Preserving the eyesight of our patients so they can get the most out of life is our
greatest goal. Our eye care clinic in Brampton, Ontario makes it a policy to ensure that all
staff members are up-to-date on the latest technology and techniques to make your visit as
comfortable and effective as possible. As optometric technology changes, it is even more
important to visit an eye doctor who has all the right optometry qualifications and follows the
latest developments in eye care.
Utilizing cutting edge technology, we diagnose and manage, with greater precision,
diseases like Glaucoma, Macular Degeneration, Cataracts, and Diabetic Retinopathy. Earlier and
more precise diagnosis means earlier treatment and better outcomes. We can take an aggressive
approach to diseases that previously had few treatment options. Great advances have been made in
the treatment of these diseases.
Cataract Surgery Co-Management
Cataracts are a common cause of vision loss after age 55. Learn more about
recognizing cataract symptoms, protecting your eyes and understanding cataract
surgery.
Diabetes and vision go hand in hand. If you have diabetes, you need to know that
having this systemic disease puts you at greater risk for developing vision
problems.
Glaucoma is a condition that causes damage to your eye's optic nerve and gets worse
over time, so nipping it in the bud will always be better for the person being
tested.
The macula is the portion of the retina which provides sharp, central vision, and is
involved in processing the fine details of the image. The breakdown of the macula is
a disease called macular degeneration.
We offer emergency services that require immediate and urgent eye care. If your eye is injured, don't
try to judge the severity of it. Immediately seek the opinion of an eye doctor to lessen the risk of
hurting your vision. We understand ocular emergencies can arise at any time.
Please call our Brampton office at 905 793-2020
for further instructions. Use your best judgment. If you feel your vision issue is urgent, do not
delay treatment - visit your nearest emergency treatment center.
Symptoms that require emergency service include, but are not limited
to:
Sudden loss of vision
Sudden double vision
Sudden red/painful eye
Pink Eye
New onset flashes and/or floaters
Foreign body in the eye (especially metal or chemicals)
New or worsening swelling or pain after eye surgery
Use your best judgment on urgency – find the nearest emergency room and follow this list of
things
NOT to do while waiting for professional medical assistance:
DO NOT press on an injured eye or allow the victim to rub the eye(s).
DO NOT attempt to remove a foreign body that is resting on the cornea (the clear surface of the
eye
through which we see) or that appears to be embedded in any part of the eye.
DO NOT use dry cotton (including cotton swabs) or sharp instruments (such as tweezers) on the
eye.
Cataracts is a disease of the eye that results in the clouding of the lens of the eyeball. Cataracts
prevent clear images from appearing on the eye’s retina; causing mild, moderate, even severe blurred
vision.
Typically an eye disorder associated with aging (over half of the people in America over age 80 have
either had a cataract or cataract surgery), cataracts generally occur later in life as the lens
structure within the human eye changes and gets older. In addition to age, other risk factors that
lead to cataracts include smoking, UV overexposure and diabetes.
During the evaluation of your eye health we will carefully examine your lens for signs of cataract
formation. If a cataract is noticed and the clouding is causing visual disruption, the optometrist
will refer you to a trusted and respected surgeon for surgery, which is the only known cure for
cataracts. Our Eye Care Practice will be there for you providing pre and post cataract surgery
care.
Cataract Surgery
Cataract surgery is the removal of the natural lens of the eye (also called “crystalline lens”) that
has developed an opacification, which is referred to as a cataract. Metabolic changes of the
crystalline lens fibers over the time lead to the development of the cataract and loss of
transparency, causing impairment or loss of vision. During cataract surgery, a patient’s cloudy
natural lens is removed and replaced with a synthetic lens to restore the transparency of the
lens.
Following surgical removal of the natural lens, an artificial intraocular lens implant is inserted
(eye surgeons say that the lens is “implanted”). Cataract surgery is generally performed by an
ophthalmologist (eye surgeon) in an ambulatory (rather than inpatient) setting, in a surgical center
or hospital, using local anesthesia (either topical, peribulbar, or retrobulbar), usually causing
little or no discomfort to the patient. Well over 90% of operations are successful in restoring
useful vision, with a low complication rate. Outpatient care, high volume, minimally invasive, small
incision phacoemulsification with quick post-op recovery has become the standard of care in cataract
surgery all over the world.
