personal choice

A Special Looking Glass

Hands-free magnifying mirror facilitates lash epilation and more.

Randall K. Thomas, O.D., MPH, F.A.A.O.

The Own Eye Magnifier, from Stop Dreaming Technology Pty Ltd., is the genius of a gentleman engineer in Australia, who wanted to enable his wife to personally manage her chronic, recurrent, symptomatic trichiasis. Once she began using it, she was able to enjoy a much-enhanced quality of life most of the time.

Here, I provide an overview of the device and my personal experience in using it.

Overview

The Own Eye Magnifier is a magnification mirror lens that rests on a hands-free stand and features the option of two or three batterypowered click-on LED lights, which illuminate the eye and eyelid tissues. The lights simply click on and off with the touch of a finger. Further, the device includes a Dominant Eye Shield, so the user can keep both eyes open when using it.

“I have acquired one [The Own Eye Magnifier] in the office for patient education purposes, and it has been a real help; patients are quite amazed to be able to see the details of their own eyes.”

Beyond the very practical application of personal lash epilation, this high-powered, mirrored system quickly and easily allows you, the optometrist, to enable your patients to see their trichiatic lashes, their blepharitis, their corneal foreign body, their pinguecula or pterygium, etc., serving as a highly effective patient education tool in the optometric office. The Own Eye Magnifier can also be used by hyperopic patients to help them insert their contact lenses.

A creative mind can find a multitude of uses for this simple, yet highly powerful magnifying system, which comes with ample directions but is very easy to use.

Personal experience

We have a patient who had severe Stevens-Johnson syndrome as a teenager, and has since been aggravated by painful trichiasis. He is now a 45-year-old school principal. He found and purchased the Own Eye Magnifier online (www.owneye.com) with the hope of improving his overall quality of life.

Now, rather than seeing this nice gentleman every month, he presents every three-to-four months for some help with the more difficult-to-reach aberrant lashes. I am pleased for him that he has achieved some additional independence in his life.

Since our patient educated us about the Own Eye Magnifier, I have acquired one in the office for patient education purposes, and it has been a real help; patients are quite amazed to be able to see the details of their own eyes.

Based on the patient and practice benefits of using this device, I wholeheartedly urge you, my optometric colleagues, to purchase one for your practice. By the way, I have absolutely no financial interest in the Own Eye Magnifier or its manufacturing company. I am simply happy to help share information about this handy “homespun” technology. OM