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Shingles and Your Vision
Shingles can affect your eyes. Shingles is a nervous system disease caused by a virus, called the varicella-zoster virus. It also causes chickenpox and an eye problem called “herpetic eye disease”. When this virus affects the eye, the full name of the condition is “herpes zoster ophthalmicus”. LEARN MORE
Important Points about Glaucoma
At Eye Michigan, it is important to us that you receive the information you need to protect your eyes for a lifetime. Please read about Glaucoma that may be of help to you or your loved ones. Knowing what you need to know before something becomes a problem is the best way to prevent and protect your health.
- Did you know that the most common type of Glaucoma actually has no obvious symptoms, save for slow and irreversible vision loss?
- Did you also know that Glaucoma is not one single disease but it is actually a group of eye diseases which result in damage to the optic nerve, which then results in vision loss?
When it comes to the most common type of Glaucoma—Open-Angle Glaucoma—it is tough to observe the gradual vision loss especially because there is no pain involved. Most people do not notice symptoms before it is too late. What you can look out for is a potential for side vision decreasing, followed by damage to central vision. If not treated, this seemingly innocuous loss of vision can lead to permanent blindness. At Eye Michigan, we want to make sure you are screened and your condition managed carefully so that treatment can help lessen its progression.
Closed-Angle Glaucoma, on the other hand, can have symptoms that present suddenly or gradually. If sudden, symptoms may include severe eye pain, blurry vision, dilated pupils, redness, or nausea. If gradual, symptoms will present mildly, similar to Open-Angle Glaucoma.
The last main type of Glaucoma is called Normal Tension Glaucoma. As the name implies, the intraocular pressure that is a characterizing factor for most Glaucoma’s, is not present. This type of Glaucoma may be accompanied with problems with blood pressure, circulation, metabolism, or even what is called Flammer syndrome.
Eye Michigan doctors and staff are committed to bringing you the best treatment options available to ensure that your outcomes with Glaucoma are as favorable as possible. Contact us to schedule your appointment to keep your eyes healthy.
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Month of Healthy Vision
National Eye Institute (NEI) established Healthy Vision Month to promote vision as a health priority for the United States. According to NEI statistics, “millions of people living in the United States have undetected vision problems, eye diseases, and conditions.” Together we can get the word out to educate our community about the importance of comprehensive dilated eye exams to protect sight and maintain overall eye health. Contact Eye Michigan to make your appointment.
Can Shingles Affect Your Eyes?
Awareness is key when it comes to maintaining your eye health. Many people do not realize that shingles can cause eye damage. Often the itchy, bloodshot condition that begins is thought to be allergies or some other irritation, but later, if left untreated, can develop into actual lesions on the eye. Anti-viral medications are required to prevent vision loss and to treat the condition as quickly as possible. Less than a quarter of people with shingles virus will see it spread to the face or eyes. When it does, it is commonly seen on the upper eyelid, forehead, or one side of the face. Swelling on the eyelid and conjunctivitis is related to having shingles in the eye itself.
So then, what is the danger of vision loss if shingles happens to spread to the eyes themselves? This is the condition called herpes zoster ophthalmicus which, unfortunately, can cause scarring which leads to vision loss. The virus can affect the front, back, and even the inside of the eye, so it is important for patients to come in right away for an eye exam and make sure to watch for symptoms. If a rash or irritation appears anywhere near the face and eyes, it is always better to be safe than sorry and come in and visit your Eye Michigan doctor immediately. Contact Us.
Maintain or Improve Your Vision
In this modern world in which we live, we use technology very often. That means we are staring at computer screens, tiny cell phone screens, and tablets. The text we read can often be too small, causing eye strain, or too stark in comparison with the brightly lit white screen in the background. To make matters worse, fluorescent lighting is usually used in our workplaces, so we are under artificial and excessively bright light for many hours of the day. The human eye can handle only so much exposure to the blue light that is emitted from LED screens and other light sources. Over time, eye strain can cause vision damage. Below are suggestions to improve this lifestyle problem.
- Get blue-light blocking glasses. These are orange-tinted glasses that may also slightly magnify text to make it more readable.
- Consider installing programs like “Flux” on your computer or using blue light filtering apps on your phone. This will tint the actual screen in such a way that it removes or reduces the blue light coming from the screen to your eyes.
- Limit screen time and make sure to get your kids in the habit of doing the same.
Diet can play a strong role in healthy eyes for a lifetime. This is another change you can make to start improving your sight. Vitamins A, C, E, antioxidants, and minerals like copper and zinc are essential to eyesight. Add dark leafy greens, egg yolks, yellow peppers, carrots, sweet potatoes, and other orange-colored produce and take Eye Vitamins to help prevent age-related Macular Degeneration issues.
- Add foods rich in sulfur, cysteine, and lecithin to protect from cataract formation.
- Berries can be helpful as an anti-inflammatory which can improve your vision.
- DHA fatty acids will also support cell structure and membranes of the eyes.
- Eye Vitamins have been proven clinically to aid in reducing vision loss from Macular Degeneration.
Try exercising your eyes. Just like any part of the physical body, moving your eyes and keeping yourself “in shape” will improve function in many cases. You might do these exercises in the morning or at night before bed, and they should not take you long.
- Warm your eyes by vigorously rubbing your palms together and then place the base of the palms at the base of your eye sockets for a few seconds. You can repeat this a few times if you’d like.
- Move your eyes through their range of motion. Roll them systematically, looking up and then moving 5-10 times to one direction, 5-10 times to the other direction.
- Practice focusing your vision. Hold a pen or other object in front of you at arms-length and try to keep it in focus as you slowly move it towards the center of your eyes, until it is about 6 inches from your nose. Then move it back out. Do this about 10 times.
- Massage your temples. Massage very gently all the way around your eye sockets and forehead. It feels good and stimulates the areas around the eyes.
- Lastly, close the eyes for a few minutes and allow them time to rest.
These are a few ideas to get you started on healthy habits that will help keep your vision sharper, longer.
Schedule Your Eye Exam
The best way to preserve your eye health is by scheduling a yearly comprehensive eye exam with an eye doctor. Self-diagnosing eye issues on the web or using mobile apps is very risky. Prevent loss of vision and protect your sight by making your appointment with your Eye Michigan doctor.