Closer to home, its program for helping needy people in obtaining prescription eyeglasses plays a low-key role in helping give many the gift of better sight during tough economic times for some.

Individual clubs have their own programs and some are seeing an increase in need as jobless numbers have swelled while other clubs are not.

The Auburn 49er Lions club averaged 18 referrals a year in 2009 and 2010 but that increased to 25 in 2011, said eyeglasses coordinator Kelly Post. This month, there have been seven calls for glasses.

Post said that a number of reasons could be responsible for the increase. Until two years ago, Medi-Cal’s welfare medical program paid for eye exams and glasses. Now it pays for just the eye exams, she said.

Some of the calls could be attributed to an increase in word of mouth among people needing eyeglass assistance. Others are coming because of referrals from groups assisting the poor like Hope, Help and Healing and The Gathering Inn, Post said.

“More people are homeless, more are out of a job,” Post said. “And there are more parolees.”

At the Loomis Lions Club, Vision Assistance Chair

No spike in Loomis

Jack Morris said the group has handled four aid requests since July, with one of the callers finding another way to replace their broken frames.

In Auburn, the Host Lions group had fielded six requests since the end of December – which is depleting the limited amount of referrals that the Lions can send to an optometrist, said eyeglass chairman Dennis Lloyd. The group has the ability to handle about 20 referrals a year, he said.

Dr. Mark Starr, county Health & Human Services deputy director, said Placer has not had an eyeglass program for the needy but will steer them in the direction of the Lions on an informal basis. The county will provide emergency medical eyecare but doesn’t provide eyeware, Starr said.

Lloyd said the number of requests seemed to be linked to an increase in referrals from the county.

“We can handle a limited number of people but we’re not part of the welfare system,” Lloyd said.

Morris said that many Loomis Club members felt a worsening economy and lack of jobs would result in a substantial increase in requests for vision assistance. But there has been no spike in requests. The Loomis Lions normally handle three or four a year, he said.

One of the recent requests had been forwarded by another Lions Club and another by a welfare-related organization, Morris said.

Morris said that different communities have different rates of awareness on the Lions vision program and that could have something to do with a lack of increased demand.

“I think there are many needy persons but I’m thinking they have other ways – paying for them themselves or with insurance, for instance,” Morris said.

He added that the granting of funds for an exam and new glasses – which averaged $190 last year – is not automatic. The club needs to confirm the person’s identification and then move forward on an eye exam. If the optometrist says glasses are required, Morris can authorize the purchase.

“After that, there are no further requirements – they don’t need to come and talk to the club,” Morris said. “But most of them find a way to send us a card.”

The Lions have gained worldwide recognition for their work to improve sight and prevent blindness. That work includes recycling eyeglasses, supporting Lions Eye Banks that provide eye tissue for sight-saving surgeries, and screening the vision of hundreds of thousands of people every year.

The effort goes back to 1925, when Helen Keller called on the Lions organization to become “knights of the blind in the crusade against darkness.”

“It’s a very rewarding thing and we Lions are proud of it,” Morris said.

More than $19,000 was donated by the clubs present to support the foundation’s work.

The Little Rock Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of children who are blind or visually impaired initiated a bill into law establishing October as “Blindness Awareness Month.” Last year, Mayor Barnett proclaimed October as Blindness Awareness Month. Studies indicate that over 14,000 persons in Collier County live with blindness or significant vision loss. Although blindness and vision loss largely affects senior citizen; accident, disease, genetics and other causes can cause vision loss to persons of whatever age.

Those persons living with blindness or vision loss and their caregivers residing in Collier County and the City of Naples may now receive education, assistive technology, mobility and adaptive independent living training and a myriad of other support services locally from the only full service center in Collier County; namely –Lighthouse of Collier.

World Sight Day (WSD) is an international day of awareness, held annually on the second Thursday of October to focus attention on the global issue of avoidable blindness and visual impairment. World Sight Day is a day of awareness and urges the local community to observe personal eye health care and that the services of Lighthouse of Collier be made known for the assistance of the blind, vision impaired and their caregivers within Collier County and the City of Naples.

The mission of the Lighthouse of Collier is to promote the development, implementation and on-going evaluation of programs and services which foster independence and enhance the quality of life for the blind, visually impaired and their caregivers. To learn more about the Lighthouse of Collier please visit www.lighthouseofcollier.org or call 239-430-EYE4 (3934).

