The below is taken in part from an article from Eyecare Business Magazine:

Several vision organizations recently released studies related to kid’s vision and eyecare, revealing some interesting statistics. For instance, according to a national survey by VSP (Vision Care and Prevent Blindness America) released in August: One in Four 6-11 year-olds wears prescription glasses. Almost two-thirds of children under age 6 have never had an eye exam by an eye doctor.

Low Eye Q?: The American Optometric Association’s survey found that: One in four children in the U.S. has an undetected vision problem. 58 Percent of children do not receive their first eye exam until the age of three or older. 88 Percent of the survey respondents did not realize that one in four kids has a visual impairment.

Missed Opportunities: New research by the National Committee on Vision and Health revealed: One-quarter of school age children suffer from vision problems that could have been addressed or eliminated if proper eye assessment programs and follow-up care had taken place when they started school.  In One-third of children with vision problems, screenings missed finding vision conditions.

The Vision-Learning Link: More than one in five 12 to 17 year-olds have difficulty seeing the classroom chalkboard, although 45 percent in this age group wear some type of prescription eyewear. Studies indicate 60 percent of children identified as “problem learners” actually suffer from undetected vision problems and in some cases have been inaccurately diagnosed with ADHD.

UV Exposure: The average child receives three times the annual UV exposure of an adult. The lens of the eye of a child under age 10 allows more than six times the amount of UV radiation than an adult eye.

Child Eyecare

As a continuing effort to help our patients stay informed and educated about their eye care, Simon Eye Associates puts together a Tip of the Month.  This month, it’s How to Protect Your Eyes from Corneal Abrasions.  First off, what is a Cornea? The Cornea is that tissue, which resides at the front of the eye.  It helps focus light coming into the eyes.  This tissue, since it’s at the front of the eye, is easily susceptible to cuts, scratches and damage from debris.  In order to avoid such problems, which could negatively affect your eyes, or eyesight, we recommend the following tips:

1.  Remember to keep your fingernails clipped short and to clean them often.  Many eye infections and injuries stem from someone accidentally sticking themselves with their fingernail.

2. If you wear contact lenses, remember to keep them clean.  The importance of keeping contact lenses clean has been covered in previous Simon Eye blogs.  Along with keeping your contact lenses clean, make sure you are very careful when putting them in.  Also, it is important to never sleep with your contact lenses in all night.

3.  If you work in a profession that involves machines, sawdust, metal, or wood, you should always wear eye protection.

It is very easy to protect your eyes, you just need to exercise a little caution and take the appropriate actions.

The Cornea

The below comes from an article written by Alice Grebot for the Daily Mail.

The first artificial lens implant to treat cataracts was carried out in London just over 60 years ago. Pioneered by ophthalmic surgeon Sir Harold Ridley, it was a concept that would go on to save the sight of millions. Now, a groundbreaking new type of lens has been developed that can be adjusted to give a patient perfect vision after it has been inserted into the eye. Made from a unique material, the lens has the ability to change shape when a certain strength of laser light is shone on to it, meaning it can be tailored to an individual patient’s needs - whether they have cataracts or are long or short-sighted, or have astigmatism, for example. This is a condition that causes blurred vision due to the front of the eye not being a regular shape. Surgery using the innovative light-adjustable lens (LAL), developed by a US company and a Nobel prize-winning scientist, has been carried out on the first patients in the UK in the past few weeks by consultant ophthalmic surgeon Mr Bobby Qureshi.

‘You can virtually promise people who have cataract surgery that they will have perfect vision, whereas before that hasn’t been possible,’ says Mr Qureshi. ‘What’s more exciting is that some people may even achieve “super vision”, which is better than 20/20 (normal vision). ‘Every eye has microscopic imperfections that can limit vision. With this lens, we can correct these and potentially give people high-definition vision.’ He says: ‘This is an incredible operation. It is probably the biggest breakthrough in cataract surgery for decades. I feel so fortunate to be pioneering it in the UK. This has raised the bar of cataract surgery to a whole new level.’

