Work-Related Eye Trauma: Know Your Risks

You may know that there are many things that can hurt your vision—smoking, poor nutrition, computer eye strain…but did you know that your day job could create an even bigger risk to your overall eye health than you realize?

Over 300,000 Americans suffer eye injuries on the job every day without realizing the damage that occurred could be long-term. While many companies do a huge part by training their employees on eye safety if they are in high-risk positions, it’s also important to take personal responsibility for your eye safety. Here are some common ways workers injure their eyes:

• Burns from flying sparks
• Chemical burns
• Welding fumes
• Flying particles
• Flying objects like metal or glass
• Tools
• Machine operator error

 

Even if you don’t work in a labor-intensive environment, you still may be exposed to a combination of these dangers. Be smart about your situation and protect your eyes with OSHA-compliant eye safety wear whenever possible. While it may not protect you from all injury, it can help reduce your risk and minimize any harm that may occur.  

Have you ever suffered an on-the-job eye injury? Share your experience in the comments below.

March is Save Your Vision Month

Did you know that more than 20 million Americans have severe vision loss? We know you can’t completely prevent all causes of vision loss and eye disease, but there are several things everyone can do to maintain healthy eyes and reduce their chances of vision loss in the future.

Because March is Save Your Vision Month, I’d like to talk about some of the most important things you can do to encourage strong, healthy eyesight for many years to come:

Wear your sunglasses. You can delay the development of cataracts and prevent retinal damage by wearing UV blocking sunglasses regularly when you’re outside or in your car. Make sure your sunglasses block 100% of both UV-A and UV-B rays.

Don’t Smoke. One of the best things you can do for your eyes is to steer clear of tobacco smoke. Studies show that people who smoke or who have smoked have a greater chance of developing age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and cataracts, in addition to many other adverse health issues.

Get your eyes checked regularly. Even if you have no obvious vision or eye-related issues, you should get your eyes checked so that we can create a baseline and catch any early signs of disease.

Wear eye protection. Every year, we see an estimated 2.5 million eye injuries each year in the U.S. It’s very important to actively prevent eye injuries by wearing proper eye protection during sports activities such as hockey and baseball and home projects such as home repairs, gardening, and cleaning.

Eat right. You’ve probably heard that eating carrots will help your vision. There’s definitely some truth to that, but you should also try to eat a variety of other vegetables and fruits on a regular basis. Vitamin deficiency can impair retinal function, and studies have found that people who ate more food containing antioxidants (see my blog post from last week to learn more) were less likely to develop early and advanced AMD.

Antioxidants and your eyes

Antioxidants are nutrients that defend cells from damage caused by molecules known as free radicals. Too many free radicals can cause eye health issues, including advanced age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Antioxidants help reduce the formation of free radicals and help protect and repair cells damaged by them.

We recommend a diet high in antioxidants, plus vitamin and mineral supplements, for all people with age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Some common antioxidants include vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, zinc, and selenium. You’ll usually find them in colorful fruits and vegetables, especially those with purple, blue, red, orange, and yellow hues.

What are your favorite antioxidant-rich foods? Feel free to share in the comments below!

Do contact lenses bother your eyes?

It’s not uncommon for people to complain that their contact lenses are uncomfortable. But whether you wear them every day or just occasionally, you shouldn’t feel discomfort or irritation when you wear your contact lenses. Let’s review some things you can do to ensure a great experience with your contact lenses every time you wear them.

Replace your lenses on schedule.
You should replace your lenses as often as suggested, even if you don’t wear them every day. Wearing lenses beyond their recommended use is a common reason for eye irritation, and it also increases your risk of developing serious eye infections.

Clean your lenses well.
There are several different systems for keeping your lenses clean. Many people use a multipurpose solution for cleaning, rinsing, disinfecting, and storing their contact lenses each day. While some solutions are marketed as “no-rub” solutions, we still find that rubbing your contacts thoroughly during the cleaning process increases comfort and better removes any film or debris. Always wash your hands before removing or inserting your contacts. If you use a lotion or moisturizer, wait until after you’re done handling your contacts, as residue from the lotion can stick to the contacts.

