To Dear Patients and Friends: We hope our letter finds you well today. A few things we want to make you aware of regarding changes to our office procedures in light of the COVID-19 mandatory closure requirement. The CDC has recommended a halt on routine eyecare. To protect our staff and patients, we had initially closed our office to the public for approximately two weeks from Thursday, March 19 thru Tuesday, April 7th, 2020. It appears that this COVID-19 shutdown will last at least through the month of April . Based on the Governor's orders, we hope to open on May 12th. At the end of April, we will reassess the situation and know more regarding further CDC recommendations and will further communicate with you. We are still here to provide for your eyecare needs in the following ways: The best way to contact us is by phone at (757) 898-2020. Messages are checked and calls returned regularly. -For prescription refills, contact lens orders, and replacement glasses reorders, including eyewear orders, those already on order, or in for repair- arrangements can be made for service or pick-up. -Changing or scheduling of appointments is also available. -Urgent eyecare needs can be triaged and virtual visits via Skype or Facebook Messenger are available. -Referrals and off-site visits can be arranged as necessary. -For our current vision therapy patients, a short break is tolerable. However, as this shutdown is prolonged, we don’t want you to lose progress. We are working on ways to meet your needs by way virtually. Regarding Online access to meet your needs: -Look for updates soon to enhance our online presence with virtual neuro-optometric therapy and telehealth visits. Check our FACEBOOK page at Peter L. Guhl, and our WEBSITE at www.guhl.vision for updates and information on many aspects of eyecare and the latest recommendations concerning eyecare and this disease. Until we see you again, please stay safe, be well, and stay at home! Best of health from all of us at Dr. Peter Guhl and Associates, PLC / CVT-Neuro Optometric Rehabilitation

Are contacts safe to wear during this COVID-19 outbreak. It depends. Use of contacts always presents some risk. I see complications occasionally and I am conservative in my care to minimized them. Having a foreign body on the eye in the form of a contact lens does reduce your eye's ability to fight off infection. Having this renegade virus present also increases those risks. Corona related blephroconjunctivitis (Pink Eye) is rare but has been seen with this disease. The tears tend to be anti-microbial and there hasn't been much evidence that they are a mode of transmission. However, soft contacts are absorptive of infectious germs and can harbor them. Having someone contaminate you via droplets from a sneeze or cough can infect the contacts and the tears can then drain into your nose and airway, creating a pathway to illness. Glasses may provide at least some physical barrier in that scenario that contacts don't, but they aren't considered full protection. There is also the risk of self contamination upon insertion. Proper handwashing and drying with a new paper towel is advised; and your case, solution bottle(s), countertop and faucet are also in need of disinfection. Change the solution to fresh solution each time, don't just "topoff" and clean the case. Replace the case quarterly or after you have had an infection or illness, COVID-19 included. Once your hands are clean, be wary of touching anything else prior to inserting or removing contacts to reduce introducing this or any other pathogen. The other risk is from irritation the contacts may create that causes you to touch your face. That poses an increased risk of spreading the virus to your facial area. One day, also called daily replacement, soft contacts are the safest for lens wearers. Extended wear lenses or sleeping with your lenses in is the riskiest. Wearing any contacts while ill is dangerous and counter-indicated. If you do decide to continue to wear contacts, be prepared to remove them at the first sign of exposure or sickness. Use your glasses and discard the old contacts before resuming wear. So in summary, use of contacts lenses during this pandemic is considered safe. Use proper procedures, as you should be doing anyway. Be smart, remove them if you are ill, if you have been exposed to this or other environmental risks, and if you have ongoing issues after removal, please call.

Our office will be on an abbreviated schedule until at least April 7th . Appointments for therapy, routine and non-urgent care will be tentatively scheduled after that time. Call before coming in to order or pickup glasses or contact lenses. Feel free to call and we are here to answer your questions and to meet your needs. Leave a message if we don’t answer, and we can call you back, to book an appointment or schedule a telehealth visit. Please be safe and stay healthy. Dr. Peter Guhl, Neuro-Optometrist