Q. Lately my eyes have become dry and scratchy feeling when I blink. How can I soothe my irritated eyes?

A. Every time you blink, your healthy eyes get a bath from a fluid that’s a combination of oil, water, and mucus. This fluid, or tears, helps protect and moisturize the eyes. When something irritates your eyes or interferes with the production of tears, it can result in irritated dry eyes that are vulnerable to corneal abrasions.

Dry eyes are actually very common. More than 20 million Americans suffer from this annoying and sometimes painful condition. If you think you have dry eyes, check out some of these common symptoms and possible causes. Once you understand the culprit, you can begin to make changes to relieve your burning eyes, once and for all.

Symptoms of Dry Eyes:

• Dry, itchy, or burning eyes
• A scratching sensation, or feeling like there’s grit in the eyes
• Sensitivity to light causing squinting and blinking
• Difficulty focusing because of dryness
• Both eyes are usually affected
• Watery eyes (a little known fact!)

Causes of Dry Eyes:

• Dry air caused by indoor heaters
• Allergies
• Some medications like antihistamines, antidepressants, and birth-control pills
• Poor fitting or dirty contacts
• Long hours spent reading or staring at a computer screen
• Blocked tear ducts

Dry Eye Relief & Solutions:

• Avoid drafts and use a humidifier to put moisture back into dry air.
• If allergies are causing your eyes to itch and dry out, try lubricating, preservative-free eye drops formulated for people with allergies.
• Check the side effects of your medications. If you’re taking one that causes dry eyes, your doctor may need to change your prescription, or she may recommend that you begin using eye drops to lubricate your eyes.
• Don’t wear your contacts for too long, keep them clean, and always wash your hands before handling them.
• Take frequent breaks from computer work or reading, and keep your eyes lubricated by remembering to blink often.

Helpful Tips for Dry Eyes:

• For a refreshing sensation, cool your eye drops in the refrigerator about an hour before using them.
• Check expiration dates on your eye drops.
• Never share eye drops.
• Drink plenty of water.
• Wear sunglasses outside to protect your eyes from wind and sun.
• Take an omega-3 fatty-acid supplement; shown to restore lipids-they’re a key component of tears.

With a few simple changes you should begin to notice a real improvement. If after one month your eyes are still bothering you, make sure to see your eye doctor—severe cases can lead to eye damage and vision loss. During your eye exam, your doctor can check for vision problems and signs of health conditions that could be causing your dry eyes. An accurate diagnosis is important because symptoms of dry eye can be caused by other things like allergies or uncorrected refractive error or astigmatism.

To get more eye care tips, check out the February edition of the VSP EnVision Newsletter or subscribe to the newsletter today!

Dr. Michelle Calder-Cardwell is the owner and lead optometrist at Urban Optiques Vision & Eyewear in Northville, MI., and contributes her expertise monthly to the VSP EnVision newsletter “Ask The Eye Doc” column.

The content of this article is for general informational awareness purposes only. Please consult your eyecare doctor or physician for actual advice.

Read all of this month’s VSP EnVision Newsletter. To subscribe to the monthly newsletter, go here.

Read all of this month’s VSP EnVision Newsletter. To subscribe to the monthly newsletter, go here.

When we saw this photo of a wild turkey all puffed up and preening on the streets of Brookline, MA, we couldn’t help but have some Thanksgiving Day fun with the photo.

Apparently, wild turkeys — once on the verge of extinction in Massachusetts — have started turning up on the streets around Boston. This picture, taken in 2007, ironically was snapped outside of the office of a Brookline, MA optician.

Loving the leopard Louboutin booties, Chanel handbag and fab oversized white sunglasses!  No doubt she stopped traffic.

Happy Thanksgiving from the Urban Optiques Team!

What does it mean if you are experiencing dark spots or “floaters” in your vision?

That was the question posed in this month’s “Ask The Eye Doctor” column in the VSP EnVision Newsletter:

Q:  What Are Those Dark Spots I’m Seeing in My Eyes?

While “floaters” are actually quite common, you’ll want to read Dr. Michelle’s entire explanation in the VSP EnVision Newsletter to understand why spots or floaters develop, the current treatments available for them, and when a visual disturbance warrants a trip to the optometrist.

You can view the complete response here.

Just in time for the holidays and the end of the Flex spending year, we’re thrilled to announce an exclusive, day-long opportunity for Metro-Detroit to get an inside look at the latest Chrome Hearts eyeglasses and sunglasses.

