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go fly a kite

Mon, 06 Dec 2010 00:13:09 +0100

Go Fly a Kite!

November 30, 2010 by Dr. Rochelle Mozlin

Today’s guest blogger is Dr. Christine Allison. Dr. Allison is an Associate Professor at the Illinois College of Optometry, where she is the Director of the Binocular Vision/Pediatric Residency Program. Dr. Allison currently serves on COVD’s Board of Directors.

One of the most common questions I hear from parents is, “How can I prevent my children from needing glasses?” or “How can I prevent their eyes from getting worse?” This is a question that haunts vision researchers on a daily basis. There is no question that populations worldwide are seeing an increase in nearsightedness. Many studies have looked at the increased use of near work such as increased reading, computer use, and texting to be the blame for this problem. While these activities definitely increase the need for the focusing system to be working overtime, a clear link for the development of nearsightedness to these activities has yet to be established.

The question of genetics has also been looked at in many studies. A recent study of Sinapore Chinese preschool children published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology showed agreement with many other studies that children with two nearsighted parents have a much greater risk of being nearsighted than those with one or no nearsighted parents. Also, children with even one nearsighted parent have a much greater risk of needing glasses than those children whose parents are not nearsighted. Thus there seems to be a definite genetic component to the question of “Will my child need glasses?”

Recently though, some exciting new studies have come out that show that children who spend more time on outdoor activities have less nearsightedness than those who spend more time indoors. Time spent outdoors on leisure activities such as playing in the backyard or at a park, or taking a walk around the neighborhood were compared to sporting activities both outdoors and indoors. It was found that time outdoors, rather than specifically playing sports, was the factor that was the most important in preventing the development and progression of nearsightedness in school-aged children. The reason for this is not clear yet, but many researchers believe that the increased light levels outdoors versus indoors are an important factor. The significantly increased levels of light intensity when a child is outdoors may cause a decrease in a chemical in the brain that causes eye growth (nearsighted eyes are longer), or the smaller pupil size when outdoors may cause a larger depth of field and thus less blur (which could stimulate nearsightedness to develop).

Thus, we now have good reason to send our children outdoors more! Not only will the increased time outdoors give them a chance to increase their physical activity to prevent childhood obesity, it may also work to prevent them from needing glasses! So, it is time to tell our patients and their children “To go fly a kite!” and mean it!

diabetes

Sun, 21 Nov 2010 23:59:56 +0100

Back to News
Updated: 7:02 PM Nov 16, 2010 Eye Doctors Can Help Detect Diabetes When most people think about getting checked for diabetes, going to see the eye doctor is probably not their first stop. Posted: 5:26 PM Nov 16, 2010 Reporter: Hayley Harmon Email Address: hayley.harmon@wbko.com Eye Doctors Can Help Detect Diabetes

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When most people think about getting checked for diabetes, going to see the eye doctor is probably not their first stop.

"We recommend that everyone get their eye exams every year just to maintain healthy vision," said Dr. Trina Warden, of Love & Warden Eye Care in Bowling Green.

For diabetics, or those who are high risk for the disease, getting that exam is more crucial than you think.

"Especially with diabetics, getting that yearly checkup and most often a dilated eye exam," said Warden.

Eye doctors can detect changes in the eye that point to diabetes.

"Changes in the blood vessels in their eyes. Those blood vessels could hemorrhage or cause buildup in the retina. That would be a sign of diabetes," said Warden.

Dr. Warden says blurry vision is also a diabetes complication.

"One day they could have perfectly clear vision and then the next their vision is blurry. That can be caused by diabetes because the fluid can get built up in the lens of the eye," said Warden.

An Iridologist studies the eyes in connection with the rest of the body, and Randell Carter, an iridologist in Bowling Green, said by looking at the eyes, he can tell if diabetes is present.

"Overlay the iris with the iridology chart. Overactivity in the area that corresponds to the pancreas," is a hint that diabetes may be a possibility, said Carter.

In his diabetic patients, one area of the eye will show an abnormality, which can help patients get a handle on the disease.

Carter said "it can show things that haven't even manifested into symptoms yet. If the eye says it, it usually is so."

Eyes, it seems, not only help us see outside but also the inside of the body.

The longer a patient has diabetes, the more likely they are to end up with eye complications from the diseas

contacts

Sun, 21 Nov 2010 23:49:34 +0100

Contact Lenses News

The future for contact lenses
03.09.2008

People with glaucoma could be treated in the future with innovative contact lenses that monitor the condition of the eyes.

The "smart" contact lenses have been designed by Tingrui Pan and Hailin Cong, two researchers at UC Davis.

They contain pressure-sensing technology that can detect static or changing levels in the eye and transmit the data to a computer.

Photographs of the contact lenses show a patterned surface where the sensors are located.

Glaucoma - which can run in families - is the second leading cause of blindness globally, according to the World Health

laser

Sun, 21 Nov 2010 23:45:05 +0100

Laser Eye Surgery news

Laser eye surgery `a wise option`
17.11.2010

By Alexa Kaczka

People who suffer from shortsightedness or other vision problems will find that laser eye surgery is a great remedy to their problems, one source has suggested.

Vision specialist Progressive Eye Care said that people who have tried vision correction solutions such as glasses but do not like the inconvenience of using the products will find that laser eye surgery is an effective and viable option.

It noted that some of the conditions which can be remedied through laser eye surgery include myopia, hyperopia and astigmatism, all of which can severely impact people's day-to-day lives.

"Laser eye surgery can provide a long-term solution to these problems. You will never have to depend on glasses or contact lenses again. You won't have a difficult time in the morning reaching your glasses or trying to wear yourcontact lenses," the source noted.

It comes after research by the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons has found that four out of five people have reservations about having laser eye surgery, despite the majority of people in need of vision correction believing it is a safe and established procedure.