A Welcoming Start: From Booking to Arrival
Your experience begins online, with real-time booking, making it simple and convenient to schedule an eye exam at Laurier Optical in Findlay Creek Plaza. When you arrive, the front-desk team greets you warmly and guides you through a quick intake, setting the tone for a comfortable visit in a truly welcoming environment.

Efficient Check-In and Modernity at Work
After a brief wait, it’s time for your eye exam. The clinic’s updated equipment ensures precise and comprehensive testing, while the efficient process means minimal wait times and more clarity for your day. It’s patient care streamlined, without sacrificing attention or thoroughness.

Expert and Personalized Eye Care
Under the caring eyes of Dr. Sara Zahiri, patients receive the benefit of professional, detail oriented assessments, from checking for eye diseases to optimizing vision. Her expertise and ability to explain results clearly help patients understand their eye health every step of the way.

Guidance on Eyewear: Style Meets Function
Post-exam, the process continues with personalized eyewear selection. Patients receive hands-on assistance navigating the clinic’s range of glasses and sunglasses, including designer options. The team ensures your choice fits your lifestyle, vision needs, and personal style.

Supportive Service and Patient Empowerment
What stands out are the small but meaningful touches, whether it’s quick direct billing, accommodating special schedule requests, or patiently explaining lens options. The attentive and friendly team fosters trust, ensuring you leave informed and confident, not rushed.

Closing on a High Note
A day at Laurier Optical Findlay Creek doesn’t just resolve vision needs; it leaves a lasting impression. From thoughtful logistics to eye care expertise and personalized eyewear guidance, every moment reflects the clinic’s commitment to providing accessible, quality vision care tailored to you.

Rooted in the Findlay Creek Community
Nestled within the Findlay Creek Plaza on Bank Street, Laurier Optical serves Ottawa South and nearby neighborhoods like Barrhaven, Riverside South, Greely, Nepean, and South Keys. Locals appreciate the convenience of real-time online booking and accessible hours, open evenings and weekends, designed for busy family schedules. This thoughtful approach makes top tier eye care easy to fit into daily life.

Expertise Led by Dr. Sara Zahiri
Residents place their trust in Laurier Optical because of Dr. Sara Zahiri, a thoroughly trained optometrist specializing in pediatric, glaucoma, cataract, macular degeneration care, and contact lens fittings. Her strong medical and academic background, spanning the University of Waterloo and residency training, adds confidence that every patient is receiving attentive, knowledgeable diagnostic care.

Comprehensive, Patient Centered Eye Services
Whether it is routine exams, contact lens fittings, or customer emergencies, the clinic offers a full range of optometric services. Complete exams are affordably priced and often covered by OHIP for children and seniors. Direct billing for eye exams and eyewear makes the process smoother, while modern retinal imaging tools reinforce diagnostic accuracy.

Personalized and Responsive Care
Patient reviews spotlight the warmth and responsiveness of the team. Visitors regularly remark on accommodating urgent bookings, even walk-ins, brief visit wait times, and staff who listen attentively. One customer shared that despite being fully booked, the clinic made time for an emergency visit within 30 minutes; others highlighted staff guiding them through frame selection within their budget.

Friendly, Trustworthy Atmosphere
Trust also stems from the clinic’s inviting environment and compassionate approach. Patients frequently praise Dr. Zahiri’s thoroughness, clarity in explaining procedures, and the staff’s friendliness and support. This combination fosters comfort for everyone, from children to seniors, and keeps getting mentioned in heartfelt testimonials.

Focus on Convenience, Quality, and Value
Beyond the care itself, locals trust Laurier Optical for its affordable prices, broad eyewear selection, and community focused values. Whether customers are navigating urgent needs, picking up new frames, or seeking specialized exams, the team consistently delivers expert care with empathy and ease earning their reputation as trusted vision care partners in Findlay Creek.

Why UV Protection Matters
Ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun is more than just an annoyance, it is a serious threat to eye health. Prolonged exposure can lead to bothersome short term effects like photokeratitis, essentially an “eye sunburn,” and long term dangers such as cataracts, macular degeneration, and even skin cancer around the eyelids. These risks highlight why wearing proper sunglasses is more than fashion, it is essential protection.

