Archive for the ‘Eye Health’ Category
Eyes are windows to the…heart?
10.10.2011Age-related macular degeneration can be an indicator of a higher risk of heart attack or stroke according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology. In observation of September being Save Your Sight Month, Eye Care America is raising awareness about age-related macular degeneration and how it can alert people to other underlying health conditions.
The abnormal blood vessels that grow around the eye’s macula cause vision to break down from the center outward. This damage may also be a red flag for a possible risk of heart attack or stroke. This risk may be 8 to 10 times greater than in someone who does not have this blood vessel damage.
Australian researchers followed study participants over a course of several years and noted that those who had age-related macular degeneration had more than double the incidence of heart attack or stroke. Regular eye exams can not only help save your sight but also bring other health conditions to your attention as well.
Elise Ervin
Staff Writer
October is Eye Injury Prevention Month
10.07.2011With October being Eye Injury Prevention Month, eye care professionals like to remind people that eye safety in the home is extremely important and steps need to be taken to reduce the risk of eye injury. At particular risk are the elderly.
While family members tend to be fearful of elderly parents falling and breaking a bone, eye injuries can be equally devastating. Most eye injuries occur at home and can be associated with a fall. Every year, 2.5 million eye injuries are reported.
There are steps that can be taken to reduce the risks of eye injury:
1. Check to make sure that rugs and bath mats are slip-proof.
2. Make sure railings are secured.
3. If there are any sharp corners and edges to furniture or other fixtures, be sure to cushion them.
If an eye injury occurs, even if it appears minor, always seek the care of an ophthalmologist. Long-term eye health problems such as glaucoma and cataracts can develop as a result of an eye injury.
Elise Ervin
Staff Writer
Video games may improve weak vision!
09.29.2011A recent study revealed that playing video games can help improve the vision of adults with lazy eye. Amblyopia, or lazy eye, is the most common cause of permanent visual impairment in childhood. It is a brain disorder in which the vision in one eye does not develop appropriately. The condition is successfully treated in children by using a patch over the “good eye” to force the brain to use the “lazy eye” but for adults with the condition, there are very limited options available.
Researchers noted a marked improvement in 3-D depth perception and the sharpness of vision in study participants who spent just 40 hours playing video games. The 20 participants ranged in age from 16 to 60. Participants wore a patch over their good eye while playing either action or n0n-action games. The “gamers” saw a 30 percent increase in visual acuity which translates to an improvement of 1.5 lines on the standard letter chart used by optometrists. Over 120 hours of basic eye-patch therapy is needed to see the same results.
Additional research is needed as it is uncertain when vision improvement might plateau. In addition, researchers caution that people should not attempt to treat their amblyopia themselves and should consult their eye doctors.*
Elise Ervin
Staff Writer
New York now allowing vision-impaired people to drive without vision verification!
09.28.2011As of September 28, 2011, the New York State driver license renewal process allows drivers the ability to “self-certify that they meet the vision requirements necessary to drive”. New York with be the 9th state in the US to allow for self-certification of vision adequate for driving.
The current vision testing procedure was implemented in 2000. This procedure required drivers to read the 20/40 line at the DMV office or get a vision certification filled out by an ophthalmologist or optometrist stating that a patient’s best corrected or non-corrected visual acuity in at least one eye is 20/40. From 1993 to 2000, NO vision testing was required in New York state, and statistics showed that there was no negative impact on traffic safety during this time period.
Local law makers say this is a step in the right direction for the future of the DMV, because they weren’t able to prove an increase in the number of accidents in a population of people that didn’t have their vision measured. But of course, there are many reasons why this might be so, including better health of the population as a whole .
In a clear cost-saving measure, New York State changed its law in exchange for public safety, in what is a natural follow-up to the state’s changing their vision measurements from every 3 to every 8 years. A lot can happen in 8 years, and it is not uncommon in my ophthalmology office to examine patients who have 20/200 or 20/400 vision. Insurance company actuaries will inform you otherwise, of course. Poor vision increases the risk of accidents. Likewise, so does poor physical health and neurological status.
We previously conducted a survey of our readers on vision and legal driving. The results are posted at http://tinyurl.com/3cbgfq4
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Mary Sweetman, Certified Ophthalmic Assistant
Paul L. Krawitz, M.D., President, VisiVite.Com
Doctors should refrain from conversation during Avastin and Lucentis eye injections
09.24.2011
Patients undergoing injections into the eye for treatment of macular degeneration or other eye conditions should request that their doctor not talk to them while performing the procedure or make sure their doctor wears a mask. Researchers found that unmasked volunteers talking over an imaginary patient spit out bacteria which could land in the eyes or on the syringe needle itself causing infection.
Eye injections can lead to a serious eye infection called endophthalmitis which can result in blindness. Since injections tend to be administered frequently, possibly 1 in 200 patients end up contracting the infection.
Despite the fact that eye injections aren’t major procedures and are done in a doctor’s office they should be considered a surgical procedure and the proper precautions should be taken by both the patient and doctor. Doctors should wear a mask or refrain from speaking during the procedure.*
Elise Ervin
Staff Writer
