As the year comes to an end, many physicians, including eye doctors, enjoy an end of the year boost in procedures or eyeglass purchases.

Why the boost?

More than ever, many patients have large deductibles that start over in January. Most families now have at least a $1,000 deductible and many have much higher deductibles, upwards to $5,000. As a result, patients rush to schedule their eye examinations, eyeglasses and contact lens purchases and eye surgeries before the end of the year.

I used to see just Medicare patients rushing in toward the end of the year, now, it's everyone! Also, some people have vision plans that start over again on January 1st, so they will basically pay for the benefit all year and they want to get their money's worth, so they come in for examinations in December. Others have Flex accounts that they must use before the end of the year.

Learn more about your vision plan.

You wear eyeglasses to improve your vision, and you trust your eye doctor to recommend certain eyeglasses to suit your particular lifestyle. Many eye doctors and opticians practice lifestyle dispensing, prescribing treatment for vision problems based on a person's particular lifestyle.

To determine which types of eyeglasses would benefit you, your doctor will inquire about your general health as well as the ways in which you use your eyes. Your overall health, occupation, exercise habits and hobbies all affect how you use your eyes over the course of a day, giving your doctor an idea of what type of eyeglasses are best suited for you.

Your iPhone just keeps becoming more useful. Now you can try on frames and purchase them directly from the iPhone 4. Total Immersion has unveiled a breakthrough mobile commerce application that uses AR (augmented reality) face tracking to enable consumers to try - and buy - eyeglass frames directly from an iPhone 4.

The app pulls from the frames inventory of an eyeglasses retailer, enables consumers to try various styles, send photos to friends through social networks, connect to a map pinpointing the nearest store to buy offline, or complete the transaction online, on the spot.

The biggest perk? You can keep your eyeglasses on during the entire fitting, and actually see how you look in the frames.

_{Source: Ken Greenberg, Edge Communications, Inc.}

Did you know that your eyelashes are vulnerable to lice infestation? Head lice are tiny insects that live on the scalp, but occasionally are found living on the eyebrows and eyelashes. Because head lice spread easily from person to person, cases are seen often in schools, affecting all socio-economic groups.

Do you know how to spot eyelash lice?