Look for 100% UV or UV400 Labeling
When shopping for sunglasses, the most important thing to check is whether they block 100 percent of UVA and UVB rays or carry a “UV400” label. The tint or color of the lens does not matter, dark lenses without proper UV filtration can still allow harmful rays through.

Lens Materials, Tint, and Special Coatings
Polycarbonate lenses are a smart pick, they are lightweight, impact resistant, and often offer inherent UV protection. Darker tints help reduce glare and eye strain, but they do not provide better UV protection by themselves. You may also consider coatings like polarization to reduce glare, especially useful for driving, water exposure, or bright surfaces, but always ensure UV protection is present, independent of such features.

Frame Style and Fit, More Protection, Better Coverage
Frames matter just as much as lenses. Wider frames or wraparound styles are ideal for reducing UV rays entering from the sides. They also shield the skin around your eyes from sun damage. Additionally, a well fitting pair encourages consistent wear, because protection only works if you keep them on.

Implementation Tips for Everyday Protection
Protecting your eyes from UV is not just for beach trips, it is a year round concern. Even overcast or snowy days can reflect UV rays and intensify exposure. To maximize safety, wear sunglasses alongside a wide brim hat, and stay mindful of your eye health, especially during outdoor activities or in bright environments.

Personalized Guidance at Findlay Creek Eye Clinic
At Findlay Creek Eye Clinic, we understand that your vision protection needs are unique. Our optometrists can help you select the perfect pair of sunglasses, balancing UV safety, comfort, and personal style. We also offer advice on when prescription options, specialized lenses, or protective accessories might be right for you. Trust us to help safeguard your vision so you can enjoy the outdoors with confidence.

Why Eye Exercises Can Make a Difference
In our screen filled world, our eyes work hard, often without a break. Incorporating a few simple eye exercises into your daily routine helps support focusing flexibility, eye coordination, and overall visual comfort. While these exercises are not a cure all for refractive errors, they can help ease eye strain and enhance visual performance over time.

Gentle Warm Up – Palming and Blinking
Start by relaxing eye muscles with palming: rub your palms together, then gently cup them over closed eyes and breathe deeply for a minute or two. It is a simple pause that can reduce fatigue. Follow that with mindful blinking, consider blinking every few seconds, to refresh tear production and prevent dryness, especially during prolonged screen use.

Focusing Flexibility – Near Far Focus & Pencil Push Ups
Train your eyes to shift focus with the near far focus exercise. Hold your thumb about 10 inches from your face and gaze at it for 15 seconds, then shift focus to something about 10 to 20 feet away for another 15 seconds; repeat several times. Pencil push ups are great too, keep your eyes on the pencil’s tip and slowly bring it closer until it doubles, then back away. Repeat to improve convergence and near point focus.

Tracking and Coordination – Figure Eight & Brock String
Improve visual tracking and coordination with the figure eight exercise. Pick a spot about 10 feet away, trace a large figure eight with your eyes for 30 seconds, and reverse direction. For more precision, try the Brock string: with one end anchored and a bead positioned along the string, focus both eyes on the bead. You should see an “X” formed by the string, with the bead at the center, this helps train eye alignment and depth perception.

Caution and Lifestyle Balance
While eye exercises can be beneficial, it is important to have realistic expectations. Research shows these methods typically do not reverse refractive errors like myopia or presbyopia. Still, integrating them with good habits, like regular breaks using the 20 20 20 rule, a nutrient rich diet, staying physically active, and avoiding smoking, can support eye comfort and long term health.

Expert Guidance at Findlay Creek Eye Clinic
At Findlay Creek Eye Clinic, we guide patients toward healthy, practical habits rather than quick fixes. Our optometrists can help assess whether eye exercises may support your needs, such as improving eye teaming or focusing, and recommend personalized approaches, including prescription adjustments, ergonomic strategies, or vision therapy when necessary. Let us help you build simple routines that protect and enhance your vision in everyday life.

