the good doctor on: Reopening Burlington Eyecare

Hello again from Burlington.

Last week I looked at a new name for the virus, SARS-Cov-2 . We have been open for emergency eye care during the past two months, and are getting ready to open up for regular visits. Let me take you on a tour of a visit to Burlington Eyecare with this new reality in place.

Key principles need to be stated before we begin. We need to minimize contact and maintain distancing with patients and staff. We contact you by phone or email and send you a form that you will fill out and return to us. If your appointment is for new spectacles we will take you on-line to our new boutique where you can preselect a number of frames before your visit. We then set up an appointment and provide updates with timely reminders by text or e-mail. You arrive for your appointment and wait in your car, calling or emailing us to let us know that you have arrived. One of our staff, garbed out in goggles/mask/and gloves will come and escort you in. We are asking patients to come in alone if possible and to wear a mask . We screen all patients and staff: temperature with an infrared gun, oxygen levels with an oximeter, checking for any COVID symptoms.

You will have noticed that we have created space, by removing extra chairs for waiting, taking away magazines, toys and books. Once you are inside, there will be very little waiting, you will be taken for the necessary pretests then to the doctor’s exam room. The doctor will discuss your reasons for visiting and address your concerns as |we take you through a thorough examination of your eye health. Treatment options will be discussed if necessary and the most appropriate course of action will be taken. We continue to provide the best in eyewear and lens options as well as contact lenses , and dry eye remedies . At every stage of the process all surfaces are sanitized and social distancing is observed as much as possible.

This snapshot gives you some idea of what we have learned so far, and we will be open to making the necessary changes as more information is released.

Our patients will be getting an email from us as soon as the government gives us the green light and we look forward to providing the best possible care, as always, in the safest way.


For more information on SARS-COV-2, or COVID-19, please refer to the Canadian Government's COVID-19 Resource Page . Additionally you can refer to the WHO's (World Health Organization) COVID-19 Resource Page , and the CDC's COVID-19 Resource Page .


Til next week,


Dr. Mark Germain, The Good Doctor, Burlington Eyecare

By Dr. Mark Germain May 1, 2026
The good doctor discusses how the eye is a window to the heart with the help of the OCT.
The good doctor take a deeper look at how gut health is connected to eye tissues.
By Dr. Mark Germain April 29, 2026
Blog vol 6.40. The Gut and the Eyes. One of my biggest jobs is to keep abreast of new research and advances in eye health. Most recently, we have seen new stem cell research, gene therapies, as well as new drugs for dry and wet macular degeneration. In January of this year, there was an article in the journal, Cell Death and Disease, that looked at cell apoptosis, specifically with the photoreceptors of the eye. (Read the article here ). Apoptosis is the genetic programming of deliberate and constructive cell death, allowing for the maintenance of healthy structures and systems in the body. Some estimates have the body replacing 50 to 70 billion cells daily by this process. Necrosis, on the other hand, is unplanned cell death caused by injury, toxins, or other negative outside factors; this causes inflammation and disrupts the body’s balance of things. There are stressors that speed up cell turnover. The study looked at photoreceptors in the retina and were able to demonstrate cellular recovery, even in late stages of apoptosis, recovery not breakdown. When certain stressors were reduced, by working with the mitochondria, there was recovery of the photoreceptor cells. How? Mitophagy, the mitochondria’s own process of programmed breaking down and then repurposing the recycled components for new ones. This mitochondrial repair helps to reverse the sequence of apoptosis for the photoreceptors. Mitochondria, how cool. How is this helpful for our eyes? Conditions like retinitis pigmentosa or macular degeneration directly involve the photoreceptors and may be slowed or reversed by helping the mitochondria. So, let’s take care of those mitochondria. There is some evidence for nutritional support for the mitochondrial system. The nutrient, Urolithin A (UA), which is a compound made in our gut from fiber found in pomegranates, berries, and nuts is the only clinically proven substance known to trigger mitophagy, made in the gut no less. Vitamin B3 is critical for mitochondria function, however vitamin B3 based supplements are still to be clinically tested for their support of cell recovery. Nutrients Coenzyme Q10 and L-carnitine are known to help the mitochondria generate energy, and interestingly, infrared light therapy has also been shown to benefit mitochondrial function. Again, food for thought. The gut and its function needs a lot of research. How do probiotics and nutrient precursors affect eye tissues? It is so interesting that the gut can be a factor in eye health. Maybe adding Urolithin A as a supplement is wise, along with the antioxidants in Lutein and Zeaxanthin we use to combat photoreceptor degeneration. Will keep you posted on any new developments.  The good doctor
By Dr. Mark Germain April 16, 2026
The good doctor focuses in on visual processing. Why do we miss things that are right in front of our eyes?
By Dr. Mark Germain April 10, 2026
The good doctor discusses the Artemis II mission, space travels affects on the eyes, and "the dark side of the moon"
By Dr. Mark Germain April 3, 2026
The good doctor discusses exciting new and emerging options to treat nystagmus.
By Dr. Mark Germain March 27, 2026
The good doctor reflects on The Country of the Blind, a book by Andrew Leland which gives insight into the experience of vision loss.
More Posts