Do you have floaters in your vision?

Floaters are caused by thick areas in the gel-like fluid that fills the back cavity of your eye, called the vitreous.

Many people, especially highly near-sighted people, often see some degree of floaters for a good portion of their lives. Often, these floaters are in the periphery of your vision and may only be visible in certain lighting conditions. The most frequent conditions are when you are in bright sunlight and are looking toward the clear blue sky. This I know from personal experience as I have a floater in my left eye that I most often see when swimming outdoors. Every time I turn my head to the left to breathe I see this floater moving in my peripheral vision.

This is totally harmless other than when I’m swimming in the ocean and swear that sudden object in my peripheral vision is a shark bearing down on me. Some people who have floaters are not as lucky and the floater can be very central and almost constantly annoying, […]

The Centers for Disease Control estimates that more than 1.6 million people in the United States suffer a concussion – or traumatic brain injury – every year, and vision can be affected.

The rate of childhood TBI visits to the emergency department more than doubled between 2001 and 2009, making children more likely than any other group to go to the ER with concussion symptoms.

It was once assumed that the hallmark of a concussion was a loss of consciousness. More recent evidence, however, does not support that. In fact, the majority of people diagnosed with a concussion do not experience any loss of consciousness. The most common immediate symptoms are amnesia and confusion.

There also are multiple visual symptoms that can occur with a concussion, either initially or during the recovery phase.

Visual symptoms after a concussion include:

• Blurred vision.

• Difficulty reading.

• Double vision.

• Light sensitivity.

• Headaches accompanying visual tasks.

• Loss of peripheral vision.

Most people with visual complaints after a […]

Living an overall healthy life is good for your eyes. Healthy vision starts with healthy eating and exercise habits.

There's more to complete eye health than just carrots. Are you eating food that promotes the best vision possible? Learn what foods boost your eye well-being and help protect against diseases. Here are important nutrients to look for when selecting your foods.

• Beta carotene or Vitamin A (helps the retina function smoothly): carrots and apricots
• Vitamin C (reduce risk of macular degeneration and cataracts): citrus and blueberries
• Vitamin E (hinders progression of cataracts and AMD): almonds and sunflower seeds
• Riboflavin (helps your eyes adapt in changes in light): broccoli and bell peppers
• Lutein (antioxidant to maintain health while aging): spinach and avacado
• Zinc (transfers vitamin A to the retina for eye-protective melanin productions and helps with night vision): beans and soy beans
• DHA (helps prevent Dry Eye): Fatty fish like salmon and tuna

Keep in mind, cooked food devalues the precious live enzymes, so some of these foods are best eaten raw.

Video credit: National […]

Motherhood.., the sheer sound of it brings enduring memories. A mother’s touch, her voice, her cooking, and the smile of approval in her eyes. Science has recently proven that there is a transference of emotion and programming from birth and infancy between a mother and her child… a type of communication, if you will, that occurs when the infant looks into its mother’s eyes. So what is this programming? How does it work and what effect does it have on the life of the child? What happens if it never happened to the infant? What happens if the mother is blind? These questions and more can be answered through a term called “triadic exchanges” in which infants learn social skills.

The gaze into a mother’s eyes brings security and well being to the child. When she gazes at another person, it makes the infant look at what she is gazing at, and introduces the infant to others in the world. This is known as a triadic exchange. So now their world is no longer just one […]

The Sixties………….War, peace, expressing yourself, the Civil Rights movement, and the Beatles. One of the biggest hits of the era was “Here Comes the Sun” by the Beatles. 

In the health care world, the sun plays a balancing role in delivering its rays to our bodies to help produce Vitamin D. Many people who work indoors are directed to take Vitamin D supplements because of lack of exposure to the sunshine, Conversely, people who are outside a lot have a risk of overexposure causing skin cancer.

The eyes are at risk as well. If sunglasses are not worn, there is a greater risk for cataracts or skin cancers of the eyelids. It is important to know that not all sunglasses are made alike. UV A, B, and C rays are the harmful rays that sunglasses need to protect us from.

However, many over the counter sunglasses do not have UV protection built into the lenses, which can actually cause more damage especially in children. 80% of sun exposure in our lives comes in childhood. Without UV protection […]

Have you ever felt a twitching sensation in your eye? Were you sure everyone was looking at you because of it? Worried it is the beginning of a big problem?

Relax, it’s not likely to be a big deal. Most of the time it is not even visible to other people.

First, it’s almost never your actual eyeball that is twitching; it’s your eyelid muscle. The actual eye twitching is fairly rare and would cause the vision to be fairly blurry if the eyeball was really twitching.

The eyelid has a muscle in it that closes the eyelid and that muscle has a very high concentration of nerve innervation. Because of that dense nerve tissue in the eyelid, anything that makes your nervous system a little hyped up or off kilter can result in the eyelid twitching.

What are some of the risk factors for eyelid twitching?

Fatigue

Not getting enough sleep can result in your nervous system not performing at its best and one of the results of that may include twitching of your eyelid. […]

There are many options available to adults and children when it comes to wearing corrective lenses (glasses and contacts) when engaged in physical activities.

Here is a look at the different modalities and the pros and cons of each:

Prescription Sports Goggles (i.e. Rec Specs)

The main benefits of goggles when playing sports are stability of vision and eye protection. When playing fast-moving sports, like basketball, soccer, rugby, etc., elbows, wrists, and heads are flying around at high speed, increasing the risk of eye injury. The eyes and eye sockets can be protected when covered by shatter-proof lenses. Additionally, there is no worry of having a contact lens pop out of your eye, which can be a debilitating experience for some people. The main drawback to goggles is that they can be cumbersome, decrease peripheral vision, and fog up. Additionally, very high prescriptions might not be available to make due to frame limitations. On the whole, this is a very good option for many people. One additional advantage to sports goggles is that in many cases […]

Millions of people are affected by dry eye syndrome and the prevalence of dry eye increases with age. An estimated 3.2 million women and over and 1.68 million men age 50 and over are affected by dry eye syndrome.

Here are some risk factors for dry eye:

Aging: Advancing age is the single most important risk factor for dry eye. Most of our body’s moisture-producing glands produce less moisture as we age.

Gender: Women are twice as likely as men to suffer from dry eye. Changes in hormone levels throughout your lifetime often affect the amount of moisture produced by the lacrimal glands that produce tears.

Medical problems: Several diseases result in increased risk for dry eye syndrome, including rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, thyroid abnormalities, asthma, cataracts, glaucoma, and lupus.

Medication: Certain medications can decrease the body's ability to produce lubricating tears.

Contact lenses: Dry eye is the leading cause of contact lens discomfort or intolerance.

Environmental conditions: Exposure to smoke, fluorescent lights, air pollution, wind, heat, air conditioning, and dry climates can increase tear evaporation.

Computer users: People who spend many hours […]

Choosing a new pair of eyeglasses can be a daunting task.

Making a decision on what style glasses you will be wearing for the next year until your vision is checked again can be stressful. This is one of the many reasons opticians are here for you. In many ways, this may be the most important task for the optician, because keeping you happy motivates you to wear your glasses daily.

Most people’s reaction is to play it safe with new glasses and stick with something relatively similar to what they are currently wearing.

While not necessarily a bad decision, this isn’t something opticians try to promote. Opticians often spend time meeting with frame representatives and browsing the Internet to keep up with the ever-changing trends in the world of eyeglass frames. And it’s a great feeling to successfully “update” your image with a new set of frames. Many patients are amazed at the difference a well-fit and -styled pair of glasses makes on their overall look.

There are many simple tips and tricks to consider […]

Choroidal nevus is the fancy word for a freckle in the back of the eye.

This lesion arises from a collection of cells that make pigment in the choroid, which lines the back of the retina and supplies the retina with nutrients. These choroidal nevi (plural of nevus) are usually grayish in color and develop in about 5-10% of the adult population. They are usually asymptomatic and detected during a routine dilated eye exam.

Just like any freckle on our body, we should monitor it for any change in size or growth.  This is usually done with a photograph of the nevus and usually annual exams are recommended to monitor any change.  

In addition to a photograph, other tests that can be used to monitor the nevus are:

• Optical coherence tomography – a test that uses light waves to take cross-section pictures of the retina. This test is used to detect if the nevus is elevated or if fluid is present underneath the retina.
• Ultrasound – uses sound waves to measure the size and […]