Why is my eye doctor asking about my bloodwork?

There are several systemic diseases and illnesses that affect not only the health of your body but specifically the health of your eyes. One of the conditions I encounter most when examining patients is diabetes. “Diabetes is a disease in which your blood glucose, or sugar, levels are too high. Glucose comes from the foods you eat. Insulin is a hormone that helps the glucose get into your cells to give them energy. With Type 1 diabetes, your body does not make insulin. With Type 2 diabetes, the more common type, your body does not make or use insulin well. Without enough insulin, the glucose stays in your blood.” (source 1) Having an elevated amount of glucose in your blood over a period of time can have devastating effects. It can damage organs such as the eyes, kidneys and nerves and can also put you at greater risk for stroke and heart disease  (source 1).

Once you are diagnosed with Diabetes, you have to be monitored very carefully to ensure that your diabetes is under control and that elevated glucose levels are not causing damage to your eyes. Yearly dilated eye exams are a must with your eye doctor to check for even early signs of diabetic retinopathy. If early warning signs are found, your eye doctor will communicate this to your general physician who will make decisions on how to manage your blood sugar and keep it as close to normal as possible. One of the ways to monitor how well your diabetes is being controlled is by getting bloodwork to test your Hemoglobin A1C levels (A1C levels). The A1C test measures average blood glucose levels for a period of up to 3 months. (source 2) This has been the standard of care for monitoring glucose control in Diabetics but now is also becoming a method of determining if someone is at high risk for developing diabetes in the near future. A diagnosis of Diabetes can be made if your A1C level is 6.5% or higher and an increased risk for Diabetes in the near future can be noted for patients with an A1C of 5.7% to 6.4%. (source 2) 

The American Diabetes Association revised their Diabetes Guidelines for 2010, retinal photography may be helpful in detecting clinically significant diabetic retinopathy but does not take the place of an initial comprehensive eye exam and dilation of pupils. See your eye doctor for this thorough testing upon initial diagnosis of Diabetes and every 12 months thereafter. Your eye doctor may suggest more frequent dilations of the pupils if your glucose levels are not under control. Also, those who are at increased risk for diabetes should be examined as well. This will help establish baseline findings and help your eye doctor to better detect even subtle changes in your eyes over time.

You can see now how knowing the results of your latest bloodwork, specifically, your A1C results, would be a fast and efficient way assessing your risk for Diabetes or, if you know you are diabetic,  how well you are currently being controlled through medications, diet and exercise. Since it spans a period of three months, it gives a better picture of your glucose levels than older methods. You deserve the best quality of care for your eyes and the rest of your body. Take the proactive, preventative approach towards your health, ask your doctor about your A1C number and what else can be done to lower your risk of damage caused by increased glucose.

Here are some statistics on Diabetes from 2007 copied directly from Diabetes.org (source cited below as well) :

“Data from the 2007 National Diabetes Fact Sheet (the most recent year for which data is available)

Total: 23.6 million children and adults in the United States—7.8% of the population—have diabetes.

Diagnosed: 17.9 million people

Undiagnosed: 5.7 million people

Pre-diabetes: 57 million people

New Cases: 1.6 million new cases of diabetes are diagnosed in people aged 20 years and older each year. “

(SOURCE 3)

LOOK AT THE 57 MILLION PEOPLE WHO FALL INTO THE PRE-DIABETES CATEGORY!

Take Charge of your Health today!

It’s the Season for Giving, help someone receive the gift of Sight!

The Lions Club has helped so many visually impaired people throughout the world see again by providing them with cataract surgery, low vision exams, new glasses or even their very first pair of glasses! There are two ways you can help the Lions Club give others the gift of sight! One is donating your old glasses to them, the other is by making a monetary donation to help fund a cataract surgery, low vision exams and glasses or a new clean drinking water well!

Help someone in the world see clearly!

Just think of what it would be like to see clearly for the first time in your life! What a powerful and inspirational blessing to give someone this holiday season! (And who doesn’t have old glasses laying around??)  To watch a video explaining the Lions Club International program regarding the visually impaired click here! Happy Holidays!

