Vista Eye Care, Thornton Colorado’s complete family eye care practice, is proud to enter our duck in the Northglenn/Thornton Rotary Club’s 2011 Ducky Derby.  The Derby will be held September 17th 2011 at 2:00 PM at 112th and Pecos.  Our contestant, “Bill,” is swimming in the race and we wish him the best of luck.

Meet Bill, Vista Eye Care’s Professional Swimmer

You may notice that Bill is wearing sunglasses.  Sunglasses are important to protect the retinas from the harmful component of sunlight known as ultraviolet light.  To prevent macular degeneration and cataracts, we recommend that all our patients wear sunglasses when outdoors.  This holds especially true because the Denver area is located at high altitude.  With less atmosphere to filter out the harmful rays of sunshine, eyes are more vulnerable to ultraviolet damage.  Proper nutrition and sun protection are key to keeping your eyes healthy.

In addition to keeping his eyes protected from sunlight, Bill knows not to swim with his contact lenses.  Not only are contact lenses more likely to get lost in the water, harmful infections can occur if microbes find their way into contacts.  Since Bill has prescription sunglasses, this is not a problem, though he knows that he can easily get prescription swim goggles from our office to give him excellent clarity while he is swimming.

We recommend yearly eye and vision exams for all our patients (and aquatic birds).  Please contact us today to schedule your yearly eye check-up, and good luck Bill!