January is Glaucoma Awareness Month

As part of Glaucoma Awareness month in January, we strongly recommend that those at risk should have a complete eye exam by an ophthalmologist at least every one to two years. Although glaucoma cannot be cured, early detection and treatment can help preserve vision.

Glaucoma is a condition in which the optic nerve, responsible for transmitting visual information from the eye to the brain is damaged. Although the nerve damage is usually associated with elevated pressure inside the eye, other factors can be involved. Glaucoma is an eye disease that gradually may begin with the loss of peripheral vision and then advance to a reduction in central vision. With its painless and gradual loss of vision, glaucoma may have no early warning signs, but it can be detected through a comprehensive dilated eye exam. However, vision loss from glaucoma can be prevented if it is detected and treated in time.

Who has a higher risk for glaucoma?
· Everyone over the age of 60
· African-Americans over age of 40
· People with a family history of glaucoma
· Hispanics
· People with other health conditions, such as diabetes
· Individuals that have experienced a serious eye injury.

Symptoms?
First there may be no symptoms, but as the disease progresses a person with glaucoma may notice:
· Blurred vision
· Loss of peripheral vision
· Difficulty focusing on objects
· Presence of halos around lights

Glaucoma is a lifelong condition. Patients and their doctors work together to agree on a treatment plan that offers the patient the best chance of preserving his or her vision.

Sports Eye Safety

Everyone loves sports and they love to look fashionable. While protective eye gear may never be the latest craze, it is very important to protect your eyes. Wearing eye gear can help prevent the possibility of permanent vision loss, a scratched cornea or fractured eye socket.

Every year, more than 40,000 adults and children suffer eye injuries while participating in sports. Sports with the highest risk for eye injury are basketball, baseball, hockey, football, lacrosse, soccer, paint-ball and racket sports. Athletes participating in high-risk sports, especially young athletes should wear appropriate sport-specific protective eyewear as recommended and properly fitted by an eye-care professional.

Eyewear properly fitted and worn does not hinder performance in any way, and can help to prevent sports eye injuries. It is highly recommended to prevent an eye injury that protective polycarbonate lenses be worn. Polycarbonate lenses are unbreakable and make excellent protection for the eyes. People with one eye should carefully consider the risks of contact sports. Wearing eye protection is essential for people with only one eye.

Goggles or sports glasses can protect the eyes while playing basketball, soccer, racket sports and handball. Helmets with eye shields are recommended for football, ice-hockey and other contact sports. For high-speed sports such as skiing and biking, it is important to wear special frames sturdy enough to protect the eyes from impact or debris.

Prescription glasses used during sports should be made from polycarbonate which is 20 times stronger than typical eyeglass material. Polycarbonate can withstand impact from a ball or other projectile traveling at fast speed. Contact lenses offer no protection, and street wear glasses are inadequate to protect against any type of eye injury.

Dry Eye Syndrome

Dry eye syndrome is among the most common eye conditions in the United States. In healthy eyes, a thin layer of tears coats the outside surface of the eye, keeping it moist and washing away bits of debris that might fall into the eyes.

Dry eye syndrome occurs when people do not produce enough tears to keep the surface of the eye moist and clean. People with dry eyes often experience dryness, stickiness, stinging or burning of their eyes. The eyes are often red and irritated. The eyes may water excessively in an effort to soothe the irritation, but these reflex tears are usually not adequate to fix the problem. Dry eyes make it difficult to wear contact lenses and can reduce the vision due to break-down of the corneal surface. The tear film normally decreases with age and this is especially common in women after menopause. Certain medications, such as decongestants, tranquilizers, drugs used for high blood pressure and antihistamines can further disrupt the tear layer. Some medical conditions such as arthritis and thyroid disorders also increase the likelihood of dry eyes.

Treatment
Artificial tears are the first line of therapy for dry eye syndrome. These are available without a prescription at your local pharmacy. Restasis® is a prescription medication taken twice a day in a drop that has been proven to treat moderate to severe dry eye syndrome. Restasis® helps by reducing the inflammation and by helping to increase tear production. This allows the surface of the eye to return to a normal state and reduce the symptoms of itchiness, dryness, blurred vision and sensitivity to light.

As dry eye suffers often experience heightened sensitivity in the wind, protective eye wear can also be helpful to improve symptoms. Wrap-around sunglasses can help keep moisture in and the wind and irritants out of the eye. These can be purchased in our Optical Shoppe.

How does diabetes affect the eyes?

Diabetes Mellitus impairs the body’s ability to utilize sugars. This systemic disease affects the walls of small blood vessels throughout the body. When not well controlled, diabetes can affect the eye in several ways.

Diabetic Retinopathy

Diabetic Retinopathy affects the delicate retina by causing a deterioration of the blood vessels. The retina is the portion of the eye that acts much like the film in a camera. All light images are carried from the retina to the brain by the optic nerve.

Background diabetic retinopathy is a milder form of the disease. Only a few vessels are enlarged and form small balloon-like sacs called micro-aneurysms. These leaky vessels can cause small hemorrhages and fluid deposits on the surface of the retina. This is the earlier stage of the disease and vision is not usually seriously affected. If the leakage, however, causes fluid to collect in the center of the retina, known as the macula, straight ahead images can be blurred and a loss of central vision may result. About one half of all diabetics will have some form of retinopathy by 10-15 years of their disease.

A more serious form of the disease is called Proliferative Retinopathy. Abnormal blood vessels grow which are very fragile and can rupture causing large hemorrhages to leak into the vitreous gel that fills the back part of the eye. These large blood clots block light passing through the pupil and can significantly reduce vision. Significant scar tissue and loss of vision can result from detachments of the retina.

It is recommended that diabetic patients have at least a yearly examination of the retina by a doctor experienced in treating diabetic eye disease. If retinal disease is present, your doctor may see you more frequently. In some cases, photography may be necessary to locate leaking blood vessels. This technique is known as fluorescein angiography.

Early treatments of leaking blood vessels are performed by the Argon laser. Small bursts of laser energy can seal leaking vessels. The laser has significantly reduced vision loss in diabetic patients. Successful treatment, however, depends on early detection and monitoring. Likewise, patients must maintain good control of their diabetes to prevent further damage to their eyes.