When it comes to the swing of a bat or kick of a ball, athletes who wear prescription glasses on a regular basis will need eyewear that transcends the sometimes rough and rugged style of sports. For those who participate in soccer matches, baseball games or a basketball competition, there is always the chance that a finger or hand or ball may come into contact with the eye. Your vision may be compromised and for this reason you need a product designed especially for the court or field. Prescription glasses for sports not only protect the eyes from any damaging outcomes, but also allow athletes to see their opponents and targets better.

Purchasing Prescription Glasses for Sports

Prescription glasses are recommended for athletes who suffer from minor eye deficiencies, but are especially important for those who only see well in one eye. People who fit into this category are called a monocular athlete and they should always have some sort of eye protection when they participate in a sport. If you wear prescription glasses during the day, an eye doctor can easily fit you with prescription eye-guards.

Don’t like what the doctor has to offer? There are numerous ways to obtain the right eyewear for you, including a selection of intriguing and fashionable frame colors and lenses. These options can be obtained from a specialty sporting goods store, as well as from various optical shops. You may also order a pair of high-quality prescription sports eyewear from the Internet.

When playing your sport, the most well-rounded prescription sports eyewear will provide substantial padding and cushioning for added protection of the brow and nosebridge. These features keep the glasses from cutting into the skin. You should also pay special attention to selecting a pair of protective eyewear that fits. A pair of glasses that are too tight or loose will not benefit you or feel comfortable during play.

Lenses Are Important

Prescription sports eyewear should always deliver high-quality lenses. When contact is made, the lenses should also stay in place or pop outward when participating in sports. Lenses that pop towards the eyes are just as dangerous as sustaining contact from another player or piece of equipment. In intense weather conditions, fogging of the lenses becomes of issue. Choose an anti-fog coating to remedy this problem. Some prescription sports glasses will also offer side vents.

Prescription Sports Eyewear Selections

On the market, there are plenty of prescription sports glasses to choose from. Some brands may sound familiar in the sunglasses and prescription eyewear scene, while others simply focus on providing eyewear for sports. The popular brand, Oakley, offers models, such as the Sunjacket to consider.

With the Bolle Downdraft line, metallic black and crystal smoke lenses accompany this prescription protection eyewear. Additional features include a wrapped lens design; prescription curved lenses; as well as non-slip arms. For a different look, consider the Meanstreak and Swisher options of Bolle eyewear.

With the Rudy Project Horus line, multi-prescription or contact lenses wearers will feel comfort when wearing this particular eyewear. With trendy styles to choose from, you’ll be able to take advantage of maximum UV protection, as well as enhanced optical clarity. Stylish frames in the Rudy Project Horus line include platinum velvet, red velvet, graphite and silver. The lenses come in multi-laser blue and red, action brown, graphite and laser black.

Different sports call for a different brand or style of eyewear. The type of frame and lenses that you select can truly enhance your sporting experience. Popular sporting eyewear brands include Norville, Serengeti, Oakley, and S4S. For a tennis match, you may select the Norville Alpina Swing (with Plastic Lens). With blue or black frames, you may choose from dark gray or yellow lenses, which are known to help locate the tennis ball during the game.

For precision sports like golf, you will find that sharp vision is quite advantageous. The Bolle Boomslang (Polarised) line of eyewear provides matte black or matte navy frame colors, as well as polarized sandstone lenses. They especially provide comfort during high-glare sporting activities. Team sports, such as basketball, soccer, baseball and cricket need strength and durability. The next time you go to dunk the ball, why not pick up a pair of Demon goggles or eyeglasses that offer crystal clear or royal blue frame colors with clear lenses. The spacious, soft durable bridge of this model is quite beneficial to the avid basketball player.

Nathan Waterman certified in industrial PPE use and OSHA requirements writes for http://www.safety-glasses-n-goggles.com recently discussed safety eyewear for sports.

If you’re like me, you’ve probably heard about some of the side effects associated with getting lasik vision correction surgery. For instance, after getting lasik surgery some people complain about symptoms of glare, halos and decreased night vision.

