The World Council of Optometry (WCO) is celebrating World Children’s Day 2023 with the official launch of their Pediatric Resource, a clinical resource for optometrists as they deliver accessible, quality eye care to children across the globe.
WCO is offering this resource to the public, which includes clinical information, assessment tools and references for clinicians to use to help children and their families in accessing the best eye care possible.
“World Children’s Day 2023 is an annual opportunity for each of us to advocate for the rights of children. Now is a time to consider how we can help protect and support our children so they can grow up to be productive and successful adults,” shared WCO President Dr. Sandra S. Block. “The World Council of Optometry supports efforts to ensure that vision development is considered as part of a child’s overall growth and development. The experts who volunteer for our organization have worked hard to put together this excellent resource for optometrists to help each of you better assess, diagnose, and treat vision and eye health problems in the children you serve.”
“This resource will be valuable for everyone that wants to know more about the guidelines and equipment that is available for working with children. The Pediatric Resource is complementary to the existing IAPB School Eye Health Guidelines and can be an add-on in settings where clinicians are able to provide further screening and treatment or if they want to understand what else is available to aspire to,” shared Priya Morjaria, WCO Public Health Committee Chair. “We hope that both members and non-members will access it. The resource will evolve over time, and it is our hope that those who use it may share any further additions or feedback with us at enquiries@worldoptometry.org.”
Bausch + Lomb announced its exclusive ONE by ONE and Biotrue Eye Care Recycling programs have collected a total of 76,645,000 units, or 464,100 pounds, of used contact lenses, eye care and lens care materials in the United States, which is equivalent to the weight of 140 hippos.
“As a result of the contributions of eye care professionals, patients and consumers, these award-winning programs continue to help keep recyclable plastic and aluminum eye health packaging materials out of landfills and oceans,” said Amy Butler, vice president, Global Environment, Health, Safety and Sustainability, Bausch + Lomb.
Contact lenses, eye care and lens care materials aren’t typically processed in standard recycling facilities due to the small size and the type of plastic used to manufacture them. As a result, they can end up in landfills or waterways. In the United States, it is estimated that six to 10 metric tons of contact lenses end up in wastewater each year, which can pollute aquatic environments and eventually impact the human food supply.
The ONE by ONE Recycling program has collected more than 76 million used contact lenses, blister packs and top foils since the program’s launch in November 2016. The Biotrue Eye Care Recycling program, which launched in April 2021, has collected more than 645,000 eye drop single dose units, lens cases, lens solution caps as well as all Biotrue-branded eye drops bottles (lens solution bottles are recyclable through standard recycling in accordance with local recycling guidelines).
Bausch + Lomb has a similar contact lens recycling program in Canada called Every Contact Counts.
As our multicultural population grows, the need for unique eyewear fits also increases. While there are a handful of collections that offer designs with an alternative fit, the choices are still quite limited. For a significant percentage of our Canadian market, trying to find a frame that fits comfortably can be a frustratingly limited choice and a daunting process.
Understanding Unique Features for UNIQUE Eyewear Fits
Skull variations among different ancestries include wider and shorter skulls with prominent cheekbones, heart-shaped nasal apertures, and less pronounced nasal bridges in individuals of Asian ancestry. Individuals of African descent often have wide nasal apertures and very flat nasal bridges. European skull shapes are generally characterized by long, narrow faces with comparatively flat facial profiles and sharply angled nasal bones. The nasal aperture can be narrow and lie high up on the face.
Modifying Frames for Optimal Comfort
Most frames being sold in the North American market are designed with European cranial structures in mind. For our multicultural clientele, it can be an incredibly frustrating experience with limited choices when searching for their next set of eyeglasses. Walking into a dispensary full of beautiful eyewear that doesn’t fit comfortably is a disappointing experience. However, even though the collections your office carries are not necessarily designed for every facial structure, you can still create a perfect fit for each unique client who enters your dispensary.
There are many options for modifying the frames you have in stock to create a perfect fit. Offering a chance for clients to choose a frame they truly love with an accompanying à-la-carte frame modification services menu can establish a client for life. In the same way we approach building a lens design with coating and upgrade options, we can approach building a bespoke eyeglass frame.
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Elevating Your Opticianry Skills with Custom Services
Our Asian and African American populations have historically had a very limited choice when it comes to a frame with a comfortable bridge fit. Most of the collections we carry in our dispensaries are designed with a European nasal shape in mind, forcing clients with a low bridge to choose a frame with adjustable nose pad arms to lift the eyewear up and away from their cheek. However, there is an alternative. Become an optical hero by offering the choice to have a custom bridge created on any acetate frame they choose!
