Oct
29
2010
A
retinal detachment is a separation of the retina, the nerve cell layer, from the outer layers of the eye. The detachment might be small and relatively innocuous. In much more serious cases, the entire retina could detach; immediate medical care is necessary to prevent blindness. The sudden appearance of eye floaters and flashes in one’s vision are indications that the retina has detached.
A recent study out of Berlin, Germany indicates that highly myopic people who have had
cataract surgery are not necessarily more likely to suffer spontaneous retinal detachment. Researchers intend this study to help inform highly myopic considering cataract surgery that their already elevated risk of retinal detachment is not increased by the cataract removal procedure.
Sep
21
2008
A new study has found that common vision problems known as refractive errors (nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism) affect half the adult U.S population.
The study authors, led by Susan Vitale of the U.S. National Eye Institute, analyzed data collected by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s ongoing National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. In this study an autorefractor was used to obtain refractive error data on a nationally representative sample of 12,010 adults in the U.S. population between 1999 and 2004.
Of the participants (all aged 20 or older), researchers found:
- 3.6% had hyperopia (farsightedness),
- 33.1% had myopia (nearsightedness), and
- 36.1% had astigmatism (an irregular corneal curve)
Other findings:
- Nearsightedness was more prevalent in women (39.9%) than in men (32.6%) among 20- to 39-year-old participants.
- People 60 years or older were less likely to have nearsightedness and more likely to have farsightedness and/or astigmatism than younger persons.
- Nearsightedness was more common in non-Hispanic whites (35.2%) than in non-Hispanic blacks (28.6%) or Mexican Americans (25.1%).
“I think this study demonstrates that the problem of refractive eyesight errors is on the increase, particularly in terms of the amount of nearsightedness in the American population,” said study co-author Dr. Frederick L. Ferris III, clinical director of the U.S. National Eye Institute.
“This is probably a worldwide problem,” he added. “No one knows for sure what accounts for this. But it’s a pretty smart hypothesis that the increased amount of near work that we’re doing as a population may be increasing the incidence of nearsightedness. And it does suggest that we should be looking into ways to deal with it.”
Rando Allikmets, a professor of ophthalmology, pathology and cell biology at Columbia University, said, “I would hazard to suggest that, in general, the widespread prevalence of refractive issues today could be related to environmental factors, like extensive use of TV and computers, and — among the young — video games. Because today we get much heavier loads on our eyes from all of that, and those are strenuous activities for our vision.”
Read more about maintaining healthy vision naturally through nutrition, lifestyle adjustments and vitamins.
SOURCE: Susan Vitale, PhD, MHS; Leon Ellwein, PhD; Mary Frances Cotch, PhD; Frederick L. Ferris III, MD; Robert Sperduto, MD; Arch Ophthalmol. 2008;126(8):1111-1119.
May
13
2008
This week I’m going to start a series on glaucoma – I’ll cover these points in my next posts:
1. What is it? How does it manifest? Why is it caused? Symptoms?
2. What are the conventional treatment options? Do they work?
3. Are there any alternatives? Do they work? Is there research to back them up?
So – what is glaucoma!
Glaucoma is a truly insidious disease that can be difficult to detect until a significant amount of vision is lost. We are especially concerned about glaucoma because heavy computer users (ie 8 hours a day) have been found to have a higher risk for glaucoma, especially if they are nearsighted.
Glaucoma is often referred to as the “silent thiefâ€, because most individuals with undiagnosed glaucoma do not suffer from any symptoms until they begin to notice a reduction in their peripheral vision.
Technically, glaucoma is due to damage to the optic nerve, sometimes as a result of increased pressure of the aqueous humor, the clear, watery fluid that circulates in the chamber of the eye between the cornea and the lens. But the term glaucoma is now defined as a collection of diseases that causes optic nerve damage. As a result, the diagnosis is no longer solely based on whether a person’s Intraocular Pressure (IOL) is elevated or not.
There are several types of glaucoma:
Open angle or Chronic Glaucoma
Narrow Angle Glaucoma – an ocular emergency
Low Tension Glaucoma
Secondary Glaucoma
Glaucoma Suspects
Congenital Glaucoma
Symptoms
- Reduced peripheral vision
- Intraocular pressure (IOP) greater than 21, or where there is a large discrepancy in IOP’s between the two eyes.
- Optic cup asymmetry
In short, nothing you would readily notice until the disease had significantly developed. This is why it is so important that you have your vision checked periodically – annually. One of the tests that your eye doctor will do is one for glaucoma.
Causes
- High level of stress – has been implicated as a major cause of chronic glaucoma. For example, stress causes us to breath shallowly, which reduces the amount of oxygen in the bloodstream, causing venous backflow in the head. This effects the eye’s ability to revolve eye fluids, which results in increased pressure. Although we do not know exactly how the optic nerve is damaged in glaucoma, one common factor in all cases of glaucoma is a lack of bloodflow to the retina and optic nerve. This results in retinal nerve cell death, enlargement of the optic cup, and loss of vision.
- Nutritional Deficiencies and Poor Digestion – Often sufferers of glaucoma are deficient in some or many of the important nutrients including essential fatty acids, lutein, zeaxanthin, taurine, antioxidants, bioflavenoids, zinc, selenium, vitamin B-complex.
- Poor digestion often results from a lack of hydrochloric acid in the stomach needed to breakdown food, which becomes more common as we age. Use of excessive antibiotics is also a prime culprit in poor digestion due to the killing of important stomach flora.
- Family History of Glaucoma
- Other chronic diseases that can raise IOP’s include obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease (insufficient blood flow to the eyes), thyroid disease (hyperthyroidism) which due to prominent eyes, the eyes are exposed to increased pressure from intraorbital swelling.
- Being African-American (glaucoma is the leading cause of blindness among this population)
- Extreme nearsightedness or farsightedness (higher level and a risk of angle closure)
- Steroid use, often in the form of eyedrops, nosedrops or inhalants (elevates IOL pressure mildly in approximately 16% of people on steroids).
- Heavy computer use – it is thought that heavy computer use can contribute to glaucoma, especially in those who are short-sighted.
Take Care!
Marc Grossman