In fact, I remember attending a business briefing where the speaker started by mentioning he just had lasik surgery the day before. He told the audience, "The good news is I think you’re all going to heaven because everyone has halos around their heads!"

If you’ve considered getting lasik surgery but were concerned about some of the less-than-desirable side effects, you’ll be glad to hear that new technology is reducing those dreaded halos and glare. Known as "custom" or wavefront-guided lasik, this relatively recent improvement in eye surgery technology produces better vision quality when compared to traditional lasik vision surgery.

"Most significant," says US Navy Captain Steve Schallhorn, MD, the Director of Cornea and Refractive Surgery at the Navy Medical Center, San Diego, "is the improved quality of vision with the wavefront-guided procedure, fewer problems with halos and glare, better night vision, and higher patient satisfaction."

Traditional lasik reshapes the patient’s cornea with a laser to correct visual problems like nearsightedness or farsightedness. With conventional lasik, the laser is guided based on formulas similar to the ones used to determine your eyeglass prescription. Conventional lasik is effective at treating "lower-order" aberrations like nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism (also called "refractive errors").

Wavefront-guided lasik, on the other hand, measures how light is distorted as it passes into the eye and then is reflected back. This creates a 3-D optical map of the eye, highlighting the imperfections and disorders that lead to visual errors. Wavefront technology then creates a custom treatment plan for each eye and guides the laser during the surgery.

Wavefront-guided lasik can effectively treat the same lower-order aberrations that conventional lasik can treat as well as treating "higher-order" aberrations such as decreased contrast sensitivity, night vision, glare, shadows and halos. In fact, there are a growing number of patients turning to wavefront-guided lasik to correct side effects from previous laser eye surgeries.

"With this technology breakthrough, we can now measure these disorders, show the patient what’s going on in their eye, link that information to the laser, and actually correct higher-order aberrations," says Roger Steinert, M.D., associate clinical professor of ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School. "Wavefront technology enables the surgeon to improve overall vision quality better than in the past."

Of course, this advanced technology comes with a higher price tag than traditional lasik surgery. And just like conventional lasik, wavefront-guided lasik is a surgical procedure and has risks associated with it. Be sure to consult with a qualified lasik surgeon to discuss potential complications and ensure you’re a good candidate for this type of surgery.

But if the choice is between crystal clear vision with no side effects and going through life seeing all the people going to heaven, I think I’ll go with the first option, please!

Marc Menninger is an online researcher seriously considering lasik vision correction surgery. For more information on lasik vision surgery, take a look at his research on his Lasik Information blog: http://www.LasikVisionBlog.com

A pair of safety glasses is highly recommended for anyone dealing with various levels of laser activity. Optical protection gear is the first line of defense in protecting the eye from any harm that comes from the exposure of laser beams. Doctors use protective glasses and eyewear to shield their eyes from harmful backlash when performing dental procedures, skin resurfacing and other cosmetic surgery procedures. Lab technicians also benefit from laser safety glasses when completing scientific experiments and research.

Product Standards

In the development of laser safety glasses, there is a certain level of craftsmanship that protective eyewear companies must adhere to. This set of requirements is presented through the ANSI Z136 series of standards. The basic safe use of lasers is graded as an ANSI Z136.1 product. When work is done in an environment regarding the use of lasers in Optical Fiber Communication Systems, protective eyewear should adhere to the ANSI Z136.2 standard. Usually, jobs involving laser diode and LED sources will benefit from a product under this standard.

Products under the ANSI Z136.3 standard are cleared for the safe use of lasers within the health care environment. A pair of glasses with the ANSI Z136.5 stamp of approval of safety is guaranteed within the educational setting. When lasers are used in the outdoors, an ANSI Z136.6 pair of laser safety glasses is recommended.

