[00:00:00] Speaker A: Picture.
You're cozy by the fire sipping cocoa or out on the town grabbing a well deserved nightcap with the peace of mind knowing your pet is safe at home.
[00:00:10] Speaker B: With Invisible Fence brand.
[00:00:12] Speaker A: Your customized pet fence gives you confidence that wherever winter takes you, your pet has both freedom and security. With Invisible Fence brand, service and safety never stops. Visit invisiblefence.com to learn more.
[00:00:27] Speaker C: That's invisible fence.com 1280 the Patriot is WWTC Minneapolis St. Paul FM 107.5 K298CO Minneapolis Intelligent Radio with SRN News.
[00:00:43] Speaker B: I'm Bob Agnew in Washington.
[00:00:45] Speaker D: Donald Trump is returning to Washington to.
[00:00:47] Speaker C: Kick off days of pageantry to herald his second inauguration as president. That will come on Monday.
[00:00:52] Speaker D: A new AP Newark poll, meanwhile, asked.
[00:00:54] Speaker C: Americans about their expectations for the incoming president elect for his second term.
[00:00:59] Speaker E: Eight in 10 Republicans say Trump will.
[00:01:01] Speaker A: Be great or good as president, while.
[00:01:03] Speaker B: The same proportion of Democrats expect him.
[00:01:05] Speaker A: To be poor or terrible.
[00:01:07] Speaker B: Only about 2 in 10 polled said.
[00:01:09] Speaker C: They'Re highly confident Trump will be able.
[00:01:10] Speaker A: To lower the cost of groceries, housing.
[00:01:12] Speaker B: Or health care this year.
[00:01:13] Speaker E: With low expectations Even among Republicans, 3.
[00:01:16] Speaker B: In 10Americans are highly confident Trump can.
[00:01:18] Speaker C: Improve the job market and the economy. That is Jennifer King reporting. U.S. stocks rallied to close out their best week in two months on Friday. The S&P 500 rose 1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed by 0.8%. The NASDAQ Composite by one and a half percent of its value. This is SRN News.
Mark Levin sees a legacy being built. He doesn't give a damn about the American people.
[00:01:45] Speaker B: Borders wide open, criminals, Soros.
[00:01:48] Speaker C: It's all fine because he thinks he's building a legacy for the left.
[00:01:52] Speaker B: The left wing historian turns out almost all of them.
[00:01:56] Speaker C: Not all, but almost all. It's what they've told him to do.
[00:01:58] Speaker B: So the demented, depraved Joe Biden.
[00:02:00] Speaker C: He's building his legacy. Mark levin, weeknights at 8 on AM 1280, the Patriot Intelligent Radio.
[00:02:13] Speaker B: Honor our.
[00:02:14] Speaker C: Heroes at the 14th annual Holes for Heroes Feb. 8 on Medicine Lake. Enjoy food, games and a multi species fishing contest for all ages. Veterans fish free and it's just $20 per hol. For everyone else, the fun begins at 11:30am Register now or learn more at.
[00:02:34] Speaker B: Fishingforlife.Com brought to you in part by smelling heating and cooling.
[00:02:40] Speaker D: If pain is affecting your life, I've got the perfect New Year's resolution for you. Make 2025 the year of feeling good again, the year of moving better, sleeping better, feeling more alive. Do it with Relief Factor. Relief Factor is a daily supplement that fights pain. Naturally developed by a team of doctors. It doesn't just mask pain temporarily, it helps reduce or eliminate pain. Over a million of us have turned to Relief Factor. Feel the difference you can make in your Life? Give their three week quick start a try. It's only $19.95, less than a dollar a day. Just takes a phone call to 1-800-the number four relief 800, the number four relief. You can start feeling better in three weeks or less. And every day you feel better is a day you live better wherever you're hurting back, neck, joints or muscles. Make 2025 the year of feeling good again. Try Relief Factor's three week quick start today. Just go to relieffactor.com that's relieffactor.com or call 800 for relief. That's 1-800-the number four relief for Relief.
[00:03:39] Speaker C: Factor JTR JTR roofing and Siding that's who We Are hey homeowners, winter is here. Now is the perfect time to beat the rush and call JTR Roofing to get your home project set up for SP and lock in your pricing before they go up. JTR Roofing is your go to for all things exterior. Whether it's roofing, siding, gutters or windows, they've got you covered. Their team of experts will help you plan your project now so you're ready to roll the moment the snow melts. At JTR Roofing, they believe in quality you can trust. Whether it's protecting your home or business, they use top notch materials to ensure it stands the test of time. Don't wait. Call now or visit jtr
[email protected] to get a free estimate. That's jtrroofinginc.com once again. Jtrroofinginc.com jtr jtr roofing and Siding.
[00:04:37] Speaker A: That's who we are.
[00:04:39] Speaker C: Record setting four time Emmy Award winner Michelle Tafoya discusses politics and the state of our culture free from mainstream media pressures. That means you'll find unhindered commentary and astute observations that bring greater depth to the topic at hand. Insight from subject matter experts and thought leaders round out the conversation. The Michelle Tafoya podcast free on YouTube or stream via Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Salem. Podcastnetwork.com if it was 1990, you'd be listening to your favorite radio station on a bulky boombox that burns through D batteries faster than you can say you've got mail. Thankfully, it's the 21st century and there are much better alternatives. For example, just ask Alexa to tune in.
[00:05:26] Speaker A: Alexa play the Patriot Minneapolis it's time.
[00:05:28] Speaker C: To throw out that old beeper and get with the times. Listen to your favorite AM 1280 to Patriot hosts in high quality with Alexa and Amazon Echo. The following program was prerecorded and the views expressed do not necessarily represent those of this station or its management. This is Open your eyes radio with Dr. Cary Gelb.