Don’t use water.
If you run out of contact lens solution, it’s tempting to use water as a backup for cleaning and storage. Don’t do it! Not only will it increase your discomfort, water often has microbes that can introduce infections and further irritate your eyes.

No saliva, either!
Like water, it’s tempting to use your own saliva when you don’t have solution with you to rinse and clean your contacts. But using saliva will also increase your risk of irritation and infection.

When they are really uncomfortable…
If your contact lenses are really uncomfortable, there may be some dust or other debris  clinging to your contacts and irritating your eyes. Remove your contacts and clean them thoroughly, letting your eyes rest before placing the lenses back in your eyes. Always be sure your contacts aren’t “inside out,” as they won’t feel good if they’re not inserted the right way. If they still don’t feel good, try giving your eyes more of a break by wearing glasses instead of contacts for a while. Allow your contacts to soak, or throw them out and start with a fresh pair.

Never let your eyes bother you for very long before seeing your eye doctor. You might have an allergy or eye infection that should be treated. We might be able to recommend another type of contact lens or cleaning and storage solution. Regardless, we’ll help identify the underlying reason for discomfort so that you can get back to enjoying clear and comfortable vision every day!

Is Eye Twitching Serious?

If you’ve ever been short on sleep or greatly-stressed, you might have also experienced repetitive, uncontrollable eye spasms known as blepharospasm, or eye twitching.

While it can be annoying, eye twitching is usually fairly painless and harmless, indicating nothing more than increased fatigue, stress, or caffeine intake. Once these issues are resolved, the eye twitching usually disappears.

In rarer cases, eye twitching will become chronic, affecting the individual’s quality of life or progressing to the point of severe vision impairment.

If an eye twitch doesn’t resolve itself within a few days, or your eye twitch is strong enough to close the entire eye or affect other areas of your face, you should make an appointment to be seen at our office to determine the underlying cause and begin any possible treatments.

Smart Contact Lenses?

The latest in vision technology will no longer need to be put over the eyes—it's becoming part of the eyes. With new contact lenses, able to see magnitudes further than normal glasses, now being experimented with, it's become obvious that vision science has taken a leap forward. First, it was called Google Glass. Now it's something else entirely.

They're called smart contact lenses, and together with a set of glasses inserted over them, they become a quick—and cool—way to view your daily apps. Never mind the ability to see farther than a human has seen before with ordinary lenses. You're also able to process what you see through your social filter, all in the blink of an eye.

The question now: when? Companies currently working on smart lenses hope they will one day replace smart phones as the device of choice. A bold plan to be sure, but one that is becoming increasingly possible.

As vision technology extends into surprising new frontiers, you can count on us to keep your vision and eye health our top priority!

What Causes “Double Vision”?

One eye health symptom we encounter is what we call “double vision,” or diplopia. While some causes of double vision are relatively insignificant, others are serious and should receive immediate medical attention.

Here are some of the common causes of double vision:

• Lens Problems. The most common lens problem that causes double vision is known Cataracts. Cataracts can affect and distort vision in one or both eyes, and are treatable with minor surgery.
• Corneal Problems. It’s common for double vision caused by an issue with the cornea to affect just one of your eyes. Corneal problems include corneal scars, dry corneas, and corneal infections.
• Muscle Problems.   A weak eye muscles can distort vision, as the week eye can no longer move smoothly with the healthy eye. Week eye muscles are seen in people with certain autoimmune illnesses and thyroid conditions.
• Nerve Problems. Conditions such as multiple sclerosis and diabetes can damage to the nerves that control the eye muscles, leading to double vision.
• Brain Problems. The brain connects directly to nerves that control the eyes, and visual processing happens in the brain. Consequently, there are a number of brain problems that can lead to double vision, including strokes, brain tumors, migraines, brain trauma, and aneurysms.

Anytime someone reports having double vision, it’s important that we see them in the office to determine the cause and address the underlying reason for it!