If we suspect an ocular condition or disease,
we will immediately schedule or perform
diagnostic tests to determined our next steps.
Questions?please contact us at
(805) 388-9500
or email us.
We have made some changes to our office protocols and procedures, all of which to keep the health and safety for our staff, doctors, patients and community of utmost concern. We want to address your vision and eye health needs as soon as possible.
We are open and following ADA, CDC, and OSHA recommendations to look after your health and your vision, and we appreciate and THANK YOU for your patience during these verytrying times.
FOR YOUR SAFETY, SOCIAL DISTANCING AND MASKS ARE REQUIRED AT ALL TIMES.
We hope you and your family are in good health. We want to assure you that we are taking specific measures, in addition to our thorough infection control procedures, in order to keep you, our eye care team, and our community safe from the spread of COVID-19. The safety and well-being of our patients and eye care team continues to be our priority. Our office looks a little different now in order to comply with the recommendations made by the ADA, the CDC, and OSHA.
• Wear a mask
• Wash hand with soap & water for at least 20 seconds
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.
• Avoid close contact with people that are sick.
• Stay home when you are sick.
• Cover your cough or sneeze into a tissue, then throw away.
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.
• Ensure employees have ample facilities to wash their hands.
PROTECT YOURSELF AND YOUR FAMILY
Covering your mouth when you cough or sneeze with your elbow or a tissue will greatly reduce the number of germs that are able to spread to people and objects around you.
SOCIAL DISTANCING
What Is Social Distancing? Social distancing is a way to keep people from interacting closely or frequently enough to spread an infectious disease. Here in the office we're asking you to not sit next to each other to observe Social Distancing. Everyone reacts differently to stressful situations, please be respectful of others boundaries.
READ MORE about Coronavirus Eye Safety
at:
(CDC) Center for Disease Control ➤
(AOA)
American Optometric Association ➤
(AAO) American Academy of Ophthalmology ➤
COVID-19 and Contact Lens Wear:
What You Need To Know
Contact Lenses can be worn safely during the COVID-19 pandemic.
It is evident that contact lens wear remains a highly effective form of vision correction for millions
of people worldwide and, for many, the only viable path to functional vision. Certainly, it is
understandable that individuals who depend on their contact lens correction to function visually in
their everyday life are concerned about whether contact lenses should be worn during this time.
However, there is no scientific evidence at this time indicating that wearing contact lenses increases
the risk of contracting COVID-19.
The virus is primarily transmitted by being in close proximity to an affected individual who coughs or
sneezes and inhaling the resulting droplets. As such, the importance of social distancing cannot be
sufficiently emphasized.
The predominant ocular finding, occurring in between 3 – 30% of infected individuals, is
conjunctivitis (i.e., “pink eye”). However, studies have found that there is very little evidence that
COVID-19 is present in the tears, which indicates that while touching the eyes can represent a
possible factor in transmission, but it is a fairly weak factor of transmission.
There are, however, several factors that are important in minimizing the risk of COVID-19
transmission while wearing contact lenses which have been recommended by numerous
sources.
These include the following:
1. The Importance of Proper Hand Washing.
Touching the eyes can represent a factor involved
in COVID-19 transmission only if the hands were not washed thoroughly prior to handling the
lenses. Prior to the current pandemic, it has been reported that poor hand hygiene is a risk factor
in developing sight-threatening conditions such as microbial keratitis (i.e., “corneal ulcer”) and
corneal inflammatory events in contact lens wearers.7 Therefore, eye care professionals have
always emphasized that the hands should be washed thoroughly with soap and water for, at
minimum, 20 seconds, and dried with an unused paper towel.
2. Proper Contact Lens Care
Individuals wearing daily disposable lenses should discard their
lenses after every use. Lenses that are worn on a two-week, monthly, or longer replacement
schedule should be cleaned and disinfected as recommended by the prescribing eye care
professional. Likewise, for individuals not disposing of their lenses daily, care solution bottles and
storage cases should be discarded, at minimum, every month and good case hygiene should be
performed. This includes emptying out old solution nightly, never topping off old solution with
fresh solution, as well as cleaning and wiping the case dry every day.
3. Discontinue Contact Lens Wear if Ill
As is consistent with other types of illness, anyone who
feels ill with cold or flu-like symptoms should discontinue contact lens wear during this time
period.