A cataract is the clouding of the lens, the part of the eye that helps focus light on to the retina to form an image. As the lens ages, it starts to turn yellow and cloudy. Light is unable to pass through to the retina and vision becomes blurred. Left untreated, cataracts can lead to blindness. About a third of people in the UK over 65 have cataracts in one or both eyes. Typically, treatment is a replacement lens implant but perfect vision could not be guaranteed - until now. Mr Qureshi, who specialises in cataract surgery and lens implants, explains: ‘Cataract surgery is one of the most common surgeries performed worldwide. We do around 300,000 in Britain each year on the NHS alone. ‘Traditionally, it involves the insertion of monofocal lenses - these improve distance vision but have only a single focus, so patients will still need glasses for reading and the majority have some residual long sight, short sight or astigmatism, which means glasses are required.

Eye surgeon Bobby Qureshi adjusts the lens of Gill Balfour, one of the first to have the treatment

Ten years ago, multifocal implants came along, offering patients better vision for both near and distance. But many are still left with residual astigmatism and require laser eye surgery, or still need to use glasses. Part of the reason for this is that due to their design multifocal lenses can cause lights to glare at night. They also don’t correct intermediate vision very well. The difference with the LAL is that for the first time we can put a lens into the eye and change the strength of it from outside the eye via a computer. Mr Qureshi says the LAL will also help anyone with presbyopia (age-related long-sightedness) - something that begins around the age of 40 and affects everyone at some point. The procedure can remove the need for glasses altogether.

‘Potentially, anyone over 40 who wears glasses could have total freedom from them with this operation and possibly sharper vision than could ever have been achieved before,’ says Mr Qureshi. The key with the LAL is the unique materials called ‘macromers’ embedded in the make-up of the lens. When UV light of a specific wavelength is shone into the eye, they group together, producing a swelling that changes the lens curvature. In other words, the lens can be reshaped precisely for each patient’s needs. So far, 1,000 patients have been operated on worldwide and the first cases in the UK were done three weeks ago by Mr Qureshi, who works at the private London Eye Hospital.

He performs the procedure - which is carried out under local anaesthetic and takes ten to 15 minutes - by making a 2mm incision in the eye. Through this, the cloudy lens is fragmented using high-frequency ultrasound and is removed through a fine tube. The LAL is rolled up and inserted through the same incision. It unfolds once inside the eye. Mr Qureshi says: ‘In just a couple of hours, patients should notice an improvement in their vision - often even better than it was before their eye problems.

How the made to measure lens works

1. The 15-minute procedure is carried out under local anaesthetic. A 2mm incision is made in the eye. Through this, the cloudy lens is fragmented using high-frequency ultrasound. This is then removed through a fine tube.

2. The light-adjustable lens (LAL) is rolled up and inserted through the same incision. It unfolds once inside the eye.

‘But certainly by the time I see patients a few days later, their vision is already at 90 per cent.’ The next step is the adjustment, which is done ten days to a fortnight after the lens implant. Once Mr Qureshi has evaluated the patient’s vision, he or she will be seated with their chin resting on a support, much like during a normal eye test. A sophisticated computer then shines beams of UV light into the eye and on to the lens for about 90 seconds, changing its shape. A few days later, the patient returns for any finetuning, after which, using further beams of light, the LAL is ‘locked in’ to position.

Mr Qureshi says the procedure does not carry significantly more risks than traditional cataract surgery. But because the light can make a patient’s eyes susceptible to UV light until the LAL is locked in, they must wear protective glasses. They must also use anti-inflammatory and antibiotic eye drops for four to six weeks. The hope is that the operation will eventually be available on the NHS. In the meantime, it costs about £3,000 privately. Part-time nurse Gill Balfour, 61, from Epsom, Surrey, was one of the first in the UK to have the LAL. For the past ten years she has been wearing glasses or contact lenses to correct presbyopia. ‘Mr Qureshi explained all about the LAL and I did my own research. I was really excited about having it done,’ she says.

