| Can Healthful Eating Save Your Eyes? |
Can Healthful Eating Save Your Eyes?
Antioxidant supplements could slow age-related macular degeneration
A past large study showed that high doses of antioxidant supplements might slow a person s progression from early to late AMD.
Studies now suggest that the healthful eating habits recommended to lower your risk of cancer may also help prevent the most common cause of irreversible blindness that occurs among people in developed countries. Although age-related macular degeneration (AMD) ...Read More
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| Carotid Artery Disease |
When people are warned and are concerned about deposits forming in the blood vessels, most think of the arteries surrounding and supplying the heart with its oxygen and nutrients, and the possibility of heart attack or stroke.
Actually, the body has an intricate system of arteries and veins busily moving blood from the heart to the very tips of the fingers and toes and all organ systems, and they are all prone to damage from deposits of fatty tissues and calcium that can develop from genetic ca...Read More
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| Cataract Surgery |
How Surgery Works...
Surgeons gently remove the cloudy lens of the eye and replace it with an artificial lens implant to restore clear bright vision. The procedure is performed under a powerful microscope and involves two parts: First the eye s cloudy lens is removed. Second an artificial lens is inserted to replace the eye s focusing power.
How Surgery Works...
After the tissue around the eye is fully numbed the surgeon makes a very small opening at the edge of the eye to allow special...Read More
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| Cataract Surgery in Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia: Helping Patients and Caregivers |
Probably the most feared condition associated with aging is Alzheimer’s Disease or other dementias. This is understandable, because while research is moving forward, there is no straightforward treatment that always works to slow or stop its progression. Patients fear the loss of their independence, their memories and, to a large extent, their personalities.
Dementia can also cause a crisis in the family of the affected person because of the decisions that must be made in relation...Read More
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| Cataracts - General Description |
A cataract occurs when there is progressive clouding of the normally clear lens within the eye. This results in impaired or dimmed vision. The exact cause of cataracts is unknown. However, researchers believe that a chemical change in the eye causes proteins to form opacities or clumps that cloud the lens. As the opacity grows it inhibits the passage of light distorting vision.
Since the clouding of the lens is gradual cataracts affect people over 55 years old. It is one of the most common cond...Read More
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| Cataracts and Eggs (Analogy) |
Picture this: You are in your kitchen making breakfast. You smack an egg on the outer edge of a frying pan gently prying open its cracked shell spewing its raw contents into the awaiting heated pan. Visualize the egg white. It s nearly transparent at this uncooked stage. But as it begins to heat up it starts losing its see-through transparency getting cloudier as it cooks finally reaching the point of being completely opaque white.
Okay now shift to the human body. Unless you ve already had cat...Read More
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| Cataracts: No Need to Dim Your View of Life |
In normal human ocular anatomy, the crystalline lens sits behind the iris (the colored part of the eye). It is normally transparent to allow light to pass through it to reach the nerve cells of the retina (the light-sensitive nerve fiber layer lining the back of the eye).
(In this article, the word "lens" refers to the crystalline lens inside the eye, not to any contact lens or eyeglasses.)
Above, a diagram shows a cataract, located in the crystalline lens...Read More
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| Causal Factors of Myopia in Children |
Current research is looking into whether reading triggers myopia in children who have a genetic propensity for it. Myopia is a vision condition that results in difficulty seeing objects at a distance but near objects can be seen clearly. Myopia occurs because the eyeball is too long or the focusing power is too strong. Thus light focuses in front of the retina instead of directly on it causing blurred distant objects.
In some areas of the world as in Singapore and Taiwan approximately 80 ...Read More
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| Causes of Conjunctivitis |
If your eye becomes red and irritated let your eye doctor take a look. Causes of Conjunctivitis
Determining that you have conjunctivitis is usually easier than determining how your conjunctiva became inflamed. However there are a few common culprits that you should know about. Click here to learn more about conjunctivitis. If your eye becomes red and irritated let your eye doctor take a look. The irritation could be due to something very simple and benign but it also could be the early stag...Read More
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| Central Retinal Artery Occlusion |
When people are cautioned to maintain a healthy lifestyle they usually think it is solely to prevent obesity or heart disease. Most people do not realize that our eyes are as dependent on our life choices as other organs in the body. As we age a natural plaque begins to form in our arteries just as plaque forms on our teeth if we don’t brush them. This happens to everybody but only escalates into a problem if the amount of plaque creates a loss of elasticity and hardens onto the arterial w...Read More
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| Central Retinal Vein Occlusion |
Central Retinal Vein Occlusion
A central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) is a blood circulation problem. When the blood vessel called the central retinal vein becomes blocked suddenly it causes a rapid reduction in vision. It is like having a small “stroke” in the retina.
WHY IS VISION LOST?
