OD Spotlight: Dr. Britney Caruso

As a young child, Dr. Britney Caruso knew she wanted to become a doctor for a simple but powerful reason—to help people in need. She gravitated toward optometry as she felt it gave her more flexibility, whether that meant in academia or practice. Over the course of her career, she’s managed two successful practices, overcome life-altering health ordeals, and most recently, authored and published her very own book.

When she started her first practice at Target Optical, she chose one of the “lower performing” stores in the region. While there were many who tried to discourage her from taking on what they considered a risky store, Dr. Caruso saw this practice as both a challenge and an opportunity. From the beginning, she had to put in incredible amounts of time to successfully promote her practice. This dedication proved immensely successful, and she eventually continued to open a second practice that expanded her reach.

A couple years into her first practice, Dr. Caruso made an unexpected and life-changing discovery. An optomap of her eyes showed that multiple small hemorrhages were present in both eyes. After voicing her concerns, other doctors and specialists told her not to worry, but the threat of future blindness was too pressing to ignore. After multiple rounds of testing and continuous dismissal from practitioners around her, Dr. Caruso finally hit the bullseye: a test showed that the back of her eyes received only one-fourth of their necessary blood flow. To her relief, everyone took her seriously now.

Despite multiple rounds of surgery and prescriptions for heavy medication, nothing seemed to improve her eye health. Dr. Caruso took a step back from her diagnosis and returned to the basics: her diet and lifestyle. She returned to her doctor with her proposition,

“Give me 30 days, I’m going to reverse this eye disease using lifestyle and nutrition.”

True to her word, Dr. Caruso built her lifestyle plan and stuck to it. Thirty days later, she returned to her doctor and ran a final test; her hemorrhages were completely gone.

For Dr. Caruso, her journey did not end there. After essentially reversing her eye disease through lifestyle changes, she knew this knowledge could not only benefit her patients but the community around her as well. To consolidate her experiences in a meaningful and long-lasting way, she decided to take her thoughts to paper.

In her recently published book, “Beyond Carrots: Eye disease can happen to you too,” Dr. Caruso goes into full detail about her experiences as a Target Optical Doctor, diagnosis and recovery, and dedication to holistic wellness for eye health. After managing two challenging practices and reversing her own eye disease, Dr. Caruso’s initial childhood dream is brought to fruition in her book as she helps readers better understand optometry practices, nutrition and lifestyle, and the importance of their eyes.

Dr. Caruso’s book can be purchased on both Barnes & Noble and Amazon