists in the IE due to your human touch and personable approach. I will be referring everyone that’s looking for an optometrist to you. Also, please look out for my review on Yelp.Thank you and I’ll be sure to tell my referrals to let you know that “Joe sent you” when they come your way.

Best regards,

Joe

A Human Factor

I so enjoy optometry.  For me, it’s great being in my own practice.  One of the most enjoyable parts is that I could get to know many of my patients.  They’re not just another set of eyeballs.  I have seen many of the patients who started as primary school age individuals reach college and adulthood.  I have also seen patients who have retired and they relate to what they’re doing.  Many times these patients will tell me what’s going on with their family or friends.  I really feel good that they've entrusted me with such a vital part of their life, their vision.

We, as optometrists, play a very important part in our patients’ lives.  In certain cases, the care we render could be life saving.  Also, more common, is that we can improve their quality of life through our care.  When a number of my patients state that they love coming into the office, I really feel great.  It so makes me feel that I’ve chosen a great profession.  This is even more to the point as I knew I wanted to be an optometrist as early as my junior year in high school.

- Dr. Robert Rothbard 

There’s More To Vision Than Just 20/20

When examining patients for glasses and contact lenses, being able to have those patients see clearly with the prescription is of course very important.  I recently prescribed a pair of glasses for a patient whose comment was, “I feel like my jaw is unclenching when I put these on.”  This is because the eyes did not work well together and when I prescribed a lens called “prism,” it helped the eyes to work better with each other.  In another case, I was doing vision training with a college football player.  His comment was “that everything looked as it was unfolding a lot more slowly implying that he was able to react to a situation on the field more quickly.

 Making sure the patient receives a pair of glasses that takes care of the task is important.  So many patients older than 45 need bifocal lenses so they can see distance and near.  If they’re working a desktop computer with the screen at eye level as well at a different distance than their normal reading, could lead to a lot of neck, shoulder or eyestrain.  Usually a separate pair of glasses needs to prescribed for this situation. The same thing goes for an electrician who often times has to look at close up detail above his head.  In this case, we have to put a bifocal lens both below the center and above the center of straight away vision.  Even though these glasses don’t look pretty, for some patients who have this demand, they’re very functional.

Also, many times a child will have 20/20 vision at distance and near but still have a learning problem that’s visually related.  Sometimes glasses alone will help remedy the problem and sometimes you also need vision training.  This is sometimes overlooked by the practitioner.

 These are just a few examples of  patients who may have 20/20 either with glasses or without who still may have vision problems.

- Dr. Robert Rothbard 

Vision Training Case

I started working with a young individual in his freshman year in college.  His main complaint was that he was having trouble taking in the whole playing field when he was looking at one particular player.  Even though the patient suffered from an eye injury two years ago, there was no organic problem with the eye.

 I started doing vision training on him.  Yesterday, he related that all the action on the football field looked as if it were slower.  In other words, his reaction time was a look quicker.  Also, he said his receptions (ability to catch the ball) from the quarterback improved markedly.  Needless to say, he was very happy.

 Vision training has so many applications.  These include individuals who have problems keeping their place reading or get headaches while doing near tasks including reading from text, desktops, laptops, or mobile devices.  It also includes people who have poor depth perception or poor hand-eye coordination.

For more information you can view our video on YouTube under our YouTube channel, robertrothbardod.

- Dr. Robert Rothbard 

Pain In The Neck and Shoulders

What does neck and shoulder pain have to do with an optometric blog?  The answer deals with individuals wearing bifocals who work with desk top computers.  When bifocals are prescribed, they’re usually for reading through the bottom part at lap level and looking at the distance through the top part.  If a person is viewing a computer that’s at eye level, in order to use the bifocal, they’ll have to tilt their head back and generally lean into the screen.  Hence the neck and back pain.  Also it’s critical that the eye doctor ask the patient about their work station.  That includes if there are multiple monitors and what distance the user is from the monitor and what the monitor’s height is..  Also the age factor is important.  There’s a big difference in prescribing for the first time bifocal wearer who is 43 years old vs the bifocal wearer who is in their 50s or older.

 Here’s just one example Let’s say we have a 55 year old individual who is looking at a monitor about 22 inches away and at eye level and viewing text at 16 inches.  I will often times prescribe a bifocal (or no line progressive lens) with the top part of the  prescription for 22 inches and the bottom part of the prescription for reading.  The patient needs to know that this pair of glasses is only for work and that it will blur out distance.  The patient here could sit back and view the monitor with out having to alter their posture.

In future blogs we’ll discuss contact lenses and viewing a monitor.

- Dr. Robert Rothbard