Our Professional Services
Clear Vision, Healthy Eyes
Refraction (Vision Examination)
Refraction is the vision test to determine your eye prescription to see clearly for spectacles or contact lenses. A good refraction examination by our optometrists ensures that what we prescribe for you is comfortable for your eyes without causing disturbing headaches and eyestrain.
Refractive Errors comprises of:
(1) Astigmatism - the cornea have 2 different curves, causing strenuous blurred vision.
(2) Myopia - nearsightedness.
(3) Hyperopia - farsightedness
(4) Presbyopia - inability to focus at near object, which develops naturally with age.
If you can see 6/6 without any optical aids, then you have perfect vision (no refractive error).
Comprehensive Eye Examination
A comprehensive eye exam by Nan Fang is more than meets the eye. This service comprises a careful and thorough Refraction (Vision Examination) to determine an optimal eye prescription for you to see clearly and comfortably and a detailed examination of the anterior eye structures (cornea and crystalline lens) and the light sensitive inner eye retina (tissue layer responsible for detecting vision), which allows detection of common eye ailments such as cataracts. Other ailments such as diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration can also be diagnosed early via the eye examination, thus preventing the risk of precious vision loss. The World Health Organization (WHO)’s 2019 World Report on Vision published research that predicts that by 2050, the proportion of the world’s population estimated to be suffering from macular degeneration and glaucoma will be 243.4 million and 95.4 million respectively.
Do visit us for a comprehensive eye examination today.
Contact Lenses
contact lenses are great alternative to spectacles-free vision correction. Available in both soft and rigid gas permeable types which can correct myopia and astigmatism.
Under the Singapore's Optometrists and Opticians Act, mandatory eye examination and fitting session are required prior to the sale of contact lenses.
Glaucoma Screening
Glaucoma is a common chronic eye disease that causes loss of your side vision. Glaucoma is prevalent among individuals aged 40 and above and also those with positive family history of glaucoma. The damage done is irreversible. It is therefore important to have your eyes screened for glaucoma
Diabetic Retinopathy Screening
Diabetes is the leading cause of vision loss in Singapore. According to research by the Singapore Eye Research Institute (SERI), between 2004 to 2011, more than 600 people had gone blind and 8000 had lost sight in one eye due to diabetic retinopathy. What is worrying is that while every 3 in 10 diabetic individuals are diagnosed with this eye condition, only 17% of these individuals were detected early for preventive treatments.
Therefore, it is recommended for all diabetic individuals to attend a diabetic screening at least once every 2 years.
Age Related Macular Degeneration Screening
Age-related Macular Degeneration is a common condition among the elderly aged 60 years old and above. This risk is exacerbated with smoking, diabetes and high blood pressure. Early detection via screening is encouraged so that irreversible vision loss can be prevented.
Binocular Vision Dysfunction
There are 12 eye muscles that our brain utilizes to coordinate perfectly our 2 eyes to see comfortably and efficiently.
For individuals with normal binocular vision, this coordination is in perfect sync and results in clear and comfortable vision.
For individuals with Binocular Vision Dysfunctions (BVD), this coordination is not in perfect tandem and sync resulting in difficulty fusing the 2 images of both eyes into a clear image and comfortable vision.
When this occurs, individuals can experience headaches, dizziness, eyestrain, anxiety, double vision (diplopia) and balance problems.
BVD can severely affect reading, computer use, sports, quality of life, optimal performance in school and work.
In near tasks such as reading and computer usage, individuals experiences fatigue, loss of concentration, eye strain, and headaches. Very often these symptoms cause individuals to be unwilling, disinterested and to give up reading.
In many cases, BVD results from a subtle misalignment of the eyes' muscles which makes it difficult to identify in a normal eye examination.
A more detail examination, Binocular Vision Examination, is required where the functional quality of the eyes muscles are probed.
BVD can be treated with a high success rates with Specialized Lenses, Prisms and Vision Therapy.
Convergence Insufficiency
Convergence Insufficiency (CI) is an eye condition that affects how the 2 eyes work together when seeing a near object.
CI causes double vision, blurry vision, eyestrain, headaches, fatigue and trouble concentrating for close up work such as reading a book, writing and smartphone usage.
While reading, you may lose your place, read slowly, feel the words move or float around the page.
Children / Adults with CI may be noticed to have problems reading when you observe them closing one eye, rubbing their eyes and squinting. These individuals tend to avoid reading or have a lack of interest or have trouble concentrating when reading. They may use a finger to guide themselves while reading.
CI usually starts at childhood, but can occur in any age. It can manifest at presbyopia (when you are unable to read near clearly usually around 40 years of age. Brain injury such as concussion can also causes CI.
CI usually is not diagnosed in a normal eye examination or school eye health screening. A more detailed eye examination of about 1-2 hours of Binocular Eye Examination is needed.
CI is caused by a "lack of proper communication" between the nerves and muscles that control eye movements. These eye muscles are pretty strong but the nerves that control them are not sending the proper message for them to turn inward (converge) enough to look at the target near object such as book page or smartphone screen.
The most effective treatment for CI is Vision Therapy.
The Convergence Insufficiency Treatment Trial conducted by the National Eye Institute, USA found that Supervised Vision Therapy with home reinforcement is the most effective treatment for CI.
I75% of all children with CI, in this research study, achieved either full correction of their vision or significant improvement in 12 weeks with vision therapy.
Prism glasses can be used in some cases to decrease symptoms of CI. However, this cannot correct the underlying cause of CI. Vision Therapy is the most effective and best treatment available.