I have frequent headaches, do I need an eye exam?

I started off wanting to write a simple article on headaches, and now I have one, a headache that is. All joking aside, the topic of headaches is very complex because there are so many different types, causes and treatments for headaches. There are many different reasons you may be experiencing aches and pains in the head or even in and around the eyes. If you are experiencing frequent headaches, a complete eye examination in addition to a full and thorough evaluation with your family doctor is helpful in accurately diagnosing the problem. Once you know the cause, you are that much closer to relief. Even if the problem turns out to be unrelated to your eyes or vision, you have one more thing that you can check off your list of possible reasons for your headaches and that “rule-out” can prove to be very valuable.

“An eye examination is an important part of the headache evaluation.” (Source 1) Patients often come to me complaining of headaches, in or around the eyes. They, along with their family doctor, are trying to determine the source of their headache pain in order to properly diagnose any medical conditions that may be causing the problem. Sometimes headaches can be caused by “eye strain.” Eye strain is sort of a catch-all phrase which can mean there are problems with the eyes’ ability to focus when reading (accomodation), to accurately aim at the object of regard (alignment), to work together as a team giving depth perception/3-D vision (binocularity) or to see things clearly (refractive error, corrected for by prescription glasses). These are some of the things that your eye doctor will check for and help you correct. 

However, there are other more health-threatening factors that can induce eye pain and aches in or around the eyes therefore it is crucial to have extensive tests done in order to promptly determine the true source of the pain. There are things that can be going wrong with the health of the eyes or other parts of the body.  Your eye doctor will check your vision, as well as the health of the eyes usually through a dilated eye exam and may also suggest a peripheral vision or visual field test. Make sure they proactively communicate their results with your general physician and also suggest additional tests if indicated in order to contribute to your complete and thorough quality of care.

One of the most common topics under the category of headaches that I find myself explaining to patients is the mechanism of an ocular migraine. An ocular migraine (ophthalmic migraine) is an episode of “temporary vision loss or distortion in one eye, usually accompanied or followed by a headache.” (source 2) It is due to a tightening of the blood vessels in the head causing a restriction of blood (and oxygen) to areas of the brain. When the occipital lobe (part of the brain which processes vision) does not get enough oxygen it can cause visual symptoms and side effects, some of which are listed below. The re-dilation of these blood vessels about 20 minutes later is thought to be the cause of the actual pain involved with a person’s migraine.

Some of the visual symptoms you may experience during an ocular migraine are:

• flashing lights/sparks in your vision which may radiate outwards over time
• shimmering zebra stripes/zig zags of light 
• temporary blurring of vision or “missing pieces”, black spots in your vision

(source 3)

These symptoms can last anywhere from about 5 to 20 minutes and may or may not be followed by an intensely painful migraine headache. Vision should return back to normal shortly after, it it does not, seek medical help immediately. Sometimes your doctor will have you keep a simple journal which will chronicle details about the headaches when they happen as well as the activities you did that day and food you consumed.  Migraines usually begin in the morning or some time during the day (it is interesting to note that many eye strain issues occur towards the end of the day or after long periods of reading, computer use, etc). If it is determined by your doctor that you are experiencing migraines it is good to know the triggers of  migraines so that you will be able to avoid them whenever possible.

Some triggers for migraines are:

• stress
• hormonal changes (as well as use of oral contraceptives)
• alcohol consumption (red wine being a common trigger)
• cheese
• chocolate
• meats preserved in nitrates
• monosodium glutamate (MSG)
• light (intense sunlight)
• smoking

(source 3)

Talk to your doctors, they will work with you to find the source of your pain and to make sure it is not a serious and urgent health problem. Relief will be its way, so don’t delay. Get it checked out today!

Premature babies and Retinopathy

The Amazingly Talented Stevie Wonder (shown younger) afflicted with ROP as an infant.