On Saturday, December 11th from 11 am to 3 pm, Spencer Walling of Chrome Hearts/Optical Shop International will be on location at Urban Optiques with the new 2011 Chrome Hearts Eyewear Collection.

We previewed these frames last month at Vision Expo West in Las Vegas and were extremely excited about the new designs.  So excited, in fact, that knew we had to get these frames into the boutique and in-front of Metro-Detroit eyewear and fashion lovers in advance of the new models actually shipping early next year.

Even better, Spencer will be bringing selections from the Chrome Hearts “Jewel Collection” — which includes custom eyewear featuring precious metals like 24K gold, sterling silver and rubies, diamonds, black diamonds,  and sapphires.

While we have carried a small number of these ultra-premium models in the past, December’s trunk show will be a rare opportunity to experience the larger Diamond Collection first hand. It will also provide a chance to do some early holiday shopping and light up the eyes of the eyewear lover in your life with a pair customized, jewelery-grade sunglasses or eyeglasses.

The Chrome Hearts Eyewear Trunk Show open house will run from 11 am to 3 pm and will be followed later that night by an invitation-only private cocktail reception and media preview.

If you pre-register for the open house, you’ll be entered to win a pair of Chrome Hearts “Baby Beast” sunglasses, as well as one of three Motor City Denim designer tees by Detroit fashion designer and Project Runway alum, Joe Faris. You can register here.

For details, or to request an invite to the private event, please contact us at 248.347-9090 or email us at seebeseen@urbanoptiques.com

Start the Holiday Shopping season in style! Grab your favorite BFF and come visit Urban Optiques and other downtown shops for the 2010 “Girls Night Out, Friday November 12 from 6 pm – 10 pm.

Urban Optiques will be offering a rare discount for the night on ALL of our designer and couture sunglasses: 20% all sunglasses in the store, including FRED, Badgley Mischka, Sama, Loree Rodkin eyeCouture, Prada, Lafont, Lanvin and Chrome Hearts.  We’ll also be serving complimentary cocktails and wine.

Even better, for every $10 you spend you get a chance to enter the Downtown Northville “Girls Night Out” raffle. Northville Sports Den will host the afterglow with a drawing held at 9:30p.m.

The City of Northville, Northville Township and Detroit Fire fighters will be selling mistletoe throughout downtown.  A photo booth will be set up at Craig David Butler studios for a Holiday picture with Firefighters.

This event will benefit F.I.R.E., Firefighters Injured Relief Effort and all proceeds will go to four brave Detroit Firefighters who sustained life and career-altering injuries on August of this year.

Fab eyewear, fab time, fab cause!

See everyone tonight!

Yesterday, Detroit-based national mortgage company Quicken Loans announced their millionth closed loan with a letter on their homepage (written in Comic Sans, no less) from founder and Chairman Dan Gilbert, a full-page ad in USA TODAY and a truly entertaining “mini-movie” about the guy who is put “in charge” of watching for the “millionth loan.”

Urban Optiques provided the sunglasses that appear on the two “men in black” in the elevator, the guys charged with making sure the millionth loan arrives safely to its destination.

The featured sunglasses are the Badgley Mischka Charles and the Prada PR65HS.  Both are rectangle-shaped aviators. Great choices to get that FBI/Secret Service/Private Security dude look.

You can watch the entire video below.  Make sure you sit through the entire story, the film flips style toward the end and there is a very cool surprise twist.

On behalf of the team at Urban Optiques, we’d like to congratulate everyone at Quicken Loans (many of whom are patients and clients of Urban Optiques) on achieving 1 million closed loans!

Yes, people really do win those giveaway contests.

Just ask Jamie Henderson of Detroit, who scored herself a pair of super-lux Special Edition Badgley Mischka “Boyd” suns with 18K white gold lenses from Urban Optiques as part of September’s 944 Detroit Swag giveway.

Check out some pics we snapped of Jamie in her new shades.  Love ‘em on you Jamie! Congrats!

This month’s topic in my monthly “Ask The Eye Doctor” column in the VSP EnVision Newsletter might at first seem like a purely cosmetic one:

“Are new lash-growth serums the end of mascara as we know it?”

But if you dig a little deeper, this question goes more than skin-deep.

So ladies, before you throw out that tube of Chanel Inimitable to test drive one of the many eyelash growth products on the market, be sure to read this month’s column to understand how and why they work, as well as the potential risks.