Elisabeth S. Swan, O.D.

Many people are surprised to learn that how they eat can directly and seriously affect their eyesight. Believe it or not, your eating—and other lifestyle choices–may eventually cause you to go blind.

Current research suggests that weight gain from a high-calorie diet is linked to diabetes. There are over 25 million Americans with diabetes and another 79 million at risk; an increasing number are children. It kills more people than breast cancer and AIDS combined.

Diabetes is the leading cause of new cases of blindness among adults. Three major eye problems that diabetics develop are cataracts, glaucoma, and retinopathy. Cataracts can emerge at an earlier age in people with diabetes. Glaucoma, the buildup of fluid pressure in the eye, damages nerves and vessels in the eyes. Retinopathy results from damage to the small vessels. If retinopathy is not detected early or is not treated, blindness can result.

If you have diabetes, it is essential that you get a comprehensive dilated eye exam annually, perhaps even more frequently. Retinopathy can develop without apparent symptoms but you can greatly reduce your risk of blindness with early treatment and care. Even if you don’t have vision insurance, most major medical plans will cover an eye health exam to test for diabetic eye disease. Medicare will cover, at not charge, a screening exam for diabetic eye disease for diabetics, those with pre – diabetes, and certain individuals who are at greater risk for diabetes. ( Give us a call for more information)

To avoid developing diabetes in the first place, focus on positive lifestyle practices such as maintaining a healthy diet with a target weight and increasing your physical activity. Check with your employer, county health department or community center to see if there are programs available to support you.

Celebrate American Diabetes Month by committing to changes that will ensure good vision for life.

Tarantulas are growing in popularity as pets and learning tools at schools and museums. That’s swell unless you happen to handle the species with barbed hairs that eject from the abdomen when threatened.

Those hairs can lodge in the eye directly or through rubbing your eye after handling a tarantula. Because the hairs are barbed and fragile, it makes removal problematic. Hairs embedded in the cornea can cause enormous pain and corneal scarring.

It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of costuming for Halloween and forget to think about safety. We’ve discussed Halloween safety with you before but enough injuries occur every year that we’d like to provide some safety thoughts again this year.

Many parents are unaware that some lip liners are not approved for use in and around the eyes. You can check the Summary of Additives on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) website. If your child wants a blood-curdling look around the eyes, use products that are approved for that area. Or stay with spooky instead of bloody and use eye shadow and eyeliner that is approved by the FDA. When using face paint or make-up, leave a margin around the eyes.

What about the costumes themselves? The Prevent Blindness America website cautions against the use of “masks, wigs, floppy hats or eye patches that block vision.”

And then there are the props. Spears, swords, wands—all sharp objects should be carefully considered. If Robin Hood simply can’t go trick-or-treating without his trusty sword, store it safely in a belt or scabbard and make sure it is made of soft, flexible material.

Don’t allow your children to use novelty contact lenses for Halloween unless you check with us first. No matter how tempting it might be to acquire a supernatural gleam or a zombie gaze, these “accessories” can cause serious eye infection leading to diminished vision and even blindness.

We hope you have a safe and happy Halloween.

Now that the school year is underway, the great germ swap will be swinging into action.

Conjunctivitis, also known as pink eye, is a common childhood eye disease. It’s an inflammation or infection of the layer of tissue lining the inside of the eyelid known as the conjunctiva.

There are different forms of conjunctivitis–some viral, some bacterial. Some are the result of allergies, irritation, sexually transmitted diseases or a response to air contaminants.

Bacterial and viral conjunctivitis are infectious. Schools, with children in close quarters sharing supplies, are a prime source of spreading. Be on the lookout for any of these symptoms: a gritty feeling in the eyes, itching or burning, excessive tearing, discharge, swollen eyelids, pinkish cast in the white of the eye, or increased light sensitivity.

No matter how the condition was acquired, conjunctivitis can be diagnosed with a comprehensive eye examination. If you suspect your child has it, give us a call. We can evaluate the conjunctiva and surrounding tissues. Our examination can determine whether vision is affected and check to see if other tissues are affected.

Because treatment of conjunctivitis depends on its cause, accurate diagnosis is important. For instance, we often recommend antibiotic eye drops or ointment for bacterial conjunctivitis. Viral forms do not respond to antibiotics but we can suggest ways to relieve symptoms.