Being a mother who has had preemies myself, I understand all of the added risks that babies born early undertake. One of the conditions which preemies are sometimes at risk for is called Retinopathy of Prematurity or “ROP” for short. “Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a potentially blinding eye disorder that primarily affects premature infants weighing about 2¾ pounds or less that are born before 31 weeks of gestation (A full-term pregnancy has a gestation of 38–42 weeks) (source 1). The smaller a baby is at birth, the more likely that baby is to develop ROP. This disorder—which usually develops in both eyes—is one of the most common causes of visual loss in childhood, sometimes leading to lifelong vision impairment and blindness. “(source 1)

Other factors and conditions besides low birth weight and gestation can also contribute to the risk of an infant developing ROP, these include:

• anemia
• blood transfusions
• respiratory distress
• breathing difficulties
• brief stop in breathing (apnea)
• heart disease
• high CO2 levels in the blood
• infection
• low blood acidity (pH)
• low blood oxygen
• bradycardia (slow heart rate) 
• the overall health of the infant

(source 2)

So what exactly is ROP? The exact mechanism of how ROP occurs is still not clear.  What we do know is, from about the fourth month of pregnancy until birth, intricate networks of blood vessels are developing inside each eye. The blood vessels grow through the optic nerve and start to branch out to deliver vital blood (and oxygen) to the inner eye and peripheral retina. In preemies, these blood vessels grow abnormally or sometimes stop growing in the eye too early. This incomplete vascularization prevents the far outskirts of the retina from getting the oxygen it needs for proper development (stages 1 and 2 of ROP). In some severe cases, new blood vessel growth can occur after these primary blood vessels have stopped their growth (stage 3 of ROP). The new blood vessels think they are coming to the rescue to deliver blood and oxygen where the original blood vessels failed. However, the new blood vessels are weak and fragile, they can start to leak blood into the eye which causes scarring and tension on the retina. If this scarring pulls and tugs the retina too far, it can detach (stage 4 is a partial retinal detachment, stage 5 is a total retinal detachment). A retinal detachment can lead to permanent vision loss and is an emergency situation which calls for prompt examination and immediate medical treatment.

To understand how severe an individual is afflicted with ROP, we classify the condition into stages 1 to 5(with 5 being most severe), zones 1-3 ( with 1 being the central retina, and therefore the least desirable area affected since it is crucial to someone’s quality of vision in their everyday life) and blood vessel appearance (twisting and dilating of the new blood vessels at the demarcation line/ridge, also known as ‘Plus Disease’). (source 3).

Prognosis for the mild stages of ROP is very good and in many cases, does not significantly impact the infant’s vision in the long run. However 1 in 10 premature infants with ROP will progress through stage 3 and into the most severe stages 4 and 5 which carry the risk of lifelong blindness. (source 4) Early detection is absolutely necessary and essential to properly classify the sight-threatening condition and decide on a treatment plan. Treatments are available to help slow the growth of new leaky blood vessels in stage 3 and retinal surgery can also be performed in later stages to help preserve vision but again, eye examinations are crucial at birth, while the babies are in the NICU and beyond.

Babies born with a birth weight of  2¾ pounds or less or those who are born before 31 weeks of gestation should have retinal exams. The first eye exam should be within 4 to 9 weeks of birth. Follow up retinal exams will be scheduled based upon the findings at the first exam. Parents should know their child’s needed follow up schedule before they leave the NICU. (source 4).

With new statistics indicating that the rate of premature births in America has increased by 36 percent in the past 25 years (source 5), more babies are at risk for vision loss now than ever before. Please support the March of Dimes in their mission to help all babies get a healthy start through research, education and raised awareness of prematurity.

Picture the most beautiful sunset you have ever seen, the vibrant petals of a rose or the smiles on your loved ones faces. Protect your vision and help others also see the light. November is Prematurity Awareness Month. Please Donate to the March of Dimes here. Thank You!

 

 

5 Reasons you need a Contact Lens Re-evaluation Every Year

A new patient came into our practice the other day upset that his former optometrist would not allow him to re-order his contact lenses. His contact lens prescription had expired and he was due for his yearly eye examination and contact lens re-evaluation. Most contact lens prescriptions are valid for one year. He wanted to know why. I thought this was a great question and it deserves an equally great answer. After I explained a few of the reasons to him, I decided to write an article about it.

