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5 Tips for Managing Winter Dry Eye

Most of us suffer from Dry Eye Disease, especially in the cold winter months.

Winter weather means lower humidity, colder winds, and stuffy indoor heat. This combination can make for conditions that irritate your eyes. Moisture evaporates more quickly, so you may notice grittiness, irritation, and a stuck feeling.

The good news is that simple measures can help ease the discomfort of winter dry eye. Here at Hannes Zwarts Optometrists, we recommend the following:

1.    Add humidity

A humidifier added to your bedroom, living areas, and office can go a long way in restoring valuable moisture to heated air. Some in-house systems are available, too, but a portable machine to add humidity to the air where you spend the most time can effectively lubricate your eyes and reduce gritty dryness.

2.    Don’t sit in front of heat

When you’re in the car, direct the heat toward your body — not your face.  Even the defroster can bounce air off the windshield and contribute to eye dryness. Try defrosting before you start driving.

This goes for space heaters around your desk or favorite chair, too. And if you’re around an open fire, protect your eyes from overuse because smoke from a wood-burning fire accelerates the evaporation of tears from your eyes. Position yourself some distance from the flames.

3.    Protect your eyes from wind and cold

A good pair of sunglasses isn’t just for the beach. Your eyes get protection from the sun and drying winds of winter by wearing a quality pair of glasses with sun protection. We can help you find just the right pair. A hat with a visor can offer further protection.

4.    Drink water and other fluids

Stay hydrated to maintain moisture in your eyes. You may not feel as thirsty in winter, but drink plenty of fluids to keep your membranes moist. Water is a good choice, but other sources of fluid — such as fresh fruit, juice, and herbal tea — also help keep you hydrated.

5.    Manage screen time

Dry eyes, in winter and at other times, are exacerbated by excessive screen time. When you’re using your phone, computer, tablet, or other digital screen, take regular pauses.

Sitting in front of a screen causes you to blink less, which means fewer tears distribute over your eyeballs. Look away every 20 minutes as a good rule. When you do pause, gaze at something about 20 feet away for 20 seconds to encourage blinking. It’s easy to get wrapped up in what you’re doing and forget to take these breaks, so set a timer if you have trouble remembering on your own.

And, if at-home measures don’t work to reduce your discomfort or you experience dry eyes year-round, make an appointment at our practice for a more thorough evaluation of your dry eyes. We can offer hypochlorous products or punctal plugs to help control excess tear drainage. Feel free to contact the practice or schedule an appointment online to set up your consultation.

Source: veyep2000

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A new patching alternative for “lazy eye”

We now offer an alternative treatment to patching for amblyopia, also commonly referred to as “lazy eye”. Flicker Glass is developed by Eyetronix. Based in Silicon Valley, Eyetronix is focused on understanding real needs of the vision care community and developing practical and innovative electronic eyewear solutions.

Flicker Glass is designed to overcome many shortcomings of traditional “occlusion” treatments such as patching and atropine therapy. Standard occlusion, though rudimentary, can be effective in improving visual acuity – but only with high compliance starting from a young age. The discomfort, disruption, and social and psychological stigma associated with patching can make compliance difficult and cause undue burden and stress for the parent and child. Compliance with patching can also take a long commitment – two to six hours each day, often for half a year or longer.

Improvements with current therapies may be temporary, and monocular occlusion can introduce or exacerbate other visual challenges, such as problems with eye teaming, depth perception and effective hand-eye coordination – impacting quality of life. Visual acuity has historically been the standard measure of improvement with patching, but it is just one element of vision performance. From a patient care perspective, exploring ways to treat underlying suppression and improve stereopsis may have more meaningful benefits.

Eye care professionals are increasingly focusing on binocular therapy approaches. Eyetronix Flicker Glass is a simple, wearable tool for binocular therapy that integrates known principles of the visual system and flicker, combined with the clinical experience of practicing eye care professionals. 

Flicker Glass uses rapid alternating occlusion, at flicker frequencies shown in research to help break suppression. Instead of occluding to penalize one eye and forcing the signal from the other eye, the theory is that using flicker can gently stimulate the visual system and encourage both eyes to naturally work together, ultimately aiding in the restoration of binocular vision and depth perception.

Flicker Glass offers a novel, more natural, intuitive approach to binocular vision conditions.

Flicker Glass was created to help avoid the struggle and burden otherwise associated with current traditional therapies. It may be worn for just 1-2 hours a day, while enjoying regular home activities like reading, doing puzzles, watching TV, or playing video games. Flicker Glass does not require specific, repetitive exercises. With Flicker Glass, binocular therapy is less obtrusive and can fit with any lifestyle and schedule.

Using advanced liquid crystal technology, Flicker Glass delivers precisely controlled, rapid alternating occlusion at flicker rates shown in vision science research to effectively break suppression.

