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Archive for the ‘Cataracts’ Category

Cigarette Smoking and Cataracts

Tuesday, November 15th, 2011

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Cataract Symptoms

Monday, October 31st, 2011

Cataracts are an age-related vision condition affecting millions of Americans. It occurs when your eye’s lens becomes clouded, causing light to scatter rather than focus on the retina. At first, you most likely will not notice any problems with your vision since in their early stages, cataracts only block a small amount of light from reaching your retina. But as cataracts get worse, your vision will deteriorate significantly.

Common cataract symptoms include:

Increasing problems with night vision, including glare and halos
Increased sensitivity to light
Fading colors
More frequent changes in your prescription, generally related to nearsightedness
Ghosting (double vision) in one eye

These symptoms may gradually impact your ability to carry out daily activities, especially driving at night. It may also be difficult to participate in sports which require clear vision.

Early cataract symptoms can be treated by adjusting your eyeglass or contact lens prescription. However, as your cataracts get worse, you will eventually need to seek treatment from your ophthalmologist. Cataract surgery can be performed to remove the cataracts from your eye’s lens and restore clear vision.

Please contact eyes.com to find an experienced ophthalmologist in your area.

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Is There Such a Thing as too Many Antioxidants?

Monday, October 24th, 2011

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Why Sunglasses Matter

Monday, October 24th, 2011

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Smoking and Vision Damage

Thursday, September 15th, 2011

It is common knowledge that smoking poses serious health risks. Most notably, smoking dramatically increases your risk of respiratory conditions such as lung cancer, asthma, and emphysema. But did you also know that there is a strong link between smoking and vision damage?

When you smoke, you are introducing thousands of chemicals into your bloodstream. Many of these chemicals are harmful and can potentially damage your eyes. In fact, smoking increases your risk of two common age-related vision conditions: cataracts and macular degeneration.

Cataracts are a condition occurring when your eye’s lens becomes clouded. Studies have found that people who smoke more than 15 cigarettes a day face a three times greater risk of developing cataracts than nonsmokers. This is due to the fact that cigarette smoke increases the oxidative stress in your eye’s lens, which increases the likelihood of cataracts.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of blindness for people over the age of 65. Smoking is the leading preventable risk factor for this condition. Cigarette smoke affects your macula, the component of your retina which provides you with sharp vision. A recent study found that approximately 25% of AMD cases were directly related to smoking.

If you smoke cigarettes, it is important to go for regular vision checkups with your ophthalmologist as you get older to make sure you catch these conditions in their early stages. The longer you wait, the greater your chances of suffering serious vision loss.

Please contact eyes.com today to find an experienced ophthalmologist in your area.

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Keeping Your Eyes Healthy with Proper Nutrition

Tuesday, July 19th, 2011

When most people think about eye health, they probably aren’t worrying about improving their diet. However, the truth is that what you eat affects your entire body – your eyes included. Patients who are careful to eat a diet rich in certain vitamins and nutrients can effectively reduce their risk of many different eye diseases, keeping their vision healthy for years to come.

Some important vitamins and minerals you should include in your diet are:

Vitamin C – Contains antioxidants that rid your body of harmful free radicals, reducing your risk of cataracts and age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Good sources of Vitamin C: strawberries, citrus fruit, broccoli, and green peppers.
Vitamin A – Keeps your retina functioning properly, and also reduces the risk of night blindness by helping your eyes adjust to variations in light and dark. Good sources of Vitamin A: carrots, eggs, and spinach.
Vitamin E – Prevents cataracts from forming and/or delays their growth. Good sources of Vitamin E: nuts, green vegetables, fortified cereal.
Minerals – Selenium and zinc help your body better absorb antioxidants (i.e., from Vitamin C). Both zinc and selenium can be found in yogurt, red meat, cheese, macaroni and cheese, and enriched rice and breads.

If you have more questions about nutrition for your eyes, contact an experienced ophthalmologist in your area today to schedule a consultation.

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Planning a Summer Menu for Healthy Eyes

Monday, June 6th, 2011

The days are getting longer, and the thought of late dinners on the patio and weekend picnicking is endlessly enticing. Before you pack your picnic basket, however, take a moment to review your eye nutrition facts, and add in some foods that will ensure your ability to enjoy the summer scenery years from now.

The Nutrients Your Eyes Need

Antioxidants are crucially important for the health of your eyes. Antioxidants protect your body tissues from free radicals, substances that break up bonds between molecules and cause cell damage. The retina gets a lot of exposure to light and oxygen that cause free radical damage, and eating foods high in antioxidants can help protect your retinas from diseases like cataracts and age-related macular degeneration. Vitamins A, C, and E are excellent antioxidants.

The macula, the yellow spot in the center of your retina, benefits from carotenoids. Caroteniods are pigments found in plants that give them their distinct colors. Some caroteniods contain beta-carotene, which the body converts to the antioxidant Vitamin A, while others can’t be converted into Vitamin A but still have many health benefits. Among these are lutein and zeaxathin, which are critically important to the macula. In fact, it is these carotenoids that give the macula its yellow color.

An Eye-Healthy Feast

Brightly-colored fruits and vegetables are some of the best sources of antioxidants and carotenoids. A salad is an easy and tasty way to incorporate these nutrients into your meal. Start out with some spinach and kale, two leafy vegetables high in lutein and zeaxathin. Then add green peppers, broccoli, and tomatoes for a heaping helping of Vitamin C. Chopped carrots will add color and beta-carotine, and a sprinkling of sunflower seeds will provide you with Vitamin E. You can embellish your salad with Vitamin A-fortified cheese crumbles. Strawberries or orange slices on top will add sweetness and Vitamin C.

