What Is Your Vision Eye-Q?
Q. at What age should my children get their first real eye exam?
A: At Brill Eye Center, we do a no-charge-to-parent 1st eye exam between ages 10 to 12 months on a program we call Infant-See. Otherwise, we need to see your child by age three to five years old, even if the pediatrician says all is OK. Why? Because 80% of learning is visual. Often, a parent will say my child can see airplanes miles away. The question is, which eye is she using? If an eye is not seeing well, it will end up becoming lazy, a condition called amblyopia. An early eye exam can prevent loss of vision by taking action and making an appointment with a professional optometrist who likes seeing kids.
Q. Is there a non-surgical alternative to LASIK? The answer is YES! A: I recommend a non-surgical treatment called Overnight Corneal Reshaping (OCR). This process simply involves applying custom-designed contact lenses that reshape the eye overnight while you sleep. Remove them in the morning and see well all day long without the use of daytime contacts or glasses. It resembles wearing a nighttime retainer for your teeth, but only costs about half of LASIK fees, is totally reversible, and is most often used to prevent myopia progression in children. Dr. Brill’s sons have worn these successfully and safely for many years. Your doctor should be a Fellow in the American Academy of Orthokeratology and Myopia Control (AAOMC). ■
Written by: Dr. Raymond J. Brill
Dr. Brill graduated with honors from Illinois College of Optometry in 1978. He had the privilege to serve as Division Optometrist at Ft. Riley, KS for four years, leaving the service with the rank of Captain. Dr. Brill began his own practice in 1983—Brill Eye Center—in Mission, KS after devoting a year to exclusively seeing infants and children in a pediatric eye practice. He is an early adopter of technology, and his practice is diverse with an emphasis on specialty contact lenses, dry eye disease, and luxury eyewear. In 2010, Dr. Brill earned an Executive MBA degree with top honors from the Bloch School of Management in Kansas City with emphasis in innovation and entrepreneurship. He currently serves on several professional and community boards and regularly writes professional articles and presents lectures to his colleagues locally and nationally.