Your eye doctor wants to your eyes to be healthy and stay healthy and would be happy to answer all of your questions and concerns promptly. All you have to do is ask politely (and if you do not understand an answer, it’s ok to ask them to explain things again or in more detail). There are very good reasons behind re-assessing your contact lenses yearly. Here are a few:

1. CLARITY- Your prescription may have changed and you could improve your visual clarity by ensuring that you are using the most accurate prescription powers possible. Since we use our eyes every waking hour of every day, you are really short-changing yourself by not getting your eyes checked, even a small change in prescription can eliminate blur, squinting and eye strain. You are probably spending a significant amount of money on your contact lens supply, why not get the most ‘bang for your buck’ and make sure you are seeing as clear as possible.

2. FIT-Your cornea may have changed and the contacts may not fit as well as they used to. If the cornea changes its shape, even by fractions of a millimeter in its curvature, this could affect how well the contact lens fits your eye. If it is ill-fit, the size of the contact lens must be tweaked to make sure that it does not lead to discomfort, dryness, redness and/or poor corneal health. Many environmental factors can change your cornea in subtle ways, some examples are medications you may be taking, hormonal changes and systemic diseases.

3. COMFORT- Your comfort in contacts has declined. This can happen for many different reasons but you do not have to live with an uncomfortable lens. There are things that your eye doctor can suggest to improve your comfort including trying another lens material or a different lens completely. Ideally, in a perfect world, you would only think about your contact lenses when it’s time to put them in and take them out. Give your eye doctor the chance to help you feel great again in contact lenses and to ensure your continued comfort for another year to come!

4. MODE- Each year you have a chance to talk with your eye doctor and make sure you are on the most effective replacement schedule tailored to your needs. Not everyone should be wearing two-week replacement lens. There are many different modes of replacement with daily, two-week and monthly replacement schedules being the most popular. Make certain that you are using the mode which is customized to your needs, your eye doctor will ask you the right questions to determine what mode of replacement you should be using and can also tell you the reasons behind it.

5. STAY CURRENT- The contact lens industry is ever-changing, in most cases, for the better. Sitting in the examination chair is your opportunity to reap the benefits of contact lens design improvements being made and also hear the latest updates on contact lens materials and solutions. Your eye health and continued success in contact lenses depends on this, especially if you anticipate wearing contact lenses for years to come, perhaps even your whole life through.

Bonus Reason (and really the most important reason follows):

6. HEALTH, HEALTH, HEALTH- Your contact lenses can actually cause problems with your corneal and/or conjunctival health if you have been misusing or over-wearing the lenses in some way. These problems may not even cause pain or symptoms in the beginning but can cause serious trouble in the long run. Your eye doctor will check for signs of damage to your eyes being caused by contact lens misuse and abuse and will adjust your wearing time or lens regimen accordingly. The best thing you can do is come in for your yearly eye exams on time and answer all of your doctor’s questions truthfully. Remember, they want to help.

Aside from the contact lens re-evaluation and contact lens-related health check, you should be examined yearly to check for all other eye diseases and illnesses regardless. I often tell my patients, ‘close your eyes and now imagine your life without your vision.’ That short, 2 second exercise should ‘open your eyes’ to the fact that your vision is precious. The only way to help guarantee that you will always be blessed with good vision in your everyday life is to take good care of your eyes and vision and have the eyes checked and screened for eye conditions and illnesses which can lead to damage if left untreated over the years. See your eye doctor yearly, whether you wear contacts or not, and make sure your friends and family members do the same. Protect one of your body’s most important senses, your precious gift of sight.

What your Eyes say about You

When most people think of going to their eye doctor, they think about changing their glasses prescription or ordering new contacts. If you think that is all an eye exam has to offer you, think again.

The eyes are a direct extension of the brain. They are a part of your nervous system. They are also one of the only organs of the body where a doctor can get a live look at your arteries and veins without making an incision or performing an invasive procedure. They can be a reflection of your overall health and a bulletin board displaying early warning signs of systemic diseases that you may not even know you have yet.

