I’ve got some bad news. If you haven’t looked at the calendar lately, you might be unaware that next weekend is Labor Day Weekend, which means that, yep, summer is almost over. Fall has its own benefits, I suppose, but I definitely will miss my summer sandals and afternoons by the pool!

It’s a common assumption that as soon as summer goes, sunglasses go, too, but this couldn’t be farther from the truth! Sun damage to your skin and eyes can happen any time of year, and in fact, the risk is higher during the colder months, simply because people think they don’t need to worry about sunscreen or sunglasses.

Now is the perfect time for a pair of sunglass bifocals like the Danvilles. With tinted lenses that protect your eyes from UV rays, they’ll serve you well whether you’re checking out an outdoor outlet mall or picking out the perfect Christmas tree. (Hey, that seems far away now, but just wait – it’ll be here before you know it.)

Plus, the Danville Bifocals are our first bifocals to have the magnification on the inside of the lens, meaning that it’s harder to tell you’re wearing bifocals at all. You can see the fine print on menus, programs, brochures, etc, but everyone else will just think you’re wearing regular sunglasses.

Available in brown and black, the Danville bifocals will fit any wardrobe – they’re a classic pair of shades that prove both fashionable and functional. What’s better?

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We just have one contest running right now, which means a very concentrated effort can be applied to entering!  And that’s not a bad thing.

Head on over to Diabetic Snacker to see what it’ll take to win a completely free pair of reading glasses of your choice from ReadingGlassesShopper.com.

I believe it was Wayne Gretzky who said, “You will always lose 100% of the contest you never enter.”

Or something like that.  Food for thought.

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Happy Friday, Readers! I hope you have weekend plans that will make the most of this end-of-summer weather. Fall will be here before we know it!

As usual, here are some great eye care resources and news items to keep you informed and seeing clearly. Enjoy!

Women’s Health: The Healthy Women website is a great resource for all aspects of women’s health, with blogs and discussion on pretty much every topic you could imagine. Their section on eye health is particularly useful, with tips for keeping your eyes healthy and information on preventative health screenings for women.

Children and Vision: Ready to send your young one back to school? Besides being the month when children everywhere pick up pencils and notebooks and head back into the classroom, August is also Children’s Eye Health Month. According to this article, one in ten children is at risk for an undiagnosed eye problem, so make sure you take this opportunity to make sure your student’s eyes are ready to learn, too. After all, 80% of learning is processed through your child’s eyes.

Reading Glasses Guide: Have questions about reading glasses? Optometrist Andrew Gay has put together a helpful resource that answers many common questions, including those involving eye myths like “wearing glasses weakens your eyes.”  He also has some useful information on eye exercises and eye surgery.

Vision in the Future: Contacts with LED lights? Bionic eyes? Seeing with your tongue? Technology moves quickly, and scientists are more optimistic than ever about the possibilities to advance vision. Here’s a highlight of some possibilities for the future.

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Eye tracking technology to replace polygraph machines. The University of Utah is working on a polygraph replacement that will use eye tracking technology. Rather than measuring one’s emotional response to lying, the eye tracking will measure one’s cognitive response. Research shows that it takes more effort to lie than tell the truth, therefore a dishonest person may have dilated pupils or take longer to read and answer the questions. Pretty crazy,right? Check it out.

Adolescent vision screenings can miss farsightedness and astigmatism. Have you been to the eye doctor lately? They usually do all kinds of tests with all sorts of different technology and equipment, but did you know that the standard screening for school age children just involves reading a chart from a distance? According to new research, this could be missing conditions such as farsightedness, lazy eye and astigmatism. Don’t be out of the loop.

Older diabetics often suffer from eye damage. A recent study collected data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 28.5 percent of all diabetics over the age of 40 suffer from diabetic retinopathy, which affects the blood vessels around the eye.

On the same note, ACCORD eye study found two therapies that slow diabetic eye disease progression. See this article for information on the therapies. Of course, don’t start taking your insulin or monitoring your blood pressure differently without seeking the advice of your doctor.

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You want to look and feel professional, but you also want to have some style. Finding this kind of reading glasses can be difficult at times. You want to give a very professional vibe at work, but you don’t want something that seems stuffy or boring. Everybody wants to be the cool kid or the style maven, right? So to achieve this look, oftentimes the rimless style of reading glasses is the way to go. That’s exactly what I thought when I saw the Baker in our new arrivals.

This pair of reading glasses looks sleek and business-like with the combination of semi-rimless lenses and heavier plastic frames. These frames will complement just about any face shape and add style without being obtrusive. The Baker comes in brown and tortoise, both colors that convey professionalism, and remember, they are rimless on the bottom for that stylish effect. They also come in powers of +1.00 through +3.50. With a price tag of only $12.71, how could you go wrong?

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