Practicing good hygiene will keep you from getting conjunctivitis in the first place.  Here are a few suggestions for your school-age children:

• Train them not to touch or rub their eyes unnecessarily
• Encourage them to wash their hands during breaks
• Discourage sharing of washcloths and towels
• Include packaged hand wipes in their lunch box

Dry eyes, double vision, sensitivity to light, puffy eyelids, eye pain or pressure, difficulty moving the eyes – all these are symptoms of Graves’ Disease. When the disease affects the eyes it is known as Graves’ ophthalmopathy or Graves’ orbitopathy.

An effective treatment for the condition has not been discovered although lubricant eye drops can relieve some symptoms. A recent study indicated that selenium improved quality of life and slowed progression of this autoimmune disorder.

How would you like to reduce your risk of developing age-related macular degeneration (AMD) by a significant amount? Well, here’s an easy and delectable way to do it: eat more fish.

A recent study showed that subjects who ate one or more servings of fatty fish per week dodged the AMD diagnosis by 42% compared to those who only ate fish rarely. This result corroborates earlier studies of the protective link between fish oil and eye health.

In the rush to prepare for the upcoming school year – buying school supplies, new clothes and shoes for growing feet – parents often overlook one critical piece of back-to-school preparations.

You guessed it – eye health and safety.

If you’re shopping for sports equipment, be sure to ask about recommended eye protection for the sport. Purchasing protection and using it routinely is much less expensive and far safer than treating an eye injury later.

Also, did you know that amblyopia is the most common cause of vision problems in children? It most often results from the misalignment of a child’s eyes causing them to cross or turn out. Sometimes one eye focuses better than the other causing the brain to favor it. This gives rise to the term lazy eye.

Because amblyopia causes reduced vision, it is important to identify it before your child heads through the schoolhouse doors. If undetected, it can be misinterpreted as a learning or behavioral disorder.

Early treatment greatly increases the chances of reversing such vision loss. Untreated or treated too late, the affected eye may never develop good vision, a condition considered “functional blindness.”

A comprehensive vision screening is required to detect amblyopia and other vision issues that otherwise may cause your child to struggle academically. Make an annual eye exam part of your overall preparation for the upcoming school year.

This word sounds like more fun than it actually is.

When the connective tissue of the conjunctiva (the mucous membrane that lines the eyelid) thickens, it can cause a yellowish elevated spot on either side of the cornea. This is what’s known as a pinguecula (pin-GWAY-cue-luh).

The condition is benign and usually not treated. The most common causes of a pinguecula are over – exposure to sun, wind, and dust (which is another reason why wearing sunglasses is so important ). Sometimes artificial tears or steroid drops are used. Removal of a pinguecula is rare.

About this time every year the stories start to roll in: a boy struck in the eye by a bottle rocket permanently losing vision to his left eye, a toddler with a sparkler burning his eyelid, a rogue spark from a roman candle burning a girl’s eye.

We understand the allure and magic of fireworks. But the only way to protect yourself and your family 100% is to avoid purchasing fireworks in the first place.

It’s summer, school’s out and outdoor vacations are starting. And because wearing sunglasses is vital to the preservation of your sight, we are reminding you again to put on eye protection whenever you go outdoors.

Regardless of your age, ultraviolet (UV) radiation can damage various parts of the eye and also the skin around the eyes. UVA’s are longwave ultraviolet rays from the sun. UVB’s are shortwave. They both penetrate the atmosphere and cause cataracts, skin cancer and more. Help children establish good protection habits early in life to avoid problems later.

Some contact lenses have UV protection. But don’t get too comfortable if you wear treated lenses. The website for the Mayo Clinic points out that you still need to wear sunglasses for full UV protection outdoors. Wearing a sun hat extends the sphere of protection.

Be sure you buy UV-protection that blocks 99-100% of UVA and UVB rays. And regardless of what others are wearing this summer, buy larger glasses which will cover more of the eye area. Wraparounds offer especially good protection.

Additional features you may wish to consider include polycarbonate lenses which resist impact and polarized or photochromic lenses which reduce glare.

And to beat that forgetting thing? Here’s our suggestion: put your sunglasses and a hat near the door or near the car and house keys. If they’re easy to grab as you go out the door, you’ll increase your chances of remembering.