[00:05:50] Speaker E: Good morning, I'm Dr. Cary Gelb and welcome to Wellness Program lady on Open your Eyes Radio. Please listen as I discuss the newest information in the world of health, nutrition and sports. Every Saturday morning, 6am Central Time on AM 1280 the Patriot. Also, please share your thoughts by emailing me at drkerrygelbmail.com and visit my new website, wellness1280.com where we have all guest links, wellness1280 info and previous shows. Wellness is taking over the Patriot Airways for the next hour. Sit back and enjoy my interview with Dr. William Fox Approximately 45 million people in the United States wear contact lenses, accounting for about 13 to 14% of the US population. Deciding which contact lenses offers the best combination of comfort, safety and vision is a delicate balance of art and science, one that your optometric physician carefully prescribes. The eye exam, though, goes beyond assessing vision. It serves as a window into overall health. By using the eye as a biomarker, optometrists can often detect systemic disease long before a general medical exam uncovers them. Today, we're honored to welcome my friend, Dr. William Fox, an optometric physician from North Carolina. Dr. Fox has been practicing optometry for over 30 years and has participated in more than 15 volunteered worldwide eye missions, providing vision, care and eyewear to the underserved communities of the world, including rural and urban areas where access to care is Limited. In 1998, Dr. Fox was awarded the prestigious WJ Contact Lens figure of the Year award, recognizing his expertise and contributions to the field. He's also been named Top Doctor by being given the Horizon Award twice by his organization, which means Top Doctor of the year. Dr. Fox also has a special interest in fitting multifocal contact lenses and hard to fit patients, an area where he has made notable discoveries and achieved impressive results. Dr. Fox, thank you for joining me today on Open youn Eyes radio and podcast with Dr. Kerry Gelb.
[00:08:17] Speaker B: Thank you Dr. Gelb. It's good to be back with you.
[00:08:20] Speaker E: You know Bill, we're such good friends and I enjoy talking with you so much and you have a Lot to share with my audience, but the first question I'd like to ask you, are contact lenses really miracles?
[00:08:34] Speaker B: Well, in a way they are.
There's a science and there's an art to it. And yeah, it's pretty amazing that you can put a piece of plastic, specialized plastic, on the front of the cornea, front of the eye, and all of a sudden you can see. It can clear up your vision near and far and everywhere in between. So in my brain, it's a little bit of a miracle.
[00:08:59] Speaker E: Yeah, you know, it's. It's an amazing thing where somebody who has a horrible prescription, they really can't even see right in front of their eye that what we call nearsighted or myopia, have nearsight, just like the word is near sight. And then we can put this little piece of plastic on their eye and it changes their life. They could see like me and you. We've had patients that we put a contact lens in their eye and. And tears started rolling down their face because they never been able to see like that. Any stories that come to mind about patients that you've seen where whether it was a glasses or contact lenses that really changed how people felt and patients would actually tear up because of it?
[00:09:44] Speaker B: Well, it's certainly true because sometimes you see better with contact. You certainly see a better peripheral vision. But I do think of a lot of kids and one in particular who was very shy. She was about 16, very shy, and wore thick glasses. She got those on. Yes, she. There were tears in her eyes when she got those contact lenses and looked at herself in the mirror. The next six months later, they came in for a check and she said, you know, my daughter has totally changed. She's now outgoing, she has more friends. She feels so much more confidence in herself. She says she's like a new person. And I was so worried about her. And now I'm just so excited about her horizons and her potential.
And she just loves those contacts. And by the way, you're her hero. I said, well, that's good. I'm not too many people's heroes.
And you get older adults who, like myself, who wear bifocal contact lenses, they can't really do well. They can't walk in them very well. They're very uncomfortable with them. They put them on and they go, oh, my gosh, I can see near, far. I can see straight ahead. I can see my computer. And it's just like, I'm a new person right now. I feel like a new person. And not too many tears. Come in their eyes, but they're very excited about it. And it really excites me to be able to help people that way.
[00:11:11] Speaker E: Well, when we talk about glasses, progressive glasses or bifocal glasses, not contact lenses, and some of the side effects that people have, maybe walking upstairs, they find it difficult, or stepping over a curb, and then we give them contact lenses, just like you said, the feeling that they get is really remarkable if they're able to wear these multifocal contact lenses. And as we go on, I want to talk to you about it because you've really made some interesting discoveries in fitting multifocal contact lenses. But first, I want to ask you who's a candidate for contact lenses and who may not be a candidate for contact lenses?
[00:11:51] Speaker B: Well, you know, contact lens goes into the physical, the physiology, and even to some degree, the psychology. So a good candidate is someone who really doesn't like their glasses, to be quite honest, and who has a pretty good tear flow. They don't have dry eyes, and they have a desire to do that. Sometimes people tell me, I look down at the stairs and I just have the hardest time because it's so blurry. And I'm thinking, wow, with contact lenses, they'll look down, they'll see clear as a bell, and then others will have other reasons for it and just, you know, they just don't like the filler glasses. It hurts their nose. So people who have motivation is certainly the number one reason. And. And then if you have good, good tear flow, if someone says, and I tell someone, are you having a. A problem with dry eyes? And usually people know if they have dry eyes, they don't always. But do you put drops in your eyes during the day? Do they feel dry at the end of a day? It doesn't mean you can't wear contacts. It just means we may have to take some steps to help you get better tear flow and get a contact lens that's good for that. They're different contact lenses for different reasons, and so those may not be as good a candidate. So you discuss that and you find what their motivation is for wearing them. If they want to look at the computer for 12 hours with their contacts on, it's going to be a little tougher. If they want to be outside with them and they're trying to, you know, they're cycling, they're out there, and they have allergies in the fall and the spring, it could make their eyes a little bit drier because allergies can make your eyes more dry. So you Know there's a number of motivating but most thing is motivation and tear flow.
[00:13:39] Speaker E: Yeah. For people that do have dry eyes, what's the best modality of contact lenses to wear? Is it monthly? It's a two week now there's going to be a weekly contact lens or is it a daily contact lens?
[00:13:53] Speaker B: Well, I would have to say the dailies because you don't get build up on the lenses themselves on a daily. So you're throwing away getting in a brand new lens. When you get build up from the tears of your eye, which is a lot of protein in them, then it gets drier. So the dailies are the best to go with that for dryness for sure and probably the best for everybody if that's a possibility.
[00:14:17] Speaker E: Yeah, I mean daily contact lenses are what I personally wear. Everybody in my family that needs contact lens, we all wear dailies. We remember back when they're contact lenses and we had to take care of them and you had to stick them in the wall to heat them to disinfect. I remember one pair of contact lenses for the year and now things have really changed and, and different modalities of contact. The type of plastic that they use have changed. If you could talk about the different types of plastic. I remember in the old days and with the old hard lenses, the polymethyl methacrylate lenses from the regular plastic they would use in windshields with the type of contact lenses.