The retina is the light-sensitive nerve tissue lining the back of the eye. Like film in a camera it takes “moving pictures” of everything you see. Your vision depends on a healthy ...Read More
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| Central Serous Retinopathy |
When fluid accumulates in the choroid, the vascular structure located between the retina and the sclera, it may cause the retina to be distorted or raised up from its normal position where it is smoothly lining the inside of the eye. The termserous refers to the fluid, and retinopathy is used to describe any abnormality of the retina.
In central serous retinopathy (CSR) fluid builds up in the area behind the central part of the retina, which then seeps in between t...Read More
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| Chase Away the Blues |
Chase Away the Blues
High-Energy Visible Light
Sometimes we might feel like smashing our computers and smart phones to bits, but we are using such things more and more all the time, and most of us have adapted. They allow us to communicate and learn at rates undreamed of only a few years ago, and most of us would find it almost impossible to imagine life without our electronic gear, our computers, smart phones, tablets and digital readers. Recent studies have shown that most of...Read More
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| Check Your I.Q. on AMD |
Age-Related Macular Degeneration
An estimated 13 - 15 million Americans show evidence of Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) a progressive eye condition that can destroy “straight-ahead” vision.
February is AMD Awareness Month and we encourage all people especially those at higher risk for this disease to familiarize themselves with the potential symptoms and need for regular eye examinations. To help people better understand this disease we’ve prepared a list of Frequentl...Read More
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| Children Report Better Vision-Related Quality Of Life With Contact Lenses Vs. Glasses |
Contact lenses improve vision-related quality of life in children compared with glasses, especially in the areas of appearance and athletics, according to data drawn from a three-year multi-site study assessing the effects of glasses and contact lenses on the self-perception of nearsighted children ages eight to 11 years. The research further reveals that the biggest improvement may be more considerable after 10 years of age.
"The growing body of research in children s vision correction ...Read More
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| Childrens Eye Development |
Children
Eye Development
While the eye s greatest physical development occurs during the first year of lifechildren continue to sharpen their vision skills throughout childhood. Eye muscles strengthen and nerve connections multiply. Visual stimulation can help this process. Preschoolers aged two to five are eager to draw and look at pictures. By connecting stories with illustrationsit is possible to help co-ordinate a child s hearing and v...Read More
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| Childrens Eye Exam: What to Expect |
Children s Vision Exam
Vision exams can vary depending on the age of the child. For instancea practitioner might ask an older child to identify letters whereas a younger child may be shown pictures of animals and toys. The key points of most vision exams are similar. The eyecare provider will first review your child s personal health and family health history and then conduct tests to check for the following:
Vision: By using an instrument ...Read More
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| Childrens Vision |
Children’s Vision
Next to Christmasthe summer holidays are a very exciting time in a child’s life. The end of the school year marks the beginning of two months of no school books! Parents are usually busy planning summer camps and family vacations. It is also a perfect time to have your children’s eyes examined by an optometrist in preparation for the beginning of the school year in September. By the age of threeall children sho...Read More
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| Choosing a Surgeon for LASIK |
Refractive surgery in general and LASIK in particular have received a lot of attention over the past several years, with more and more people electing to seek out more permanent ways to reduce their dependence on eyeglasses or contact lenses
Two of the most difficult variables for potential LASIK candidates to evaluate when they are searching for the best place to have their surgery done are the "cost" of the procedure and the "skill" of the surgeon who will perform this intricate procedur...Read More
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| Choroidal Neovascular Membrane |
In the eye, between the retina and the sclera (what is known as the “white of the eye”) is a structure called the choroid. The choroid is highly vascular, meaning that it has many blood vessels, which have the function of bringing nutrients and oxygen to the nerve cells of the retina, particularly those near the macula. Separating the choroid and the retina is a thin layer of tissue known as Bruch’s membrane, which has the job of keeping the choroid from breaking through...Read More
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| Choroidal Nevus |
Freckles and small moles are right there on the skin and can be checked periodically for any changes in size or color, but a freckle inside the eye isn’t so easy.
Nevus is a medical term for a small, pigmented and slightly raised growth on the skin. These are usually flat and benign; they typically pose no threat to us at all, but in rare cases may begin to change color or grow larger. When or if this happens, most of us know that we need to have the skin growth checked by a dermatol...Read More
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| Clear Lens Extraction (CLE) |
Clear Lens Extraction is another option to consider if you have been told you should not have LASIK due to high myopia (nearsightedness) or hyperopia (farsightedness), or other factors that make LASIK unsuitable for you, such as dry eyes.
Clear Lens Extraction (CLE) is the same surgery that is done to remove cataracts once the natural lens has become cloudy and interferes with vision; the only difference is that the natural lens, instead of being foggy and clouded as it is in cataracts, i...Read More
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| Colour Vision Deficiencies: Are People Really "Colour Blind?" |
We live in a colourful world and enjoy the ability to appreciate an endless variety of hues, tints and tones; our world is enhanced by artworks, sunsets and blooming flowers. The ability to differentiate different colours is important to us, just as a good sense of smell is necessary to really enjoy a gourmet meal: without smell the meal is nice, but not wonderful.
