FAMILY OPTOMTRIC EYE CARE SERVICES

Silver Strand Optometry offers comprehensive eye exams to evaluate the status of your vision and the overall health of your eyes inside and out. A comprehensive adult eye examination includes:

• Screening for glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, and any other ocular diseases.

• Preliminary tests of visual function, eye health, including peripheral (side) vision and the response of the pupils to light.

• Assessment of refractive status to determine the presence of nearsightedness, farsightedness, or astigmatism.

• Evaluation of eye focusing, eye teaming, and eye movement abilities.

• Eye health examination.

• Additional tests as needed.

Vision screening programs can't substitute for regular professional vision care. Children or adults who pass a vision screening could still have an eye health or vision problem. Comprehensive eye examinations are the only effective way to confirm or rule out any eye disease or vision problem.

Silver Strand Optometry has a wide selection of eyeglasses. From Ray Ban to Vogue, we do our best to have eyeglasses which will appeal to all of our patients. We also have a selection of eyeglasses for our patients who have Gold Coast (Medi-Cal) insurance.

At Silver Strand Optometry you can also order almost any type of eyeglass lenses. We offer single vision lenses, bifocals, progressives, computer glasses, sunglasses, and polarized sunglasses. Lens coating we offer include blue blocker, transitions, anti-reflective coating, tinting, and much more. We can also help patients who need medical eyeglasses and safety eyeglasses.

Here at Silver Strand Optometry, Dr. Kimberly Castillo is happy to fit patients with contact lenses. Most patients wear soft contact lenses, and most people are most familiar with soft contact lenses. Silver Strand Optometry has eighteen brands of different types of soft contacts in-office. Meaning, we can almost always finalize a soft contact lens prescription on the same day as the fitting, and the patient can walk out of the office with a complementary pair of trail contact lenses that same day.

The brands of soft contact lenses that we have in-office are all among the most healthy options for your eyes, and come in a variety of price points. If you want a brand of contact lenses that we do not have in stock, we can also order trials for you!

We offer medical eye services including diabetic eye exams at Silver Strand Optometry. The best way to handle eye problems related to diabetes is through early detection of retinal abnormalities, regular monitoring, and prompt treatment. Early detection and treatment typically begin with the retinal exam.

The American Diabetes Association (ADA) recommends that people with type 1 diabetes have their first eye exam within the first five years after diagnosis. If you have type 2 diabetes, the ADA recommends that you have your first eye exam shortly after you receive a diagnosis. This is because type 2 diabetes often goes undetected and undiagnosed for years. Retinopathy may have already begun during that time. An eye exam will help your doctor determine if you already have damage.

Silver Strand Optometry is equipped with all of the state of the art equipment needed for proper detection and management of glaucoma. Furthermore, Dr. Kimberly Castillo is board certified in the management of glaucoma. We strive our best to preserve and maintain every patients’ vision as a medical eye doctor office.

Dry eye can be a debilitating disease if it is allowed to run its course. Here at Silver Strand Optometry, we are a medical eye service provider who can manage dry eye. We offer innovative technology by Envision to treat dry eye. Unlike almost any other treatments, which just manage symptoms, Envision can be curative for dry eye! The goal with Envision is to get you off using eye drops on a daily basis. You can read more about it here.

We also offer a variety of other dry eye treatments. Amniotic Membranes can help regenerate the cornea, and is an excellent option to repair a cornea which has been damaged by dry eye (Please see video at the bottom of this page for more information). Other options we offer to treat dry eye include punctal plugs, eye drops, and nasal sprays.

Vision Therapy is like Physical Therapy for your eyes. It is designed to help your brain and eyes work together more efficiently. It is an individualized treatment program to improve or eliminate conditions such as lazy vision, lazy eye, double vision, focusing problems, dyslexia, eye coordination anomalies, and visual perceptual anomalies. Dr. Kimberly Castillo is the only provider in Ventura County offering Vision Therapy services!

A Vision Therapy program requires both at home and in-office activities. The goal of visual therapy is to help develop, or reinforce, specific vision skills needed for efficient and comfortable vision.