[00:15:02] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, that was pretty unusual, but that's what they came out with. In the 50s and 60s everybody wore hard lenses with methyl methacrylate. Then they came out with the Hema, you know, and Czechoslovakia in 1964 it was invented soft contact lenses and that sort of changed the world because they were a lot more comfortable. They weren't that great starting out but as time went on that's what most of us use now. Although there's still reasons to use hard and gas permeable contacts.
[00:15:30] Speaker E: Well, hold that thought. Dr. Fox. We're up against the break. This is Dr. Kerry. Go for Open youn Eyes Radio. I'm speaking with Dr. William Fox, North Carolina optometrist.
[00:15:40] Speaker A: I went to the eye doctor the other day with my daughter Maggie. I was shocked when the doctor told me that my daughter was already becoming nearsighted. It turns out that this problem affects more than 40% of Americans. My eye doctor thinks this disease is getting worse. Perhaps it's getting worse because of kids prolonged time spent playing with smartphones or maybe because kids now spend less time outside My genetics probably aren't helping her a whole lot. Being nearsighted myself. But the good news is that the doctor told me about a new FDA approved product called MySite. This specific one day contact lens is already worn by thousands of children in the us it is proven to slow down the progression of nearsightedness. And best of all, Maggie loves these contact lenses. The doctor taught her how to use them. Now it is so exciting to see her have even more success in the classroom and when she plays sports. I Recommend you visit openyourizeradio.com to find an eye doctor that specializes in this treatment program. Learn
[email protected] it's the new year and.
[00:16:41] Speaker C: It'S snowing Savings at Inver Grove Hyundai Stop ignoring that engine light or strange noise from your car. Why risk it? Invergrove Hyundai's terrific technicians are your car's best friend and waiting to help. Bring your car in today and save $50 off any maintenance or repair over $100 plus we offer a free inspection with every service. Do it yourselfers Invergrove Hyundai has an extensive parts inventory with competitive prices and assistance from trained professionals to help apply for parts and service financing. We have over 30 years experience working with special credit needs. Learn
[email protected] and take advantage of our New Year's offers. Save time and schedule online. Swing by and check out the newest Hyundai facility in the twin cities off 494 and Highway 52 in Invergrove Heights. Browse our great selection of new and used vehicles. Nobody knows your Hyundai better than us. Nobody.
[00:17:40] Speaker A: I went to the eye doctor the other day with my daughter Maggie. I was shocked when the doctor told me that my daughter was already becoming nearsighted. It turns out that this problem affects more than 40% of Americans. My eye doctor thinks this disease is getting worse. Perhaps it's getting worse because of kids prolonged time spent playing with smartphones or maybe because kids now spend less time outside. My genetics probably aren't helping her a whole lot being nearsighted myself. But the good news is that the doctor told me about a new FDA approved product called MySight. This specific one day contact lens is already worn by thousands of children in the us. It is proven to slow down the progression of nearsightedness. And best of all, Maggie loves these contact lenses. The doctor taught her how to use them. Now it is so exciting to see her have even more success in the classroom and when she plays sports. I Recommend you visit openyoureyesradio.com to find an eye doctor that specializes in this treatment program. Learn more at open your open your eyes radio.com we're back with Dr. William.
[00:18:45] Speaker E: Fox of the Fox Eye Care Group, North Carolina. So if you're in North Carolina and you need your eyes examined, go to his website, the Fox Eye Care Group. We're speaking with Dr. William Fox. And right before the break, we were speaking about different types of materials and we were talking about back in the old days when they use regular plastic for regular hard contact lenses, polymethyl methacrylate. And you were, you were talking about what about those lenses? And then of course, soft blood. Now we have soft contact lenses. So tell us about the different types of materials for soft contact lenses.
[00:19:22] Speaker B: Well, you know, there's different types of water content and different types of materials. It runs from about 38% up to 70%.
And in those materials, it depends on the person. For instance, if someone has a little bit of dryness because of the environment, say they're in Arizona, sometimes a lower contact lens, water lens will do better. Someone in North Carolina who has allergies and that type of dryness responds better to a high water lens. Something has a lot of fluid into it and holds the fluid on the eye better. So it. And so that's why they have different ones for different types of people. And different companies have different types of water content in their lenses, but they're all a little bit different. And of course, the optometrist's job is to match it up to see what the person's motivation is, what they want to do with their contacts, the physical nature of their eye, of course, the topography of the front of the eye, how their lids are working, because that's important in tear flow. And then sort of match up the lens, that would be best for them. Do they have allergies, dryness, do they have environmental dryness or dryness because of the lids and sort of match it up to give them the best experience. And that's what we do. It's science and it's art at the same time.
[00:20:44] Speaker E: So silicon hydrogel lens and hydrogel lens, what is the difference? And you think there's a big advantage to silicon hydrogel lenses?
[00:20:54] Speaker B: Well, silicone hydrogel has a lot more oxygen. You know, the cornea is very important to have it bathed in oxygen.
The metabolism is a huge exchange of oxygen. And so that's the important part. And silicone lenses allow. Silicone soft lenses allow a much higher degree of oxygen to come into the eye. And so that's very important.
There is some place for non silicone lenses. Silicone lenses sort of taking over and, and they probably should because they're, because of the high oxygen. But there are some places still for non silicone lenses. Certain people are just more comfortable with non silicone. Certain people may have a little bit of an allergy or sensitivity to it. But yeah, it's heading that way with the silicone because of the fact that the higher degree of oxygen, moisture and oxygen is sort of the name of the game as long as, as well as a good fit on the eye itself.
[00:21:57] Speaker E: You know, there was a study done a number of years ago by I guess CooperVision funded this study and when they looked at two week and monthly contact lenses versus daily contacts, the best two week or monthly contact lens, daily contact lenses was still 10 times safer than two weeks or monthly contact lenses. When it comes to whether they would get an infection or they would get a keratitis or an infiltrate. If you could talk about the side effects of contact lenses, because I think contact lenses. And you disagree with me if you want. I think people take them for granted. You know, the contact lens companies do such a great job of making contact lenses nowadays, the big four contact lens companies, they do such a good job of making contact lenses that, you know, it can be taken for granted. But all contact lenses come with a risk, just like all medication comes with a risk. If you could talk about some of the side effects and risks of wearing contact lenses.
