Welcome to Oculus Optometry, where your vision and eye health are our primary concern.  We offer comprehensive eye health services for all members of your family.  We know how much your eye health and appearance means to the quality of your life.  My staff and I are committed to excellence and serving your complete eyecare needs.  We look forward to meeting you and helping you with all of your vision necessities.

Oculus Optometry, situated in the heart of historic Mission street in South Pasadena, is a modern practice carrying the most technologically advanced optometric equipment, lens designs and contacts.

Oculus Optometry was created for the sole purpose of serving the city of South Pasadena and its surrounding areas with the best eyecare possible.  By taking our time and getting to know each individual on a more personal level, we are able to offer what is best suited for your specific needs.

It is our mission to help you see and look your absolute best.  We are your small town urban boutique for all your eyecare and eyewear needs.

Dr. Shirvanian

Comprehensive Eye Exams

Adults

Unlike the rest of our body, the eyes rarely hurt when something is wrong. Eye diseases such as cataracts, glaucoma, macular degeneration and conditions caused by diabetes and high blood pressure usually present with no visual symptoms in the early stages. Over time, though, they can cause permanent damage to our eyes. A comprehensive eye examination checks the internal and external health of your eyes, checks for disease and does a refractive visual analysis to see if a change to your prescription is necessary. 

Children

Eye exams for children are extremely important, because 5 to 10 percent of preschoolers and 25 percent of school-aged children have vision problems. Early identification of a child's vision problem can be crucial because children often are more responsive when problems are diagnosed early.

Infants: InfantSEE Provider

Even if no eye or vision problems are apparent, it is recommended to schedule your baby's first eye assessment at 6 months. InfantSEE, a public health program, designed to ensure that eye and vision care becomes an essential pat of infant wellness care to improve a child's quality of life. Under this program, participating optometrists provide a comprehensive infant eye assessment between 6 and 12 months of age as a no-cost public service.

Contact Lens Fittings

There are a number of reasons why you might prefer contact lenses to standard eyewear: a glasses-free look, hassle-free vision correction, wearing non-prescription sunwear and goggles, or just simply wanting to change your eye color. If you have a high prescription or astigmatism, contact lenses may provide more enhanced vision correction than glasses. We can even replace your bifocal or progressive glasses with contacts.

LASIK and Cataract Surgery

Laser Vision Correction is a group of surgical procedures developed to help you reduce or even eliminate your need for eyeglasses or contact lenses. LASIK is the most common type of procedure to reshape the cornea.
Are you a good candidate for LASIK? We will work with both you and the surgeon to obtain the best outcome only after all potential risks have been addressed and discussed.

Cataract formation is typical later in life as an unfortunate side effect of aging, affecting both men and women usually around 55 years of age. Although not everyone will get cataracts, spending a lot of time in the sun, smoking and other lifestyle factors may increase your chances. A cataract is essentially a clouding of the eye's lens, and may cause a varying degree of vision obstruction. When cataracts become larger, they can obstruct the lens and interfere with the way your optic system processes light, creating blurry vision, trouble with night vision or difficulty distinguishing dark blue from black. When the lens loses clarity due to a cataract, the only solution is to replace the lens through cataract surgery. We will perform a thorough preoperative eye examination to determine if surgery is appropriate for your individual case.

Optical Boutique

Oculus Optometry offers you the best selection of ophthalmic frames and sunglasses around. We carry a wide selection of brands that cater to everyone's needs, whether stylistic, trendy, comfort, unique, or functionality, we have the right frame for you and your family. These are some of the brands we carry.

Facilities and Equipment

Your prescription will be measured utilizing the Topcon CV-5000PRO Vision Tester which sets new quality standards. It is a modern device, which combines the most advanced refractive technologies and digital testing. It is designed for accurately determining the optical error of your eye and your best corrected vision.

Technological enhancements have improved the ability of eye care providers to manage and detect eye diseases and keep more accurate patient records. Our office keeps up to date with all of the latest technological advances to ensure the best quality care for you.

