Supporting local businesses during this time of uncertainty is critical. Here at Envision Eyecare, we are adapting to our ever changing world. We now offer ordering your contact lenses through our website!
Create an account with an email, first & last name, DOB, an approved username & password.
Once the order is placed, please be mindful that there is a 1-2 business days pending approval before the order can be processed, to ensure authorized and valid contact lens prescriptions.
If there are any issues, you will be contacted by an Envision Eyecare team member.
Please allow 1 week after your order is placed to receive your contacts. If your contact lens prescription is expired, at this time we are allowing patients to order a 6 month supply through our office to hold over until we are open for normal care.
Did you know that our doctors can still perform emergency eye care visits and follow up appointments?
Envision Eyecare is excited to offer access for urgent eye care needs with Telehealth services and in office visits as needed. Telehealth is a virtual visit conducted with an Envision Eyecare Doctor. In most cases, this is done via video, imaging, or a phone call from a safe location of your choice. Telehealth supports the advised social distancing that could help limit the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
What you can accomplish with a Telehealth appointment: You can talk about symptoms, or follow up on your prior medical or vision problems. In many cases you can receive a diagnosis and medical prescription, for your health issues from the convenience of your safe location. If this is not possible, we can schedule an in office visit to assess and resolve your eye issue.
How to schedule an urgent eye health appointment: Please call (828) 254-6757 or email us at [email protected] and request an appointment and we will find a convenient time for you to schedule a consultation. If you must leave a message, PLEASE INCLUDE YOUR DATE OF BIRTH. You will be contacted by an Envision Eyecare team member at your designated telephone number.
*** You can order your contact lens through our office!
Please call (828) 254-6757 or email us at [email protected] and a team member will assist you. If two or more boxes are purchased, we can ship the supply to your address for free!
We also offer online ordering for your contacts through our website!
Create an account with an email, first & last name, DOB, an approved username & password.
Once the order is placed, please be mindful that there is a 1-2 business days pending approval before the order can be processed, to ensure authorized and valid contact lens prescriptions.
If there are any issues, you will be contacted by an Envision Eyecare team member.
Please allow 1 week after your order is placed to receive your contacts. If your contact lens prescription is expired, at this time we are allowing patients to order a 6 month supply through our office to hold over until we are open for normal care.
***
What is Best of WNC? Each year Mountain Xpress asks the community to vote for their favorite local businesses in a variety of categories. The winners of each category are then published in the “Best Of” edition; encouraging the community to shop local and venture somewhere new.
We’d like to ask the favor of your Vote for the “Mountain Xpress’ Best of WNC!” contest which ends in a few short weeks on April 30th. We’ve been fortunate to have been voted “Best of Eyecare Specialist/Service” for the last 8 years running.
***Please note! You must vote in 30 categories for your vote to count! So think of all your favorite local places in Western North Carolina and vote for them as well.***
If you have any questions or need help, please do not hesitate to reach out!
Some FSA/HSA have different deadlines than others. Whether your FSA/HSA expires on December 31st or sooner, we have a special offer than any patient with a FSA/HSA can take advantage of! During these times of uncertainty, we encourage our community of patients to use benefits at our practice.
We accept your FSA/HSA benefits for all services and products in our office such as:
Copays for comprehensive eye health exams and medical checks
To incentivize our community to use your HSA/FSA benefits at our practice, we are offering an additional credit on your account on top of what you choose to spend.
How does this work?
Call our office during our business hours and we will run your card for the amount you designate
We issue a credit on the account with 5% amount more (Example: If you spend $100, you receive $105 on your patient account)
You can use your credit when you are ready; the credit never expires at the end of September 2020 and can be spent on any of our products or services!
We really appreciate our community of patients. THANK YOU for being such an understanding and supporting the community in such challenging times!
Be safe and be WELL!
Dr. Larry Golson, OD and Dr. Eric Bryant, OD & Your Envision Eyecare Team
[av_textblock size=” font_color=” color=”] Happy National Nutrition Month!