Gill opted for blended vision rather than a multifocal lens and had a predominantly distance lens implanted in her left eye about three weeks ago. It has now been locked in. Next week, she will have a predominantly near lens inserted into her right eye. Gill says the vision in her left eye improved dramatically as soon as the lens was inserted. ‘I had to wear a protective patch overnight. But as soon as I removed it the following day, I could tell immediately that the vision in that eye was better. Everything was brighter. I suddenly saw the world in a different light. ‘Through the new lens, I realised that white looked really white, whereas through my right eye it was slightly yellow. ‘Through my left eye, I can now read the smallest line of letters on an eye chart, which is two lines better than normal vision. Before, without glasses or contacts, it would have been a complete blur.

‘The amazing thing is that these lenses will last for the rest of my life.’

We’ve all heard about the benefits of the Mediterranean Diet.  Countless books have been written on the subject as well as a myriad of nutrition experts have all praised the health benefits of the Mediterranean Diet.  What hasn’t been spoken, or written about much, is the numerous benefits your eyes will get out of the Mediterranean Diet.  What exactly is a Mediterranean Diet? It might sound like an exotic Euro fad, but it isn’t.  Simply put, the Mediterranean Diet is the norm in places all along the Mediterranean.  From Portugal to Turkey, people have been experiencing the great health benefits of eating Fish, Raw and Cooked Vegetables, Olive Oil and Red Wine.  To the people of the Mediterranean, this is not just some fad diet, it’s a way of life.  But what can it do for you? And more importantly, what can it do for your eyes?

The benefits of the Mediterranean Diet seem to stem from the high amount of Antioxidants in the food they eat.  Antioxidants are known to protect your cells from the damaging effects of free radicals, which we get into our system all day long, from environmental pollutants and from being on this planet.  These are naturally formed compounds, which attack your cells.  Foods like Whole Grains, Olive Oil, Red Wine, Fish and Vegetables are full of these free radical killing Antioxidants.  Your eyes are like any other part of your body, if a foreign invader (free radicals) intrudes into their space, they can have problems.  Antioxidants will help defeat these nasty pests and help you see better, longer.  So make yourself a nice piece of Fish tonight, with some Steamed Vegetables, drizzled with Olive Oil and don’t be afraid to have a great glass of Red Wine with your meal.  Salute!

The Mediterranean Diet

Many of us at Simon Eye Associates have been asked the age old question, what’s better, Contact Lenses or Glasses? And although the answer may seem very personal, one Musician may help clear that up for you.   The below article was published in the London Telegraph’s online edition Telegraph.co.uk.   It was written by concert pianist Stephen Hough.  It proves that whether you’re in Wilmington, Delaware, or London, England, people have the same problems with both.

I wear contact lenses most of my waking hours - minus 4.00 in both eyes.  It all started at the Juilliard School with a student recital I gave there at Paul Hall in the early 1980s.  I was wearing my usual nerdy glasses and was working up a sweat in the last movement of Prokofiev’s 6th sonata.  The last furious page tore along to the concluding, hammering chords: da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-DA!  I flung my head back on the last ‘DA‘ and my glasses flew back off my head, landing on the floor about ten feet behind me.  It was a gesture which could never have been planned, a perfect moment of extra-musical drama … except that, after a few princely bows, I had to get down on my hands and knees like a charlady, crawling along in search of them.  I quickly located them, shakily threaded them into place behind ears and on nose, and got up to walk off the stage to a mixture of applause and roars of laughter.  But then I realized that there was only one lens in the frame, the other had popped out with the impact.  So my first curtain call began with me bending down yet again to reclaim the missing but thankfully intact glass.

There was no repeating that humiliation, I had to get myself some contact lenses - and what a tremendous liberation they were when playing the piano.  No longer did I steam up or slip down - or shoot back.  But it’s not good to wear lenses all the time, and particularly for the first hour of the day when the eyes are dry and oxygen-deprived.  And I never wear them on flights longer than an hour.  So this morning I was cleaning my glasses in preparation for my 2-hour flight to Minneapolis from Nashville when they just broke.  The nylon thread invisibly holding the lower part of the lens in place snapped off and they were useless.  So my first task in Minneapolis tomorrow is to buy some new ones.  I wonder what style to go for?  These perhaps …

Do These Glasses Work For You?