DeonOptom is a family optometrist based in Norwood, Johannesburg.
Scleral contact lenses have been around for a very long time. These are large, hard contact lenses that cover the entire cornea and rest gently on the sclera, the white part of your eye. What makes scleral lenses particularly remarkable, however, isn’t simply their history. It’s what modern scleral lenses can do for people whose…
Many people assume that children are too young to wear contact lenses. The reality is that children can absolutely wear contact lenses in the right circumstances. Whether a child is a suitable candidate depends on several factors, including their age, maturity, lifestyle, and the reason contact lenses are being considered. Every child is different, which…
Often, patients come into my practice for new spectacles with a sense of dread that their prescription may increase. A patient said the other day that she is “sick of her prescription increasing”. So let us discuss a few reasons why your prescription may increase, and why it is not always as simple as “my…
Keratoconus is a progressive degenerative corneal disease (the front, clear part of the eye), characterised by thinning of the corneal stroma (the thickest layer of the cornea) due to weakening of the collagen fibres. This results in an irregularly shaped cornea, instead of a more spherical shape, that in most cases cannot be corrected with…
I sometimes feel like I sound like a broken record when I talk about sleep apnea.But that’s only because it affected my life completely.And more importantly, it’s something I see being missed in patients over and over again. Before I was diagnosed, I already knew that sleep apnea could affect the eyes.What I didn’t realise…
Have you ever been told by an optometrist that you cannot wear contact lenses? This is something I hear quite often in my practice when patients come to see me after visiting other optometrists. In many cases, the issue is not that contact lenses are impossible — it is simply that standard stock contact lenses…
According to the American Optometric Association, vision-related learning difficulties can broadly be divided into two main areas: visual efficiency and visual information processing. Understanding the difference between these two areas is crucial for understanding why a child may be struggling at school, despite appearing intelligent and motivated. Visual Efficiency: The Foundation of Vision Visual efficiency…
Vision can sometimes feel extremely uncomfortable, but why is that? One of the biggest contributors is perfect repetition: perfectly straight horizontal and vertical lines, perfect repetitive geometric patterns, and high-contrast designs. When “Perfect” Design Becomes a Problem for Vision Minimalism is very popular in modern design. Sleek lines, sharp contrasts, and repeated patterns are often…
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been active. In my twenties, I danced ballet, walked wherever I needed to go, and thought I could eat whatever I wanted without consequence. Older friends would warn me, “Wait until you hit 25 or 30, that’s when the weight starts creeping in.” I laughed it off…
Autism has been a hot topic lately. But before we begin, it’s important to understand that autism is not a disease that needs to be prevented or cured. Instead of focusing on prevention, society should focus on acceptance and inclusion—welcoming individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and providing them with support, understanding, and dignity. People…