Bright Eyes brings children's nearsightedness into focus in Tampa

Bright Eyes Family Vision Care has spent 20 years on a question many parents first meet in an exam room: a child's prescription is getting stronger each year, and what, if anything, can be done about it. The family-owned practice marked its 20th anniversary this year, and says helping keep children's vision from getting worse each year has been part of its mission that entire time.

A practice that grew around families

Dr. Nate Bonilla-Warford and his optician wife, Cristina, returned to Florida after his pediatric vision and vision therapy residency in Chicago. They opened Bright Eyes in a small Westchase storefront in 2006. As the practice expanded, it moved to a larger location on Linebaugh Avenue.

Dr. Beth Knighton, also trained in a pediatric optometry residency, joined the team in 2014, the same year Bright Eyes Kids opened. Bright Eyes says families had been traveling to Westchase from communities including Gainesville, Winter Haven and Sebring for specialty services. Opening Bright Eyes Kids in the Tampa Palms area of New Tampa gave the practice a second location devoted to patients from infancy through age 18. The original family office continues to see adults as well as children.

Bright Eyes says the children's office is built for a wider range of visits than a routine eye exam, including children with special needs, learning disabilities, ADHD and difficulty with schoolwork. It says it structures kids' eye exams like a series of games, using toys, matching games and videos to test children who can't yet speak or read.

The question behind a changing prescription

Bright Eyes describes myopia as the disease that causes nearsightedness. The National Eye Institute describes it as a refractive error that makes distant objects appear blurry because light focuses in front of the retina. It commonly develops during childhood and can continue changing as young people grow. Bright Eyes says it takes a special eye exam to diagnose it.

Bright Eyes describes the mechanism in its own materials: as a child grows, the eye grows with them, and an eye that grows too fast becomes more out of focus. The practice says myopia management cannot reverse myopia, and that the goal is to slow how fast it progresses.

Bright Eyes describes its myopia consultation as a closer look at that change. Its published process includes comparing past and current prescriptions, measuring the length of the eye and the shape of the cornea, and reviewing family history. The practice says those findings inform a discussion of treatment options. It asks for a comprehensive eye exam within the preceding six months, which can also be coordinated with the consultation.

The practice offers four categories of myopia control: specialty eyeglass lenses, daytime soft multifocal contact lenses, overnight contact lenses and prescription eye drops. Bright Eyes says it matches the approach to the individual child, and that the approach evolves with the child as they grow.

The people behind the exams

Dr. Nate's interest in children's vision predates the first storefront. His background includes a Doctor of Optometry degree from the Illinois College of Optometry in 2004 and a residency in Pediatric and Binocular Vision the following year. He also lectures on children's visual care and nearsightedness.

Bright Eyes says all of its optometrists specialize in children's vision. Like Dr. Nate and Dr. Beth, Dr. Jordan Kennedy has residency training in pediatric vision. Dr. Christine Sylvester conducts research at Bright Eyes in myopia management.

Two Tampa offices, different age groups

Bright Eyes Family Vision Care is at 9912 W. Linebaugh Ave. in Westchase, open Monday through Friday. Bright Eyes Kids is at 15310 Amberly Dr., Suite 110, in New Tampa, open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. The practice lists glasses, contacts, myopia control and binocular vision evaluations at both locations; its Westchase office also lists sports vision and binocular vision dysfunction evaluation.

The children's office specializes in glasses for little ones. The selection includes a range of colors and is chosen to stand up to the daily wear of kids' lives. They come in metal and plastic, lightweight and flex-style frames, and tiny frames for babies, with a 1-year breakage warranty on regular-priced frames.

Families can review the practice's myopia consultation information or use the appointment request on its website. One phone number, (813) 792-0637, serves both offices.