Understanding Light and Vision
Every visual experience begins when light hits the eye, first passing through the cornea, which provides most of the eye’s focusing power, then through the pupil and lens. The iris controls the amount of light entering, while the lens adjusts shape, thickening or thinning, to fine tune focus via the ciliary muscles. This foundational process, known as accommodation, enables us to see near and far clearly.

What Is Digital Eye Strain (Computer Vision Syndrome)?
Extended screen use can lead to a cluster of symptoms known as digital eye strain or Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS). These include dryness, irritation, headaches, blurred or double vision, neck and shoulder pain, and difficulty refocusing the eyes. These complaints arise not solely from blue light exposure, but from constant near focus, reduced blinking, glare, and poor ergonomics.

Benefits and Risks
Blue light is part of the visible spectrum, around 400 to 480 nm. It helps regulate sleep cycles, mood, and cognitive function. However, prolonged exposure, especially in the evening, can disrupt melatonin production, leading to sleep disturbances. On the ocular level, blue light can contribute to oxidative stress, potentially affecting the cornea and retina, though the risk from everyday screen exposure remains unclear.

What the Evidence and Expert Guidance Actually Say
While blue light contributes to digital fatigue, strong evidence linking typical screen exposure to serious eye diseases, like macular degeneration, is lacking. Long term effects are still under study, though concerns remain for sensitive groups such as children and older adults. The American Academy of Ophthalmology, along with other authorities, affirms that digital devices themselves do not cause permanent eye damage.

Simple, Evidence Based Strategies for Relief
Rather than relying solely on blue light blocking lenses, practical strategies yield better relief:

• Follow the 20 20 20 rule: every 20 minutes, look at an object 20 feet away for 20 seconds.

• Position your screen 20 to 28 inches away and slightly below eye level to reduce strain.

• Reduce glare and match screen brightness to ambient lighting.

• Remember to blink frequently to maintain eye lubrication or keep eye drops handy if dryness persists.

• Use night mode on devices to curb blue light exposure in the evening.

Caring for Your Eyes with Findlay Creek Eye Clinic
At Findlay Creek Eye Clinic, we offer comprehensive assessments tailored to digital lifestyles. Our evaluations aim to identify root causes of discomfort, ranging from vision misalignment to dry eye, and recommend personalized solutions, from optimizing screen ergonomics to updating prescriptions and guiding sleep friendly habits. Trust our team to help you maintain clear, comfortable vision in our increasingly screen centered world.

Vision begins the moment light reaches your eyes. Light first passes through the cornea, the clear, curved front surface of the eye. The cornea bends and focuses most of this incoming light toward the back of the eye—responsible for roughly two-thirds of the eye’s focusing power.

Once light enters, it travels through the pupil, the dark opening at the center of the iris the colored part of your eye. The iris acts like a camera shutter: it contracts or dilates to control how much light enters.

Beyond the pupil lies the lens, which fine-tunes focus. It changes shape becoming thicker to bring near objects into clear view and thinner for distant objects thanks to the action of the ciliary muscles attached around its edge. This process, known as accommodation, allows precise focusing across different distances.

Focused light then travels through the gel-like vitreous humor and lands on the retina a light-sensitive lining at the back of the eye. The retina houses photoreceptors: rods for dim light vision and cones for color and detail. These cells convert light into electrical signals.

The visual journey continues along the optic nerve, which carries electrical signals from the retina to your brain. Those signals are routed through areas like the optic chiasm, thalamus, and finally reach the visual cortex where your brain interprets them as the images you see.

All these parts work in perfect sync like a finely tuned camera system and image processor rolled into one. When any component is compromised due to conditions like refractive errors, cataracts, or macular degeneration it can affect clarity, focus, or even overall visual perception. Regular eye exams help ensure each element functions optimally, keeping your vision sharp and healthy.

Many people mistakenly equate “20/20 vision” with perfect eyesight. In reality, 20/20 simply means you can see clearly at 20 feet what a person with normal vision should be able to see at that distance. It measures just one aspect distance visual acuity and doesn’t reflect the full complexity of how your eyes process the world.

Visual clarity involves much more than just how sharp your sight is. Elements such as eye focusing speed, depth perception, peripheral vision, eye coordination, and color differentiation are all critical to functional vision and overall visual comfort. Even someone with 20/20 acuity may experience difficulties if these components are compromised.

