Top 10 stories for 2019

It’s another Optometry Timesholiday tradition: the end-of-year top stories list.

We calculate what stories our readers-that’s YOU-found worthy of your time.

The list is calculated via clicks…what stories are clicked on most on our website via our email newsletters or social media. Each click through the year means a vote for that story.

Seven of the articles address the ocular surface and contact lenses. We hit technology and the back of the eye as well.

Before you see this year’s list, see what the top stories were in years past.

Top stories of 2018

Top stories of 2017

Top stories of 2016

Top stories of 2015

Take a look at what you and your colleagues liked to read in 2019.

10. How to diagnose a swollen optic nerve
Making his first appearance on our top 10 list, James Hill, OD, FAAO, hits one out of the park with advice for fellow ODs on diagnosing a swollen optic nerve.

He writes, “The diagnosis of a swollen optic nerve is based on clinical diagnosis, but the importance of a comprehensive case history cannot be overstated.”

Find out more from this highly read story HERE.

9. How to manage adenoconjunctivitis
This piece from Tammy Than, MS, OD, FAAO, and co-authors struck while the iron was hot when Bob Costas exhibited worsening conjunctivitis during the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia.

The article debuted on our top 10 list in 2015 at #10, then moved to #9 in 2016.

It took a break in 2017 and 2018, but it came zooming back this year to the #9 spot.

Keep your adenoviral conjunctivitis diagnosing and treatment skills sharp by reading this article…and find out why it continues to be one of our top stories.

8. Blog: 10 eyecare apps for more efficient patient careMargie Recalde, OD, FAAO, makes her debut on our top 10 list with one of her first blogs for Optometry Times…and it hit our website only a few months ago.

Her recommended 10 eyecare apps clearly resonated with readers who wanted to bring more efficiency to their practices.

Add her top picks to your device…find them HERE.

More from Dr. Recalde

7. 5 ways to go beyond baby shampoo to lid hygieneDry eye treatment has come a long way in the past few years, and the importance of diagnosing and managing this condition has not lessened since Whitney Hauser, OD, FAAO, first shared her lid hygiene recommendations.

This story took the #5 slot in 2017, laid low in 2018, and roared back to #7 this year.

If you haven’t gotten the scoop from Dr. Hauser, now is the time to offer dry eye patients other options. Find them HERE.

More from Dr. Hauser

6. Blog: A case of demodex infestation with eyelash extensions
Another first-time entry to our top 10 list with a recent piece by new blogger Jade Coats, OD.

The effects on the ocular surface from beauty treatments has been a hot topic lately, and reaction to Dr. Coats’ blog is no exception.

She writes, “Although D. folliculorum and D. brevis can affect real and false lashes, lash extensions seem to create a more ideal environment conducive for Demodex to flourish. Correctly identifying the root cause of a patient’s chronic dry eye disease and blepharitis is important in successfully treating Demodex living in the eyelashes.”

Find out how she treated her patient’s condition HERE.

More from Dr. Coats

5. 4 steps to beating blepharitis
In 2018, this article debuted at the bottom of our top 10 list at #10. This year, it moved way up to #5.

Warren J. Whitley, OD, and Walter O. Whitley, OD, MBA, FAAO, suggest that taking a stepwise approach to blepharitis will likely up ODs’ success in treating patients.

The first step is understanding the differences among presentations.

Find out the next steps HERE.

This 2016 article garnered a lot of engagement when it was first published, and clearly it continues to resonate with ODs interested in treating blepharitis.

See the top 4

4. 10 tips to enhance scleral lens success
The 10 tips from Melissa Barnett, OD, FAAO, FSLS, move up a slot from #5 last year.

Dr. Barnett shares her extensive experience with fitting scleral contact lenses via 10 clinical pearls to help colleagues offer better fits to their patients.

Take a look at what Dr. Barnett suggests.

3. 5 reasons to upgrade patients from monovision to multifocals
This article from Kristopher May, OD, FAAO, was published in 2017 and makes its first appearance on our top 10 list…in the #3 spot.

Dr. May outlines the history of monovision and multifocal contact lenses and reasons why ODs continue to fit monovision today.

He then offers five compelling reasons to fit presbyopes with multifocals instead of monovision, such as better night vision and more.

See the 5 tips for yourself.

2. Using warm compresses to treat meibomian gland disease 
This article, which was originally published in 2015, hit the #2 spot in 2017 and decided it was a good place to be.

Donald Korb, OD, FAAO, and his research colleagues shared their method of combatting meibomian gland disease with the application of warm compresses, calling it the Bundle method.

Find out why it works!

1. Vision therapy: A top 10 must-have list 
This is the article that has legs! It first appeared in 2014, and then it kept going.

It premiered in our top 10 list at #8 in 2015.

It moved up a spot to #7 in 2016, and it stayed there for 2017.

Last year in 2018 it moved up to #1…and it stayed there again!

This list of vision therapy devices from Marc Taub, OD, MS, FAAO, FCOVD, clearly resonates. And because it does, he wrote Part II.  Check that story out HERE.

Plus, you want to check out Dr. Taub’s top 10 vision therapy books. Check that out HERE.