Iowa EyeCare is committed to giving our patients the very best services and products, including high quality eyeglasses and prescription lenses.  This includes High Index options for lighter, thinner lenses that improve the comfort and function of your glasses. 

Iowa EyeCare has new high-index materials that bend light more efficiently than the conventional plastic lenses. This means less material can be used in high-index lenses to correct the same amount of prescription. 

What is index of refraction? 

For Nerds Only

The index of refraction of a lens is a measure of ability to bend light.   Index of refraction is determined by the material in which it is made.  For the nerds reading this, you’ll be interested to know the refractive index equation: Refractive Index = velocity of light in a vacuum / velocity of light in medium… the bottom line… the higher the refractive index of a lens material, the thinner a corrective lens can be made.  

High Index (left) verses Conventional Plastic (right)

The higher your prescription, the more important high-index material becomes.  Iowa EyeCare also recommends this material for certain frame styles.  Ask the expert frame stylists at Iowa EyeCare about high index lenses in your next pair of glasses. 

Iowa EyeCare is located in Cedar Rapids, Marion, and Robins, Iowa.  Click here to schedule an appointment with one of our talented eye doctors.

I was listening to Iowa Public Radio when this broadcast caught my attention.  It is about a boy from Waterloo, Iowa, seeking care for Batten Disease at the University of Iowa in Iowa City.

 Nick’s Story

Nicholas Wellner

                           
On February 11, 2008, at the age of six, Nicholas Wellner was diagnosed with Infantile Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinosis or easier said, Batten Disease.  Batten Disease is an inherited, degenerative neurological disease that mostly affects young children.  At this time there is no cure or treatment and the disease is always fatal.

Nicholas has always been our most energetic child!  We always loved to watch him play football with his brother in our back yard.  With his energy and strength we thought we had the next NFL star.  Unfortunately, that has all changed.
Currently, Nicholas has lost most of his vision, he has daily behavioral challenges and has slight memory and learning difficulties.  But what lies in Nick’s future is even more heart wrenching.  He will eventually begin to have seizures, his memory loss will become greater and finally he will loose his mobility. 

Nicholas’ life expectancy is late teens to early 20’s. 

With continued awareness and fundraising efforts, we know we will find A Cure for Nick!

Click to listen to the newscast: Iowa researchers working on Batten Disease

Click to learn more about Batten Disease: Batten Disease Research Association

By Dr. Ryan W. Nelson

A baby’s first eye exam is essential to rule out congenital cataracts and other neonatal eye conditions.  If these problems are not detected soon after birth, vision will not develop properly.  The eye doctors at Iowa EyeCare  recommend that even if no eye or vision problems are apparent, at about age 6 months, you should take your baby to your doctor of optometry for his or her first thorough eye examination.

All newborn babies have poor vision, about 20/400 (the top letter on the eye chart).  Color vision, visual details, eye movement skills and depth perception, improve during the first few months of life.

The American Optometric Association and the doctors at Iowa EyeCare agree that parents should watch for signs of eye or vision problems and engage their child in age-appropriate visual activities:

There are many things parents can do to help their baby’s vision develop properly. The following are some examples of age-appropriate activities that can assist an infant’s visual development.

Birth to four months

• Use a nightlight or other dim lamp in your baby’s room.
• Change the crib’s position frequently and change your child’s position in it.
• Keep reach-and-touch toys within your baby’s focus, about eight to twelve inches.
• Talk to your baby as you walk around the room.
• Alternate right and left sides with each feeding.

Five to eight months

• Give the baby plenty of time to play and explore on the floor.
• Provide plastic or wooden blocks that can be held in the hands.
• Play patty cake and other games, moving the baby’s hands through the motions while saying the words aloud.

Nine to twelve months

• Play hide and seek games with toys or your face to help the baby develop visual memory.
• Name objects when talking to encourage the baby’s word association and vocabulary development skills.
• Encourage crawling and creeping.

One to two years

• Roll a ball back and forth to help the child track objects with the eyes visually.
• Give the child building blocks and balls of all shapes and sizes to play with to boost fine motor skills and small muscle development.
• Read or tell stories to stimulate the child’s ability to visualize and pave the way for learning and reading skills.

If you have additional questions or concerns regarding your newborn, contact the eye doctors at Iowa EyeCare now.  Our phone number is 319-377-2222.  We have office locations in Cedar Rapids, Marion, and Robins, Iowa.

Eye Trivia:

Good eye muscle skills are a critical part of having good vision.  Eye muscles work as a team to help us track moving objects as well as fixate on still targets. They help us in nearly every task throughout the day; tasks such as reading, driving, watching TV, or pouring a cup of coffee.

Did You Know?  Eye movement is controlled by SIX different muscles!  Eye muscles controlling movement are located behind the eye.  You won’t see them looking in the mirror.  Each muscle is attached to the globe of the eye on one end and to the bony orbit at its opposite end.

The Eye Muscles

The eye muscle names:

• Superior Rectus
• Inferior Rectus
• Lateral Rectus
• Medial Rectus
• Superior Oblique
• Inferior Oblique

As you may already know, muscles shorten when they are stimulated to contract.  Therefore it makes sense that the superior rectus moves the eye upward.  The inferior rectus moves the eye downward, the medial and lateral recti move the eye in and out, respectively.  The superior and inferior oblique muscles help the rectus muscles and allow for torsional rotation of the eye.

If you or your child has a problem with the eye muscles in any way will limit visual function and can lead to many problems, including double vision and poor binocularity.  Assessment of the eye muscles is included with examination at Iowa EyeCare.

Contact us in Marion, Robins, or Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for an appointment.

If you have a question about eyes or vision, leave a comment