Laser Safety Eyewear Companies

When selecting and purchasing laser safety eyewear, you will find an array of filters and frames to choose from. To pinpoint the best protection, visibility and comfort in eyewear, it is wise to compare various brands and all that they have to offer. For instance, some companies will only offer the eyewear for purchase, while other brands come with a small accessory kit, including cleaning supplies and storage cases. Below, you will find a few details on some of the laser safety eyewear companies in the industry:

Trinity Technologies

Comfortable metal frame glasses with your choice of optional side shields are offered through this company. Laser eyewear comes in a variety of sizes, including small, medium and large. Besides the frame and lens color, there is a wide range of factors that determine the kind of eyewear you will need. Lens height, eye size, temple size, frame pupillary distance and the distance between lenses are all taken into consideration to bring you the best fit possible. Prescription lenses are also offered through this company. Convenient accessories, such as anti-fog wipes, lens cleaner and cloth, protective eyewear case, as well as a head strap are available.

Cascade Laser Corporation

The laser safety eyewear presented by this company complies with the ANSI Standard Z.136.1, which means that the product is good for the basic, safe use of lasers. For those who may need more than one pair of safety eyewear, details, such as the optical density and corresponding wavelengths are clearly visible on all laser eyewear selections. This helps users to properly identify the eyewear that they use. With a purchase from Cascade, you will receive a protective cover, cleaning solution and cloth and safety strap. Consumers will also find use for the easy-to-follow instructions regarding use, care and storage options.

Philips Safety Products

Not just the handlers of lasers need protection for their eyes. While the well-known Philips Company offers a variety of high-quality laser safety eyewear, there are also options for the patients of laser doctors to use. Philips presents efficient Patient Block Out Glasses that offer fully adjustable stainless steel eye-cups and nose pieces. One of the best features of this eyewear is that they are conveniently unbreakable, making a great cost-efficient choice for physicians.

Nathan Waterman certified in industrial PPE use and OSHA requirements writes for www.safety-glasses-n-goggles.com and reported on dental protective eyewear.

Laser eye surgery cost varies from clinic to clinic and country to country with the one constant being that patients are generally quoted per eye. If you have been tempted to "take the plunge" but are not sure of the cost involved, then it’s advisable to get a wide cross-section of quotes from different providers.

Average Eye Surgery Costs

Laser eye surgery cost has risen steadily during the past four years. From an average cost of $1500 in 2002, prices now hover around the $2000 mark and beyond. If you have noticed cheaper quotes, under $1000, then it would be wise to check the fine print before you sign on the dotted line. Only a small percentage of providers are offering these low cost prices and in most cases, there are hidden costs or factors involved.

Costs for some of the common eye surgery procedures have risen considerably in the last few years. Common procedures such as corneal inserts and PRK (Photorefractive Keratectomy) will set you back as much as $4000 and $2000 respectively depending on the circumstances.

What To Be Wary Of

Be wary of advertisements offering low cost eye surgery. Generally, this is a sales tactic to attract patients who then have to satisfy certain terms and conditions to qualify for the price on offer. If you answer one of these advertisements make sure you ask questions such as:

- What are the eligibility requirements to qualify for the price on offer? - Is there a fee involved for the consultation? - What sort of after care maintenance will be required and what will it cost?

It’s a little like buying a car. You are attracted by the super low price being offered yet, when you go into the sales room, you discover there are other costs involved like stamp duty, dealer delivery, insurance etc. You get the picture. Just be aware of this because it will save you unnecessary stress when the final bill is presented to you after the procedure!

How To Choose A Surgeon

Choosing a surgeon takes a little skill as well. Again, asking a lot of questions will help you cover your bases. Remember, it’s your eyes we’re talking about here so there is little margin for error. Reputation counts for a lot in any field and it is no different with laser eye surgery.

During the consultation process, you’ll get a feel for both the surgeon’s integrity and that of his staff. Ask for references from former patients if possible. The consultation process itself should be thorough and at the end of it, you should have a complete understanding of the level of surgery required in your case. Not everyone is a good laser eye surgery candidate and this is the one thing you must get established. If you feel the consultation process was inadequate and rushed and your questions were unanswered, then it might be a good idea to look elsewhere.