We are excited to offer The Maestro 2, a fully automated OCT/Fundus Camera. This gives us a more complete view of the back of your eye (the retina) than has previously been possible. This OCT device enhances our ability to evaluate the health of your eyes. It becomes even more relevant if you suffer from headaches, see spots or flashes, have a family history of glaucoma, diabetes, macular degeneration, high blood pressure or elevated cholesterol and other medical conditions.

The M'eye Fit Touch, is a high quality device which provides precise measurement of standard lens fitting parameters. It measures the pupillary distance, fitting heights, lens tilts, and vertex distance.

Our in house lab features The Triplets from Essilor Instruments. They make up an integrated edging office system that includes a tracer, blocker, and edger. They are all 3-D digital systems, and you are welcome to see how your glasses are being made.

Types of Payment Accepted

We accept Cash, Personal Checks, Debit Cards, Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express.

Insurance Plans

We accept most vision and medical insurances including VSP, EYEMED, MES, MEDICARE and Medi-Cal. We confirm eligibility and benefits before eye exams and eye wear purchases.

Check with our staff if you have other types of coverage.

Languages Spoken

Our staff speaks English, Spanish and Armenian.

EyeGlass Guide

EyeGlass Guide will help you better understand the many lens choices available to you. This on-line tool will guide you through a series of questions about you, your lifestyle and your specific eyewear needs. At the end, you'll receive eyewear suggestions specifically tailored to meet your needs. EyeGlass Guide brought to you by Transitions® Eye Glass Guide - English

Photochromic Demonstrations

View an instant demonstration of Transitions® photochromic technology. See how lenses darken and fade back to clear to provide continual visual comfort and protection. Demonstrations brought to you by Transitions®
Interactive Demonstration of Transitions® lenses
Interactive Demonstration of Transitions® lenses in different environments

What Is Dry Eye?

Dry eye is the dysfunction of one or many of the components that keep your eyes comfortable and clear. To keep your eyes moist, your glands, tear ducts, eyelids and surrounding systems need to work in harmony. When one of them doesn’t work correctly, the tear film and surface of your eye are affected, and you start getting dry eye symptoms.
Even though many things may cause dry eyes, meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) is considered to be the primary cause, estimated to affect 86% of dry eye patients.  

What is Meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD)?

Meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) is a common eye condition when the meibomian glands in your lids are clogged or have been compromised by chronic inflammation, demodex infestation, long-term use of contact lenses or failure to blink regularly when using digital device use without breaks.
When blocked, the meibomian glands secrete too little or no oil (meibum), which is needed to stabilize your tear film and help avoid your tears from evaporating too quickly.

The meibomian glands are oil producing glands in both your upper and lower eyelids. The oil produced by these glands forms the outermost layer of your tear film. This oil layer protects your tears from rapidly evaporating. When these oils are reduced or eliminated, your tears evaporate from the surface of your eyes quickly and your eyes become much drier. This is especially true when you are engaged in visually intense tasks such as reading (books, magazines, newspapers), staring at a computer, cell phone, or tablet screen, watching television, driving, etc.

• When the meibomian glands are healthy, the oil they produce has the consistency of olive oil.
• When the glands are inflamed, the oils they produce become thickened, having a consistency more like that of toothpaste, leading to clogging of your meibomian glands.
• When your meibomian glands become clogged, the oil layer does not contribute to your tear film; your eyes become drier, and more irritated and inflamed.
• This inflammation causes damage to the surface of your eyes and your tear producing glands. Additionally, the back pressure caused by the clogging of your meibomian glands results in damage to the glands, with gland shortening, atrophy and death.
• Untreated, meibomian gland dysfunction is chronic and progressive. Allowed to progress, the damage to meibomian glands is irreparable and can lead to significant discomfort with dry, red, irritated and inflamed eyes, recurrent infections, scarring of the surface of your eyes, and decreased vision. Unfortunately, lost meibomian glands do not have the ability to spontaneously regenerate.