Since we were children, we’ve been taught to eat our vegetables at every meal to keep us healthy, but did you know what you eat can also help protect your eyesight and eye health too? Green, leafy and brightly colored vegetables are packed with carotenoids such as lutein and zeaxanthin that help protect against eye-related diseases like macular degeneration and cataracts.
What is the macula?
The macula is located in the back of the eye and is part of the retina. The macula is about 5mm and has high concentrations of photoreceptor cells that detect light and send signals to the brain. It is obvious that the macula is tiny, but a mighty part of our eyes!
What is macular degeneration?
There are two types of macular degeneration; dry and wet. Dry macular degeneration is the most common. Dry macular degeneration is when the macula becomes thinner overtime. Wet macular degeneration is when abnormal blood vessels grow under the retina. Both cause loss of vision, but wet macular degeneration is much more serious.
What are cataracts?
Cataracts are when the lens in our eyes become clouded or foggy with age. The protein in our eyes start to break down around the age of 40, but can be unnoticed until a few years later. Blurry vision, bothersome night vision, and double vision are some of the symptoms of cataracts.
Here are foods that are rich with lutein and zeaxanthin:
Kale
Spinach
Collard greens
Turnip greens
Chard
Brussels Sprouts
Broccoli
Have a hard time eating your vegetables?
We have a supplement in our office that is rich in these carotenoids! Vision Essence is recommended by both Dr. Golson and Dr. Bryant. This bottle contains 90 capsules with 10 mg of lutein, 2mg of zeaxanthin, and 10mg of meso-zeaxanthin.The capsules do not contain any gelatin product, so this product is vegan friendly!
How do I protect against macular degeneration and cataracts?
Along with fueling your body with the right nutrition and scheduling yearly eye health exams, protection is the key to prevention! Wearing sunglasses everyday can protect from the toxic rays from the sun and damaging HEV light! All of our Optical Experts can assist in finding the sunglasses that are right for you!
[av_textblock size=” font_color=” color=”] TOP REASONS TO BUY YOUR NEXT PAIR OF GLASSES WITH ENVISION EYECARE!
QUALITY- Unlike items purchased throughout the year, it can be difficult for you to judge quality in a pair of glasses. That’s why it’s important to purchase your eye wear through a doctor’s office you can trust. At Envision Eye Care, we use only the finest materials, so your glasses will be dependable and attractive long after they’ve been purchased. We also work with one of the finest, state-of-the-art optical labs in the nation. We have chosen to partner with this lab to custom craft your eye wear because of their quality workmanship and our access to the very best advancements in lens designs.
SELECTION- Regardless of your budget or insurance allowance, everyone deserves to look fabulous! That’s why our optical boutiques offer a wide range of eye wear options and styles at various price points – from exclusive, high-end designer frames to fashionable values for the entire family.
VALUE PROMISE- We promise to provide you the best value – quality eye wear at a fair price. We do not carry cheaply made frames that easily break, outdated designer styles, and inferior lens products that can distort vision so we can offer you a cheap price. Nor do we advertise low prices so we can “up sell” you once you arrive at our optical boutique. Our fees reflect the quality of our workmanship – and when comparing glasses of similar quality – are often lower than many “one-hour” stores and (online) optical chains.
TEAM OF EXPERTS- Our knowledgeable and courteous optical team will expertly help you select the frame and lens package that’s right for your lifestyle and budget, and support you to understand your lens options, frame materials, warranties, etc. We want to ensure you are completely happy with your new pair of glasses.
SATISFACTION GUARANTEE- When you purchase a pair of frames and lenses from the optical boutique at Envision Eyecare, you have our commitment to your satisfaction. We guarantee our workmanship and the accuracy of your prescription lenses, and offer free adjustments, minor repairs, and cleanings for the life of your eye wear.
What 30,000 Consumer Reports’- survey respondents had to say. A recent Consumer Reports study confirms independent eye care practices score higher for quality, frame selection, care taken to fit glasses, staff expertise, and follow-up service.