The i-loview portable video magnifier is a sleek, ergonomically designed and lightweight device that enlarges text and objects for reading. Equipped with a powerful camera and 4.3-inch widescreen display, the i-loview allows users to easily zoom in on written material and physical objects as well as to perform daily activities like read a newspaper, check prices at the grocery store or write a check.

Ai Squared partnered with Chris Park Designs to create and exclusively distribute the i-loview, the first in a series of hardware products for the vision impaired community as well as for people with age-related eye conditions. The i-loview handheld video magnifier complements Ai Squared’s suite of best-selling low vision solutions that include ZoomText, the world’s leading screen magnification and reading software, as well as the ZoomReader app for the iPhone.

According to the National Federation of the Blind, approximately 1.3 million people in the U.S. are legally blind, and 75,000 more become blind or develop visual impairments each year. Every year, millions of Americans also incur age-related eye conditions, such as glaucoma, cataracts and macular degeneration.

As market leaders in the low vision technology space, Ai Squared created the i-loview keeping the needs of these individual users in mind. The eight-ounce device offers unmatched image clarity and stability while scrolling – the text stays readable and won’t blur, even as users move the device around. Other unique features include twelve zoom levels offering up to 17x magnification; four levels of brightness; sixteen contrast levels and five color modes to accommodate individual needs.

The i-loview can be connected to a TV or closed circuit TV (CCTV) for a larger viewing experience. It also comes with an SD card for saving pictures on the device for reference at a later time.

“The i-loview combines superior design, image quality and functionality to make it a best-in-class portable magnifier,” says Doug Hacker, Vice President of Business Development at Ai Squared. “It’s ideal for anyone with low vision or in need of visual assistance who wants a pocket-sized, easy-to-use magnifier that’s as powerful as it is beautiful to look at and hold.”

Learn more about the i-loview device at http://aisquared.com/iloview. To purchase the i-loview, call 800-859-0270 or go to http://www.aisquared.com/store. The first 200 orders placed will receive $50 off the retail price of $695.

About Ai Squared
Headquartered in Manchester, Vermont, Ai Squared is the worldwide leader in computer access solutions for the vision impaired, and has been for over 20 years. Their products are available in over twenty languages and are sold in 45 countries through a network of over 350 dealers across the globe. Ai Squared has helped hundreds of thousands of individuals with early vision loss, computer vision syndrome, and visual impairments such as macular degeneration and glaucoma. Ai Squared’s screen magnification and screen reading products dramatically improve a computer’s usability and friendliness for the low vision user, raising their level of productivity, satisfaction, and independence. The family of Ai Squared products includes ZoomText Magnifier, ZoomText Magnifier/Reader, ZoomText Large-Print Keyboard, ZoomText Express, the ZoomReader iPhone app, and the ZoomContacts iPad app. For more information, please visit Ai Squared online at http://www.aisquared.com.

About Chris Park Designs
C&P, also known as Chris Park Designs, develops and manufactures technology-based products for people with vision loss and learning disabilities. Chris Park Designs has built the best team of CCTV and video technology experts including many former Samsung engineers to develop innovative, feature-rich magnification devices. Chris Park Designs engineers have an average of over 25 years’ experience in the Vision System, CCTV, Camera, Camcorder control/solution technologies, with expertise in developing crisp, real-time video imaging. No other company has the design expertise that C& P has leveraged to develop this professional video magnifier product line. For more information please visit http://www.chrisparkdesign.com/.

Dr. Ramani and his dedicated team of eye doctors perform 500 eye surgeries per day free of cost. Nearly 70 percent of these are cataract surgeries. Over the last two decades Sankara Eye Care institutions have performed more than 0.9 million free eye surgeries across India. Dr. Ramani says that even though the achievements of his group are phenomenal, they remain unsung heroes because they work out of a relatively smaller place like Coimbatore, and not a metropolitan city like New Delhi or Chennai.

Dr. Ramani’s social enterprise for vision care has a clear rural focus. He says about their typical mode of working, “We identify a cluster of 10 villages, and partner with some local women and youth, who help with the initial health survey of the villagers.” Out of every 10,000 villagers on average, about 600 to 700 people suffer from some form of visual impairment. Sankara Eye Care provides them “Gift of Vision” cards.

Thereafter, a team of doctors and paramedics from the closest Sankara Center visits those villages, treats the patients, and transports the patients requiring surgery to the main hospital. The quality of care provided to poor patients is at par with that of the paid patients. Dr. Ramani says, “We do state of the art, sutureless phaco surgery with IOL implants. The actual cost of a cataract with IOL is Rs 2,750 ($60) because we do huge volumes. We implant high-quality lenses made in Chennai.”