Acetate bridge modifications are available in a variety of shapes, sizes, and creative colours to create a truly unique set of specs by lifting the frame up and away from the face, resulting in a balanced fit.
Francis Klein Paris
For ancestries with wider facial structures, many frames have not been designed with enough width across the temples. This causes an irritating amount of pressure against the side of the head, pushing the frame down the nose and resulting in it not settling securely. By offering a hinge restructuring service, the temple joint can be modified to allow it to open further. Adding a lateral bend along the length of the temple will reduce excess pressure while providing enough contact to support a secure adjustment. Improper temple length can also affect an ideal adjustment. Offering a service to either reduce or increase the temple length is the difference between a comfortable and irritating fit.
Elevate Your Practice with Unique Eyewear Customizations
By thinking outside the box and offering custom services, you can elevate your opticianry skills from average to exceptional! Offer a higher level of service while building a trust-based relationship with our expanding ethnic population. You are not limited by what frame designers are presenting. Get creative and set your office apart from the competition by offering a bespoke eyewear experience.
For an extensive list of frame modification services, visit www.sbspecs.com!
Sarah Bureau has been a licensed dispensing Optician in Niagara, Ontario for more than 20 years. She is the woman behind sbspecs, specializing in repairing and customizing eyewear for Opticians all across North America. Her love for restoring eyewear and modifying frames for unique fits is evident in the care she puts into each pair that crosses her workbench.
Sospiri® continues to revolutionize the industry with its bold blend of modern aesthetics and classic elegance. Its latest model, Renata, boasts sleek geometric lines and signature Swarovski® crystal embellishments.
Handcrafted in the northern Italian region of Veneto with Mazzucchelli acetate and hand-placed Swarovski® crystals, this model assures timeless sophistication while never compromising on comfort.
Marcolin kicks off the “Leadership Academy”, a training project dedicated to the Company’s talents and future leaders that this year, at its third run, features a session dedicated to women’s leadership.
Launched in 2021, Marcolin’s Leadership Academy is designed to boost the convergence of individual and corporate goals. It is composed by ten meetings, each focused on the skills and values on which Marcolin’s Leadership model is based, such as openness to change, practicality, responsibility and sense of belonging.
A new entry for this year is the integration of soft skills enhancement modules dedicated to women’s leadership aiming to train leaders of tomorrow who can guide and inspire others based on the principles of equity and inclusiveness.
The future managers will work along company executives and external experts, who will provide them with the tools needed to improve the skills required to lead a team and promote innovation, culture, and change.
Sabrina Paulon, Marcolin Group HR Director, points out: “The Leadership Academy, and specifically this year’s run, is an integral part of a vision launched many years ago, whereby Marcolin is committed to promoting a culture of respecting differences. Diversity is a value for us and a driver of economic growth and development not only to the advantage of women, but of all the people involved. This is why we want our future leaders to be able to implement a model that embraces values rather than gender-related features.”
Marcolin’s vision in terms of diversity and inclusion is one of the key pillars on which its ESG corporate strategy is built. Today, 57% of the company’s employees are women, 43% of whom are senior managers. In 2022, Marcolin received the recognition “Best Employers for Women” in the eyewear industry from the German ITQF Institute, which rewarded the top 360 companies in Italy.
Learn how eyewearprofessionals Kim Manias and Christine Zeggil are shaping the future of eye care in our industry. Explore their professional and personal journeys, insights and advice.
The American Academy of Optometry (AAO) was recognized as a Cochrane Eyes and Vision (CEV) Center for Evidence-based Vision Care during Academy 2024 Indianapolis, November 6-9, 2024.
Learn how eyewearprofessionals Kim Manias and Christine Zeggil are shaping the future of eye care in our industry. Explore their professional and personal journeys, insights and advice.
The American Academy of Optometry (AAO) was recognized as a Cochrane Eyes and Vision (CEV) Center for Evidence-based Vision Care during Academy 2024 Indianapolis, November 6-9, 2024.
Learn how eyewearprofessionals Kim Manias and Christine Zeggil are shaping the future of eye care in our industry. Explore their professional and personal journeys, insights and advice.
The American Academy of Optometry (AAO) was recognized as a Cochrane Eyes and Vision (CEV) Center for Evidence-based Vision Care during Academy 2024 Indianapolis, November 6-9, 2024.
Learn how eyewearprofessionals Kim Manias and Christine Zeggil are shaping the future of eye care in our industry. Explore their professional and personal journeys, insights and advice.
The American Academy of Optometry (AAO) was recognized as a Cochrane Eyes and Vision (CEV) Center for Evidence-based Vision Care during Academy 2024 Indianapolis, November 6-9, 2024.
