Eyedrops Count!

Once a year it is wise to schedule a 'brown bag' session with your primary care doctor. What's the brown bag for? Use a brown bag to haul ALL of your medications for the doctor to inspect. You probably are taking pills prescribed by some specialist about which your primary doc is unaware. This can avoid serious adverse drug interactions, like when some high blood pressure pills are combined with some antidepressants. Antibiotics can cause all kinds of havoc.

When you are loading your brown bag make sure you also include your daily vitamins, nutritional supplements, over-the-counter remedies (many OTC drugs were recent Rx drugs, right?)

Finally, do not neglect to add your EYEDROPS. In order for eyedrops to penetrate the clear cornea they are very concentrated...lots of active drug in one tiny eyedrop. It may surprise you to learn what kinds of chemicals are in eyedrops: alpha agonists, beta-blockers, nonsteroidals, cholinergics, carbonic anhydrase inhibitors, prostaglandin analogs. There are real medicines that can interact with whatever other pills you consume, and your primary care doctor is likely unaware of all the different drugs you are taking.

If your doctor seems disinterested consider a brown bag visit with your local pharmacist. Someone other than you needs to know the complete story about your medication regimen.

Related Topics: Find a Medication, WebMD Video: Cut Medication Errors: Device Double-Checks Medication

Technorati Tags: medication interaction, medication errors, glaucoma, eyedrops, brown bag visit

Eye Troubles by the Dozen

Eye specialists in England are reporting troubling statistics about a popular prank - egg hurling! Nearly everyone is familiar with the mischievous practice of 'egging' someone's doorsteps or automobile. A quick hosing and the mess is eliminated, no genuine harm done. It seems that British troublemakers have taken it one step further and have started hurling raw eggs directly at innocent passers-by. Supposedly, this practice gains popularity around Halloween. Heads up guv'nor!

Click here to read the entire eggs-pose.

Like other pranks that begin as 'good clean fun', egg hurling is remarkably dangerous. Since a thrown egg is essentially a high-energy, noncompressible, fluid-filled missile, the potential for personal injury is real. In just a year one UK eye clinic treated 13 eye injuries caused by flying eggs. Every patient was a young male (duhh?)

The weight and oval shape of the egg can cause serious eye trauma. The problem is unusually worrisome not only because of the immediate hemorrhage and internal eye damage, but also because such injuries lead to serious problems later in life - problems like glaucoma. If you ask me, anyone who throws an egg at another human is cracked!

Import the Beatles, import Monty Python, even import Simon Cowell, but I recommend we not import egg hurling.

Related Topics: WebMD Video: The Teen Brain, Halloween Safety Tips


Technorati Tags: egg hurling, eye injury, halloween

Spinach Solution Needed

It's terrible that fresh spinach has been recalled because of E. coli contamination. There are few produce items that offer more nutritional value.

I probably should have said 'packed a nutritional wallop' because most folks think of Popeye whenever the subject of spinach is raised. Remember, Popeye ate cooked, canned spinach and much of the nutritional benefits were left behind at the cannery.

Popeye has always worried me. Why did he always have one eye closed? Perhaps it was a droopy eyelid - we call that ptosis. As a curious ophthalmologist I need to know these things! Speaking of Popeye characters, as a parent I also need to know about Sweet Pea - who was the father?

Anyway, back to spinach. You likely know that there's plenty of iron in fresh spinach. Hopefully fresh spinach will return promptly to the market. To maximize iron absorption enjoy a fresh spinach salad with a non-dairy, noncarbonated beverage. Juices with Vitamin C maximize iron absorption so think about some OJ with your spinach.

Some call spinach a super food. It is low in calories but dense in nutrients including calcium, folate, iron, magnesium, vitamin C and vitamin A. Spinach contributes to maintaining bone structure, preventing neural tube defects, assisting in red blood cell production, regulating our heartbeat, and fighting free radicals. Spinach is also a powerful source of Lutein and Zeaxanthin, two carotenoid phytonutrients that vision researchers suggest are essential in the fight against Age-Related Macular Degeneration.

We've had product recalls before. Think Tylenol. They'll fix the problem and we will all be safer and healthier for the changes enacted by this food contamination crisis.