Dr. Ramani’s social entrepreneurship and social innovation has led him to replicate the Coimbatore model at eight centers across India. The centers not only provide vision care to the needy, but also equip the local youth from the villages with technical skills to assist in the vision care programs. India is home to the largest number of visually impaired people in the world. Social enterprises such as Dr. Ramani’s Sankara Eye Care can manage to create a ripple effect on the socio-economic structure of rural India without any government aid or support.

Photo Credit: barunpatro

Margaret Buchmann-Garcia was taken by surprise 12 years ago when she suddenly began to lose vision in her right eye with no explanation.

“I started seeing dots, and I came home and it happened very quickly overnight,” she recalled Thursday morning.

The worst is that three months later, she also began to lose vision in her left eye. She underwent six surgeries in five months, which helped save some vision in her left eye, leaving her with tunnel vision in that eye.

Now, the 57-year-old woman volunteers part of her time to serve as the executive director of the Center of Vision Enhancement in Merced. The center has been around for a little more than three years, and it serves people who are in situations similar to Buchmann-Garcia’s — dealing with low vision or blindness.

The first year the center opened it only served 30 people, she said. It now serves more than 100.

“It’s a growing number of people who are finding out that we are here,” she said.

The center doesn’t offer doctor’s referrals, but rather provides training for people to better cope with their vision problems. The center has various support groups, and it has different vision aides. “We try to help them deal with it,” she said.

For example, they teach them how to get around the transportation system, and how to cook, among other daily living skills. “We are here to (help them) get their independence back,” Buchmann-Garcia said. “When you lose your sight, you feel isolated.”

About 85 percent of the people who reach out to the center, located at 1240 D St., are 55 and older.

The causes of the vision impairment for those people vary, but includes diabetes and birth vision problems, Buchmann-Garcia said. Macular degeneration is the most common one, she said.

The center, a nonprofit, started as a support group that originated about 16 years ago, said Pamela Strange, a vision impairment specialist who has a private business and helped start the center. “All levels of vision impairment are going to impact a person’s life,” she said. “We are trying to reach those people who don’t know how much help there is.”

On Oct. 13, the center will have a Low Vision Awareness Day event from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Merced Senior Community Center.

The event will feature two speakers, Dr. George Chen, a retired ophthalmologist, and Dr. Thomas Weed, a local ophthalmologist.

In addition, the Lions Eyemobile will be at the site to offer free vision screenings, Strange said, who has helped organize the event for the 12 years. “We are also trying to help prevent vision problems,” Strange said.

For those people who can’t make it for the event in the morning, there will be an extension from 3:30 to 6 p.m. at the Center of Vision Enhancement.

However, Strange said there will only be exhibits during those hours, so she strongly recommends people attend the event earlier in the day.

Buchmann-Garcia said since losing her sight, she’s learned how to use her computer again, use the transportation system and use a cane. “I was falling all over the place,” she said. “I needed to get around without falling.”

Buchmann-Garcia hopes that other people in the area with vision impairments will use the resources and services available at the center. “Contact us, and (don’t) just sit at home and get depressed,” she said.

Buchmann-Garcia said the nearest centers that offer services similar to the Center of Vision Enhancement’s are in Modesto and Fresno.

Although reading in dim light can cause eye fatigue, it doesn’t permanently damage your vision. If you do experience eye fatigue, simply stop doing whatever it was that caused it and it will go away.

* Sitting close to the television can harm your eyes

Unless you own a television from the 60s, your eyes are at no risk from radiation being emitted by a television screen. Children in particular have a shorter focal distance than adults, so they won’t strain their eyes by sitting too close.

* Eat carrots to see better

Although carrots contain Vitamin A, which helps to protect the surface of the eye or cornea, any balanced diet should contain enough of this vitamin to keep your eyes working without you having to eat like a rabbit.

* If you wear glasses, you get dependent on them

Glasses are the solution for blurred vision; they do not cause a deterioration of eyesight. Of course, once you start wearing glasses and get used to seeing clearly, you will find that you want to wear your glasses more often. This isn’t dependency; it is simply enjoying good, clear vision.

* Nothing can be done to prevent vision loss

If you experience any symptoms like blurred vision, eye pain, flashes of light or floating objects in your vision, see a doctor. Many causes of sight loss can be treated if they are detected early enough.

* People with bad eyesight shouldn’t wear out their eyes by doing detailed work

Reading the fine-print or focusing on fine detail doesn’t damage already weak eyes. The eye is not a muscle – it is more like a camera, and will not wear out sooner just because it’s photographing intricate detail.