In contrast to current available treatments, Eyetronix Flicker Technology is based on research of sensory function in the visual pathway between the eyes and the brain. In normal binocular vision, both eyes focus on an … to create one stereoscopic (3D) image. When a disorder in binocular vision is present, however, a neurological problem causes the brain to favor one eye and suppress vision in the other.

Therefore, the key to breaking suppression is to “wake up” that sensory pathway and encourage the brain to accept visual sensory signals from both eyes. The Eyetronix Flicker Technology approach is to gently stimulate the visual system to break suppression and restore the normal binocular fusion process to perceive one 3D image.

In a recent clinical study conducted with Flicker Glass, results showed significant improvement in both visual acuity and stereopsis – even into older age ranges typically considered more challenging to treat. Study investigators were impressed with the remarkable levels of compliance, and patients and parents rated Flicker Glass highly on ease of use, comfort, and preference over traditional monocular therapies. From a quality of life perspective, reports of improved reading and sports performance supported the overall positive evaluation of this novel Flicker Glass experience.

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Infant Vision – How Your Baby Should Learn To See

Your baby has a whole lifetime to see and learn. But, did you know your baby also has to learn to see?

As a parent, there are many things that you can do to help your baby’s vision develop.  First, proper prenatal care and nutrition can help your baby’s eyes develop even before birth.

At birth, your baby’s eyes should be examined for signs of congenital eye conditions. These are rare, but early diagnosis and treatment are important to your child’s development.

At about age six months, you should take your baby to your optometrist for his or her first thorough eye examination. Things that the optometrist will test for include excessive or unequal amounts of nearsightedness, farsightedness or astigmatism and eye movement ability as well as eye health problems. These problems are not common, but it is important to identify children who have it at this stage. Visual development and eye health problems can be more easily corrected if treatment starts early.

Unless you notice a need, or your optometrist advises you otherwise, your child’s next examination should be around age three, and then again before he or she starts school at about six years.

Between birth and age three, when many of your baby’s visual skills will develop, there are ways that you can help:

  • During the first four months of life, your baby should begin to follow moving objects with the eyes and reach for things.  First by chance and later more accurately.  As hand-eye coordination and depth perception begin to develop, this will improve.
  • To help with this development, use a nightlight or other dim lamp in your baby’s room; change the crib’s position frequently as well as your child’s position in it. 
  • Keep reach-and-touch toys within your baby’s focus, about eight to twelve inches.  
  • Talk to your baby as you walk around the room. 
  • Alternate right and left sides with each feeding, and hang a mobile above and outside the crib.
  • Between four and eight months:  Your baby should begin to turn from side to side and use his or her arms and legs. Eye movement and eye-body coordination skills should develop further and both eyes should focus equally.
  • You should enable your baby to explore different shapes and textures with his or her fingers. 
  • Give your baby the freedom to crawl and explore. 
  • Hang objects across the crib and play  “peek-a-boo” with your baby.
  • From eight to twelve months:  Your baby should be mobile now, crawling and pulling himself or herself up. He or she will begin to use both eyes together and judge distances and grasp and throw objects with greater precision.
  • To support development don’t encourage early walking – crawling is important in developing eye-hand-foot-body coordination.
  • Give your baby stacking and take-apart toys and provide objects your baby can touch, hold and see at the same time.

From one to two years, your child’s eye-hand coordination and depth perception will continue to develop and he or she will begin to understand abstract terms. Things you can do are:

●       Encourage walking;

●       Provide building blocks

●       Assemble simple puzzles

●       Play with balls

●       Provide opportunities to climb and explore in and outdoors.

There are many other affectionate and loving ways in which you can aid your baby’s visual development. Use your creativity and imagination. Ask your optometrist to suggest other specific activities.

Source: visioncorner.co.za

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Happy Birthday, Louise Braille!

We celebrate the life of Louis Braille every January with National Braille Literacy month! Read more about his life and the creation of the braille code.

Six dots — six bumps in different patterns spreading out over the page. What are they? Numbers, letters, words that make up stories, music, math, science — nearly anything that can be written! Who created this incredible code that allows people who are blind to both read and write? None other than Louis Braille (1809-1852), a French teenager who was blind and wanted very much to learn.

Louis was from a small town called Coupvray, near Paris—he was born on January 4 in 1809. Louis became blind by accident, when he was 3 years old. Deep in his father’s harness workshop, Louis tried to be like his dad, but it went very wrong. He grabbed an awl, a sharp tool for making holes in leather and the tool slipped hurting his eye. The wound got infected, and the infection spread. Soon, Louis was blind in both eyes.

