VisionHealth EyeCare

We have been telling patients at risk for Macular Degeneration to take megadoses of certain vitamins, but it turns out more research is saying to limit Vitamin A (beta-carotene). Dr. James Folk, M.D. in his blog about Age Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) says:

A recent study from Australia showed that dietary lutein and zeaxanthin reduced the risk of the development of AMD long-term.(2) The same study showed that a high intake of beta-carotene was associated with an increased risk of AMD…
…I would recommend an AREDS supplement with lutein especially and also zeaxanthine if you can get it. The doses used in AREDS II are 10 mg lutein and 2mg zeaxanthine. Don’t take beta-carotene if you’re a smoker since it increases the risk of lung cancer. I would also limit or eliminate the amount of beta-carotene supplements even if you’re not a smoker.

Just eat your vegetables.

So everyone just needs to have a healthy diet with green, leafy vegetables (like spinach) and those at risk for AMD should use eye vitamins with C, E, zinc, copper, and lutein with zeaxanthine instead of Vitamine A. Oh, and if you smoke, quit. Carrots are good for you, but megadoses of its vitamin A are not.

The next time someone makes a comment about eating carrots to help their eyes, I’ll hope you will correct them by informing them that it’s really spinach that helps the most. Popeye had it right after all. The only other thing besides eating spinach that he should have done to protect his one good eye would be to wear polycarbonate glasses full time.

For back to school, your North Logan Wal-Mart Vision Center is offering some spectacular deals for your kids! For a limited time, youth polycarbonate lenses start at just $30 and you can add a Transitions upgrade for just $50 more! Normally these prices are $65 for the youth lens and another $65 for the Transitions upgrade!

Transitions help keep your eyes healthy by blocking harmful UV rays. For more information about Transitions, watch this video (35 MB):

 

 Transitions Waiting Room DVD [08:47m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (16)

Most contact lenses are two week disposable, and there are a few that are one month, and a select few that are 3 month, but the arguably most healthy kind is the daily disposable.

Dr. Bazan wrote a post about why he likes them. Let me add that they are great if you have any eye allergies. They are great for your teenage kids because while you love your kids unconditionally, can you trust them completely? I mean trust them to always take care of their contacts properly so that they can avoid blinding eye infections (throwing away contacts on schedule, not sleeping in them, washing hands before applying or taking out the lens, avoiding swimming in them, getting a new case every 3 months, removing the lens if any redness, pain, light sensitivity, and/or discharge-watering occurs and calling me to schedule an appointment, get a yearly eye exam to renew the prescription)?

What was my question again? Oh, yeah…do you trust your kid to do all that stuff? Probably not, especially since chances are YOU don’t do all that stuff. So yep, your kids and you would do great in daily disposable contact lenses (if available in your powers and eye shape).

My favorites are Ciba Focus Dailies, Coopervision Clearsight or Proclear 1-Days. At your next appointment (or your kid’s) ask me about daily disposable contacts.

Please note: not all prescriptions and eye shapes are available in daily disposable contact lenses. I can explain all your contact lens options during a complete eye exam with a contact lens evaluation upgrade.

There is a certain lens called Proclear that has a tendency to rip under certain people’s contact lens handling habits.
So why would we keep using it? Because it provides excellent comfort, particularly for those who get dryness while wearing contact lenses. The material is also used in a variety of modalities like 2-week replacement (Biomedics XC), and one month sphere, toric, toric extended range, and multi-focal. It is an indispensable lens, and most people handle it just fine; however, I’d like to give some handling tips that I’ve learned from a Coopervision representative:

• Don’t pinch from the center of the lens to remove.
• Do use re-wetting drops prior to removal.
• Do slide the lens temporally to break suction prior to removal.
• Do make sure lens cases are full so lens does not adhere to the case.
• Do be careful with fingernails to avoid nicks and tears.

Proclear is a high water lens (60%), so it’s very comfortable. We just need to add the above suggestions into our handling of the lens. Continue Reading »

What is an independent doctor of optometry? It means that I am not an employee of Wal-Mart. I just rent the exam room from them. I receive no compensation from the optical or contact lens sales that they generate. I simply receive income from providing eye exam services.

This also means that the doctor before me was also independent. As such, he maintained his own charts, and he left with many of them, so I won’t always have your old record. But that’s okay since during every exam I can evaluate where you stand with your eye health and vision prescription.

A little about me:

• Graduated from Ricks College (’97) and Idaho State University (’99).
• Obtained Doctor of Optometry degree in 2003 from Pacific University (Forest Grove, OR).
• Worked for two years with the Indian Health Service in Browning, MT.
• Originally from Pocatello, ID but my wife and I have lots of family in Cache Valley, so we moved down in 2005 to be closer.
• I have filled in at various places in Utah and Idaho and opened a private practice in Smithfield, UT before partnering with the North Logan Wal-Mart Vision Center team.

VisionHealth Eyecare is coming soon to Cache Valley. Stay tuned for details by subscribing to our RSS feed.