Diabetes is associated with several eye health issues including cataracts and glaucoma, but the
most well known diabetic eye disease is diabetic retinopathy.
Diabetic Retinopathy
Diabetic retinopathy is an eye disease that only affects diabetics. It occurs when the fragile
vascular network that supplies the retina – the light sensitive tissue at the back of the eye that
helps us see – begins to swell or leak. During the beginning stages of the disease, there may be no
noticeable symptoms, so it’s important to have your eyes checked at least once a year, if you have
diabetes.
Once symptoms of diabetic retinopathy do develop, they can include: dark or black spots in your
visual field, or blurry vision, and it increases over time. This is a result of bleeding at the back
of the eye, which prevents a clear image from being transmitted from the retina to the brain.
Whether you have type 1, type 2, or even just gestational diabetes, you are at risk for developing
diabetic retinopathy. The longer you have had the disease, the greater the risk. It is essential to
keep your blood sugar levels under control to prevent vision loss, and this may require a trip back
to your primary care physician.
Treating diabetic retinopathy can include vitrectomy, replacing the inner gel-like substance that
supports the eyeball structure, and laser surgery.
Glaucoma is not a single disease. It is actually a group of eye diseases that cause damage to the
optic nerve due to an increase in pressure inside the eye, which is called intraocular pressure
(IOP). When detected in the early stages, glaucoma can often be controlled, preventing severe vision
loss and blindness. However, symptoms of noticeable vision loss often only occur once the disease
has progressed. This is why glaucoma is called “the sneak thief of sight”. Unfortunately, once
vision is lost from the disease, it usually can’t be restored.
Treatments include medication or surgery that can regulate the IOP and slow down the progression of
the disease to prevent further vision loss. The type of treatment depends on the type and the cause
of glaucoma.
Prevention is possible only with early detection and treatment. Since symptoms are
often absent,
regular eye exams which include a glaucoma screening are essential, particularly for individuals
at risk of the disease. While anyone can get glaucoma, the following traits put you at a higher
risk:
Age over 60
Hispanic or Latino descent, Asian descent
African Americans over the age of 40 (glaucoma is the leading cause of blindness in African
Americans, 6-8 times more common than in Caucasians.)
Family history of glaucoma
Diabetics
People with severe nearsightedness
Certain medications (e.g. steroids)
Significant eye injury (even if it occurred in childhood)
What Is Age Related Macular Degeneration or ARMD?
The macula on the retina provides sharp, central vision. The breakdown of the macula is a disease
called macular degeneration, and can be serious. Untreated macular degeneration is one of the
leading causes of blindness in those over 65 years old.
While researchers have not yet discovered a cure for age-related macular degeneration (ARMD), there
are treatment options which prevent the disease from progressing to blindness, and in some cases,
they can even improve vision. It’s important to have an open discussion with your eye doctor about
the risks and limitations of ARMD treatments.
Types of Macular Degeneration:
There are 2 basic types of ARMD, the wet form and the dry form.
Dry Macular Degeneration
Dry macular degeneration is considered the less aggressive form of ARMD. It typically progresses much more slowly, and the level of eyesight damage is less severe. Dry ARMD is detected during routine eye exams, which is why it’s important to have yearly testing. Treating Dry AMD often involves high doses of zinc and antioxidants which have been shown to slow diseases progression.
Wet Macular Degeneration
Wet macular degeneration is the more severe form of ARMD. Call us to book an emergency eye doctor’s appointment if you experience a sudden worsening of blurry central vision. Wet ARMD occurs when there is abnormal blood vessel growth (angiogenesis), and leakage, which can cause scar tissue to develop. Treatments include laser surgery, injecting light sensitive dyes, or AMD medication injected directly into the eye to inhibit angiogenesis.
The information below applies to all the information contained on the drrickthompson.ca Website.
The users of this Website agree to comply with the terms set out below.
TERMS OF USE
Thompson Family Optometry owns and operates a Website at drrickthompson.ca (hereinafter referred to as the “site” or
“Website”). Thompson Family Optometry® trademark except as otherwise noted on the site, which is accessible
to all users (hereinafter referred to as the “user” or “users”). Refrain from using this Website unless you
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RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH INFORMATION
Information on this Website is intended for informational purposes only and has no contractual value.
Thompson Family Optometry reserves the right to modify the content of this site. At any time, without prior notice.
