Blue Valley Vision in Overland Park, KS - Optometrist & Optical Store | Optix-now (2024)

As a parent, ensuring your child's health is a top priority, and that includes taking care of their vision. Here are some tips:

• When to start: Ensure your child undergoes eye exams before age one, around 3 years, and every one to two years during school age.
• Start with a Pediatric Eye Care Specialist: Professionals such as Blue Valley Vision specialize in children's eye care and are trained to make the eye examination experience more child-friendly. They understand the unique needs of young patients and can provide a comfortable environment for your child's eye health check-ups.
• What to expect: Children's eye health is a cornerstone of their overall well-being and academic success and a pediatric-focused approach involves utilizing interactive tools, colorful imagery, and age-appropriate techniques to make every visit a positive and engaging adventure.

From infancy through adolescence, pediatric eye care services address a spectrum of issues such as:

• Refractive Errors: This includes nearsightedness (myopia), farsightedness (hyperopia), and astigmatism. Correcting these issues (e.g. with eye glasses) is crucial to ensure clear vision for various activities, including reading, writing, and participating in sports.
• Lazy Eye (Amblyopia): Amblyopia occurs when one eye has significantly better vision than the other, leading to the brain favoring the stronger eye. Identifying and addressing amblyopia early will promote balanced visual development.
• Strabismus (Crossed or Misaligned Eyes): Strabismus is a condition where the eyes do not align properly. Blue Valley Vision in Overland Park can diagnose and manage strabismus to prevent vision issues and promote proper eye coordination.
• Eye Tracking Problems: Difficulty in smoothly moving the eyes across a line of text or following objects can impact reading and learning.
• Color Vision Deficiency and Visual Processing Disorders: Color vision deficiencies, commonly known as color blindness, may impact your child's academic and daily activities. Some children may experience difficulties in processing visual information efficiently, which can affect learning and performance in various tasks.

Blue Valley Vision is a leading eye care professional in Overland Park, specializing in Ortho-K services. Orthokeratology, or corneal reshaping therapy, is a non-surgical method that temporarily reshapes the cornea using specialized contact lenses. The primary aim is to reduce, control, or slow the progression of myopia (nearsightedness) or astigmatism. The lenses used in orthokeratology include rigid, gas-permeable lenses, or specialized daily replaceable soft contact lenses like ACUVUE Abiliti and CooperVision MiSight.

The process involves wearing these specially designed lenses during sleep or throughout the day. For daytime wear, the lenses also provide vision correction. By gently reshaping the cornea, patients can enjoy improved vision upon waking without the need for glasses or contact lenses during the day. Keep in mind that the effects of orthokeratology are temporary, requiring regular nightly wear to maintain corrected vision.

Orthokeratology is increasingly popular for adults seeking freedom from daytime vision correction and for children aiming to slow the progression of childhood myopia. Suitable candidates for Ortho-K include:

• Children age eight to fourteen with progressive myopia.
• Adults with low to mild nearsightedness.
• Patients with low to moderate astigmatism.

Explore whether orthokeratology is a suitable option for you or your child by consulting with Blue Valley Vision.

Dry eyes are a common eye condition causing discomfort and potential vision loss. Tears normally keep our eyes moist, but some people can't produce enough tears, leading to inflammation and damage. Symptoms include stinging, burning, itching, light sensitivity, mucus, redness, a feeling of something in the eyes, difficulty wearing contact lenses, eye strain, or blurred vision. Dry eyes may seem a minor annoyance, but if untreated, they worsen over time. Severe cases can lead to conjunctivitis, corneal ulcers, keratitis, difficulty reading or driving, and trouble wearing contact lenses.

Blue Valley Vision specializes in diagnosing and treating dry eye conditions, employing various commonly used treatment options:

Eyelid Cleansers

Cleansers maintain clean eyelids and clear meibomian glands by removing oil, debris, and contaminants from the eyelid area.

Meibomian Gland Expression

The doctor manually expresses upper and lower meibomian glands after thermal heating, preventing clogging and clearing blocked glands.

LipiFlow

Using a special device, the eye care professional applies gentle heat to your lids, improving eye oil quality and opening meibomian glands. The procedure takes place with a specially designed eyecup.

iLux

Using a handheld device, the doctor heats and presses eyelids, opening blocked meibomian glands. The device features a smart tip for targeted treatment while protecting the eye’s surface.

BlephEx Treatment

A painless in-office procedure that removes bacteria and toxins from lash margins. The optometrist uses a micro-sponge to exfoliate eyelids. This process usually takes just a few minutes.

Intense Pulsed Light Therapy (IPL)

IPL therapy combats gland dysfunction, reduces Demodex mites, and fights inflammation. Treatment involves applying light pulses to the eyelids, with multiple sessions scheduled a month apart.

Interested in more? Schedule an appointment with Blue Valley Vision to identify the cause of your dry eyes, assess tear production, and receive proper management through the use of advanced dry eye technology that address both symptoms and underlying causes.

Advanced digital eye exams haved pushed optometry into a new era of precision and insight, offering an in-depth evaluation of your ocular health beyond the possibilities of conventional visual acuity assessments. These exams empower eye care professionals to proactively address ocular diseases and maintain optimal vision. Digital non-invasive diagnostic methods and technologies include:

Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT)

Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) employs low-coherence interferometry to capture cross-sectional images of the retina with remarkable precision. By utilizing light waves, OCT creates detailed three-dimensional maps, enabling your eye doc to delve into microscopic layers of the retina, optic nerve, and other vital structures of your eye. These unparalleled imaging capabilities make it possible for detecting and monitoring a spectrum of conditions. From macular degeneration to glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy, OCT facilitates early intervention and personalized treatment strategies.

Corneal topography also plays a key role in optimizing contact lenses by providing detailed insights into the cornea's shape and structure. This information ensures a tailored approach to contact lens fitting, leading to enhanced comfort and visual performance for individuals wearing contact lenses.

Visual Field Testing

Mapping out a patient's peripheral vision is part of a comprehensive assessment for early detection of conditions like glaucoma, retinitis pigmentosa, and neurological disorders. This digitized approach enhances reproducibility, offering eye care professionals a robust tool for the early detection and management of peripheral vision anomalies.

Corneal Topography

Corneal Topography is another cornerstone of advanced digital diagnostics. It creates detailed 3D maps of the cornea's surface, enabling eye care professionals to diagnose conditions such as astigmatism and keratoconus with unparalleled accuracy.

Wavefront Analysis

Wavefront Analysis evaluates how light traverses through through your eye. The test identifies aberrations that extend beyond traditional refractive errors, ensuring a tailored approach to addressing higher-order aberrations. It plays a crucial role in customizing vision correction procedures like LASIK, optimizing not just visual acuity but also contrast sensitivity and night vision.

Curious about how advanced digital eye exams can benefit your vision? Call Blue Valley Vision in Overland Park for additional information and to schedule an appointment.