“ … you might do better getting your specs at a doctor’s office or independent optical boutique; those typically scored high marks across the board, particularly when it came to employee know-how, service, and the quality of the finished glasses. You might even spend less than you would at some high-profile chains.” Consumer Reports, December 2010
THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING LOCAL BUSINESS!
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Four Reasons Why Your Child Should Have an Eye Exam
A vision screening at school, church or even a pediatrician is not a substitute for a comprehensive eye exam. Serious eye health and vision concerns can be missed at a screening, certain states are mandating children have a comprehensive exam before entering school. The doctors at Envision Eyecare advise yearly eye health exams for children for the following important reasons:
80% of learning occurs through the visual system, and in order for your child to reach his/her full potential in school, it is critical that eye tracking, acuity, and focusing are functioning properly.
Most ultraviolet radiation damage to the eyes occurs in the first 2 decades of life, so it’s important your child’s eyes are protected with the sunglasses that protect against Ultraviolet and Blue light filters.
Long term exposure to blue light emitted from the sun and digital devices is harmful to the eye. This may also affect sleep patterns and cause eyestrain.
Vision screenings only test eye sight, not eye health, and it’s important your child’s eye health is evaluated as well.
Unfortunately, studies show that only 31% of children, ages 6-16 have an annual eye exam, and 70% of children under the age of 6 have never had an eye exam.
As a result, 1 in 4 children will go back to school this year with an undiagnosed vision problem that could interfere with learning.
The following is a true story about a pediatric patient who would have passed a vision screening: Dr. Bryant examined a child with no complaints and 20/20 vision. The child had swollen optic nerves indicating a potential brain tumor. Fortunately, the child was quickly diagnosed and underwent urgent surgical intervention to save his life. This is an extreme example, and rare, however it illustrates why a comprehensive eye health exam is so important for all children.
Contact lenses are medical devices that can improve vision, add convenience to activities, and bandage an injury to improve comfort and aid healing. It is very important to have a contact lens evaluation to make sure your eyes are healthy enough to wear them comfortably without damaging the ocular surface, and to ensure the contact fits your eye properly. There have been many advances in contact lens technology over the last decade to enhance comfort, breathability and vision demands. We will discuss the different types and modalities of contact lens, wear time schedules, and the benefits of utilizing new technology to expand the demographic of eligible contact lens candidates.
The majority of contact lens wearers are in soft contact lenses. These lenses are available in daily disposable, 2 week disposable, and 1 month
disposable wear schedule regimens. Daily disposables are the healthiest option with improved convenience and comfort. The cost difference is negligible when the consideration of solution cost is no longer needed with daily disposables. Also, the packaging is recyclable, except the foil.
When the eye is not completely round and has an oval curvature, it is termed astigmatism. In order to correct astigmatism with contacts, we must use a toric contact that is larger in diameter and must be orientated properly to provide adequate vision. Different designs of toric lenses are available for different shapes of the eye to provide the best vision and comfort.
Hard contacts are usually indicated for irregular corneal shapes and can be initially uncomfortable. For those who find hard lenses unbearable, a blended(soft and hard) contact or scleral contact lens can be a valuable alternative to treat corneal diseases that cause irregularity.
As we age, the ability to see up close slowly diminishes and a different modality of contact lenses are necessary. Three main choices are multifocals, monovision and distance vision only with readers over the contacts as needed for near vision tasks. Multifocals are the best option to try first because it provides seamless vision from distance to near, but is pupil size dependent so these do not work perfectly for everyone. Monovision is when we fit the dominant eye for distance and the non-dominant eye for reading. This seems like it would create imbalance or eye strain, but works very well for the majority of people who are not comfortable with multifocals. These two modalities can be modified and used in combination dependent on patient visual demand. If neither of these options is adequate, correcting the distance vision with the use of readers
over the contacts is a last resort.
Ortho-keratology is the science of using hard contacts during sleeping hours to gently change the curvature of the eye overnight, so no correction is needed during the day. The initial comfort is sometimes an issue, but improves over time. This has been implicated in reducing the progression of nearsightedness in the adolescence.