Thompson Family Optometry assumes no liability for errors or omissions in the content of this Website or for
information reliability or completeness of said information.
Information published on this Website is based on marketing, statistical or commercial services or other sources
the Thompson Family Optometry considers reliable and are the sole responsibility of their authors and not of
Thompson Family Optometry. We do not assume any liability for the accuracy or completeness of said information and in
no circumstance should this information be regarded as such. Opinions and information as presented on this site
reflect our position as of the date of publication and are subject to change without notice.
UPDATING OF THE WEBSITE UNDER THE RESPONSIBILITY OF Thompson Family Optometry
Thompson Family Optometry, its employees and directors will not be liable for damages incurred as a result of the
information published on this site, for the views and advice published, expressed or implied regardless of its
nature.
Thompson Family Optometry expressly refuses any and all responsibility for the manner in which the user of the site may
use the information contained, in any decisions that may be made and in the actions that may or may not be taken
based on said information.
COPYRIGHT PROTECTION
Presentations made and contained on this site are the intellectual property of Thompson Family Optometry. Reproduction
in whole or in part of this site on any other medium in prohibited without the express permission of
Thompson Family Optometry.
User may solely use the information contained on this site for personal use. Reproduction in whole or in part of
said information on paper may only be performed for personal use. Said information is not to be copied,
distributed or transmitted to third parties nor may it be inserted in a document or other medium.
HYPERTEXT LINKS
The links to external Websites and their content shall not be prejudged and Thompson Family Optometry will in no way be
held responsible for any direct or indirect prejudice that may result from gaining access to and usage of said
sites.
CONFIDENTIALITY
Thompson Family Optometry draws the attention of the user to the fact that all communication transmitted through this
Website remains in the public domain and not the private domain. Thompson Family Optometry cannot accept responsibility for the
security of the transmission of information.
The confidentiality and integrity of the information circulating over the internet cannot be ensured.
Thompson Family Optometry cannot accept responsibility in the case that data contained on this site is intercepted.
Thompson Family Optometry site uses cookies. These cookies are small text files saved on the hard disk of a user's
computer. These files are completely harmless and cannot contain viruses. These cookies are used to analyze
visits to the site. Thompson Family Optometry calls upon Google Analytics to help track how users use the site. The
number of visitors, path taken to access the site and length of each visit are measured. The cookies cannot, in
any way, identify the user. All data is completely anonymous and compiled solely for the purpose of improving
the site and tailoring the content to the needs of its visitors.
The person responsible for the protection of personal information is the owner of : Thompson Family Optometry
VIRUSES AND TECHNICAL GLITCHES
Thompson Family Optometry makes no representations that the content of this site is free of infections, viruses, worms,
Trojan horses and/or other codes with contaminating or destructive properties. It is the user's responsibility
to take protective measures.
Thompson Family Optometry DECLINES ALL RESPONSIBILITY IN THE EVENT OF ANY INTERRUPTION OR NON-AVAILABILITY OF THE
SERVICE
Under no circumstances shall Thompson Family Optometry be held responsible for transmission errors of any sort, such as
loss of or damage to data, or changes of any type whatsoever, including direct or indirect damage resulting from
the use of the services provided on this site.
JURISDICTION
This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the province of Ontario.
Any dispute arising of this Agreement shall be brought before the court in the judicial district of
Thompson Family Optometry's head office. Address: 470 Chrysler Drive - Units 3 & 4
Brampton, ON
L6S 0C1; Tel: 905 793-2020.
PUBLISHING FIRM
Thompson Family Optometry
470 Chrysler Drive - Units 3 & 4
Brampton, ON
L6S 0C1 Tel: 905 793-2020
Acceptance of the Privacy Policy
Thank you for visiting drrickthompson.ca (the “Website”), provided to you by Thompson Family Optometry (“We”). We
respect the privacy of every individual who visits the Website and are sensitive to privacy
issues on the Internet. We believe it is important that you know how we deal with information
received about you.
This privacy policy (the “Privacy Policy”) explains how we collect, use, disclose, and protect
the personal information of our customers and Website users ("you"), describes the types of
information we may collect from you or that you may provide to us, and our practices for
collecting, using, maintaining, protecting, and disclosing that information. The Website is for
general audiences and is not specifically targeted to or intended for use by children.