Related Topics: All about E.coli Infections, 5 Heart-Healthy Foods

Technorati Tags: fresh spinach, product recall, e.Coli

BOO!!! Already Thinking Halloween

With just a month or so before Halloween you can easily find costume displays and those seasonal Halloween stores that temporarily operate in vacant stores. Contact lenses have become an increasingly popular costume 'accessory'. Customized contacts have been used in film production for decades. There are hundreds of different styles and many different ways to acquire them.


Originally eye doctors prescribed therapeutic contact lenses to help people see. Next came cosmetic contact lenses, (with or without corrective power), that were tinted to change eye color appearance. Now there's a huge market for theatrical or costume contacts. These lenses bear a printed design that completely changes the appearance of the entire eye. The consumer is able to peek through a small central clear zone.

Even if they are only meant for short-term wear, costume contact lenses are still a medical device. The potential for risks persist: poor fit, corneal abrasions, infection, etc. If you have never worn contact lenses before Halloween is not the best time to experiment with them.

Purchase costume contact lenses only from reputable eyewear vendors. Stay away from flea markets!

Yeah, I know, I'm a real party-pooper!

If you have successfully worn contact lenses make sure any costume lenses correspond with your current lens parameters. It wouldn't hurt to let your prescribing eye doctor examine the fit - it only takes a few minutes.

Be extremely careful regarding hygiene and handwashing. If you develop an infected corneal ulcer it will likely ruin your Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas!

One final precaution; if you need spectacles or contact lenses to see clearly outdoors at night how do you plan to get around only wearing your 'monster eyes'?

Related Topics: Contact Lens Care, Higher Prices for Contact Lenses?

Technorati Tags: halloween, costume, contact lenses

Fall Eye Allergies: Nowhere to Hide?

Most folks associate seasonal allergies with springtime, but just as many people endure months of congestion and itchiness during autumn.

Fall allergies are different than the springtime version. The chief culprits are ragweed pollen and molds, whereas grasses and blooming flowers create misery in April. Urban dwellers are not exempt because airborne ragweed pollen can travel 400 miles before settling in your nostrils. A single ragweed plan generates over 1 billion pollen particles...a-choo!

If you take prescription allergy medication you may need to start taking the medicine now before symptoms begin. A mast cell stabilizer like cromolyn sodium is a good example. It doesn't do much good once you start itching. Check with your pharmacist.

Simple ways to minimize Fall allergies include:

• Avoid outdoor activities during midday (peak pollen period)
• Keep windows closed whenever possible
• Shower before bedtime
• Keep your pets indoor or bathe frequently. Cats and dogs transport loads of pollen into the house.
• Skip the clothesline and use an automatic dryer for wet laundry.
• Apply chilled, preservative-free artificial tears for itchy, irritated eyes

Fall allergy season typically runs until the first hard frost occurs. Then we start worrying about indoor allergies, right?

Related Topics: Relieve Allergies the Natural Way, Allergy Triggers & Treatments: WebMD Video

Technorati Tags: allergies, ragweed, mold

Hey! Who's Holding that Needle?

There is a huge flap in North Carolina involving ophthalmic and optometric scope of practice (a buzzword for who-can-do-what to patients).

NC Optometrists attempted to get legislation passed that would, for the first time, authorize ODs to perform therapeutic injections in the eyelids and around the eye.

Click here to read one published version of the controversy.

Ophthalmologists are licensed physicians who have completed medical school, internship, residency (specialty) training, and often a post-residency subspecialty fellowship - often 9 years training after college.

Optometrists are vision care providers but they are not trained surgeons and do not hold a medical degree or a license to practice medicine. The scope of practice debate has lasted decades.

Similar competition exists between orthopaedic surgeons/podiatrists, psychiatrists/psychologists, and anesthesiologists/nurse anesthetists. Money (insurance reimbursements) is the traditional catalyst. Surprised? I didn't think so!

It is always wise to know the full qualifications of the health professional before you let someone poke you with a needle anywhere near your eyes.

Related Topics: A Who's Who of Eye Care Specialists, Visiting Your Eye Doctor

Technorati Tags: eye care, optometry, ophthalmology

See Beyond the Smoke

The other day someone asked me to name one positive step they could take to preserve their eyesight as the grow older.

The obvious answer, I guess, would be something like , "Get periodic eye exams with a glaucoma pressure check." If it is such a predictable, obvious reply then I should say something different.

"Stop smoking!"