Suddenly, Louis needed a new way to learn. He stayed at his old school for two more years, but he couldn’t learn everything just by listening. Things were looking up when Louis received a scholarship to the Royal Institution for Blind Youth in Paris when he was 10. But even there, most of the teachers just talked at the students. The library had only 14 huge books with raised letters that were very hard to read—and there was no way for Louis to write. 

In 1821, a former soldier named Charles Barbier visited the school. Barbier shared his invention called “night writing,” a code of 12 raised dots that let soldiers share top-secret information on the battlefield in the dark. The code was hard for the soldiers to learn, but not for 12-year-old Louis!

Louis reduced the number of dots in each character from Barbier’s 12 dots to 6 dots. This allowed all of the dots that made a single character to be touched at once with the fingertip.

Louis continued to improve the system, which was mostly completed by the time he was 15. Louis published the first-ever braille book in 1829, which described his method of reading and writing.

But did he stop there? No way! In 1837, he added symbols for math and music. The students loved Louis’ new code, but it took the teachers and directors at the Royal Institution many years to accept it. Louis himself taught at the Royal Institution, but braille wasn’t taught there until after his death. Braille began to spread worldwide in 1868, when a group of British men, now known as the Royal National Institute for the Blind, took up the cause.

Now practically every country in the world uses braille. Braille books have double-sided pages, which saves a lot of space. Braille signs help people who are blind get around in public spaces. Computerized devices with changing refresh-able braille displays can connect to smartphones or computers. And most importantly, blind people can communicate independently.

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Diabetic Eye Disease

November is Diabetic Eye Disease Awareness Month: What you should know

Many people know that diabetes can seriously impact a person’s blood pressure, heart health, and stroke risk, but not everyone realizes that the disease is just as dangerous for the eyes.

If you have diabetes, you are more likely to develop glaucoma, cataracts, and diabetic retinopathy.

What is Diabetic Retinopathy?

The inside surface of your eye is lined with a thin, light-sensitive tissue called the retina. Nerve cells in the retina convert light to electrical impulses that are sent to the brain via the optic nerve. It is then translated into images. The nerve cells and tissues in the retina rely on nourishment from tiny blood vessels. In diabetic people, too-high blood sugar levels cause those blood vessels to leak, swell or cease functioning altogether. This condition is known as diabetic retinopathy.  

The late stage of diabetic retinopathy causes new blood vessels to grow and leak into the eye’s vitreous fluid. These new vessels may form scar tissue. This leads to a detached retina and ultimately causes partial or complete blindness. That abnormal blood vessel growth is called proliferative diabetic retinopathy and affects about 1 in 20 people living with the condition. 

What is Diabetic Macular Edema?

The macula is part of your retina located at the back of your eye and is responsible for your central vision. Macular edema occurs when those swelling blood vessels leak into the macula, causing it to thicken, swell and distort your vision. That may not always lead to blindness or severe vision loss, but it can significantly impact your central vision or ability to see details. Diabetic macular edema is a common problem as diabetic retinopathy progresses. 

Are you at risk for Diabetic Eye Disease?

People living with uncontrolled diabetes are at high risk for diabetic eye disease. Other factors that may increase your likelihood of retina damage and vision loss include: 

  • Long-term diabetes
  • Poor management of blood glucose 
  • Smoking 
  • High blood pressure and cholesterol
  • Pregnancy
  • Kidney disease 

The only way to diagnose diabetic retinopathy early is through regular eye examinations that search for disease indications in diabetic patients. 

Why Diabetic Eye Disease Awareness Month is important

  1. Diabetic Eye Disease is Scary – Think about all the ways you use your eyes, and now think about how you would feel if you were to gradually lose your eyesight. Diabetic eye disease, also known as diabetic retinopathy, is a group of eye conditions affecting people with diabetes. These conditions include cataracts (clouding of the eye’s lens), glaucoma (elevated pressure inside the eye), and macular swelling (optic nerve damage). If you have blurry or frequently changing vision, experience dark areas or vision loss, or if you see “floaters” or flashes of light, consult your optometrist immediately.
  2. All types of diabetes can trigger eye disease – It’s just a fact that if you suffer from diabetes, you have a greater chance of having an eye disease than someone who doesn’t. Every type of diabetes makes you vulnerable, which is why early detection with regular eye exams is key. People with types 1 and 2 diabetes need annual exams. Pregnant women with both types 1 and 2 need exams prior to pregnancy or at least during the first trimester. 
  3. Prevention means dilating your eyes – If you have diabetes, you need a more in-depth exam where the eye doctor dilates your eyes. This means you will receive drops in your eyes to make the pupils larger. This allows the optometrist to fully see the back of each eye including the retina, blood vessels, and optic nerve. After your eyes are dilated, don’t panic if your vision is slightly blurry for a couple of hours — but make sure to arrange for transportation.

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