“Abnormalities of the blood vessels in the retina can be used to predict patients’ risk for diabetes, hypertension (or high blood pressure), stroke and heart disease (source).” Wong et el studied retinal photographs for subtle changes to the structure of small blood vessels inside the eyes. These subtle changes in structure included narrowing of the blood vessels, ballooning of the blood vessel walls, as well as tiny blood clots and hemorrhages. It is well known that it is medically necessary for diabetic patients to receive yearly dilated eye exams  (and sometimes even more often than that) to closely monitor for any damage that may be occurring to the delicate blood vessels inside the eyes. But they are not the only ones that need looking after.

There are so many systemic diseases that can affect the eye, it would take a lot of time to list them all.

Here are just a few (source):

• (we already spoke of) Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, Stroke and Heart Disease
• AIDS
• Graves Disease
• Lupus
• Atherosclerosis
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Rheumatoid Arthritis
• Sickle Cell Anemia
• Myasthenia Gravis
• Neurofibromatosis
• Sjogren’s Syndrome
• Cancer
• Antiphospholipid Antibody Syndrome
• Tuberculosis
• Giant Cell Arteritis
• Sarcoidosis
• Syphilis

Dr. Murphy

Retinal photography is not the only way for your eye doctor to screen for signs of these diseases. A comprehensive eye exam including dilation of the pupils is essential for your doctor to get a good look at the entire inside of each eye, 360 degrees around to carefully and thoroughly check the retina, nerves and extensive networks of blood vessels.

Eye exams by no means replace a physical or visits with your general practitioner, but they say the eyes are the “windows to the soul.” Why not take that proactive, preventative approach towards your health and add it to your arsenal when trying to protect your body from the often devastating effects of undiagnosed systemic diseases. It’s not just about saving your vision, it’s about saving your life.

Sunglasses, they don’t just look cool…

Summer is in full swing and it is usually the time of year when everyone reaches for a new pair of sunglasses. However, sunglasses with the proper UV-A and UV-B protection, are something you should be using all year round. Here’s why! The sun is as essential to the earth as the air we breath but its strong solar rays can be harmful to our bodies. These strong solar rays  known as UV or ultraviolet radiation are not only present in the sun but also in the radiation from tanning beds, welding machines and lasers. If you are exposed to this UV radiation in excessive amounts for a short period of time or in smaller amounts over a long period of time, your eyes and your vision can suffer.

Exposure to excessive amounts of UV radiation in a short period of time can result in ‘photokeratitis.’ You can sort of think of this as a sunburn of the clear tissues on the front surface of the eye called the cornea. Photokeratitis is very painful, much like a severe sunburn of the skin and it can also produce extreme sensitivity to light (photophobia), a gritty feeling to the eyes, a foreign body sensation (you feel like you ‘have something in your eye’), and continuous watering or tearing of the eyes. Photokeratitis, when managed properly by your eye doctor, can be resolved in most cases without any permanent damage to the tissues of the eye or to your vision.

In contrast, Long term exposure to UV radiation, even in small amounts over the years, can be very dangerous to your eyes and can permanently affect your vision. Overexposure to UV-A and UV-B radiation can worsen oxidative damage to the lens inside the eye and can cause Cataracts to develop at a more rapid rate than they would have otherwise. (It is interesting to note that UV-C radiation does not affect us because it is absorbed by the ozone layer). The retina, the tissue inside the eye that acts like film in our eye’s camera, is also damaged by too much UV exposure. This can greatly increase the risk of developing Macular Degeneration, a condition which can lead to serious permanent central vision loss in some cases.

So what can you do to protect your eyes and your vision from UV radiation while having some fun in the sun?

