On The Beat 3/5/20 - Dr. Ashley Earwood from Brookes Eye Center

Troy Thompson is joined by Dr. Ashley Earwood to discuss eye health and vision.

Troy: welcome to on the beat, everyone.

I'm troy thompson.

In the studio with me today is dr. ashley earwood from, of course, brooks eye center.

And today we're talking about something i know i need myself, but i will also say that i'm a little nervous.

Multifocal contact lenses.

Welcome to the show my friend.

Dr. earwood: yes.

Thank you.

Troy: okay.

I said something to you in the commercial break that, is multifocal just a different word now from what my nanny used to say, "i have bifocal glasses."?

Dr. earwood: we try to use the word multifocal.

And bifocal, a lot of times, people don't like that, that word association.

But also multifocal does give you more areas of vision and everything.

Troy: what do you say to people like myself who went and got multifocal glasses in my sunglasses, but i have a lot of trouble going from looking ahead to looking down.

And it's just very disorientated for me.

Dr. earwood: right.

Troy: what do you say to those people at home who are having those problems?

Dr. earwood: so, we can definitely... i mean, multifocal contacts is another option for patients- troy: really?

Okay.

Dr. earwood: ... that gives you the distance and the near vision you need.

And it does work different than the glasses do.

Troy: really?

So, i should truly try a contact lens.

Dr. earwood: yes.

Troy: now, do they come in disposable daily, i should say, or monthly format as well?

Dr. earwood: yes.

So, there are daily multifocal lenses.

So, you wear those... you put them in the morning, you take them out at night, throw them away.

And then, the monthly ones you do keep for a month's time.

Troy: so, they can still get multifocal for them as well.

Dr. earwood: correct.

Troy: well, here's another.

For somebody who's a little vain, can they come colored?

Dr. earwood: no, there is no colored option right now.

Right now there's not.

Troy: i'm sure it'll come very soon.

Dr. earwood: as possible, yes.

Troy: as possible.

All right.

Explain to everyone at home why we would... right.

Explain to everyone at home why we would... why you personally like the use of a contact lens versus reading glasses.

Dr. earwood: well, it works different than the reading glasses.

Troy: how's that?

Dr. earwood: so, the old style of contacts, they did have that, top was your distance vision and down the bottom was your up close.

Similar to the multifocal glasses.

Now they are a lot more advanced.

So, one style of them have concentric rings.

So, each ring, it has an alternating distance and near with contact.

So, it helps your eye to focus at multiple areas.

Dr. earwood: the other style, it's a progressive style.

So, the peripheral area of the contact has your distance and then in the center is more of your near, so your up close power that you need.

And so, it helps when you're looking up close at something, your pupil focuses in on that near power.

Troy: okay.

Who's not a good candidate for contact lenses?

Dr. earwood: so, definitely someone that has some corneal trouble, that has a corneal abnormality, scarring, they have a disease that affects the front of their eye.

Used to dryness used to be a big factor on...