Special to The Packet
Charles Allen, D.OD., who has been practicing optometry in Princeton for more than 40 years, says that people are putting off office visits for routine eye care. He blames the economy. And Dr. Allen is hearing similar tales from others in his field who shared that their patient volume is down significantly.
“We’re not alone.” the Princeton resident says, noting that he is aware that a large area dental practice has let go one hygienist and may soon let at least one other staff member go.
“I know it’s the economy,” Dr. Allen says, “when I can call and get an appointment to get my teeth cleaned within a week or two — instead of waiting a month or more, as in the past.”
At a recent seminar attended by dozens of eye specialists, Dr. Allen says that many attendees reported they are less busy than in previous years. “People are just scheduling fewer appointments in advance,” he says.
Dr. Allen blames falling stock portfolios, unemployment and higher prices for food and other necessities, for people neglecting necessary health-related care. And he expects the situation to grow worse.
“We’re going to see more people waiting for emergencies that will force them to attend to problems, rather than getting regular preventive care,” he says.
But he urges people not to put off annual eye examinations.
“It’s one thing to postpone a haircut or give up manicures,” he says, “but seeing an optometric physician can yield a lot more than just a prescription for new glasses or contact lenses. The eyes are a window into the health of the whole person.”
Dr. Allen gives examples of how an outwardly healthy patient has walked into his office for vision testing and is discovered to have such a serious condition as hypertension, arteriosclerosis, Lyme disease, diabetes, and even, in one case, a brain tumor.
He tells of one patient who came in because he thought he needed reading glasses and was found to have mini-hemorrhages inside the eye, as well as undiagnosed hypertension.
Another man, in his 40s, with no obvious health issues except some additional pounds, was found to have hypertension serious enough to cause an imminent stroke. Noting the swelling of the optic nerve in a 50-ish pharmaceutical executive, Dr. Allen diagnosed a pituitary tumor.
“Our office is often the first stop in diagnosing these and other medical issues,” he says.
With 75 percent of his practice dealing with children and contact lenses, Dr. Allen is offering what he calls “recession concessions” in these two areas of patient evaluation.
For patients who have given up on contact lenses for reasons of comfort, vision or other issues, and children who have learning problems and have not had an eye evaluation by an optometric physician, Dr. Allen will provide, at no fee, a comprehensive health and ocular history with screening tests to establish a course of treatment.
The offer runs through March 4.
“It is rarely the case today that people cannot be fitted for contact lenses,” Dr. Allen says. “With the newest silicone hydrogel materials that are chemically different from the contact lenses of the past, even people with high amounts of astigmatism, dry eyes and other conditions that precluded wearing lenses can now have lenses prescribed that are vision-correcting and comfortable,” he says.
“It is acknowledged by educators and eye professionals that children who have learning problems often suffer from vision problems that have not been identified and that can be remedied with vision therapy,” Dr. Allen says.
“This is more than just a proper prescription for eyeglasses. Vision problems in children can delay their development, affecting walking, learning and socializing. Eighty percent of what a child learns before age 12 is through their visual system and many children who have amblyopia, or ‘lazy eye,’ and other eye muscle problems are not diagnosed and treated early enough to get the best results.
“We know that early assessment is essential for children’s eye function and that success in many areas of children’s lives is enhanced when proper remediation is pursued — sports, academics, social life,” he says.
Dr. Allen sees infants as young as 6 months for assessment and evaluation as part of the InfantSee Program of the American Optometric Association, in partnership with the Vision Care Institute of Johnson & Johnson. This is a voluntary free service that is offered to the parents of infants.
The value of the program has been proven over and over again, according to Dr. Allen, who cited a case where a participating optometric physician examined a 10-month-old girl and diagnosed a congenital tumor in the eye that had been missed by the child’s pediatrician.
“The eye had to be removed in order to save the baby’s life,” he says. “Had it been diagnosed earlier, the eye could have been treated and most likely saved.”
Dr. Allen worked with area school systems for many years in assessing children’s vision. As a professor at Pennsylvania College of Optometry and The Eye Institute in Philadelphia, he has that specialty for 16 years. There are many new state-of-the-art technical programs that address various issues relating to children’s vision. Dr. Allen’s office is equipped with the new technology and the software to run it, with expert staff on hand to work with the youngsters.
Updates and enhancements to these programs are added regularly. There are also programs available for the children to use at home on the family computer, with supervision from office professionals through an Internet connection.
Dr. Charles Allen’s “recession concessions” are valid until March 4 for patients who have previously been unsuccessful with contact lenses and for children with learning problems who have not been evaluated by an optometric physician. Dr. Allen practices at 601 Ewing St., Princeton. 609-924-3567.