The term “colour blindness” is probably not appropriate when describing most people whose colour perceptions are unusua...Read More
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| Colour Vision Deficiency |
Most cases of CVD are inherited and the person is affected at birth. Overview People who cannot distinguish between certain colours and shades have a condition called colour vision deficiency (CVD) commonly known as colour blindness. Abnormal colour vision may vary from only a slight difficulty distinguishing among different shades of the same colour to the rare inability to distinguish any colours.
Most cases of CVD are inherited and the person is affected at birth. In some cases however the c...Read More
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| Computer Use and Dry Eye: Signs and Symptoms Linked |
For many years, people who use computers for several hours a day have been reporting an increase in symptoms (subjective discomfort, as reported by the patient experiencing them) and signs (objective findings observed by an eyecare practitioner) of dry eye disease. While the use of computers and dry eye symptoms is nothing new, a recent study (June, 2014) of Japanese office workers has shown the cause to be a decreased concentration of a substance called Mucin5AC in tears.
...Read More
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| Computer Vision Syndrome (Children and Teens) |
Computer vision syndrome (CVS) is defined as the complex of eye and vision problems associated with computer use. Most parents are concerned with the types of people or subject matter that their children and teenagers are encountering online and on television. Very few if any worry about the effects on their children’s eyesight. You’ve all experienced it – the burning itching heavy eyes that result after spending hours on the computer. Now imagine how drastic the effects could ...Read More
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| Computer Vision Syndrome: Children and Teens |
Computer vision syndrome (CVS) is defined as the complex of eye, vision and body problems associated with excessive computer use. Most parents are rightly concerned about the types of people or subject matter that their children and teenagers might encountering online, but few of them worry about the effects of heavy computer usage itself.
When personal computers were first designed and built, not much time or energy was spent on making them comfortable for humans to use. As more and more ...Read More
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| Computers and the Human Body, Especially for Kids |
Good ergonomics help prevent the visual and body postural stress that using a computer can cause. Computer workspaces (and playspaces) also need to be optimized to break up the cycle of eyestrain and muscle maladaptions that characterize computer vision syndrome. (Please see our article titled Computer Vision Syndrome: Children and Teens.)
Test your knowledge of how computers should be set up for children and teenagers at home and at school. Answers and explanations are located at the e...Read More
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| Concussion: Eye Movements Help in Assessment of Head Injury |
Head injuries can often cause the trauma to the brain known as concussion; concussion occurs when the head receives a serious blow from a fall, an accident or collision and it happens because the brain floats in fluid within the skull. When the head suffers trauma, the brain is sent crashing into the opposite side of the skull from the blow, causing injury.
It is difficult to definitively diagnose concussion, especially right after the injury, because it doesn’t alway...Read More
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| Congenital Esotropia |
Esotropia refers to the inward turning of the eye toward the nose. The term for misaligned eyes of all types is “strabismus.” A misalignment that is present all the time is constant; when present only part of the time it is intermittent. In some cases of esotropia the same eye always does the deviating while in others the eyes may alternate. Alternating esotropia can be quite confusing to parents trying to figure out which eye is the straight eye.
Strabismus may be caused by t...Read More
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| Conjunctivitis: Also Known as 'Pinkeye' |
Most commonly called "pinkeye," conjunctivitis is often seen by eyecare practitioners; it is the most common medical reason people come in to see their eye doctors. The conjunctiva is the clear membrane that covers the whites of the eyes. It begins at the edges of the cornea, (the clear, curved structure that covers the iris) and continues into the folds of the eyelids, then lines the inside surfaces of the eyelids.
Conjunctivitis is an inflammation of the conjunct...Read More
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| Contact Dermatitis |
Contact dermatitis is a relatively common skin inflammation caused by direct contact with an irritating substance. There are two different types, known as primary irritant contact dermatitis and allergic contact dermatitis.
Nearly everyone has some form of allergy or sensitivity to specific things, but we usually only discover what they are only after being exposed to it and suffering the ill effects. The eyelids and the conjunctiva (the transparent skin covering the white of the eye and...Read More
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| Contact Lens Overwear |
Contact Lens Overwear
Back in the 1500sLeonardo Da Vinci was the first to develop the concept of a contact lens. If Leo could only see us nowhe would marvel at the hundreds of contact lens designs and dozens of highly sophisticated plastic polymers. Today it’s rare that a patient cannot be fitted with some kind of contact lens. But are we treating our eyes well? It’s true that contact lenses are wonderfuland they provide an excellent alternative to glasses. But contact l...Read More
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| Contact Lens Patient Non-Compliance Examined |
A review of the literature found overall rates of noncompliance with medical regimens varies from 24.8% to 44% and the rates reported for contact lens wearers varies from 50% to 99%.
