Click below for a video demonstration of how Transitions® lenses work
See How Transitions Lenses Help You See Differently

For more information call or stop in any time to talk with our Eyewear Consultants, 319.385.9534,  or visit the Transitions website. We’ll be glad to help you find lenses that fit your lifestyle, increase your performance and comfort, and look great!

With all the great frame styles and lens options available, this gives you the option of having more than one pair of glasses–perhaps one for work and another for weekends, one more dressy and the other funky, one rimless with another in colorful plastic, one pair with Transitions changeable lenses and the other without, one for everyday use and the other for enjoying a special hobby, like sewing,  reading, or playing piano, more comfortably.  The options are endless.  Patients also find this is a great way to get a pair of prescription sunglasses or computer glasses.

You may be wondering if this is a limited time offer.  We’re happy to say we’ve given our patients this option for years, because we pass savings we receive from our optical lab on to you.

Save 50% on a second pair, every day, when you purchase your prescription eyewear at Complete EyeCare Center.  Kind of gives new meaning to the phrase “think twice!”  You can explore some of your options right now by going to our products page to see our frame collections.

All summer until RAGBRAI, buy a Rudy Project Sunglass Kit and get a free backpack or duffel, free cycling helmet, free spare lenses, free hat & free T-shirt.  The value of the free gear alone is $250, but you get it all for only $220.  On Fridays we’ll pay the shipping when you wear your official Mt. Pleasant RAGBRAI T-shirt, so you get the whole Rudy Project Gear Deal for just $200!

Free Shipping is offered exclusively at Complete EyeCare Center as part of Mt. Pleasant’s “RAGBRAI Fridays” during July.  Your purchase includes Rudy Project’s Replacement Lens Guarantee and 3-year Limited Frame Warranty.  The last day of this offer is July 24, 2009.

“Have a Blast” in Mt. Pleasant when we host RAGBRAI July 24, 2009!

I’ll let you in on a little known fact.  We have an expanded selection of great sunwear right here in Mt. Pleasant, in our eyewear gallery.  Why not stop in and try some on during your lunch break today?  If you’re interested in prescription sunwear, we have that too.  (In fact, this Saturday you can save $50 on a pair of prescription sunglasses, during our annual Fashion & Eyewear Event!)

Hope you can get outside and enjoy the weather!

A Replacement Lens Guarantee– If you scratch them, Rudy Project will replace them.  They know that when you’re playing hard, stuff happens.  Whatever the reason, Rudy Project will replace your lenses for a handling fee.  Read more about their replacement lens guarantee.

A 3 Year Limited Frame Warranty– Rudy Project sunglasses are warranted from defects in materials or workmanship for 3 years.  Read more.

We’re An Authorized Dealer– If you don’t buy from an authorized dealer, you won’t get Rudy’s lens or frame guarantees.  At Complete EyeCare Center, you can be assured that you are getting authentic Rudy Project eyewear, made in Italy.  No imitations, no cheap look-alikes, just excellence.

We’re introducing Southeast Iowa to a new standard in performance sunglasses.  Drop by our downtown Mt. Pleasant office to see them today!

When choosing sunglasses, cheaper is not better.  Dark colored lenses without adequate UV protection can dilate your eyes allowing even more harmful light into the eye through your enlarged pupil.  So don’t skimp on eye protection, especially for children, whose eyes are more sensitive.  (Some studies estimate that 80% of lifetime sun exposure occurs before age 18.)   Sunglasses found on discount store racks may claim UV protection, but the triacetate material many of them are made of only absorbs about 40% of UV rays, and they often distort the light passing through them which can negatively impact vision and performance.  We can show you the superiority of the optical quality polycarbonate and polarized sunglass lenses with 100% UV protection.

This March, during Save Your Vision Month, we’re encouraging you to upgrade your sunglasses.  We’ve expanded our sunwear selection just as the weather begins to beckon us outside.  So consider a new look and new protection for your eyes this year.  It could save you from compromised vision or costly surgery in the future.

Yellow or Amber: Increases visual acuity, focus, and contrast in low light conditions.

Best for: Road, field, and trail.  Shooting, fishing, tennis, racquetball, handball, indoor basketball.

Gray or green-gray: Cuts glare in bright light conditions, and preserves natural color perception.

Best for: Water and road.  Cycling, all outdoor sports.

Copper or brown: Universal tints that improve depth perception, increase contrast, cut glare on sunny to partly cloudy days, and minimize eyestrain brought on by haze.

Best for: Road, trail, field, and water.  Golf, fishing, baseball, cycling, hunting.

Rose or violet: Makes details pop when light is flat, especially against blue backgrounds.

Best for: Water and snow.

If you want to reflect certain color wavelengths, like screening blue or green for better visibility below the water line when fishing, ask about a mirrored coating instead of a tint. The best way to eliminate reflections and glare is to choose optical quality sunglasses that are polarized.

You’ll find a full range of options in our eyewear gallery.  Be sure to check out Rudy Project and Maui Jim sunwear, which is particularly suited to performance sports.  We can even design a pair of custom sunglasses to meet your specific needs.

First, they’re polarized to filter out reflected light, but they have dialed it down to 96% so you can still read the LCD screen on electronic gauges, your iPod, or phone.  Next, they are available as photochromic so they’ll adjust from nearly clear to super dark depending on the lighting conditions you are in.  They’re Rx-able so you can integrate your eyeglass prescription or remove the insert when you wear your contacts.  A brow-hugging design keeps wind and glare at a minimum and sideshields can be snapped on for complete protection.  Adjustable temples and nosepads allow the fit to be customized to your face, and hydrophilic rubber means they will stay put when wet.   All the metal components are made of corrosion-fighting stainless steel.  Not only that, they look good!

Rudy Project sunglasses were recently named Gear of the Year 2008 by an independent magazine.  You don’t have to go far to find the best.  Stop in to Complete EyeCare Center in downtown Mt. Pleasant to try them today.

Eye color is primarily determined by melanin within the iris stroma.  Interestingly, just as the ultraviolet component of sunlight triggers melanin production in the skin, it can affect the iris’s melanin content and cause subtle eye color changes.  Melanin is absent in the iris of a person with albinism so the iris may appear pink as blood vessels in the back of the eye are reflected through it.

Some clinical studies have examined the relationship between iris color, race, and age-related macular degeneration.  There seems to be a higher prevalence of the disease in people with light-colored eyes and skin.   Sunglasses with UV protection are highly recommended for everyone, but especially for those who fall into this potential risk group.

If you have  green eyes, you are a rare breed.  Statistically, green eyes are found in only 1 to 2 percent of all people. Brown eyes are by far the most common eye color.  More than 50% of the population shares that trait.  Brown is followed by hazel–a blend of brown and green or amber.  Blue eyes are significantly less common than either brown or hazel, yet it is predominant in certain geographic areas.

Your eye color may have been different when you were born.  Some Caucasian newborns have blue eyes that change as melanin production increases during the first year of life.  Eye color often stabilizes by the time an infant is 6 months old.  By the age of 3, the eyes produce and store enough melanin for the color to be fully established.

If you are not completely satisfied with the color of your eyes, there are now contact lens products that can enhance or even change them.  Most enhancement tints have transparency so they work best on light-colored eyes.  Opaque lenses allow even those with dark eyes to have a new look.  A wide variety of both types are available in our office.  (Call 319.385.9534 to schedule contact lens exam.)

Theatrical contact lenses are typically opaque and create special iris effects such as the appearance of a cat-eye shaped iris, or a white iris.  These are often popular with people wanting a dramatic costume effect for Halloween.  Watch for an upcoming post with more information about these lenses.