* Working at a computer damages your eyes

Most of the eye discomfort you feel after working at a computer is as a result of the fact that you blink less and your eyes are dry. If you can’t take a regular break from looking at the screen, use moistening eyedrops – not antihistamine ones. Anti-glare screens for your monitor can also help reduce discomfort, but result in a slightly blurred image, which itself can cause eye strain. Look after your vision

* Wear UV protective sunglasses

Exposure to UV rays can harm your eyes so protecting them from the sun can prevent loss of eyesight. It is important to buy polarised lenses, not simply darker ones. Also, wear wraparound lenses to protect against UV rays from the sides.

* Wear protective eyewear if necessary

If you work with chemicals or airborne particles, wear goggles or other protective eyewear. The worst harm that you can do to your eyes is from external damage – and there’s no way to replace an eye once it’s been harmed.

* Avoid harsh contrasts in light

Try to place your desk so that windows are to the side rather than directly behind or in front of your computer. The light from overhead fluorescent lights is also typically two to five times brighter than it should be, which causes eye fatigue. If at all possible, try to work with natural light or incandescent light bulbs rather than fluorescent lights.

* Visit an optometrist regularly

Even if your vision is fine, it’s a good idea to visit your optometrist regularly. This will help you to prevent any major problems and will track not just your vision but the health of your eyes as well over the years, as some deterioration can be picked up only by tracking the change in the eye function. Remember that problems caught early can often be arrested, so make sure that you budget for eyecare or use the eyecare allocation in your medical aid. – Source: Profmed

Despite this, 55 per cent of us say we’d get our eyes checked only if eyesight starts deteriorating, rather than every two years as recommended by optometrists.

The independent survey of more than 1,000 New Zealanders coincides with the completion of a national rollout of Digital Retinal Scanners (DRS) to 46 OPSM stores nationwide.

The innovative vision care technology provides a telling picture of the retina, optic nerve and blood vessels, which can be used to help detect potentially serious vision issues and suspected disease.

“The eyes are more than just windows to the soul,” says OPSM National Eyecare Manager Matt Whiting. “They tell health experts a great deal about a person’s overall wellbeing and can lead to early detection of glaucoma, diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, age-related macular degeneration as well as some forms of cancer.”

The survey found less than 35 per cent of respondents were aware hypertension, cardiovascular disease and some forms of cancer could be detected through an eye test and more than a third believe there is nothing that can be done about worsening vision.

“The fact more than a third of New Zealanders believe there is nothing that can be done about deteriorating vision is disheartening,” says Mr Whiting.

“In addition to regular eye checks, a retinal scan allows the optometrist to deliver a more in depth health assessment for the customer and empower them to increase their education and awareness of eye health. The picture can also be retained to help monitor changes over a prolonged period”.

“To be able to see is an absolute human need. But it’s a very emotional subject and one we often put off or avoid altogether. New Zealanders need to lift their knowledge and awareness around the importance of looking after their eyes and understand they are intrinsically linked to overall wellbeing,” says Mr Whiting.

“As fully trained healthcare professionals, it’s our job to look after the complete health of people’s eyes. Most blindness and vision loss is preventable if detected early, so the importance of retinal scanning technology cannot be underestimated”.

A digital retinal scan is entirely safe and requires only a few minutes in addition to a standard eye test at a cost of $40.

More than nine in 10 parents (91%) said they take their child to have their hair cut at least once a year, with a similar proportion (89%) saying they go shopping for shoes this often.

But less than half of parents (45%) said they take their child for a eye test at least once a year, according to a poll by Vision Express.

The survey questioned more than 1,000 parents of primary age children (five to 11).

It found that three in 10 (30%) parents say they never take their youngster to the optician, compared with 5% who said the same about getting their child’s hair cut, and 6% who said they never go shopping for new children’s shoes, or to get their feet measured.

Parents were also more likely to take their child to the doctor or to have their teeth checked.

About one in four (26%) parents said they are worried about their child’s eye health, with nearly two-thirds (61%) confident that they could spot the warning signs of eye problems.

Some 13% said they would be concerned about their child being teased at school if they had to wear glasses, the poll found.

Many were also unaware of the problems that can be diagnosed during a routine eye test.

Almost one in three (29%) did not know that the symptoms of eye cancer could be detected through a routine eye test while more than half (58%) did not know that the signs of diabetes could be spotted.

Copyright © 2011 The Press Association. All rights reserved.