We’re All Eyes … and Ears
VSP provider Dr. Jeffrey Anshel wrote an article for education.com regarding keeping our kids eyes safe while using digital devices and avoiding Computer Vision Syndrome and tired eyes. Good advice for adults too. Read article.
So how much time do you estimate you or your kids spend per day looking at digital devices (smart phones, video games, tv, computers, etc.)? Leave us a comment.
Photo via education.com
Very interesting stuff. EPAM – Electroactive Polymer Artificial Muscle, is currently working its way to human implantation (within 5 years). From the article:
Surgeons from UC Davis Medical Center have demonstrated that artificial muscles can restore the ability of patients with facial paralysis to blink, a development that could benefit the thousands of people each year who no longer are able to close their eyelids due to combat-related injuries, stroke, nerve injury or facial surgery.
…
For people with other types of paralysis, the use of artificial muscles could someday mean regaining the ability to smile or control the bladder. Reanimating faces is a natural first step in developing synthetic muscles to control other parts of the body, said UC Davis otolaryngologist Craig Senders.
If you have the slightest interest in medical technology or just want to see how hard researchers are working – I HIGHLY recommend reading this article. Go humans!
Read full article HERE.
Learn more about the importance of wearing sunglasses – even on cloudy, overcast days – on VSP’s Eyecare Discovery Center and The Vision Council’s Under the Sun Guide.
Vito Franco, Professor of Pathological Anatomy at the University of Palermo, thinks so. In fact, he released a statement last week saying the painting of Mona Lisa shows signs of cholesterol around her left eye.
This got me thinking about another connection between eyes and high cholesterol. An eye doctor can actually see signs of high cholesterol during an eye exam. Cholesterol flows through your blood stream and can cause a yellowish build-up in your blood vessels. When an eye doctor dilates your eyes, your pupils become bigger allowing your doctor to have a closer look inside your eyes. Your blood vessels can tell a lot about your overall health. In addition to signs of high cholesterol, doctors can also see signs of diabetes, high blood pressure and more.
It amazes me to realize an eye doctor not only tests to make sure I’m seeing clearly, but also checks my eyes to make sure they’re healthy. An eye exam allows me to take a proactive step in my overall healthcare routine. With today’s technology, it’s important to take advantage of opportunities for preventive care instead of just waiting for the day when treatment is required.
Da Vinci began painting the Mona Lisa in 1503. Eyecare certainly has come a long way since then, and I’m so appreciative of the preventive aspects of this exam. If you’d like to see what vision care was like back when Mona Lisa was alive, check out this interactive timeline of vision history.
Related Links:
TIME article – Did Mona Lisa Suffer from High Cholesterol?
Eyecare Discovery Center article – Eye Exam: New Lease on Life
Picture of Mona Lisa via Wikipedia.
New York Times' first mention of the contact lens.
Did you know that the first usable contact lens was made in 1888 from blown glass? It’s a fact.
You can find this, and other interesting historical anecdotes about contact lenses in a recently published New York Times article.
Take a look; it’ll give you a fresh perspective on something many of us take for granted.
As I toss my daily, UV-blocking, soft contact lenses in the trash, I give thanks for technological advances.
First Mention: Contact Lens, 1930
Content and image courtesy of the New York Times.
January is Eyecare Month. In honor of this observance, we’ll be sharing a three-part video series about how eye exams can show signs of health conditions, like diabetes.
Team Type 1’s Kyle Rose was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when he was 16 years old. He was originally thought to have the flu. When he began experiencing fluctuating vision, he went to see his eye doctor who immediately recognized signs of diabetes and recommended he get tested for diabetes.
In this video, Dr. Sasha Pen, with EyeCare Associates of San Francisco, explains why diabetes would have caused changes to Kyle’s vision.
For more information about EyeCare Associates of San Francisco, check out their website at www.eyecaresf.com.
Team Type 1 is a group of athletes living with diabetes. The team includes professional race teams, a triathlon team and a development team. Team Type 1 strives to instill hope and inspiration for people around the world affected by diabetes. VSP® Vision Care is proud to be their exclusive eyecare and eyewear provider.
Did you know that carrots are not the only vegetable that can protect your eyes? Dr. Jennifer Ashton recently discussed some other eye-healthy foods on, “The Early Show.” According to Dr. Ashton, lutein and zeaxanthin are the most beneficial cartenoids for eye health. In fact, there are foods that are good for our eyes and taste delicious, too, that most of us are not even aware of. Below is a list of some of these foods, which promote eye health.
Why is it so important to protect our eyes, you may ask? Dr. Ashton states it in simple logic:
“The thinking is that our eyes age just like other parts of our body, and things like these substances can really make a big difference in preventing things like macular degeneration and cataracts.” Read more »
Dr. Joel Kestenbaum is a VSP provider in Long Island, NY
Dr. Kestenbaum is back! Today his guest blog discusses colorblindness …
Color blindness is also known as color vision deficiency. It is a condition in which certain colors cannot be differentiated. It is most commonly an inherited condition, transmitted by the “X” chromosome. About 99 percent of color deficient individuals are red/green colorblind. These people have a hard time distinguishing different hues of reds and greens. About 8% of males and half of 1% of females are red/green colorblind.
Blue/yellow color deficiency is rarely inherited and as far as I am aware, there is no commonly available test for it. Total color blindness, or seeing only shades of gray, is an extremely rare condition.
There is no treatment for color blindness but it can be very frustrating for people affected by it. Think about all things that we do in life that require good color vision: Coordinating your clothes, determining if a traffic light is red, yellow or green (especially in states whose lights are horizontal), coloring with crayons, technical wiring for electricians, telling rare from well-done with meats, seeing if a piece of litmus paper turns red or blue. Commercial pilots must have normal color vision for their job.
Can you see the 2?
Certain diseases can also cause color deficiencies, either temporary or permanent. Cataracts cloud vision and filter light away from the retina. When cataracts are surgically removed, most people will see rejuvenated colors. Macular degeneration causes, in most cases, permanent color vision changes. Diseases like Multiple Sclerosis or Parkinson’s disease or any diseases that cause optic neuritis (an inflammation of the optic nerve), can cause colors to appear paler.
The good news is that colorblindness is not deadly. Eight to ten percent of us live with it every day and learn to compensate for this minor disability. You can search many websites including here, here, and here for more information on color deficiency.
Happy Holidays to all.
Dr. Joel Kestenbaum
www.optixeyecare.com
Appearing this morning on Good Morning America, a new study shows that nearsightedness is up 66 percent since the 1970s.
