Dr. Grossman’s Blog

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Everyone knows that a lack of sleep can cause dark circles under your eyes, but did you know that genetics, the medications that you take, and hormones can also be cause those unsightly smudges to appear?

Any medications that you are taking that causes blood vessels to dilate, can cause circles under the eyes to darken. Because the skin under the eyes is very delicate, any increase blood flow shows right through.
The skin can also become more pale during pregnancy and menstruation, which again allows the underlying veins in the skin beneath the eyes to become more visible.

So, what can be done about it?

It’s true – one of the best natural remedies for dark circles is getting eight hours of sleep per night.

In addition to getting enough rest, you should also be sure you’re eating right.  Eat a whole-foods, plant-based diet; drink plenty of water (eight 8-ounce glasses daily); and avoid alcohol, coffee, tea and caffeinated soft drinks. Changing your food intake will bring you a a long way as you try to prevent bags, circles, and wrinkles around your eyes. Also, consider taking supplements specifically formulated to support eye health.

For home remedies that really work using what you have in your kitchen including tea bags, turmeric, potatoes, and lemons, visit our website.

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Researchers are examining dry eye syndrome‘s relationship to meibomian gland dysfunction and other eye conditions.

According to The Cornea & Contact Lens Society of New Zealand, “meibomian glands are the oil-producing glands located in both the upper and lower eyelids… This oil helps to stop the water in the tears from evaporating, thus helping to prevent dry eyes.”  Dry eye symptoms can result when this stabilizing oil does not reach the tear film.

Spanish scientists publishing in Cornea found that nearly 50% of subjects with dry eye also had meibomian gland dysfunction.

In this study, it was also concluded that “Pterygium, trauma, cataract surgery, pseudoexfoliation, and glaucoma are associated with signs of dry eye.”

Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20847672

For self-help tips on how to resolve dry eye symptoms, visit our website.

Older black Americans are twice as likely to suffer from eye diseases, particularly glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy, than their white contemporaries.

A new grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will allow researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham to work on reducing the rates of visual impairment in African Americans.  It is believed that inadequate access to medical care is the cause of this high rate of eye disease in this particular population.

According to study leader Cynthia Owsley, Ph.D, “People with vision impairment are at increased risk for depression, transportation challenges, being unemployed, placement into long-term care, injury and death.”

Source: http://main.uab.edu/Sites/MediaRelations/articles/80565/

To learn more about how you can prevent glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy, please visit our website.

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There’s another piece of evidence that suggests moderate drinking – one or two alcoholic beverages each day – can be beneficial for the eyes.

A study of over 3,600 Australians found that when the figures were adjusted to account for other factors (including age, smoking, and diabetes), people who had one or two drinks each day were 50% less likely to have cataract surgery.  The moderate drinkers were less likely to require surgery for cataracts than counterparts who drank more as well as those who did not drink at all.

Source: http://www.osnsupersite.com/view.aspx?rid=70524

Studies suggest that the resveratrol in one glass of red wine per day can help prevent macular degeneration.

Image from CDC.gov

If someone has a raised, cream colored growth in the white of his or her eye, then it might be what is called a pterygium.  These non-cancerous growths generally grow in the nasal side of the white of the eye. Caused by extended time spent in hot, windy environments, people who live on the equator are 10 times more likely to develop this problem than those living in the United States.

Though not dangerous, a pterygium can eventually distort vision because it can grow onto the cornea, and eventually even onto the central part of the eye which can block entering light. If removed surgically, there is a 40% chance that the problem will recur and the growth will return to be even larger and more aggressive.

We offer some natural solutions for those suffering from pterygium at our website.

Our eye exercises can help to bring energy and blood to the eyes, thereby helping to drain away toxins or congestion to the eyes.

Image by nasa.gov

A new study published in the Archives of Ophthalmology finds that those who take medications that make them more sensitive to the sun have an increased risk of developing cataracts.

And, in case you are thinking that you only have to worry about the sun if you are soaking up the rays on the equator, this study involved residents of Wisconsin who were exposed to their own local sunshine.

For a complete list of drugs that can cause light sensitivity, please visit our website.

Source: http://archopht.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/128/8/959

photo courtesy of GirlsHealth.gov

In our practice, we are very aware of the ways that the eyes are the windows not only of the soul, but of the body as well.  The health of your eyes reflects the health of your whole being.

Others in the medical community agree with us.  At the 25th Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology Congress Tien Yin Wong, MD gave a lecture titled: “An Eye Examination Can Save Your Life!”   He discussed the way that changes in the blood vessels of the retina can indicate potential problems in the  cardiovascular and metabolic systems.

An eye doctor who is considering your overall health can potentially see signs of stroke, heart disease, or diabetes, hypertension, or kidney disease during your exam.

Visit our website for more information on how eye health is about whole body health. Other hair health articles.

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Researchers have made a new breakthrough that helps them better understand how genes work to aid the development of the eyes and brain.

They found that the gene Six3 acts as gatekeeper that protects the eye from potentially disruptive signaling proteins as the eye forms in utero.

The eyes, and the retinas specifically, are incredibly complex structures and scientists appreciate the intricately choreographed dance of the genes as they turn on and off at exactly the right times to make proper physical and mental development possible.

But why should we care about another genetic discovery in a lab like the one at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, which ran this study?

Medical News today, the source of this story, spoke to senior study author Guillermo Oliver, Ph.D who said, “realizing the potential of stem cells or other cell-based replacement therapies to correct vision or treat blindness requires a more detailed understanding of the genes and molecular mechanisms involved in normal retinal development.”

In other words, if we want future therapies to help recreate cells to help heal conditions such as macular degeneration of glaucoma, we need to understand how the eyes come together in the first place.

Study: Journal of Clinical Investigation

Image courtesy of: www.jgi.doe.gov

Fruits like blueberries get a lot of credit for being great antioxidants, helping to combat free radicals and fight eye diseases like glaucoma and macular degeneration, but researchers have found another antioxidants source that might be even more powerful: sorghum bran.

Researchers from the University of Georgia study found that the black and sumac varieties of sorghum have significant levels of antioxidants – even higher than may fruits. Sorghum also happens to be much less expensive.

Those involved with the study hope that a concentrate, high-tannin form of sorghum can be marketed and added to foods or sold as a powder to those seeking its antioxidant powers.  It is also a potential source of fiber.

Source: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/200978.php

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Early diagnosis is key to dealing effectively with eye diseases, especially diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration, and glaucoma.

Researchers from around the country are working together to adapt the technologies that allow astronomers to observe distant galleries so that eye doctors can better examine the retina even through imperfections on the lens and cornea.  These adaptive optics–optical coherence tomography (AO-OCT) systems could be the wave of the future for eye disease diagnosis.

Read more about this technology at Scientific American.

Learn more about how to prevent eye disease at our website.