Contrary to popular belief, you can indeed see better than 20/20 if conditions such as good genetics and healthy visual development allow. For example, scores like 20/15 or 20/10 indicate sharper-than-average vision. However, this is still not “perfect” vision it simply exceeds typical distance clarity.

Similarly, having 20/20 vision does not rule out the need for glasses. Near-vision problems like farsightedness, or issues in dynamic visual tasks like reading, focusing, or tracking, aren’t captured by distance acuity testing. That means even someone with 20/20 vision might still benefit from correction or intervention tailored to these areas.

School vision screenings often only assess distance acuity and may miss broader visual concerns impacting tasks like classroom learning or sports. Up to 25% of school-aged children experience some form of vision difficulty that screenings can overlook. That’s why comprehensive eye exams are essential to evaluate both clarity and functional visual skills.

Ultimately, true visual health is a nuanced orchestration of clarity, coordination, focus, and perception. Booking regular eye exams ensures both your eye structure and your visual performance are assessed thoroughly so you can maintain comfortable, clear, and functional vision across all daily activities.

Vision begins the moment light reaches your eyes. Light first passes through the cornea, the clear, curved front surface of the eye. The cornea bends and focuses most of this incoming light toward the back of the eye—responsible for roughly two-thirds of the eye’s focusing power.

Once light enters, it travels through the pupil, the dark opening at the center of the iris the colored part of your eye. The iris acts like a camera shutter: it contracts or dilates to control how much light enters.

Beyond the pupil lies the lens, which fine-tunes focus. It changes shape becoming thicker to bring near objects into clear view and thinner for distant objects thanks to the action of the ciliary muscles attached around its edge. This process, known as accommodation, allows precise focusing across different distances.

Focused light then travels through the gel-like vitreous humor and lands on the retina a light-sensitive lining at the back of the eye. The retina houses photoreceptors: rods for dim light vision and cones for color and detail. These cells convert light into electrical signals.

The visual journey continues along the optic nerve, which carries electrical signals from the retina to your brain. Those signals are routed through areas like the optic chiasm, thalamus, and finally reach the visual cortex where your brain interprets them as the images you see.

All these parts work in perfect sync like a finely tuned camera system and image processor rolled into one. When any component is compromised due to conditions like refractive errors, cataracts, or macular degeneration it can affect clarity, focus, or even overall visual perception. Regular eye exams help ensure each element functions optimally, keeping your vision sharp and healthy.

Ultraviolet (UV) light may be invisible, but its impact on your eye health is very real. Both UVA and UVB rays can contribute to serious conditions like cataracts, macular degeneration, pterygium (also known as surfer’s eye), photokeratitis (a painful corneal “sunburn”), and even growths on the eye. Over time, cumulative exposure can accelerate these risks and compromise your vision. 

The most effective everyday defense is a pair of high quality sunglasses. Choose glasses labeled “100% UV protection” or UV400 these block nearly all harmful rays, including those bouncing off snow, water, or sand. Wraparound styles offer full coverage to guard against stray rays entering from the sides. Lens tint doesn’t equal protection, so always check the UV rating rather than relying on darkness. 

Pair sunglasses with a wide-brimmed hat to shield your eyes, eyelids, and surrounding skin. A hat with a brim of at least three inches can block around 50% of UV rays and reduce direct exposure from above enhancing your overall protection strategy. 

Be mindful of environmental factors that amplify UV exposure. Clouds offer no reliable protection up to 80% of UV rays can penetrate overcast skies. Reflective surfaces like water, snow, and sand dramatically intensify exposure. In these situations, sunglasses and hats should be considered as essential gear, even during winter or after the sun sets. 

Consider UV-protective contact lenses if you wear them but know they don’t replace sunglasses. They may shield some of the eye, but leave surrounding areas vulnerable. A layered approach with lenses plus sunglasses and hats is the best safeguard. 

Finally, stay informed and proactive through regular eye exams. Your optometrist can evaluate UV-related eye stress and recommend personalized protection strategies. Be especially vigilant if you’re taking photosensitizing medications, as these can increase your eyes’ vulnerability to sunlight-induced damage.