[00:23:01] Speaker B: Well, the good part is that contact lenses for the most part are pretty safe. But as I tell my patients, you don't want to just forget that they're there. You want to follow the proper regimen because you can't get in trouble like anything else. And the daily wears are the safest. Yeah, you're right, it's ten times safer. But then again, it's not a very unsafe with a, a monthly lens as well too. But as long as you clean it, you keep your case clean, you change your case appropriately, and you don't sleep in those lenses, you still do very well. I've had very few problems with any of the modalities, but yeah, dailies are the safest. Matter of fact, the studies seem to indicate the dailies are as safe as not wearing any contact lens at all. Because you can get infections without wearing contact lenses. And I always say in my practice, the only two people that lost vision, one didn't wear contacts and a baby hit their cornea and it caused an infection that just could not be it was a MRSA type infection years ago that they didn't know much about. And if he wore contact lenses, he probably wouldn't have lost vision. The other was a monthly who just didn't take care of his case. His case was filthy and he got a canthamoeba, which is a very tough thing to deal with. So, yeah, dailies are the best. You throw them away every day. But the main thing is just be aware that you are wearing something, a medical device on your eye and follow the directions. And for that case you're going to be safe probably in any modality. But dailies. Yeah, it's the best if for a young person, certainly you want to do dailies, you know, for, for someone that just wants the most convenience and the most comfort. I think dailies is still there. But there are places where with specialty lenses, monthlies might still be a great advantage, like when you're atoric, multifocal and things like that, that patients need kind of a more complex lens toric, if.
[00:25:02] Speaker E: They have astigmatism or they need a bifocal. How often do you recommend people clean their, if they're not wearing dailies, how often should they clean their contacts? And how often would you recommend they change their case?
[00:25:16] Speaker B: Well, I recommend changing a case every three months, but still cleaning out the case every day and rinsing it, drying it and put it in the bathroom, maybe upside down on a little cloth so that they will, it will dry appropriately. Cleaning certainly every day. I mean, you want to take it out, clean it, rinse it, wash it. Just a digital rub is all it takes in the, in the solutions. Now, you know, just one, one solution does everything and that seems to work out fine. If someone is allergic a little bit to the solution, then that's another thing that you want to change to different modalities of cleaning and maintaining the lens. But cleaning is important to get the debris off and to get the bacteria off, because you can't get that from your lids. All of us have bacteria on our lids, so we have to be aware of that.
[00:26:02] Speaker E: And is there any specific type of solution that you typically recommend for people that are using two week or monthly contact lenses that needed, that need to be cleaned every day? Any specific type of solution that you recommend or patients could go with any solution. And should the patient rub the lens to get the dirt off of it?
[00:26:22] Speaker B: Well, that's a great question because there are a lot of good, there's a lot of good lenses, I mean, cleaning solutions out there. There's one Particular, I do like and I run, but others like others as well. And because I want something that you're not going to be allergic to at the same time as a good cleaner. A digital rub. Yeah, absolutely. You want to do a, a good digital rub. You don't just want to stick it in the solution for sure. And then when you get out, when you bring it out in the morning, you want to rinse it so that you, you know, once again getting any debris or whatever that may still be on that lens, and you want to rinse the solution off a little bit and get some fresh solution there in your case as well. You don't want to top up your case. You want to take the solution out and put new solution in the case.
[00:27:12] Speaker E: There's a lot of money that goes into contact lens research and development. In fact, in I think it was 2021 or 2022, CooperVision spent about 110 million just in research and development. And I know this is old data, but, you know, like 20, like 20 data from like 22,000 around there. There was about a half a million dollars a year spent on contact lens research and development. And now I'm sure it's much, much more because contact lenses is an $11 billion industry. So the big four companies, CooperVision, Alcon, Baoshan, Lomb and Johnson Johnson, who make the majority of contact lenses that people wear in this country, really spend a lot of research and development in contact lenses. And a lot of times people ask me about some of these off brands that they get overseas or that they'll be substituted. They'll be wearing a Johnson Johnson or Cooper Vision or Bachelor or Alcon contact lenses. And then they'll call up and want to reorder their contact lenses online. And then they'll be substituted or want to be substituted by something that's made in, you know, in a foreign country, you know, maybe Taiwan or something. And I just want to know what your experience and what your opinion of that is.
[00:28:39] Speaker B: Well, and that's a big problem that I try to tell my patients. You know, if you're getting contact lenses online, you got to be sure you know who you're getting them from. There have been cases where lenses have been seen on a, in the hot sun for 30 days, say in India. And that's going to change the contact lenses themselves before they're shipped back off. It's called the gray market. And as a result of that, you know, you can get a lens that's, that's inferior, even if it's the Same brand. And then often there are times when they will change the brand and call it that lens. They, there was a case in the New York Times reported about it where in Thailand. I believe they actually created a lens and made it look like it was the lens you were being prescribed, but it wasn't so there. And you never know what can happen when those lenses are shipped overseas and then shipped back. And that's called the gray market. And you want to try to avoid that because once again, your eyes are too precious. If you do it, if you do it right, it will be safe. And if you try to go around and you don't want to save money at the risk of your vision, there's no reason for that. It's just too important with your eyes.
[00:29:50] Speaker E: Yeah, I think we've all had this issue. I know I've had a patient that that was wearing a Boucher alarm contact lens and they came in and their cornea, which is the front of the eye, was all swollen. And you know, I'm trying to figure out, I never saw bouche alarm cords, a cornea to be swollen like that. And it turned out they were substituted when they went online and they were given, you know, an off brand and that was causing the swelling. And of course that could lead to an infection and that could be a real problem because you get an infection, your cornea, it could cause blindness. So we're up against the break. Speaking with Dr. William Fox from the Fox Eye Care Group. Also, the contact lens figure of the year in 1998 will be back after this break.