• Wear Sunglasses that block 99-100% of UV-A and UV-B radiation and buy them from a reputable retailer like your eye doctor to make sure they are authentic. I have heard stories of sunglasses with stickers on them that say they protect against UV-A and UV-B radiation but fall short of the required standard. Consider wrap-around sunglasses to maximize blockage of sunlight on the front and sides of the eyes and consider sunglasses with lenses made out of polycarbonate, the most shatter-resistant type of lens, if you will be playing sports or being physically active. Also, my personal favorite for sunglasses are Polarized sunglasses which block light rays bouncing off of horizontal surfaces and therefore dramatically reduce glare off of water, snow, metal (like the hoods of cars) and roadways. Great for boaters, fisherman, golfers, bikers, joggers, skiers and anyone who is ‘light-sensitive’ such as people who have just had cataract surgery.
• Wear a baseball cap or a hat with a wide brim.
• Limit your time outdoors.
• Wear proper protection when in tanning beds, or when welding or when exposed to radiation.
• Ask your eye doctor about contact lenses which have UV protection built right in.
• Get an eye exam so your eye doctor can check the health of your eyes to monitor for signs of damage to the lens of the eye (cataracts) or the center of the retina (the macula).

Now that you know how to protect your eyes and vision, get out there and enjoy those golden days of summer!

See Green, Think Green, Eat a Rainbow!

Photo by C. Murphy

April Showers will soon have us seeing green. Flowers will be sprout, the grass will be thickening and the leaves on the trees will begin to bud. As we watch this wonderous rebirth and growth in nature, why not begin our own rejuvenation by pledging to eat healthier foods and sticking to that pledge once and for all. When it comes to the eyes, just like the rest of the body, they have to be well nourished in order to function efficiently and protect themselves against harmful environmental factors and the body’s natural aging process.

Getting the right amount of vitamins and nutrients may not eliminate the need for glasses but they will help you to maintain the clearest and highest quality vision possible by optimizing the health of the retina and the lens of the eye. Vitamins A,C, E, zinc, copper, lutein and zeaxanthin, along with UV protection, can help prevent and treat macular degeneration and cataracts in the eyes. Vitamin E, Omega-3 Fatty Acids, Fish oil and flaxseed can help patients suffering from Dry Eyes by giving your body the building blocks it needs to produce a higher quality tear film layer.

There are so many vitamin supplements out on the market, it can be confusing for patients to determine what they are actually used for and which ones they should take. The following list will give you a brief summary of the vitamins and minerals that can be highly beneficial to your eye health and how to get them onto your plate and into your everyday diet!

 

Vitamin A- found in carrots, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, winter squashes, cantaloupe, pink grapefruit, apricots, broccoli, spinach, and most dark green, leafy vegetables. The more intense the color of a fruit or vegetable, the higher the beta-carotene content.

Vitamin C- found in blueberries, orange juice, grapefruit juice, oranges, spinach, tomatoes, bananas, apples, peaches, lemons, limes.

Vitamin D-found in cold water fish (red rockeye salmon, sardines and cod liver oil), vitamin D fortified milk, sunlight exposure (“approximately 10,000 IU of vitamin D3 is produced by one hour of midday summer full-body skin exposure for Caucasians living at southern latitude.” source)

Vitamin E-found in peanuts, peanut butter, sweet potatoes, almonds, fortified cereals, hazelnuts, sunflower seeds.

Omega 3-Fatty Acids: DHA and EPA (Docosahexaenoic Acid and Eicosapentaenoic Acid)- found in salmon, tuna, mackerel, anchovy, trout, halibut, scallops, snapper.

Zinc-found in beef, lobster, pork, oysters, yogurt, salmon, milk, eggs, tofu, black-eyed peas, tofu and baked beans.

Copper- Zinc supplementation has been known to interfere with copper
absorption, so 2 mg/day of copper is strongly recommended for
individuals supplementing their diet with zinc.

Lutein and Zeaxanthin- found in spinach, broccoli, kale, collard greens, turnip greens, green beans, corn, romaine lettuce, eggs and oranges.

When it comes to taking vitamin and mineral supplements, it is best to seek advice from your health care provider and eye care professional so that they can recommend the safest and most effective supplements based on your individualized needs. Remember, the correct amount is different for everyone based on age, the medications you are taking, existing health conditions you may have and your family medical history. “More isn’t always better” and taking too much of certain vitamins can make you sick (for example, always be weary of taking too much of the fat soluble vitamins A, D, E and K. Stick with what your doctor recommends)! Being well-informed is essential before making any big changes to your diet. The U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health have an excellent website, MedlinePlus which contains helpful indexed information including USRDA and contraindications on vitamins and minerals.