Laser eye surgery cost is generally affordable for most people. Despite what appear to be high costs, being offered a payment plan that you can afford over an extended period of time and works for you and your surgeon is the ideal scenario. This should be another vote of confidence in your chosen surgeon who is willing to help make it work for you rather than being pressured with unsavoury sales tactics.

Dean Caporella is a professional broadcaster. Understand the ins and outs of laser eye surgery cost plus get the latest eye surgery news and reviews at =>http://www.eyesurgeryplace.com

With so many styles of eyewear and eyeglasses to choose from how are you possibly to know which ones will look best over your eyes? With today’s fashion savvy designers, glasses come in every style possibly imaginable. From rimless, to cat eye, round, to square, how are you to choose the perfect match?

There are many things to consider overall, the first being: do you want an eyeglass frame that will be subtle and practically unnoticeable and blend with your complexion? Or would you prefer something a little bolder to accentuate your features?

Rimless or frameless eyeglasses have become a very popular choice. They are lightweight, simple, and fashionable. When selecting your pair you may have options regarding metal frame color, hinge style, and lens shape.

Framed eyewear has two main families; plastic or zyl, and metal frames. When choosing your frame, know what general color or shade you will want. For example, glasses come in matte finishes, shades such as tortoise, and practically everything in between.

On to the most important part of selecting your eyewear: matching the correct shape eyeglass frame to your face. There are many rules you can follow, let’s look at the most simple to understand and apply.

Take a look in the mirror and focus on the area above your eyes. What shape do your brow bones and eyebrows create? This area may look very oval, round, flat, curved inward, curved outward, etc.. The point is that this feature is unique to you.

The next time you are looking at eyeglasses, try to match the top of the eyeglasses (the upper edge of the lenses and frames) with the shape of your brow. You will be pleasantly surprised to see that most any frame you select using this method will fit you quite nicely. Using this method you will take the mystery out of, and make selecting your next pair of eyeglass or reading glasses frames much more fun.

Test out your new skills at http://www.ReadinStyle.com where you will find a fabulous selection of Reading Sunglasses along with fun and stylish Designer Reading Glasses. If you need to wear reading glasses, please have fun with them.

There have long been two families of contact lenses; hard and soft. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. Both styles of lenses are commonly used by millions of satisfied contact lens wearers. So what exactly is the new hybrid contact lens and is it for you?

Soft contact lenses have long been a favorite by those seeking instant comfort and ease of use. A soft lens is typically larger, with the edges extending out to the white of the eye, beyond the cornea. This makes for a very comfortable lens that can be worn for many hours. One of the main drawbacks with soft lenses is that they provide soft vision. In short, the lens material is soft and relies on tears to maintain it’s consistency, the vision is prone to intermittent blur and general fuzziness.

Hard or gas permeable contact lenses take the cake when it comes to best achievable vision. Because the material is more firm, the lenses maintain their sharp optical acuity. There has never been a question that best visual acuity via a contact lens is achieved with a gas permeable lens. So what has been the drawback with conventional gas perms? The answer is comfort. Gas perm lens wearers need to go through a short adaptation period in order for the lenses to become comfortable.

Recently, hybrid contact lenses have been making a huge splash in the lens world. Hybrid lenses are composed of a gas permeable center for improved optics and a soft lens skirt for maximum comfort. But how well do these lenses merge the benefits of the two technologies together?

For starters, the gas permeable center is manufactured with a very high oxygen permeable material. In short, your corneas will breath easy even after a long day of wear. The lenses have been approved for prescriptions with up to 5 diopters of astigmatism, so they will certainly correct a wide variety of prescriptions. And with gas perm optics, many people are sure to be very happy with what they see.

How about the soft lens skirt? The skirt comes in varying curves so your eye care provider can most likely find a great fit for you. Remember, the benefit of the soft portion is comfort. In certain cases, it may also aid in lens centration which will help to improve vision.