We will only use your personal information in accordance with this Privacy Policy unless
otherwise required by applicable law. We take steps to ensure that the personal information that
we collect about you is adequate, relevant, not excessive, and used for limited purposes.
Privacy laws in Canada generally define "Personal Information" as any information about an
identifiable individual, which includes information that can be used on its own or with other
information to identify, contact, or locate a single person.
By accessing or using the Website, you are accepting the practices described in this Privacy
Policy, and you are consenting to our processing of your information as set out in this Privacy
Policy. We may modify or update this Privacy Policy from time to time; if we change this Privacy
Policy in a manner that materially impacts your privacy rights, we will provide a notice to you.
Your continued use of the Website or our services after any modification to this Privacy Policy
will constitute your acceptance of such modification. However, when required by law, we will
confirm your consent to the revised Privacy Policy terms. This Privacy Policy is incorporated
into and considered a part of the Website Terms and Conditions of Use, located here
What information we collect
We collect and use several types of information from and about you, including:
Personal Information, that we can reasonably use to directly or indirectly
identify you, such as your full name, email address, telephone number and any other
identifier we may use to contact you online or offline.
Non-personal information is information that does not directly or
indirectly reveal your identity or directly relate to an identified individual, such as
demographic information, or statistical or aggregated information. Statistical or aggregated
data does not directly identify a specific person, but we may derive non-personal
statistical or aggregated data from Personal Information. For example, we may aggregate
Personal Information to calculate the percentage of users accessing a specific Website
feature.
How we collect the information
Information You Provide to Us
The information we collect directly from you may include:
Communicating with us: When you contact us about a customer service issue,
Vision Entrepreneur services or to make other inquiries, we collect the content of those
communications, as well as your full name, clinic name, email, phone number, city, province,
and any additional information that allows us to answer your request.
Information We Collect While You Interact With Us Through Cookies and Other Automatic Data
Collection Technologies
We use your information, including your Personal Information, to manage our business and to
maintain and develop commercial relationships with you. We will collect, use, and disclose such
information only to the extent that is necessary for those purposes.
We use information that we collect about you or that you provide to us, including any Personal
Information:
To provide you with information, products, or services that you request from us.
To fulfill the purposes for which you provided the information or that were described when
it was collected, or any other purpose for which you provide it.
To improve the Website, products or services, marketing, or customer relationships and
experiences.
To allow you to participate in interactive features, social media, or similar features on
the Website.
To measure or understand the effectiveness of the advertising we serve to you and others,
and to deliver relevant advertising to you.
In any other way we may describe when you provide the information.
For any other purpose with your consent.
How we share your information
We will not rent or sell your information to third parties without your consent. We only share
your data as specifically provided in this Privacy Policy.
Other Disclosures
In addition to any disclosure you may have consented to or permitted under the terms of this
Privacy Policy, we may transfer your data, including Personal Information to third parties in
the following limited circumstances:
information you expressly consent to be shared;
when relating to anonymized information (individuals cannot be identified by it);
when you decide to make the information indexable by search engines, to share or to
distribute the information to people or otherwise to make it available to the public;
to satisfy any applicable law, regulation, legal process or enforceable governmental request
within or outside your country of residence when we have a good faith belief that the law
requires it;
to enforce this Privacy Policy, the Terms, or an agreement, including investigation of
potential violations thereof;
to detect, prevent, or otherwise address fraud, security or technical issues, or protect the
operations or you;
to protect our rights, property or safety as well as yours, the public, or others;
in connection with an acquisition, merger, change in control, debt financing,
reorganization, sales of assets, bankruptcy or other change of our corporate structure or
status; or
as necessary in connection with the performance of requested services or solutions, or as
otherwise appropriate in connection with a legitimate need.
How we store and secure your information
Information Security
We are committed to protecting the confidentiality, integrity, availability and privacy of your Personal Information. We have put appropriate physical, technological and procedural security measures in place designed to help prevent your Personal Information from being lost, used, modified or accessed in an unauthorized way, or improperly disclosed. Examples of such measures include restricted access to offices, training of personnel, using passwords and well-defined internal policies and practices. We also use encryption technology and Secure Socket Layers ("SSL") in all areas of the Website where your personal account information is required.
In addition, we limit access to your Personal Information to those employees, agents, contractors and other third parties who have a business need-to-know. They will be required to process your Personal Information only on our instructions and they are subject to an obligation of confidentiality. Our service providers are required to maintain adequate security protections in place designed to help safeguard your Personal Information and are not permitted to use it for any purpose other than fulfilling services to us.