Do you see a common theme to the list of vitamins and minerals above? Yes, there are a lot of fruits and veggies in there, but specifically, Spinach is brought up time and time again! Perhaps Popeye had it right all along? The Center for Disease Control and Prevention thinks so too, their website is also an amazing source to learn all about why Fruits and Veggies Matter  or visit The Fruit and Veggie Guru for recipes and more!

Photo by C. Murphy

Time and time again, study after study, article after article, researchers and scientists are coming to the conclusion that “an ounce of prevention equals a pound of cure” and that many diseases stem from poor nutrition. Many studies recently published link specific vitamin deficiencies or lack of adequate amount of physical activity with certain forms of cancer. (source)  “Eating plenty of healthy vegetables and fruits help prevent heart disease and strokes, diverticulitis, control your blood pressure, prevent some types of cancers, and guards against cataracts and macular degeneration.” (source) 

 I am not expecting anyone to throw out everything in their fridge, but start to think before you eat. Make smart choices when available. Have a handful of blueberries, eat yogurt sprinkled with oats and flaxseed, add fish to your diet two more times a week than you eat it now. These small changes will add up, get you thinking and will help you to create healthy habits that will reward you in the long run! Be healthy, feel good and stay healthy by thinking green and eating a rainbow of fruits and vegetables every day.

Exercise your Eyes and your Brain

How quickly can you provide the correct answer to these 3 questions?

• What is going on in these 2 pictures below?
•  what may explain it?
•  Is there some element out of place?

 

Vision is more than an image being focused on your retina clearly with or without the aid of glasses or contact lenses. Vision is the collecting and interpreting of images, it is a process, not a mere snapshot in time. For most of us, we do not realize how much our brain affects our vision and what we see. Many of us think of ourselves as seeing with our eyes. But are you aware that as information is moved from the eye into the brain, the neural interactions of these visually-provoked signals increase exponentially and the number of neurons involved in the interpretation of what you are seeing increases from just over 1 million connections of neurons (from the retina to the lateral geniculate nucleus of the brain) to over 200 million connections of neurons (from the LGN to the visual cortex and beyond) as they reach higher cortical levels in the brain? Perhaps we should change the saying “See with your eyes…” to  ”See with your brain, not with your hands” when someone asks to see something we are holding.

Amazing research is going on right now in the area they call ‘brain fitness.’ “As scientists gain more knowledge about the relationship between sensory perception, memory and cognition, they are learning to design brain exercises that strengthen brain function.” (source) Dr. Alice Cronin-Golomb, director of Boston University’s Vision and Cognition Laboratory, is studying the relationship and inter-dependence of memory and cognition to visual processing and other senses in Alzheimer’s Disease (AD)  patients. She believes that cognition and vision are closely linked and because of that “interdependence, a weakness in one is often related to—or even the cause of—a weakness in the other.” (source) Dr. Cronin-Golomb and colleagues began to focus on visual dysfunction in Alzheimer’s patients, demonstrating  that AD affects the occiptal lobe and that some of the weight loss which is common in AD patients is actually attributed to this poor visual processing in the occiptal lobe, not depression as once thought.

The occiptal lobe is the part of the brain in the back of the head where vision is processed and it is responsible for things like color perception and visual contrast. Cronin-Golomb et al. realized that if this area of the brain wasn’t working correctly, then AD patients “were probably eating less in part because they couldn’t distinguish their food from the tableware. Imagine chicken and mashed potatoes served on a white plate, with milk in a white cup. Not much contrast.” So they did an experiment, involving patients with severely advanced AD who still fed themselves. The AD patients ate significantly more food and drank significantly more liquids when the food and drink was presented in brightly colored cups and on bright plates (red and blue) vs. pale pastel or white cups and plates. The brighter colors yielded better visual contrast so the patients were able to distinguish the amount of food and drink that was left and eat more! This is such a simple visual processing aid to now help AD patients avoid the malnutrition and dangerous weight loss  they once faced. All by helping the brain to help itself and improving its ability to function properly!

Put your visual awareness to the test with the video clips below!