When caring for your hybrid lens, you want to treat it like a soft lens. Soft lens cleaner and solution is highly recommended. Of course, you will want to follow the exact directions as prescribed by your eye care provider.

In most cases, hybrid contact lenses are a home run. So if you are looking for the sharpest acuity matched with the best comfort, ask your eye care provider about hybrid contact lenses.

This review was brought to you by www.all-about-contact-lenses.com Visit us for more information on soft lenses and gas permeable contact lenses. The two portions of the new hybrid contacts.

If you are accustomed to the major brand names of contact lenses such as Acuvue, Bausch and Lomb, and Ciba, you may be surprised to receive a prescription for a brand that you have never heard of before. However, with patients having more options about where to buy their contact lenses than ever before, more doctors are turning to private label contact lenses.

The advantage for doctors is clear – it is much more difficult to find alternate sources to buy a private label brand than a mass market brand like Acuvue. This means that more patients will buy directly from the doctor’s office, increasing the doctor’s profit margins.

However, as a patient you should be wary of such practices. Many private label brands are unable to compete with larger companies when it comes to technology advances. New materials that improve contact lens comfort and health are likely to be unavailable with private label brands.

Furthermore, many contact lens cleaning solutions are designed to work with specific brands. If you have a private label brand, you might have difficulty finding a compatible solution at a reasonable price. This coupled with the fact that the lack of competition makes most private label brands more expensive means that you could be paying significantly more for an off-brand prescription.

So what do you do if your eye doctor prescribes a brand that you’ve never heard of?

First, ask your eye doctor for an explanation. Why did he or she choose that particular brand? Is there a technological or financial reason for prescribing a private label lens? What advantages does his choice have for you?

Secondly, look at your prescription to see if any alternative brands are listed. Although government regulations demand that contact lens prescriptions are filled with the brand that the doctor specifies, there is an exception. Contacts made by mass market companies like Acuvue and sold under different names for private label branding can be substituted for the name brand. That means that you might still be able to shop around for a better price.

If your eye doctor is not able to give you a good reason for accepting an off-name brand, and you are not able to substitute lenses, ask him or her to change your prescription to a more common type of lens.

Eye Contact Guide is your premier resource for contact lenses, Acuvue contacts and theatrical contacts.

IN AN age where computers have become an inseperable part of life, nearly 60 million users suffer from vision problems. The condition is called Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS) and there are a million new cases reported each year.

It is characterised by dryness, redness, itching and watering of eyes, including heaviness of the eyelids or forehead and difficulty in focusing. These symptoms can cause headaches, backaches, neck aches and muscle spasms. And often people suffering from CVS are not even aware of the condition.

Some tips to help you prevent Computer Vision Syndrome:

1) Get your eyes examined annually. Let your eye care professional know your working hours on a computer.

2) Take frequent breaks while working on the computer and make, an effort to blink repeatedly throughout the day.

3) Make sure you are not doing any other work requiring vision during these breaks as that is no relief for the eyes.

4) If you can see your reflection in the monitor, you probably have a glare problem. Glare, reflection and overhead lighting will force your eyes to work harder than is typically comfortable. Even monitors with anti-glare treatments may not be enough to reduce reflections below the threshold on human sensitivity. Add an anti-glare computer filter to your monitors. Use drapes, shades, or blinds.

5) Adjust monitor height such that the top of the monitor is at the eye level. Placing a monitor too high causes drying of eyes and placing it too low may cause neck aches.

6) Position the monitor at least 20 inches away from your eyes.

7) Adjust room lighting to a comfortable level.

8) Clean the screen as staring through dust, dirt and fingerprints on your computer reduces the image clarity making it more difficult to see.

9) The use of PC Magni-Viewer - a lens that is placed in front of the computer screen to create larger images that demand less focusing power reduces the eye strain associated with computer use.