[00:30:40] Speaker A: I went to the eye doctor the other day with my daughter Maggie. I was shocked when the doctor told me that my daughter was already becoming nearsighted. It turns out that this problem affects more than 40% of Americans. My eye doctor thinks this disease is getting worse. Perhaps it's getting worse because of kids prolonged time spent playing with smartphones or maybe because kids now spend less time playing outside. My genetics probably aren't helping her a whole lot being nearsighted myself. But the good news is that the doctor told me about a new FDA approved product called My Sight. This specific one day contact lens is already worn by thousands of children in the US it is proven to slow down the progression of nearsightedness. And best of all, Maggie loves these contact lenses. The doctor taught her how to use them. Now it is so exciting to see her have even more success in the classroom and when she plays sports. I Recommend you visit openyourizeradio.com to find an eye doctor that specializes in this treatment program. Learn
[email protected] Joe Montana here in my.
[00:31:42] Speaker C: Football days, I knew the importance of a strong defense. Now I'm sharing how you can help defend your health against pneumococcal pneumonia and invasive pneumococcal disease.
[00:31:51] Speaker B: Are you 50 or older? Like me, the CDC now recommends vaccination against pneumococcal disease. Even if you're healthy, your age puts.
[00:31:59] Speaker C: You at increased risk and over six.
[00:32:01] Speaker B: Times greater risk of hospitalization with pneumococcal.
[00:32:04] Speaker C: Pneumonia than adults under 50. Schedule your appointment
[email protected] sponsored by Pfizer. The new year brings new health goals and wealth goals. Protecting your identity is an important step. Your info is in endless places that could expose you to identity theft leading to lost funds. LifeLock monitors millions of data points per second. If your identity is stolen, our restoration specialists will fix it, guaranteed or your money back. Resolve to make identity, health and wealth part of your New year's goals with LifeLock, save up to 40% your first year with promo code NEWS. Visit LifeLock.com Terms Apply I went to.
[00:32:41] Speaker A: The eye doctor the other day with my daughter Maggie. I was shocked when the doctor told me that my daughter was already becoming nearsighted. It turns out that this problem affects more than 40% of Americans. My eye doctor thinks this disease is getting worse. Perhaps it's getting worse because of kids prolonged time spent playing with smartphones or maybe because kids now spend less time outside. My genetics probably aren't helping her a whole lot being nearsighted myself. But the good news is that the doctor told me about a new FDA approved product called MySite. This this specific one day contact lens is already worn by thousands of children in the US it is proven to slow down the progression of nearsightedness. And best of all, Maggie loves these contact lenses. The doctor taught her how to use them. Now it is so exciting to see her have even more success in the classroom and when she plays sports. I Recommend you visit openyoureyesradio.com to find an eye doctor that specializes in this treatment program. Learn
[email protected] we're back with North Carolina.
[00:33:46] Speaker E: Optometrist Dr. William Fox. My friend Bill and we're talking contact lenses right now. And I want to talk to you about people that need bifocals, something called presbyopias. We lose our focusing as we get older and we can't see distance and up close with the same type of lens. And now there are contact lenses that people could wear because a lot of people wear contact lenses. There's about 40, 42 million people in the United States that wear contact lenses. And there are a lot of people that need these type of contact lenses that, that are presbyopic. So but they're challenging to fit these lenses. The patient comes in and all four companies make. All the big four make multifocal contact lenses. And for one comp, one person, one company works better. And for another patient, another company works better. And for another company, we have to put on all four companies and none of them work good. And a lot of times it's challenging. But most people we could fit in these lenses that sometimes it takes a little work. So tell us about presbyopia and about fitting multifocal contact lenses, the challenges and can we get these people to wear these lenses?
[00:35:03] Speaker B: Yes, and that's a great thing. You know, being in practice as many years as I have, I thought to myself, I can't retire now because all of a sudden these lenses I've been fitting and having such a difficult time for, for 20, 30 years are starting to work really well. The technology is coming so well that it's. I've been waiting for this for 30 years and so now it's here. And I love fitting bifocal and multifocal contact lenses because those people need it the most. They can't see near, they can't see intermittent, they can't see far in many cases. And all of a sudden they put one little piece of plastic on and they can see everything. But it is a lot of little nuances that come with experience and come with an understanding of your patient and what they need the lenses for, how the physio physiological nature of their eye and in some ways their expectations too, to get them comfortable and doing well and having a great experience with those lenses. So you know what I look for. And all the companies have good lenses, but certain doctors like myself will have certain lenses that they like and they know all the nuances in those lenses. So we stay and we think, well, this is the best lens. Another lens may be good too, but that another doctor may know the nuances of that lens even or better. But we do fit on across of all the companies I use, because you have to use everything that you have to make sure these will get, you know, a good experience with the lenses. And you don't just start, you know, just. But you put them on. But then it's like a puzzle. It's like a mystery. And it's a fun mystery that you go along and you have to change things depending on how the patient themselves sees out of those lenses. Can they see in the distance if they're having a hard time up close? If they're having a hard time in the distance? There's certain things you do if it's up close, other things you do. Sometimes you actually even have to go if they're flexible enough and have one eye see a little better up close. One I see a little better in the distance. You're still using both eyes, but you're doing that. And when you're testing you, at the end of the test I put a lens up that makes it a little blurry one after the other to see which their dominant eye is. And they can say, which looks a little better if I blur out the other eye just a touch. But it also tells me how flexible they are. And if someone's real flexible, there's so many things you can do to make sure they'll get a good fit and a comfortable fit. But you know, it doesn't always happen on the very first try. It takes some work and that's what we're here for. And it's, it's a specialty for sure. But the, the end product in the. Is so nice to patients. They enjoy it so much that, you know, nobody's happier than a young child getting their contact lens. A young, a young lady, say 15 and a. Somebody who's 50 years old getting a contact who can see near foreign intermittent.
[00:38:08] Speaker E: You know, you mentioned dominant eye. Patients are always excited to know about their dominant eye. How do you. Why is dominant eye important and is it important and what do you do? How do you test for it?
