OpticalCEUs Fall Seminar Registration Will Begin Sept. 1

Linda Conlin, president and founder of OpticalCEUs and F.E. Enterprises, announced that registration for OpticalCEUs annual Fall seminar for opticians will begin on September 1. You will be able to save your seat online, by phone, or by mail. The seminar will offer approved courses for seven ABO/NCLE credits. Watch for more announcements.

Connection between Glaucoma and Apnea? Maybe

"Scientists have successfully measured the eye pressure of sleeping patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome for the first time, finding an unexpected correlation with glaucoma," according to Science Daily. Read more.

Blind Opticianry Professor Teaches Students about the Blind

"On a recent Monday afternoon, Opticianry Professor Blair Wong told his students to pair up with interns from the Carroll Center for the Blind, who were visiting class that day. For the next 30 minutes, the students were supposed to lead the interns, who were blind, through the narrow hallways of the Ben Franklin Institute of Technology as they went on a tour of the school," starts the Boston.com post. "The dozen or so students stood up and walked over to the adults interns, politely introducing themselves before carefully placing their hands on the interns’ elbows. Wong stood at the front of the room looking down. He would need someone to guide him, too." Read more.

Renewed Warnings about Workplace Eye Injuries

"According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are more than 2,000 workplace-related eye injuries in the United States each day. This amounts to more than 730,000 on-the-job eye injuries every year, with more than 36,000 resulting in time off from work. The annual price tag for these injuries hovers around $300 million annually. In addition, many eye injuries, like other workplace injuries, are never reported for a variety of reasons. So, if anything, these statistics underreport the urgency of the situation," reports OSH Online. "And we need to add one more statistic for consideration. While the number of injuries per day can vary depending on the source, virtually all sources agree that 90 percent of these eye injuries could be prevented if the worker wears the proper protective eye gear." Read more.

Good Morning America Questions Online Eye Test

"Good Morning America delved into the online 'vision test' known as Opternative with a GMA Investigates segment, aired Aug. 5, that took the company's claims to task and confirmed AOA's concerns that such an inadequate service can pose a threat to patient health," reports  AOA (American Optometric Assn.) "'There's potential for missing things that can be very significant to your eye health and your systemic health.' What the GMA segment uncovered completely validates patient safety alarms, and drew a strong response from viewers who saw optometry on the side of the public, fighting for the highest quality eye care." Read more.

FTC Sues 1-800 Contacts for Restraint of Trade

"A leading proponent of the Coalition for Contact Lens Consumer Choice, 1-800 Contacts has been called to task over business practices found to undermine contact lens marketplace competition, antitrust regulators say." That's the post from the American Optometric Assn. (AOA). "The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed suit against 1-800 Contacts on Aug. 8, alleging that the company unlawfully used its market power to orchestrate and maintain anti-consumer agreements with rival online contact lens retailers. These agreements not only suppress competition in online search advertisements, but also "restrict truthful and non-misleading internet advertising to consumers, resulting in some consumers paying higher retail prices for contact lenses," according to the FTC's administrative complaint." Read more.