Only rarely is surgery use to treat CI.
To summarize, CI is a common but frequently undetected binocular vision dysfunction. One can have 6/6 vision but still have CI. CI is also very treatable if diagnosed. However, if a CI individual does not do vision therapy, there will be no improvement.
Vertical Heterophoria
if you frequently experience motion sickness, dizziness and headaches, you may have the condition Vertical Heterophoria (VH).
VH is a form of Binocular Vision Dysfunction that is characterized by the vertical misalignment of the images of the two eyes. One of the eye sees a slightly higher image while the other a slightly lower image. This misalignment is often subtle is not obvious to the individual.
The brain's response to the blurred/doubled misaligned images is to cause the extraocular muscles of the eyes to align the images for the brain to fuse it into one single clear image. However, this alignment does not stay and will break down again causing the brain to again activate the extraocular muscles to align the images again. This constant alignments and misalignments tire the eyes and results in the unpleasant symptoms of VH.
Some of these symptoms include the following and varies in individuals:
- Motion sickness
- Dizziness
- Headaches
- Vertigo
- Head Tilt
- Neck Pain
- Feeling unsteady walking and difficulty walking straight
- Poor coordination /Clumsy
- Reading problems
- Losing your place when reading after blinking
- Difficulty in reading comprehension
- Difficulty in concentration
- Anxiety in large and crowded spaces
- Anxiety when driving
VH can often be misdiagnosed as other conditions such as migraines, disorder of the inner ear and vertigo because VH symptoms are similar to these conditions. Children can be misdiagnosed as having learning disability or ADD/ADHD because they lack behind in school work due to difficulty concentrating in school, reading and doing school work.
Causes of VH are Genetic (being born with it) and Traumatic Brain injury (eg concussion to the head).
Treatment of VH involves correction of the misalignment. This can be done by Prism Glasses which is prescribed from findings of a detail Binocular Vision Eye Examination (1-2 hours). The prism glasses corrects fully or reduced markedly the misalignment of the images of the two eyes resulting in a rapid alleviation of troubling symptoms such as dizziness, motion sickness and headaches.
Second way of treatment is by Vision Therapy, an optometrist prescribed eye training program to strengthen the coordination and connection of the brain with the eyes.
Diplopia (Double Vision)
Diplopia or Double Vision is a condition when a single object is seen as two.
Often, Blurred Vision and Double Vision, are thought to be the same In Blurred Vision a single object is seen as unclear.
There are many causes of Double Vision.
A congenital mild form of strabismus where the eyes are misaligned is a non-serious cause of double vision. When the child reaches adulthood, the eye misalignments can further worsen and break down to double vision.
Some serious causes are aneurysms, brain tumor, myasthenia gravis and multiple sclerosis.
Poorly managed diabetes can also lead to double vision due to a lack of nerve function from poor blood flow.
For benign non-serious causes, the double vision can be managed by prisms in glasses.
Double vision of large magnitude will require surgery by ophthalmologist to correct it.
Individuals with serious medical causes will be referred to ophthalmologist for evaluation. Doctors may order MRI and blood test to determine the root cause.
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Vision Therapy
Vision Therapy (VT) is an optometrist supervised customized program of visual activities to achieve clear and comfortable vision.
VT teaches the child/adult to improve his visual skills and how the brain controls the eyes. With these new skills, the individual applies them to improve reading, concentration and learning.
Some of these visual skills include convergence, focusing, eye tracking and eye hand coordination.
Some conditions treated by VT are Convergence Insufficiency, Focusing Problems, Strabismus (Crossed Eyes), Double Vision (diplopia), Amblyopia (Lazy Eyes), Eye Fatigue and Eye Teaming & Tracking Problems.
In summary, VT treat vision difficulties that cannot be successfully treated with spectacles, contact lenses and/or eye surgery alone, to achieve clear and comfortable vision.
Myopia Control
The prevalence of myopia is notoriously high in Singapore. during the growing years of a child, the eyeball tends to elongates progressively and causes marked increase in myopia. Research by the Brien Holden Vision Institute (BHVI) have estimated half the world population will be suffering from myopia by year 2050.
We provide myopia control glasses, which are proven effective to reduce myopia progression by 60%. Other effective intervention methods include orthokeratology and specialized soft contact lenses.
Amblyopia (Lazy Eyes)
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Binocular Vision Eye Examination
Binocular Vision is the ability of the brain to integrate the 2 images of each of our eyes into a clear, comfortable and single image. It gives us the ability to have good depth perception.
Individuals with poor quality of Binocular Vision, finds it challenging to achieve a clear, single and comfortable image. They experiences problem in focusing on objects (known as accommodation), track objects (oculomotor) and fuse objects (vergence).
Such individuals often experience problem reading for long time, focusing on the computer or tablet or handphone, and playing sports well.
They often report symptoms such as:
- eyestrain
- headaches
- sleepiness after reading for a short while
- double vision
- avoidance or dislike for reading
- fatigue
- attention and concentration issues
- poor eye hand coordination
- balance and mobility issues
In Binocular Vision Eye Examination, we carefully examine all aspects of your focusing, tracking and fusion abilities of your eyes and can treat these problems with Lenses, Prisms and Vision Therapy (vision training eye exercises).
Binocular Vision Eye Examination typically takes about 1-2 hours and is by appointment only.
Children Vision
Eye screening are important for young kids aged 7 to 16 years old. With regular eye screening and examinations, we can monitor rate of myopia progression and detect signs of binocular vision problems. Let's cultivate good eye care habits from young and reduce the risk of future eye and vision diseases.