[00:38:21] Speaker B: Well, it is important and for a number of reasons. It isn't always something that you have to use, especially in contacts and say bifocal, multifocal contacts. But what I do at the end of the exam when I'm doing a refraction for a glasses prescription, that's the first thing you need to do is that I take a little lens and it blurs up just a little bit one eye and I hold it over the right, then I hold it over the left and say, which is more comfortable for you? And they will usually say, well, when you hold it over, say if they're right eye dominant hold over the left, that's a lot more comfortable than holding that little lens that makes it a touch blur on the right. So then you know what their dominant eye is. But you also know how flexible they are. Because if you put that lens over and they say, yeah, it's real fuzzy, especially if you put it over either eye. And they say, well, one's better, but it's real fuzzy with both of them. Or they say, well, it's a little fuzzy but it's not bad or you really want to hear. I can't really tell a difference. When you put it over my left eye and it's, it's. And when you put on the right, it's a little blurred. The left it's not, you know, they're right eye dominant and you know, they're very flexible. And when it comes to things like bifocal contacts or astigmatism and bifocal contacts, because we have those now too, that could be a very important thing in getting the best fit for the patient.
[00:39:46] Speaker E: You know, there's 128 million people that need reading glasses that have presbyopia or loss of focusing as they get older. And there's 340 million, approximately 340 million people in the country. So that's a little bit more than a third of the people that are presbyopia and they have worn, you know, they've grown up with contact lenses and they want to continue with contact lenses. So let's take the patient that is a new, that's becoming, you know, they're in their 40s now and now they can't read up close with the same glasses that they could see distance with. What was your first move? Which type of contact lenses? Multifocal contacts. Are you going to go with, with a younger Presbyterian? And is it different than somebody who's in their 60s, a 60 year old Presbyterian? Are you going to use a different type of brand, a different type of strategy?
[00:40:40] Speaker B: Well, I think it's not the age so much as what, what, what else do they have? Is it just what we call a spherical fit where they don't have a lot of astigmatism or do they have astigmatism and they're also presbyopic, they're having a hard time seeing up close. And those are the things. If they don't have a lot of astigmatism, I'll certainly try to go with the daily and with the daily because they're a little bit higher water and they can be more comfortable. If you have some dry eye situations and sometimes you do. And if you do have dry eye situations, there's certain things we can do with lid scrubs, heat Packs certain types of drops. There are things that can be done to help that and sometimes we do if someone really wants contacts, we get into that, you know, taking official good fish oil and things such as that. But, but if they have a astigmatism and they have a presbyopia, I will probably go with a monthly lens because I think that's one of the, the better lenses for that condition. And yet if they have astigmatism just a little bit, then I'll go to the dailies if I don't have to go with stigmatism lens or if I can just do it on one eye and do a bifocal on the other. And that's why when I test for dominance to see how resilient they are. If one eye is not quite as sharp as the other, near or far, that's where that comes into play.
[00:42:05] Speaker E: And as people get older, that's when dry eye that you mentioned becomes more of an issue.
So somebody has dry eye, they really want to wear contact lenses. What's your approach? Are you going to treat and they failed. They've been to a few other doctors, they failed contact lenses. What's your approach? Are you going to treat the dry eye first, have them treat that, have them come back, maybe change their nutrition, maybe give certain type of medication or, or diet and then fit them with the contact lens? Are you going to do it simultaneously? You know, I know everybody's different because I find that most people, it's very rare that I get somebody even with dry eye, they can't wear contact lenses. But how about in your case, what do you notice?
[00:42:53] Speaker B: Well, that's true. You know, sometimes it's just a matter of expectations of what they're going to do with the lenses. You know, if their eyes are a little bit dry and it's due to allergies, I just tell them it might be a little tough. In the spring and the fall if you have those type of allergies and you're out there, you know, riding the bicycle and what have you. If you're on the computer for 12 hours and you have dry eyes, I say it might be, you might want to wear your glasses on the computer and wear your contacts when you're going out and doing other things. And I do try to treat it, but I kind of have a tendency to do it simultaneous because sometimes you can find a lens that's better for dryness for this particular patient. And if I can go to say a one day lens that has a good high water And I know it's good for dry eyes and they haven't worn that before. I'll start that. But I'll also start them on, on, on heat therapy around the lids. I'll start them on, you know, taking fish oil, lid scrubs we call it to keep the lids clean. Drops that they'll use, you can even use prescription drops that help with this a lot. And, and I do it simultaneously as a rule. And you're right, most people we can get to wear them, you know, to fit in all their expectations too.
[00:44:10] Speaker E: You mentioned fish oil.
Are you going to use ethyl ester or are you going to be partial to triglyceride type fish oil? And it's the big box fish oil, the same that you're going to be able to get in a vitamin store or from one of the designer supplement companies that, that deal with doctors and functional medicine.
[00:44:37] Speaker B: Well, good quality is of course the most important thing. And I tell them don't, don't just go to the big box and get fish oil because fish oil could be, you know, it's, they're not all the same by any means. And try triglyceride I believe is, is what most use as far as that's concerned and, and versus the ethyl ester. And it is a better, a better for this particular type of things with dryness. And yeah, I just want to tell you you got to get good quality. We have types that are very good quality that we can sell or they can get it at other places as well too.
[00:45:15] Speaker E: Well, we're up against the break and when we get back, I want to ask you about contact lenses and sports because a lot of people play sports that they see better with their glasses or do they see better with contact lenses? I'm speaking with Dr. William Fox of the Fox Eye Care Group. He's a North Carolina optometrist. I'm Dr. Kerry. Go if you're listening. Listening to Open your eyes radio on AM 1280 the Patriot.
[00:45:41] Speaker A: I went to the eye doctor the other day with my daughter Maggie. I was shocked when the doctor told me that my daughter was already becoming nearsighted. It turns out that this problem affects more than 40% of Americans. My eye doctor thinks this disease is getting worse. Perhaps it's getting worse because of kids prolonged time spent playing with smartphones or maybe because kids now spend less time outside. My genetics probably aren't helping her a whole lot being nearsighted myself. But the good news is that the doctor told me about a new FDA approved product called MySight, this specific one day contact lens is already worn by thousands of children in the us. It is proven to slow down the progression of nearsightedness. And best of all, Maggie loves these contact lenses. The doctor taught her how to use them. Now it is so exciting to see her have even more success in the classroom and when she plays sports. I Recommend you visit openyouriseradio.com to find an eye doctor that specializes in this treatment program. Learn
[email protected] you heard me talk about.
