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.
Happy Passover
Your Eyes Need a Break
Most of us spend many hours a day on our Smartphones, laptops and tablets causing eye strain. Take a break and rest your eyes. Use the 20-20-20 rule. Every 20 minutes, take a 20-second break to view something 20 feet away.
Tips to Prevent Springtime Eye Allergies
As the weather becomes warmer, allergy season begins. Springtime eye allergies can wreak havoc for some people and get in the way of enjoying this time of year. Below are a few tips to try to help alleviate your eye allergy symptoms to keep you more comfortable.
Eye allergies, like other allergies, are more prevalent in the spring because of pollen and other airborne allergens that begin to stir up with the changing of weather and thawing of the environment. The eyes are particularly susceptible because they are exposed to the elements most of the time allowing airborne particles to enter and agitate. Simply avoiding the allergens and limiting exposure helps. Until the season is over, whenever possible, check the weather for a pollen count and if it is high, simply stay indoors as much as feasible.
There are also eye medications to help reduce symptoms. If your symptoms are not too bad, you may find that over-the-counter eye drops will work just fine to reduce your discomfort. However, for more severe cases, prescription drops are better. There are several different kinds of formulations that will counter the effects of eye allergies which your Eye Michigan ophthalmologist will recommend for your particular problem.
If you are a contact lens wearer, you may consider switching to glasses for the spring which adds an extra protective layer in front of the eyes. If you would rather keep your contact lenses, be aware the allergens can build on the surface of the lens and cause a stronger allergic reaction. During spring, it is advisable to try single-use contact lenses to minimize the amount of allergen build up.
Make an appointment with your Eye Michigan doctor. Our doctors will determine the best way to reduce your eye allergy symptoms so you can better enjoy the beauty of springtime.
World Health Day Focuses on Diabetes
Diabetes is now considered a pandemic that has spread rapidly in the last few decades. It is essential to have routine checkups to diagnose Diabetes to thwart any complications of leaving it untreated. If you are given a diagnosis of Diabetes, it is essential that your health care professionals are notified to help you manage your prognosis. Please tell your Eye Michigan ophthalmologist right away if you have received a diagnosis of diabetes. Diabetics have an increased risk of eye disease including: Glaucoma, Cataracts and Retinopathy.
Limit Exposure to Blue Light
With all of the amazing benefits of technology also comes potential additional risk to your eyes. Blue light (high-energy visible (HEV) light) exposure may be doing some harm to our eyes with a potential link to age related macular degeneration (AMD). We are exposed to blue light through digital devices, compact fluorescent bulbs, and LED’s. Be aware to limit your exposure.