Many people are confused as to whether or not they are actually taking good care of their eyes.  What does that really mean? Well, now we’ve developed a short quiz to help you determine whether or not you know how to take care of your eyes and what you should be doing.  Take the following quiz and see how you do:

1. How often do you see your eye doctor for an eye exam?

1. Whenever I feel like it
2. When I can’t see as well as I could before
3. At least every two years
4. I don’t

2. Which food is the best source of Lutein, that incredibly eye-healthy nutrient

1. Kale
2. Potatoes
3. Carrots
4. McDonalds

3. Which of the following could damage your eyesight?

1. Staring at your computer screen all day
2. Smoking
3. Reading in dim light
4. Driving on the left side of the road

4. Which eye disease can cause 40% loss of sight before you even notice it?

1. Glaucoma
2. Cataracts
3. You’d notice anything wrong with your eyes
4. Pink eye

5. If you get an eye infection should you?

1. Go straight to the hospital or your eye doctor
2. Use natural, or organic eye drops
3. Just wait it out, it will get better
4. Have a nice cup of tea

6. You want new sunglasses. Do you?

1. Buy the cheapest pair
2. Get fake Gucci’s on eBay
3. Make sure you buy ones that have passed safety regulations
4. Spend as much as you possibly can to look the best

7. Which of these is a symptom of age related macular degeneration?

1. Pain
2. Loss of central vision
3. Loss of side vision
4. Forgetting to pick your grandchildren up from school

Here are the answers:

1. You should have your eyes checked at least every 2 years.

2. Green leafy, Kale is the best food to provide the nutrient Lutein, most needed by eyes to perform at their best.

3. If you smoke you’re up to 4 times more likely to develop age related macular degeneration.

4. Glaucoma has been called the sneak thief of sight. It sneaks up and gradually causes your vision to move inwards.

5. Go straight to your doctor or eye doctor.  Serious problems can be avoided by rapid action.

6. Always check the safety regulations before buying any sunglasses.  Buy a pair that blocks 100% of UV rays.

7. Loss of central vision is a sign of age related macular degeneration, which affects almost a third of the people above 75 years old.  It is a very tricky disease to detect and only your eye doctor can know for sure.

How did you score? How many questions did you get right?

1-2 You have probably been lucky to not get any serious eye diseases, or injuries.  But you should study up some more on eye health and learn how to take better care of your eyes.

3-4 You’re doing pretty well, but you also need to be a bit more diligent when it comes to the health of your eyes.  Check back on the answers you got wrong and read our other Simon Eye blogs for more useful data.

5-7 Congratulations! It looks like you’re doing very well and know your stuff.  Keep it up.  Knowledge is the first defense in the fight to keep our eyes healthy and happy.

Healthy Vision Longer

Some time ago during my training I spent time with an eye surgeon in Philadelphia who had an odd way of getting his non compliant patients to take their glaucoma medications.  ”Cover your eyes”, he would say, “Now, what do you see?”  ”Nothing” was the usual reply. “Well, that’s what you are going to see if you don’t take your drops!” And he would shove a prescription in their hand and point to the direction of the pharmacy.  Blunt yes - but effective.

The lesson I learned was not to take my eyes for granted.  He got me to realize that even though the human body is an engineering marvel with the ability to regenerate tissue it can’t regenerate new eyeballs.  Like most youth I took my vision and my health for granted.  Until science advances a bit more and it surely will,  we only have one pair of eyes. Damage from glaucoma is normally irreversible, it is also preventable. Glaucoma is one of those silent diseases like hypertension, cancer, heart disease, etc., we don’t know its there until something happens or we see our doctor and get tested. That’s right, the patient doesn’t feel anything, see anything or sense anything different until the disease has significantly advanced. Fortunately, if found early with routine examination, it’s progression can be halted and future deterioration slowed or stopped altogether. But the damage done is rarely if ever reversible.

In addition to your optometrist checking for glaucoma there are many other diseases that may show up during a routine eye exam: diabetes, hypertension, brain tumors, lupus, sarcoidosis, MS, hypercholesterolemia, syphillis, stroke just to mention a few.

How is this possible? The eye has a transparent membrane called the cornea which allows light to pass through to the retina. Because of this ability which is not present anywhere else on the body, we can look directly at the blood vessels and nervous system. How cool is that!  I have to admit looking into my patients eyes is one experience that never gets old.

So the next time you get that call from your eye doctor, remember that there is more to an eye exam than 20/20.