[00:46:41] Speaker D: Relief Factor and how so many people enjoy a better, more pain free life because of it. If you're dealing with everyday pain, it makes sense you'd want to try it first. Well, Relief Factor makes that pretty pain free too. With their 3 week Quick Start Kit for only $19.95. An easy affordable way to see how it could literally change your life. Like it has mine. Relief Factor is a daily supplement that fights pain. Naturally developed by doctors. Relief Factor doesn't just mask pain temporarily, it helps reduce or eliminate pain. In fact, the longer you take it, the more effective it is. Trying it couldn't be easier with their three week quick start for only $19.95. Less than a dollar a day and it just takes a phone call to 1-800-FOR RELIEF. That's 1-800-THE NUMBER FOUR RELIEF 1, 800, THE NUMBER FOUR RELIEF. Wherever you're having pain, every day you feel better is a day you live better. Try Relief Factor's three week quick start. Visit relieffactor.com that's relieffactor.com or call 1-800-the-Number 4 Relief 800, 4 Relief for Relief Factor.
[00:47:40] Speaker A: I went to the eye doctor the other day with my daughter Maggie. I was shocked when the doctor told me that my daughter was already becoming nurse eyed. It turns out that this problem affects more than 40% of Americans. My eye doctor thinks this disease is getting worse. Perhaps it's getting worse because of kids prolonged time spent playing with smartphones or maybe because kids now spend less time outside. My genetics probably aren't helping her a whole lot being nearsighted myself. But the good news is that the doctor told me about a new FDA approved product called MySite. This specific one day contact lens is already worn by thousands of children in the us. It is proven to slow down the progression of nearsightedness. And best of all, Maggie loves these contact lenses. The doctor taught her how to use them. Now it is so exciting to see her have even more success in the classroom. And when she plays sports. I Recommend you visit openyoureyesradio.com to find an eye doctor that specializes in this treatment program. Learn more about at open your eyes radio.com we're back with Dr. William Fox.
[00:48:44] Speaker E: My buddy, North Carolina Optometrist. We've been friends for many, many years and he's sharing some things that he's learned over the many years about fitting contact lenses, some of the nuances. And a while back, we were talking about side effects of contact lenses and we got cut off by the brake. So I want to ask you about side effects of contact lenses that people should look for.
[00:49:06] Speaker B: Well, of course, the most important thing that we worry about is infection because infection can lead, if not treated quickly and appropriately to, it could lead to some loss of vision. Knock on wood. You know, We've only had one patient in all my 40 years that have that has had a problem with that. And that's because they didn't keep their case clean. And that was back in the early 90s. But that's something you always, you never want to forget that that is a possibility. It's rare, but it's not rare if you're the one in the chair. You know, as I always say, and that's the number one thing, keep aware of it. Do the cleaning, do the regimen, we say, and you will be safe. And if you have a problem, don't wear your contacts. If they hurt, don't wear them. So some of the side effects is they can get dry. And if they get dry, you don't see as clear because of that. And that's why we try to do things to keep the moisture and the type of lenses that have the best moisture, too. Other things are it can get uncomfortable. Once again, usually if it's dry, they can get a little bit uncomfortable at times, especially after you've worn it for many hours.
I would say probably one of the most difficult things that could be is that driving at night, if they're dry, you may not see as sharply or clearly as you did earlier in the day. And that has to do with the lower lighting, but also because you've worn the lenses all day. And so it may be getting a little bit dry. And that's why, once again, moisture is such a huge part of contact lenses. Other than that, there are not many. You know, there's a lot of side effects even with glasses. You look down, you can't see the stairs because you got a bifocal on or, or it rains and it fogs up your glasses. And there's water in your glasses and you move your head too quickly and they fall off. So, you know, there's side effects, but not too many. And the biggest thing is right around do a good regimen of care. Like, you know, don't sleep in your lenses, take them out, throw them away, and at the same time, you know, a good cleaning. If you're doing a monthly lens or don't try to wear your lenses more than one day, if you're doing a daily wear, you know, you mentioned at.
[00:51:11] Speaker E: Night, people's eyes may get dry and their contacts start to dry out. What do you recommend they do before they get in the car if they know that their eyes are going to start getting dry and they're going to have trouble seeing with their contact lenses?
[00:51:24] Speaker B: Well, you know, if you do that, of course drops can help. And I always say you should have drops on hand because you never know what you're going to get into that might dry your eyes. And especially if, you know, your eyes get a little bit drier at night, there are certain drops out there that do very well for a short period of time. The main thing I try to do is if they say they're having problem with that, I want people comfortable all day long. So then I start looking at their profile of what could be causing it to be dry. Most lenses, you can go all day and comfortably and see clear at night. So what's causing this? It's a different lens. Would that do better? Would maybe these prescription drops that help with dryness treatment of the lids themselves, Have a lot of treatments of the lids that can help your tear flow do better. At any age, you want to find out what the cause is, if you can, and alleviate it. At the very least, have drops.
[00:52:18] Speaker E: You know, you were a Division 1 basketball player. What do you think? For basketball, for contact lenses versus glasses, what do you think?
[00:52:28] Speaker B: Oh, my goodness, it's, you know, you can't really play basketball on the level I played, even on the high school level easily with glasses. Some people do and they do okay, but it's so much better when you have contacts. And when I was there, just to show you my age, everybody wore hard contact lenses. And I don't know if you remember, you're probably too young. But they'd always stopped the game while everyone looked for the hard contact lens that popped off. Now many more people wear contacts now playing sports, and you don't see that anymore because soft lenses hold onto your eye really well. It's a rare thing. And you almost have to poke somebody in the eye to dislodge the contact lenses. So occasionally you'll see, say a basketball player has to go to the sideline and they get another contact lens and put in their eye because they got poked in the eye. And in a way it might have helped protect their eye from hitting the scratch also. But no, it's such a huge thing in sports now. And that's the beauty of it, is that you can wear contact lenses and even baseball players can wear it and wear any type of sunglasses over top, you know, in the field. So, yeah, it's been a godsend for sports.