Newer innovations in contacts have become exciting for other demographics as well. A brand new lenses has been released specifically geared for the avid device user to reduce computer fatigue and enhance performance. Also, bluetooth technology incorporated in the contact is on the horizon to monitor eye pressure and blood glucose, in order to better manage glaucoma and diabetes.
You may be asking yourself this question after seeing online and commercial advertising. Our objective at Envision Eyecare is to educate our patients on the difference in quality and craftsmanship between our glasses and those purchased online or through a commercial vendor. It is through education that we can convey why all glasses are not created equal. The Envision Eyecare team takes a great deal of pride in the services and products we offer as well as the information we provide to our community. We are unique from other providers, so we hope you find this information helpful as you decide what’s important for your best sight and eye health.
First, why wouldn’t you purchase your eyewear online or from a commercial, corporate vendor if you could save on cost? Research shows that over 50% of online eyeglasses are returned to the consumer with incorrect prescriptions and/or materials not delivered as ordered. Plus important measurements that ensure your best vision are generated haphazardly, which can have detrimental effects on your best vision and comfort. Most online and commercial vendors promote cheap prices which leads to a diminished sense of sight and performance. While the immediate benefit may be cost saving, you’ll often sacrificing your visual clarity, comfort, protection and, most importantly, preservation of your sight. As with other consumer purchases, the adage “you get what you pay for” certainly holds true with eyewear.
Read on to learn how our Optical Experts use their hard-earned skills and knowledge to craft the best eye wear possible for your lifestyle, fashion, fit and protection.
Top 5 things we consider when ordering your great spectacle lenses:
Lens material- (plastic vs. polycarbonate)-polycarbonate is thinner/lighter and impact resistant for improved comfort, safety and aesthetics
Premium anti-reflective treatments (or AR)- this treatment reduces glare and reduces fatigue with computer use; cheaper coatings typically peel or chip after a short time.
Lens surfacing (Digital vs traditional)- digital surfacing enhances visual clarity by reducing peripheral distortion and improving range of vision in progressive lenses
Blue light and Ultraviolet radiation filters- protect against macular degeneration, the #1 cause of blindness over 55, as well as Cataracts and eyelid skin cancer (which accounts for 8% of all skin cancers.) Other benefits include improved sleep and reduced eye strain from devices.
No-line bifocals/progressives (premium vs standard)- premium progressives provide a wider area for reading and intermediate vision with reduced peripheral distortion leading to easier adjustment and everyday use.
Top 3 things we consider when ordering your fabulous new frame:
Your exact spectacle prescription- matching your Rx to a specific frame is a critical first step in making your glasses accurately.
Frame Material- hand-selecting frames that are made from quality metals, such as titanium or are hand-made (see STATE OPTICAL CO.) make for a more durable frame over time. Cheaper frames are made from poorer quality metals and injection mold plastics which lose their adjustment and break easily.
Comfort and Fit- Your face and fashion sense means a lot to you! Cheaper frames are heavier, leading to daily discomfort, and can be more difficult to adjust and hold their shape. Our patients feel more confident and attractive, leading to a superior user experience for the life of their eyewear.
We stand behind what our Doctor’s prescribe for you and are able to guarantee the quality of your eye wear if they are made in our office. We ensure quality control for all glasses orders, checking that they were made properly and that frame adjustments are accurate for you, making sure you have the best for your eyes.
The list above is a guide to educate you on products that will enhance and protect your vision. We believe your eyes and your vision are worth it and we hope you do too!
Our optical team is committed to excellence and quality. We are here to partner with you to find best fit eyewear for the demands of your everyday life. We offer a wide range of products for all budgets, plus we want you to SEE and be SEEN wonderfully!
The majority of contact lens wearers are in soft contact lenses. These lenses are available in daily disposable, 2 week disposable, and 1 month
overnight, so no correction is needed during the day. The initial comfort is sometimes an issue, but improves over time. This has been implicated in reducing the progression of nearsightedness in the adolescence. 
Top 5 things we consider when ordering your great spectacle lenses: