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Easy New Year’s Resolution: Get A Comprehensive Eye Exam

December 20th, 2011 by Dr. Val Jones in Health Tips
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Most people assume that their eyes are healthy if their vision is stable, but this is not always the case. Eye doctors look for many different potential diseases and conditions during a comprehensive eye exam, and if you (or your children or loved ones) haven’t had one recently then maybe it’s time to make it a New Year’s resolution for 2012?

One CDC survey suggests that as many as 34.6% of adults over the age of 40 (with moderate to severe visual impairment) believe that they don’t need regular eye exams. This popular misconception may lead to missed diagnoses. Eye doctors look for signs of diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, brain tumors, cataracts, macular degeneration, retinal tears, allergies and infections (among other things) each time they conduct a comprehensive eye exam. The exam offers a lot more than a simple vision check. And this is particularly important for children.

In a recent interview with the president of the American Optometric Association (AOA), Dr. Dori Carlson, I learned the surprising statistic that about 1 in 4 school age children have an undetected or undiagnosed vision problem. School vision screenings, while helpful, still miss more than 75% of these problems. And for those kids who are discovered to have a vision problem during a school screening, upwards of 40% receive no follow up after the diagnosis.

The eyes are more than a “window to the soul” but a window to general physical health. And the good news is that exams are relatively inexpensive and painless – so why not resolve to make them part of your yearly health maintenance routine, starting in 2012? Let’s make 2012 a year for healthy vision!

• For more great information about eye health, please check out my Healthy Vision^TM podcast interviews with national eye experts:
  • Tips For Driving In The Dark
  • Tips For Enhancing Vision & Sports Performance
  • Tips For Childhood Eye Health
  • Tips For Safe Wear & Care Of Contact Lenses
  • Tips For Protecting Your Eyes From The Sun

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  Disclosure: Dr. Val Jones is a paid consultant for VISTAKON®, Division of Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc.
• Don’t have an eye doctor? Here’s a helpful database that you can use to locate one near you.
• Can’t afford an eye exam for your child? The InfantSee program (www.InfantSee.org) can match you up with eye care professionals who will perform the exam at no cost to you.

Researchers Develop Computerized Contact Lens

November 23rd, 2011 by Medgadget in News, Research
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We’re another step closer to integrating real time information into our vision. Researchers from the University of Washington and Aalto University Finland have engineered the first prototype of a computerized contact lens on which you can see information updates. They presented their findings today in IOP Publishing’s Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering.

The lens only contained one pixel, but by proving that the concept works without any adverse side effects, they can develop it into lenses with more pixels. This could eventually lead to contact lenses on which you can read your email and catch up on the news. A device like this could also Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at Medgadget*

Back To School Tip: Your Child May Need A Comprehensive Eye Exam

August 31st, 2011 by Dr. Val Jones in Audio, Expert Interviews
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Dori Carlson, O.D.

In a recent interview with the president of the American Optometric Association (AOA), Dr. Dori Carlson, I learned the surprising statistic that about 1 in 4 school age children have an undetected or undiagnosed vision problem. School vision screenings, while helpful, still miss more than 75% of these problems. And for those kids who are discovered to have a vision problem during a school screening, upwards of 40% receive no follow up after the diagnosis. Clearly, we need to do better at diagnosing and treating childhood visual deficits. My full conversation with Dr. Carlson can be listened to below:

Dr. Carlson told me that the solution involves Read more »

Camera Phone Clip-On Device Can Diagnose Cataracts

July 11th, 2011 by admin in News
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Researchers at MIT have developed a cheap and easy to use system, called Catra, that uses a cameraphone clip-on device to map out cataracts.

The technology functions by sweeping the eye with a beam of light and using the phone’s camera to detect fuzzy spots. It can provide both a map of the cataracts and maybe help make an overall assessment of whether surgery might be necessary.

From MIT News:

While the standard test for cataracts in an ophthalmologist’s office assigns a score on a scale of 1 to 4 — from no cataracts to completely blocked vision — the new, inexpensive test actually provides much more information. Media Lab graduate student Vitor Pamplona, a member of the team developing Catra, explains that it “scans the lens of the eye and creates a map showing position, size, shape and density of cataracts.” Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at Medgadget*

The Case Of A Chronic Corneal Abrasion

July 4th, 2011 by KerriSparling in True Stories
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Back at the beginning of May, the Bird took a swipe at my left eyeball with her little birdie talon, ripping off a nice, solid chunk of my cornea and leaving me in some serious pain.  It was a rough couple of days, especially because Chris was away for the week on business, but my family and friends pitched in to help with the baby and to allow me to heal.

I figured I was done with this issue.

“You may want to be careful about recurrence, Kerri.  With this kind of injury, it does happen.”  My eye doctor warned me, handing me a small tube of eye goop stuff.  “This is Muro 128.  Pull down your lower eyelid and smear this in there.  It will help keep your eye coated while you sleep.”

(Oh eyeball injuries.  You make me feel old, because if you Google “Muro 128,” you’ll see that this product is targeted at the 60+ crowd.  Throw in a few tennis balls for my walker and I’m ready for my debut at the bingo hall.)

I used the stuff, but it wasn’t enough Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at Six Until Me.*