Vision Therapy is an effective treatment modality for many different types of eye problems which generally cannot be treated with eyeglasses alone. Each program must be specifically prescribed depending upon the type, and severity, of the eye problem. Frequently, eyeglasses are prescribed either during or after the therapy. Although vision therapy is very effective, improvement depends on your willingness to follow instructions, and perform all of the prescribed activities. The length of time required for the completion of a vision therapy program varies depending on age, the condition, its severity, and the time a patient commits to treatment.

When a possible deficiency is detected, the severity of the problem needs to be investigated further. A return to the office for a vision therapy workup is the first step. At the conclusion of this in depth evaluation, we will be able to discuss the conditions fully, and recommend the type of treatment required to correct the problems.

The first step towards Vision Therapy is a Visual Efficiency Evaluation conducted by the Doctor. This is a 60-90 minute exam which allows the Doctor to get a complete understanding of how your brain and eyes are working together. After this exam is performed the Doctor will put together a personalized 12-week therapy program for you. You will come to the office once per week for hourly Vision Therapy Sessions with our Vision Therapist. The Vision Therapist will also give you homework to perform between sessions. After the 12-week program is finished you will have a Progress Check with the Doctor, which will be very similar to your initial Visual Efficiency Evaluation. The Doctor may recommend more than one 12-week program depending on the severity of the condition and the rate of improvement.

For more information, please see the video at the bottom of this page.

Silver Strand Optometry works closely with local ophthalmologists to co-manage ocular surgeries such as cataract and LASIK surgeries. We can give you a preliminary assessment to determine if you are a candidate for ocular surgery, and then take care of you after the surgery is completed.

Here at Silver Strand Optometry, Dr. Kimberly Castillo is happy to fit scleral contact lenses. Scleral contact lenses are large rigid-surface contact lenses that are custom designed and computer lathed for each individual patient. There are many applications for scleral contact lenses ranging from managing certain eye diseases and irregular corneas to correcting common causes of blurry vision. Many scleral contact lens wearers have underlying medical eye conditions such as keratoconus, ocular surface disease, radial keratotomy, or corneal transplants.

To help design the scleral contact lenses, measurements of the eye surface are taken, and diagnostic lenses may be applied to determine the initial lens specifications. Lens parameter changes may be made until the optimal prescription is achieved. The parameters can include diameter, vault, power, material, lens color, thickness, peripheral recesses, limbal clearance, landing zone configurations, and other proprietary specifications.

Final scleral contact lenses are dispensed to the patient via the scleral contact lens practitioner so the prescription functions more like a receipt of the final scleral contact lenses. The only safe way to fill your scleral contact lens prescription is through a prescriber to get exactly what was intended. By doing so, you also enjoy warranted lens exchanges at no further cost within the prescribing period. In other words, unlike pre-made soft disposable contacts which are inventoried in a warehouse awaiting distribution, scleral contact lenses are made to order by your prescriber’s laboratory one at a time. The final lens is a one-of-a-kind, fully customized lens unique to each patient’s eye.

Here at Silver Strand Optometry, Dr. Kimberly Castillo is happy to fit patients with RGP contact lenses. RGP contact lenses are rigid lenses made of durable plastics that allow oxygen to pass through the lens. These lenses also are called Gas Permeable (GP) lenses. RGP contact lenses allow your eyes to "breathe" better, and allow more oxygen to reach the front surface of the eye. This reduces the risk of eye problems caused by hypoxia (reduced oxygen supply).

RGP contact lenses provide sharper vision. Since they are custom-machined to a smooth surface and maintain their shape on the eye, RGP contact lenses provide sharper vision than soft lenses, which can fluctuate in shape and clarity if they start to dry out. RGP contact lenses also provide a more stable and accurate correction of astigmatism.

RGP contact lenses last longer. RGP contact lenses are rigid, so there's no worry about ripping or tearing them. They are also easier to keep clean and don't need to be replaced frequently like soft lenses. With proper care, a single pair of RGP contact lenses can last a year or longer. And since they're long-lasting, RGP contact lenses can be less expensive than soft contact lenses in the long run.