I think you get the picture! Seeing is believing and if you are not visually aware and alert, there is a lot going on that you might miss out on! Why not try to dust off some cobwebs in the brain and strengthen those 200+ million visual processing neuronal connections and maybe make some new ones? You may thank yourself in the long run! Stay sharp! Challenge yourself to learn new things, languages, hobbies, do crossword puzzles, suduko, play brain and memory games, checkers, scrabble! Doing so can keep your brain, eyes and body fit and keep YOU happy!

Sharpbrains.com is one of my favorite sites on the web to check out the latest news and games involving Brain fitness. I urge you to bookmark this site and use it. Who knows! You may just learn something. Also, here are the full articles that I have cited in this blog entry. A Palette for the Alzheimer’s Palate and Brain Plasticity, Brain Change.

Click to watch a video revealing the ANSWER TO OPTICAL ILLUSION AT TOP OF THIS ARTICLE. Also, the answer to the third question, the element out of place, is the “extra” girl.

(Photos taken from sharpbrains.com website.)

Springtime means Flowers and Eye Allergies

Photo by C. Murphy

Although it’s cold outside, spring is hiding right around the corner and will be here before you know it! With that warm weather comes flowers, robins and itchy, watery, red eyes, well at least for some of us. Those who suffer from Seasonal Allergic Conjunctivitis (SAC) know exactly what I am talking about. Seasonal Allergic Conjunctivitis (SAC) is triggered by an outdoor environmental allergen such as grass, pollen and/or weeds.

Your body mounts an immune response against this irritant, the side effects of this mounted attack are manifested in those bothersome symptoms of:

• itching
• redness
• tearing
• blurred vision
• excess mucous production

If you suffer from these symptoms, your eye doctor will be able to provide relief! Once the allergen causing your discomfort is identified the best possible thing to do is to avoid coming into contact with that irritant. Since Seasonal Allergic Conjunctivitis is produced by the changing of the seasons (spring causing tree pollen, summer causing grass pollen and fall causing weed pollen), it is near impossible to avoid SAC. Who could stay indoors until winter and miss out on all the fun that warmer weather can bring?! To cope, a prescription medication for allergies may be given by your general doctor if you have problems with your sinuses and nose as well as your eyes. For the people who only experience the eye symptoms or for those who take the prescription oral medications and need a little something extra for the eyes, there are plenty of eye drop medications that are available. Some eye allergy drops require a prescription while others are available over-the-counter. Your doctor will pick one specific to your individual needs!

Talk to your eye doctor about the symptoms you are experiencing. They will examine the inner lining of your eyelids, your tear film layer (the layer of tears that coat our eyes to keep them moist at all times) and conjunctiva or sclera (the white part of the eye) to determine the severity of your eye allergies. That exam paired with a thorough investigative medical history will allow them to choose the specific method of treatment which will yield maximum relief.

Besides SAC, there is another type of allergic conjunctivitis called Perennial Allergic Conjunctivitis. With PAC, you are allergic to indoor irritants instead of outdoor irritants which is the reason for the classification of PAC lasting all year long and not just one season. Dust, insects and pet dander are examples of indoor environmental allergens.

Here are some Ways you can try to Reduce your exposure to Allergens:

• Reduce the allergen load by minimizing places where allergens collect (keep knickknacks, unneccessary pillows, draperies and linens to a minimum).
• Minimize carpeting; dust mites collect there.
• Clean surfaces frequently and thoroughly including the regular washing of linens to remove dust and mold.
• Eliminate water leaks and standing water where mold tends to grow.
• Use mattress and pillow allergen covers.
• Use allergen filters in your air conditioners and furnaces and clean them regularly.
• Keep outdoor allergens outdoors by keeping windows and doors shut.
• Avoid pet dander and clean up pet hair and areas regularly.

In addition to medication and avoiding the triggers of allergies, some patients also find comfort in placing cool compresses on their closed eyes, using artificial tears which can help flush stagnant allergens out of the eyes, and drinking more water.

Photo by C. Murphy; Old Westbury Gardens

See your eye doctor today so that when “Spring has Sprung” you will be ready to take a deep breath and enjoy the fresh air.

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