Free tips and information on your health and fitness, beauty and makeup, exercise and workout, fashion and latest lifestyle plus much more….. at http://www.time4tips.com

After a few hours of wearing contact lens your eyes tend to dry up and you will feel scratchy. This happens because contact lenses are foreign bodies lodged in your eyes, which is completely unacceptable to the body. The body, therefore, reacts to its presence by fighting the contacts with proteins and lipids, which builds protein deposits on the contacts thereby creating friction and dryness.

In other words, the user of the contacts finds himself caught in the battle between the body and the lenses like an innocent civilian in the middle of a battlefield.

It is in order to circumvent this difficulty that proclear lenses have stepped in. A substance called phosphorylcholine (PC for short) is found naturally in the body. This substance is used to make biocompatible lenses, which remain moist and dry throughout the day. They are different from ordinary contact lenses primarily because due to the presence of PC the body accepts them more easily and does not react to its presence. In other words, despite being a foreign body, it does not appear and feel foreign to the body.

Secondly, they preserve moisture and are, to a large extent, resistant to dehydration, which makes them stay moist all day long. Besides, they also have a water layer which bars the protein and lipid deposition.

Most of the itching and irritation in the eyes is caused due to protein deposition which is a result of restricted oxygen supply through the lens. The proclear lenses disallow the deposition, thus facilitating the supply of oxygen. These lenses are an innovation in the field of contact lenses and have so far been found to work to the utmost satisfaction of the users. However, the comfort level may fluctuate among the users, which means some may be more satisfied than the others.

So, if you are unhappy with your present contacts, you may consider switching to the proclear kind, which might prove a boon right from the blues. It is, however, recommended that before switching over you consult your eye specialist so that he could advice you on the pros and cons of it.

To get more information on best contact lenses, contact lens basics and contact lens care visit http://www.contactlenseclub.com/contacts/

Choosing an Oklahoma City lasik eye surgeon is one of the most important decision you will ever make. In Oklahoma City, there are a number of doctors who specialize in refractive laser eye surgery, and choosing a surgeon can be a tough decision. If you’re going to trust your sight to a surgeon, you want to feel confident that they’re well-trained and qualified to perform the procedure. Here are the six questions you absolutely must ask an Oklahoma City lasik eye surgeon before you commit to eye surgery:

1. Are you Board Certified? The answer must be yes, and then you should ask for details. There are different types of certification that ophthalmologists can acquire. The American Board of Ophthalmology certifies doctors, but doesn’t offer a specific certification for laser refractive surgery. Your Oklahoma City eye surgeon may be ABO certified without having actual Lasik or PRK certification. The American Board of Eye Surgeons offers peer-approved certification on specific laser procedures, and this is the best certification for an eye doctor to have. There is also a certification offered by the Council for Refractive Surgery Quality Assurance, who evaluate patient satisfaction and evaluate surgeons based on patient outcome.

2. How long have you been performing laser vision correction surgery? There’s no right or wrong answer to this one. But you should look for a surgeon who has several years of experience – make sure, though, if the surgeon has been doing corrective eye surgery for 10 years or more that he’s up to date on all the latest procedures.

3. How many procedures have you performed on people with my particular problem? Again, there’s no one answer, but you want to know that you’re not the first patient in Oklahoma City who’s received this particular surgery form this eye doctor.

4. Who will be handling my pre-surgery examinations and after care? You want to know that your doctor will be personally handling every aspect of your case from start to finish. If there’s a problem after the surgery, you shouldn’t be sent to some other doctor on the other side of Oklahoma City, or only receive follow-up care from a nurse or assistant.

5. Do you have all of the equipment here in the clinic? It’s good to know where your surgery will take place. It might be on-site, in the doctor’s clinic, or he may be affiliated with a nearby hospital or medical center.

6. May I have references? A good doctor will have no problem with providing you with the names of local Oklahoma City patients who have had Lasik surgery. Ask for five references, and call them to find out how satisfied they are with the doctor’s work.

Dean Iggo is the webmaster of ContactLensesReviewed.com where you can find reviews and information on lasik eye surgery, contact lenses and more..