[00:53:34] Speaker E: Anything. For people that ride bikes, for bikers, contact lenses, do they have to worry about it drying out or they're wearing a shield and to help prevent it from drying out. What do you think about that?
[00:53:46] Speaker B: Well, I find most people that are cyclists, even the different types of cyclists, those like myself that just cycle around and we enjoy it, and then there are those that do mountain biking and they're very high speed biking and that sort of thing. But most of the time in any of those cases, contact lenses these days don't dry out and don't cause a problem.
And when they do, it is good to have something like sunglasses to put over just to shield the wind. Same with riding a motorcycle. We have a lot of patients on motorcycles that enjoy the freedom of contact lenses, but they're going to wear a helmet and that cuts the wind out. And you might have to do that with cycling, but I don't find that to happen very often, even in the most ardent cyclists, even those who are almost on a professional level.
[00:54:38] Speaker E: And how about swimming? People always want to know if they could wear their contact lenses when they swim.
[00:54:44] Speaker B: Well, you know, that's, that's, that's an issue. I love, my brother loves swimming in his contact lenses. He surfed in his contact lenses and rarely lost one. It was amazing. But I did have to tell him, you know, it is, it is. You do have bacteria in the ocean. You got to be careful with that. If your eyes are hurting, if you had a little abrasion, that might not be a great thing. And at the same time, in lakes and stuff, there is bacteria in there, what have you.
I tell people, my patients that, yeah, do it, but you got to take your contact lenses out and clean them, put them in a solution, an antibiotic solution, which you have. Which is what? Part of your solutions after that, if you're swimming in a pool, you're going to get chlorine in them. Try not to open your eyes underwater. The best in a pool is just, just, you know, if you're floating around in a pool, if you're with your eyes open in a pool, that's probably not going to work very well. You probably need a mask over it. But if you're on top of the water, enjoying it, floating in it. Yeah, I don't see any problem with that at all. And dailies are great, too, because once again, you're going to get rid of that lens pretty soon after you swim.
[00:55:56] Speaker E: Yeah, because they're wearing, you know, they're competitive swimming and they're wearing goggles. And hopefully their goggles are good enough where they're not getting water.
But if they are, they're wearing dailies. They could just discard the contact lenses after they get out of the pool, or they don't even get a lot of water. They're going to discard it later. But you don't want to have chlorine in the contact lens and delivering it to your cornea because you can get a corneal burn.
[00:56:23] Speaker B: Yes, exactly. And it can make your eyes where it drives well, too. So goggles are good if you open them up. If you're not, it's probably not such a big deal. But, you know, like I said, my brother just enjoyed surfing so much with his contact lenses, and it changed everything about it because he couldn't see very well and he was out there and he said, wow, it just makes everything clear and opens up everything. So I really appreciated that. And I had a friend who's an optometrist in Hawaii, and he. He did a study and said he got about 50 hours per lost limbs. You know, this is before they had dailies with contact lenses. And he said, all the surfers out there do it. But once again, the dailies are better. Get rid of the lens after you come out of the water or clean them real well because you don't want to take any chances with bacteria or chlorine in a pool.
[00:57:10] Speaker E: How long have you been using dailies for in your practice? And what has the patient said about daily contact lenses to you as far as feedback goes compared to when they switch from two week or monthly contacts?
[00:57:26] Speaker B: Well, I started in the early 90s when they first came out feeding dailies. And, you know, at one time we actually did it every year. And then it went. It was a yearly lens when I first started, and everybody fit lenses for the year. And we would quite routinely have people coming in with problems, you know, dryness, infections. What have you when it went to monthly, that went down a lot and when it went to daily, that really went down. So really I'm the one who has seen the improvement in the daily lens versus say the monthly lens. Although the new monthlies do do very well and I still fit those, of course, but, but it's hard to beat the dailies, you know, in that respect. And, and patients are so much more comfortable than they can do. They, they don't complain about dryness near as much with the one day lenses. They don't have problems coming in the office with, you know, an irritation in the eye or, or in some cases a bacterial infection. You see that so much less now than you used to see it. It's once again been a godsend. Now the patients don't always know that because they're not used to having anything else. You know, we're, we're really happy to see that come. There's so much of an improvement with that.
[00:58:38] Speaker E: Well, we're speaking with Dr. Bill Fox, optometrist from North Carolina, and he's kind enough to stay over and we're going to do another hour with him next week. Dr. Fox, if people want to get in touch with you, how can they do that?
[00:58:50] Speaker B: Well, once again, you said we have a website, Fox Eye Care Group and we're in four different cities. We're in Raleigh, we're in Greensboro, we're in Winston Salem and we're in Goldsboro, North Carolina. So go to our website. We have all our phone numbers there. We certainly love our patients and we enjoy them. We concentrate in contact lenses and treatment of eye disease.
[00:59:12] Speaker E: Thank you, Dr. Fox, for joining me today on Open youn eyes radio with Dr. Kerry Gilb.
[00:59:18] Speaker B: Thank you Dr. Gel, it's been a pleasure.
[00:59:30] Speaker C: JTR, JTR grouping and sighting. That's who we are. Hey homeowners, winter is here. Now is the perfect time to beat the rush and call JTR Roofing to get your home project set up for spring and lock in your pricing before they go up. JTR Roofing is your go to for all things exterior. Whether it's roofing, siding, gutters or windows, they've got you covered. Their team of experts will help you plan your project now so you're ready to roll the moment the snow melts. At JTR Roofing, they believe in quality you can trust. Whether it's protecting your home or business, they use top notch materials to ensure it stands the test of time. Don't wait. Call now or visit JTR
[email protected] to get a free estimate today. That's jtrroofinginc.com once again. Jtrroofinginc.com JTR JTR roofing and siding that's who Luther buys used cars. If you have a car, truck, van or SUV that you would like to sell, sell it to luther. They have 45 locations. Drive into any of the locations today. Tell them you have a vehicle you would like to sell. They'll point you in the right direction, and in about 15 minutes, they'll give you a fast, simple and safe offer. And if you accept, Luther does all the paperwork. So it's an absolute no brainer. Make today the day that you sell your vehicle to Luther. Because it turns out the best place to buy a car is the best place to sell your car. Find them
[email protected].