Researchers from the University of Connecticut Health Center looked to assess the extent of noncompliant behavior of contact lens wearers and to develop strategies of engaging and educating patients to increase compliance with safe contact lens practices. The literature regarding noncompliance with medical reg...Read More
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| Contact Lenses and Regular Eye Exams |
Contact Lenses and Regular Eye Exams
Follow-up contact lens visits will ensure that your lenses fit properly; that your vision is clear...
Having your eyes regularly examined can aid in the detection of certain conditions that could lead to the deterioration of your vision. What can you expect in an vision exam if you are a contact lens wearer? Follow-up contact lens visits will ensure that your lenses fit properly; that your vision is clear; your corneas ar...Read More
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| Contact Lenses in Presbyopia: Monovision |
Introduction
Presbyopia is a common condition that begins at about age 40 that makes vision at near blurry. Most adults begin to experience difficulty with reading at that time, and this is a part of the aging process, but not in the way most people might think.
(For this discussion and article, the term "near" or "nearpoint" means that the book or computer monitor is about 16 to 18 inches (40 to 45 cm) away from the eyes. In a similar way, “distance” or “f...Read More
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| Contact Lenses: A Great Way to See! - Staying Safe in Contacts |
Section one of this series introduced you to contact lenses (CLs); they are a great way to correct your vision, for optical reasons as well as cosmetic ones.
In this section, you will be given some general instructions on how to care for your contact lenses, how to wear them, and some good ideas for keeping your eyes healthy and beautiful.
Most of these things might be considered to be the product of common sense, although a lot of it may be new to you. Sometimes, lack of attention to the deta...Read More
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| Contact Lenses: A Great Way to See! - Information about Contacts and their Use |
If you are considering contact lenses for your vision correction, it is helpful for you to know a few things about them, such as the different types of lenses, how they work, what they feel like.
New technology in contact lens materials and design has allowed many people who could never before wear contact lenses to become good candidates for this method of vision correction. From the very young to the more mature patient, almost anyone can wear contact lenses successfully with the right fittin...Read More
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| Convergence Excess |
There are six muscles attached to each eye called extra-ocular muscles that are responsible for moving the eyes in tandem in all directions. When they work as they should, in perfect synchrony, they help provide effortless coordination of the eyes at all distances and ranges of vision, all day long. (In figure 1 we see a diagram of how the muscles are attached to the globe.)
We need to be able to converge our eyes; while eyes looking straight ahead are not normally converged, when we read somet...Read More
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| Convergence Insufficiency |
Convergence Insufficiency
Introduction
There are six muscles attached to each eye that control movement of the eyes in all directions. When these extra-ocular muscles are working in perfect harmony, it is comfortable and easy to perform visual tasks at any distance and at any direction of gaze. (Right: a diagram of the six muscles.)
Convergence may be thought of as the ability to cross the eyes; as funny as this may sound, we do need this ability every time we p...Read More
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| Cool Eye Facts |
Really cool eye facts we bet you did not know!
Our eye facts will be updated quarterly.
Did You Know That Eyes:
Are the most complex organs you possess except for your brain
Are composed of more than two million working parts
Can process 36000 bits of information every hour
Under the right conditionscan discern the light of a candle at a distance of 14 miles
Contribute towards 85% of your total knowledge
Utilize 65% of all the pathways to the brain
...Read More
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| Corneal Dystrophy |
A corneal dystrophy (dis-truh-fee) is the gradual deteriorations of one or more layers of the cornea, the dome-shaped, clear surface of the eye, located in front of the iris. The cornea is the first surface light strikes on its way through the ocular structures to the retina, in the back of the eye. It is the primary refractive surface, which means it is responsible for most of the focusing of light entering the eye.
There are over many different types of corneal dystrophies...Read More
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| Corneal Neovascularization |
The cornea is the clear, dome-shaped structure that covers the iris (where the color is) and is the first surface light strikes on its way into the eye to the retina. Normally, the cornea is very clear, with an even, smooth surface. It is clear because the layers of tissue are in alignment and because it is a relative dehydrated tissue; the skin cells lining the back surface, called the endothelium, are constantly removing extra water from the cornea. (The water pumped o...Read More
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| Corneal Topography |
Introduction
The first surface that light entering the eye encounters is the front of the cornea, the clear, dome-shaped window which covers the iris. Because the cornea provides a major part of the focusing power of the eye, an accurate analysis of its shape and curvature is important in contact lens design or evaluating changes resulting from various disease processes.
Once, the only way to measure any part of the cornea’s shape was the keratometer, which only measured the central 3 mi...Read More
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