Other foods that protect the health of your eyes are yogurt, red meat, walnuts, and salmon. Red meat and dairy products contain zinc and nuts contain selenium, two nutrients that help your body absorb antioxidants. Salmon contains omega-3 fatty acids, which help protect the blood vessels of your eyes.

Try adding in these foods and you’ll end up a meal your eyes will thank you for. If you have any questions about eye nutrition or eye problems, please contact an ophthalmologist in your area today.

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Here Comes the Sun; Protect Your Eyes from It

Wednesday, May 25th, 2011

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”—Benjamin Franklin

“Don’t look directly into the sun.”—Mom

When it comes to protecting yourself from the harmful effects of the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) light, don’t overlook your eyes.

With summer comes increased time outdoors and extra attention to sunscreen. But UV radiation can be as damaging to your eyes as it is to your skin.

The short-term effects of UV exposure can include photokeratitis, essentially sunburn on your cornea. Although the condition typically subsides on its own, it can be painful. And your mom was right: Staring directly into the sun—even for a brief period—can cause retinal damage.

Progressive exposure to UV light can contribute to additional conditions, including:

Cataracts
Macular degeneration
Pterygia, a fibrous tissue growth that can spread to the cornea and affect vision
Pingueculae, a yellowish lesion that forms near the edge of your cornea

Because there is no treatment to reverse the effects of macular degeneration and cataracts correction requires surgery, prevention is the best remedy for sun-related eye damage. One of the best sources of eye protection is a good pair of sunglasses.

Sunglasses don’t have to be expensive to be effective. The two most important factors to consider when choosing sunglasses are:

The level of UV protection
Aesthetics (you want to buy sunglasses you’ll actually wear)

The most harmful ranges of UV light to the eyes are ultraviolet A (UVA), also known as long wave, and ultraviolet B (UVB), also known as medium wave. Your sunglasses should block at least 98 percent of both UVA and UVB rays, as well as blue light, visible light waves that contribute to glare. Most sunglasses feature a sticker or tag listing the range of protection.

If you have more questions about the sun’s damaging effects to the eyes or need to schedule an eye exam, please contact an ophthalmologist near you.

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Indoor Tanning Poses Great Risks to Eye Health

Wednesday, May 18th, 2011

Summer is approaching, and many people will be tempted to hit the tanning beds before they show off their bodies at the beach. Indoor tanners should be careful, however. In addition to causing skin damage and increasing your risk of skin cancer, tanning beds pose serious health risks to your eyes. In a briefing to Congress yesterday, president of the American Association of Ophthalmology, Richard L. Abbott, MD, explained that tanning beds can expose skin and eyes to up to 100 times the UV radiation of the sun. Exposure to such great amounts of UV rays can severely damage the eyes, increasing risk of:

Age is primarily responsible for cataracts, cloudiness of the eye’s lens, and macular degeneration, the breaking down of the tissue layer behind the retina. However, intense UV radiation causes damage which speeds up the eye’s natural deterioration. This means that whenever you visit the tanning beds, you are giving UV rays the OK to break down your eyes before their time.

Cataracts can be corrected with surgery, which requires replacing your natural lens with a man-made one. However, macular degeneration can cause surgical complications. The development of pterygia is another eye condition that may impact cataract surgery. Pterygia are growths on the surface of the eye caused directly by excessive UV exposure, and in most cases need to be removed before surgery can begin.

To avoid the discomfort and expenses of surgery, it is critically important to protect your eyes from UV light exposure, especially if you frequent the tanning beds. To ensure the greatest amount of safety while tanning, make sure you:

Wear goggles that fit snugly and correctly.
Visit salons that are clean and carefully monitor the amount of time their clients spend on the bed.
Avoid salons that advertise beds without glare and the need for goggles.

When it comes to the health of your eyes, it is better to err on the side of caution and avoid excessive UV exposure. If you have more questions about tanning or eye safety, contact an experienced eye doctor in your area through www.eyes.com.

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Developmental Error Leads to Juvenile Cataracts

Tuesday, March 29th, 2011

According to research published in the March 25 issue of Science, researchers have shown that RNA granules, which help control the function of messenger RNA (mRNA) can contribute to the development of juvenile cataracts and may also have a causal impact on glaucoma as well.

The discovery was made independently by two teams of researchers working in different fields. One team identified a malfunctioning gene in mice that did not build an essential protein, leading to defects in the eye’s crystalline lens. Mice that did not have the protein developed cataracts, elevated intraocular pressure, and optic nerve damage.

Then the team learned that a second team had also identified the same genetic defect in children suffering from pediatric cataracts. All of the children with this gene also developed glaucoma after cataract lens extraction.

The gene in question performs two relevant roles. First, it is expressed in lens fiber cells and performs important regulation duties in ensuring the normal development of the eye’s clear lens. Second, the gene helps produce stress granules in response to oxidative stress. Normally, these stress granules help protect the cell, but without them, the cells become vulnerable to oxidative stress. Oxidative stress damage has been linked with damage to the drainage structures in the eye, which can contribute to glaucoma.

Although researchers note that additional research is required to link the genetic defect with glaucoma, they hope their work will provide an important start for understanding juvenile cataracts and may ultimately help protect children from the condition before surgery is required to remove the clouded lens, which puts them at additional risk for glaucoma.

To learn more about cataracts and glaucoma, please talk to a local ophthalmologist today.

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