Archive for the ‘Eye Health’ Category
Measuring visual acuity in people 65 and older not cost effective, study says
01.23.2012
Dr. Paul Krawitz performing a dilated retinal examination
A recent study suggests that it would be more cost effective for new Medicare enrollees to receive dilated eye exams in place of visual acuity screenings. Currently, when people are enrolled in the Medicare program, they receive a visual acuity screening along with other preventive healthcare checks.
The study involved 50,000 simulated patients with demographic characteristics matched to people 65 years of age. Diabetics were excluded because visual acuity screenings had already been determined to be cost effective and patients with diagnosed eye disease were also left out.
Researchers found that when compared to a no-screening policy, dilated eye evaluations increased quality-adjusted life years by 0.0008 and increased costs by $94. The quality-adjusted life years for those who had visual acuity screenings increased in less than 95 percent of the simulations and the total costs were increased by $32 per person.*
Protecting the eyes from sun during winter is just as important as summer
01.18.2012
Many people assume that excessive exposure to UV light can only happen in the summer months but light reflected off snow can damage the eyes’ front surface and people should wear the necessary eye protection to keep their eyes safe.
Exposure to bright sunlight may increase the risk of developing cataracts, age-related macular degeneration and growths on the eye. Thousands of skiers and snowboarders in 32 high-altitude ski areas in western North America were interviewed in a recent study to determine if they took precautions against the sun such as wearing goggles, hats and sunscreen and the results were that most of them only did so on occasion. UV radiation exposure increases as the elevation increases and can be high on cloudy days.
So while you are outside having fun this winter it is important to protect your eyes by wearing goggles or sunglasses that have UV protection.*
Glaucoma patients have higher risk of injury from falling
01.16.2012
A year-long study revealed that glaucoma sufferers who had extensive vision loss in their lower peripheral vision were at a greater risk of falling.
Over the course of the year, 40% of the 70 participants had a fall with 20 percent suffering multiple falls over the period. While all participants had glaucoma, it was the participants who had the severely impaired lower peripheral vision who were at the greatest risk of falling.
This information will allow doctors to better educate their patients on how they can reduce their risk of falling. Such preventative measures include removing tripping hazards from the house and improving the lighting. In addition, those at risk should exercise in good sunlight instead of at low-light times of the day.
Falls are one of the leading causes of injury-related hospital admissions among senior adults with one third of people over the age of 65 falling every year. Regular eye exams play an important role in monitoring any changes in vision which may lead to falls.*
Study reveals “sins” of contact lens wearers
01.13.2012
Only 2 percent of contact lens wearers actually follow the guidelines for proper contact lens hygiene according to a new study published in the journal Optometry and Vision Science. The study also revealed that more than 80 percent of those who participated in the study erroneously believed that they followed good cleaning practices.
Not surprisingly, 72 percent of those surveyed said they had experienced discomfort from their lenses and 47 percent reported having had an infection from wearing their lenses. Among the list of infractions committed by contact lens wearers is sleeping with the contact lenses still in, not replacing the solution in the contact lens case every day with fresh solution and rarely or never replacing the lens case.
Failure to follow a proper hygiene protocol for contact lens use can result in mild problems such as conjunctivitis (also known as “pink eye”) to potentially blinding eye infections caused by E. coli or Acanthamoeba. Such potential eye infections can be avoided by following these guidelines:
- Always wash your hands and dry thoroughly with a lint-free towel before handling your lenses.
- Try to avoid bathing or swimming with your contact lenses in.
- Always store your lenses in the proper saline solution and not just water.
- Do not use saliva to moisten your lenses.
- Saline solution does not disinfect your lenses.
- Follow the proper disposal and replacement schedule as set by your eye care provider.
- Always rinse your contacts with solution and not water and allow your case to air-dry. The case should be replaced every three months at the very minimum.
By following the simple tips above, you can avoid a painful visit to your eye care professional in the future.*
Make sure your family members know these 7 Critical Steps to Avoid Eye Injury from a Champagne Cork
12.05.2011New Year’s Eve is only a few weeks away. And with champagne corks soon to be flying around the room, it’s that time of year that I warn my readers about avoiding a potentially devastating eye injury.
Tamara Fountain, MD, from the American Academy of Ophthalmology informed me that a champagne cork can fly up to 50 miles per hour as it leaves the bottle!
And because people are unprepared to get hit, they usually get hit directly in the eye without being able to reflexively close their eyelids.
So please follow my advice about the proper technique in opening a champagne bottle:
- Make sure sparkling wine is chilled before you open it, since the cork of?a warm bottle is more likely to pop unexpectedly.
- Don’t emulate the athletes by shaking the bottle. Shaking dramatically increases your chances of eye injury by increasing the pressure inside the bottle.
- Hold down the cork with the palm of one hand while removing the wire hood with the other hand.
- Point the bottle away from yourself and from any bystanders or nearby walls until the cork is safely removed.
- Place a towel over the entire top of the bottle and grasp the cork.
- Keep the bottle at a 45-degree angle as you SLOWLY and firmly twist the bottle (not the cork!) while holding the?cork to break the seal. Counter the force of the cork using slight downward pressure just as the cork breaks free from the bottle.
- NEVER use a corkscrew to open a bottle of champagne or sparkling wine!*
Paul Krawitz, M.D., President and Founder
Vitamin Science, Inc.