If you have any questions about securing your personal data, please contact us in accordance with the “How to Contact Us” section below.
Information Retention
We will retain your Personal Information for as long as it is needed:
to provide the products and services that you have requested;
to communicate with you about a purchase or a request you have made to us;
to manage your choices and rights you have exercised pursuant to this Privacy Policy;
to comply with our legal and regulatory obligations and to demonstrate compliance,
to resolve disputes and to enforce our rights and agreements.
We may retain non-personal information that has been sufficiently aggregated or anonymized for a longer period.
Once the retention period is over, we will dispose of your Personal Information as provided for in our internal data retention and disposal policy.
Where We Store Information
We use facilities operated by "Amazon Web Services" and located in Canada as our information storage and processing infrastructure. Our service providers can also, from time to time, store your Personal Information in accordance with purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy.
How to contact us
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, you can contact us at 905 793-2020.
Cookie Policy – drrickthompson.ca
This Cookie Policy explains what cookies are and how we use them. You should read this Policy to
understand what type of cookies we use, the information we collect from the cookies, and how
that
information is managed. For further information on how we handle, store and keep your personal
data
secure, see our Term of use.
What are Cookies?
Cookies are small text files which are stored on the browser or hard drive of your computer or
mobile
device when you visit a webpage or application. A “session cookie” stores temporary information
that
is deleted when you close your web browser or turn off your computer or device. A “persistent
cookie” enables the site to recognize when you return to it and remains stored on your computer
until you delete it. Cookies work to make your experience browsing our site as smooth as
possible by
remembering your preferences the next time you visit the site.
What types of cookies do we use?
There are four variety of cookies which operate on our website:
Essential cookies allow you to be able to experience the full functionality
of
our site. For example, these cookies allow you to change your preferred language and enable
the
website to remember it. Without these cookies, some parts of our site may not work as they
should.
Performance cookies tell us how you use our site and help us to improve it.
For
example, these cookies count the number of visitors to our website and see how visitors move
around when they are using it. This helps us to improve the way our site works, for example,
by
ensuring that users find what they are looking for easily. The information collected by
these
cookies is anonymous.
Google Analytics are performance cookies used to track visits to
our
website and user behaviour on site. The data collected is anonymous and is used for
benchmarking purposes to monitor the performance of our site and to measure user
engagement on our site.
Social media cookies from social media sites such as
Facebook, Instagram, and
Pinterest
are used to enable social media buttons on our site to work. Social media buttons
allow
you to share content and interact with your social network. These social media
platform
may set their own cookies on your device. We do not control the settings of these
cookies so we suggest you check the social media website for more information about
their cookies and how to manage them. Our website will not collect or store any
personally identifiable information from the user. To find out how you can opt out
of
accepting these cookies, please visit the cookie policy and privacy policies of the
social media site.
Customizer cookies allow our site to remember your preferences, helping to
customize your experience on our site.
Our customizer cookie, which helps us to manage the technology and cookies which are
used across our site.
Targeting/advertising cookies are set by third party advertising partners
through our digital touchpoints to build profiles based on your interests. These cookies
enable
us to send you relevant content and advertising based on your preferences and track the
effectiveness of our ad campaigns.
Below are several advertising and targeting cookies that are used to identify
different
browsers and devices. They collect data anonymously for the purposes of ad
selection,
reporting, behavioural targeting, and cross-device advertising (i.e. associating
multiple devices together). In some instances, we may provide a hashed version of
your
email address or other information to the platform provider for such proposes. More
information can be found at the following links.
How do you change cookie preferences or block cookies?
Within your browser, you can choose whether you wish to accept cookies or not. Different browsers
make different controls available to you. Generally, your browser will offer you the choice to
accept, refuse or delete cookies at all times, or those from providers that website owners use
i.e.
third party cookies, or those from specific websites. Each browser’s website should contain
instructions on how you can do this.
If you block cookies on our website, you may be unable to access certain areas of our website and
certain functions and pages will not work in the usual way.
Changes to the Cookie Policy
We may update this Policy from time to time. If we make significant changes we will let you know
but
please regularly check this Policy to ensure you are aware of the most updated version.
This Cookie Policy was last updated on September 25, 2023.
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