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Now that you have picked up your new pair of prescription eyeglasses, your focus becomes taking care of them. This is a task many disregard, but it is absolutely imperative that you make sure you are following a couple simple steps to keep the quality of your vision with your new spectacles.

We are all guilty of using a garment when in a rush to wipe away a pesky smudge on our glasses. This act is unfortunately the worst thing you can do for your lenses.

No matter how clean your clothes are, dust particles and even small bits of sand and debris cling to them. Since eyeglass lenses are not made of diamonds, these tiny little particles can do tremendous amounts of damage to your new lenses. The smallest little crumb can grind a scratch directly in your line of vision, which in turn can render your glasses almost useless.

Most of us know what it feels like trying to concentrate on the world in front of you when there is a little scratch distorting and distracting your vision. A majority of the time, these little scratches can be avoided by following a few simple steps.

You may have noticed while shopping in your favorite store that they sell a variety of eyeglass cleaners. You need to be careful because the sprays and wipes which you can purchase in retail stores are not necessarily approved for all types of eyeglass lens materials.

This factor makes them fall under that category of products that many eye care professions cannot recommend. Most of these liquids contain a form of acetone or other cleaning agent that is too harsh for plastic lenses. Many years ago, when all eyeglasses were actually made out of crown glass, these products would have worked just fine. Now, during a time with thinner, lighter materials like cr-39 plastic and polycarbonate, these products have proven to be too hard on the lenses.

Over time, the lenses will start to break down if exposed to the chemicals used in these sprays, causing a fogging effect. Once again, you are left with a pair of glasses that are now unable to be used.

Now that we have gone over the two main culprits in the destruction of eyeglass lenses, other than accidents, let’s focus on some tips to extend the life of your glasses.

Most importantly, you should use an eyeglass case. For the large portion of patients who wear their glasses all day, it’s understandable how awkward it can be to carry a case around. But it’s nowhere near as frustrating as realizing the new pair of eyeglasses you just purchased is becoming scratched and ruined.

Also, you do not need to carry the case with you everywhere you go. Strategically leaving a case on a bedside table, in your car, or in a purse is the difference between “life or death” for your glasses.

There is also a simple way to clean your glasses that does not require you to purchase anything you probably don’t already have at home. Using lukewarm water at the sink, place a small, pea-sized dab of dish soap on your fingers. Gently rub the soap on both lenses from side to side, and then rinse with warm water. A disposable paper towel is recommended to dry the glasses.

Disposable towels work because they are just that, disposable - which guarantees they are not carrying dirt or sand from a prior use.

Taking care of your glasses today means you have them for clear vision tomorrow and into the future.

As an eye doctor, diagnosing a red eye can be challenging. Are we dealing with an infection, allergy, inflammation, or dryness?

A common question we get is, “Doc, my eyes are red, burning, itchy, and tearing. Is this dry eye or from allergies?” The short answer is it could be one, both, or neither. We'll outline various ways these conditions present clinically and the treatments for them.

The hallmark symptom of allergy – meaning if you have this symptom you almost definitely have the condition – is itching. Red, watery, ITCHY eyes are almost invariably due to an allergen, whether environmental or medicinal. It is one of the most common ocular conditions that we, as eye doctors, treat -- especially when plants are filling the air with pollen as they bloom in the Spring and then die off in the Fall.

The itching occurs because an immune cell called a mast cell releases histamine, causing the itching sensation. It can be quite unbearable for the sufferer, causing them to rub their eyes constantly, which actually increases the amount of histamine in the eye, leading to worsening of the symptoms.

Treatments may include:

• Over-the-counter or prescription allergy drops (mostly anti-histamines or mast cell stabilizers).
• Topical steroids (to get the inflammation under control).
• Cool compresses applied to the eye.

Patients sometimes need to take drops every day to keep their symptoms under control.

Dry eye can have many of the same symptoms as allergic eye disease, with the eye being red and possibly watery ("My eyes are tearing--how could it be dry eyes?"). The main exceptions are that people with dry eyes tend to complain more of burning and a foreign body sensation - like there is sand or gravel in the eye - rather than of itchiness.

Dry eye is a multi-faceted disease with many different causes and treatments. Treatment ranges from simple re-wetting eye drops to long-term medications (both topical and oral), as well as non-medicinal treatments such as eyelid heating treatments.

So how do we determine the difference? The first question I ask patients who complain of red, watery, uncomfortable eyes is, “What is your MAIN symptom? Itching or burning?” The answer will likely direct which course of treatment we take, and as those treatments sometimes overlap, you may have a component of both dry eye and allergy.

That is important to distinguish because many of the treatments we use for allergies - like antihistamine eye drops - can sometimes make the dryness worse. Though neither of these conditions is 100% curable (except maybe for allergy, where if you remove the allergen, you obviously won’t get symptoms!). We have many tools in our treatment arsenal to keep the symptoms at bay.

Unfortunately, dry eye and allergy aren’t the only two things that can cause your eye to have the multiple symptoms of red, watery, itchy, burning eyes. There are other problems, such as blepharitis, that can produce a similar appearance, as well as bacterial and viral infections.

So before embarking on a particular therapy, it is wise to have a good exam to help you get on the right track of improving your symptoms.