How does cigarette smoking influence vision and the health of the eyes? It's been known for a long time that smokers get cataracts earlier in life than nonsmokers, but the big impact comes with Age-Related Macular Degeneration - the most common cause of irreversible vision loss in folks over 60. Smoking contributes to the development and progression of ARMD.

Stop smoking and you will reduce your risk of developing vision loss due to ARMD.

Now the good part, there's a better way to stop smoking, better than all pervious smoke cessation treatments. It is a new prescription pill called Chantix (Varenicline, Pfizer). Other medications have been used (reformulated antidepressants, anti-seizure pills, etc.) but Chantrix is the first FDA-approved pill specifically formulated to help smokers quit. And it does!

New clinical data in this month's Archives of Internal Medicine (published by AMA) offers very promising results involving first-time quitters and repeaters.

Chantix blocks the site where nicotine pleases the brain. Two good things happen: the person no longer craves nicotine and they do not receive the nicotine 'reward'. This approach is very different than nicotine replacement (gum, patches, sprays) because the nonsmoker is still consuming daily nicotine! They still crave nicotine and the pleasure triggered by nicotine.

True, it is a healthy step to eliminate the dirty cigarettes, however, the nicotine addiction persists. Nicotine is a very powerful stimulant and it is easily abused. I've had patients wearing 2 patches, chewing nic gum, and still smoke!

Until the nicotine vaccine arrives (2009?) Chantix may be the very best option to help smokers quit for good and help preserve their good eyesight.

Related Topics: Have Migraines? Smoking May Be a Trigger, Design A Personalized Quit Plan

Technorati Tags: ARMD, Chantix, quit smoking

Eye Research: How Do I Get Involved?

So much health news coverage is devoted to the outcomes of clinical research studies. It is always exciting to learn about medical breakthroughs, but where did the researchers find the patients?

Are you thinking about enrolling in a clinical trial? Perhaps you are a healthy volunteer, a good citizen. Maybe you have been diagnosed with macular degeneration or optic neuritis. Will study participation get you any closer to a cure? Statistically, the brutal answer is "not likely" but your participation will advance scientific knowledge and that is what good research is all about.

Your local eye doctor is the logical first step to inquire about enrolling in a clinical study. Make sure the study conforms to all of the ethical guidelines relating to human investigational studies. Ask the doctor if they have any financial involvement in the project - the answer may surprise you!

You can also explore the online database of available clinical research studies that are approved by the National Eye Institute. Click here to see what types of vision problems are currently being studied.

New discoveries in the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders depend on the generosity of research volunteers. Interested?

Related Topics: Clinical Trials: Cutting-Edge Care, Americans Want More Medical Research

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Fixable Mistakes with New Eyeglasses

It's always disheartening to try on new prescription eyewear and sense they are not right: things appear blurry, tilted, worse than your old glasses. Hey, what's the problem?

Sometimes the prescription is completely accurate and you simply need to adapt to the revised correction - it might take hours, days, weeks. Changes in astigmatism correction (cylinder axis and power) are often responsible.

Let's say that is not the case; how do you get satisfaction? Fabrication of new eyewear involves many different steps and at each step there is a chance for errors to occur.

First, ask the optician to verify the prescription. That is to say, confirm that the corrective power in each lens matches what was written on the prescription slip. The Federal Trade Commission says nearly one-third of prescription glasses are sold with measurable errors. It could happen to you: reversed plus and minus signs, mismatched eyes, incorrect lens powers, inappropriate lens curvatures, misaligned bifocal segments, the list is truly endless!

If no spectacle errors are identified have the optician contact the eye clinic to verify that the handwritten prescription slip matches what the eye doctor wrote in the clinic chart. Document transcription errors are very common in busy clinics.

By now most goof-ups are identified and corrected at no charge to the customer. If you still cannot see well with the new eyeglasses take them to your eye doctor who can repeat the above steps, just in case the optician is obfuscating. At the same time your eye doctor can quickly repeat the refraction and compare the results with the earlier measurements. Yes, it's true, doctors make mistakes, too!

Be a savvy healthcare consumer. Don't pay for eyewear that you know does not work. It is very likely that a mixup has occurred - usually a very fixable mixup.

Related Topics: Eat Your Veggies, Keep Your Vision, Fish Oil May Help Save Your Eyes

Technorati Tags: glasses, bifocals, prescription errors