Natural Eye Care Blog: News & Research on Vision

Improving Vision In Athletes – And the Rest of Us

pewee baseball — image via santabarbaraca.gov

A survey of Italian coaches, trainers, and physical education teachers sought to determine attitudes toward vision correction in athletes. Those interviewed believed it was important to correct vision problems during sports, but they were not likely to recommend that their athletes try contact lenses. Coaches who wore contacts themselves, however, were more likely to suggest them to sports participants.

The researchers, who published their findings in Contact Lens and Anterior Eye, believe that education is key to helping more athletes find solutions to their vision deficits. Source: ScienceDirect

Another solution besides corrective lenses may be the daily practice of eye exercises. (You don’t even have to be an athlete to do them!)

Learn more about how to prevent and treat myopia (nearsightedness) naturally.

Dry Eyes Can Be Relieved With Evening Primrose Oil

Dry eye syndrome can be a difficult condition to cope with, especially if you are a contact lens wearer.

Many patients found that the eye drops that can be purchased at the pharmacy don’t work, and can even be hazardous to use – eye drops that contain preservatives can aggravate dry eye symptoms, and even kill corneal cells. Eye drops that promise to “get the red out” will reduce circulation in the eye, decrease production of the tear film, and worse, eventually make your eyes even drier.

A study published in Contact Lens and Anterior Eye showed that the omega-6 fatty acids in evening primrose oil can help reduce dry eye symptoms in female contact lens wearers. After six months, the women in the trial who were administered evening primrose oil reported less eye dryness than those who received the placebo (olive oil).

In an earlier pilot study, patients suffering from dry eye symptoms who exhibited a chronic need/use of lubricant drops were given X500 mg capsules of evening Primrose oil (Efamol-73% linoleic acid and 10% gamma-linolenic acid), 50 mg vitamin B6 (pyroxidine) and 1 g vitamin C three times a day. Over 50% of those in the study showed substantial improvement within 2-6 weeks.

Smoking Increases Risk of Alzheimer’s, Cataracts, and Macular Degeneration

We recommend that anyone interested in enjoying healthy eyes quit smoking because it has been linked to eye diseases including cataracts and macular degeneration. Here’s another reason to quit smoking: cigarettes increase your chance of developing Alzheimer’s disease by over 150%.

Though researchers are not exactly certain of why smoking can lead to Alzheimer’s and vascular dementia, it may have something to do with the fact that smoking causes inflammation and oxidative stress, both of which are known markers for Alzheimer’s.

The study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, followed over 21,000 Californians over three decades. Source: livescience.com

A non-smoking lifestyle marked by other healthy choices related to diet, exercise, and stress management are the key to eye health and overall health. Learn more about the Vision Wellness Protocol.

Learn more about how understanding and managing Alzheimer’s naturally.

Natural Ways to Fight “Old Eyes” or Presbyopia

People who develop presbyopia (from the Latin, meaning “old eyes”) have difficulty focusing on close objects because the crystalline lens of the eye loses its flexibility. Though it may seem to happen suddenly, this change in vision takes place over many years. Signs of presbyopia include the tendency to hold reading materials at arm’s length, blurred vision at normal reading distance, and eye fatigue along with headaches when doing close work.

The American Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) is aiming help patients and the public better understand presbyopia. They have introduced the new term “Age-Related Focus Dysfunction” to “medicalize” the condition. The ASCRS has a very different perspective on eye health than we do at Natural Eye Care, and while they seek to educate the public about surgical options for dealing with “short arm syndrome,” we would emphasize the ways in which healthy lifestyle and diet choices can keep eye young and flexible.

It’s important to realize that deteriorating eye sight is not inevitable just because you have celebrated forty-five birthdays or more.

To combat presbyopia, we recommend a combination of visual therapy, nutrition, and lifestyle changes to help slow down the progression of farsighted vision and possibly even improve vision. Genetics, stress, diet, and even personality type all play a role in the deterioration of vision and the onset of disease. Certain nutrients including lutein, zeaxanthin, vinpocetine, l-lysine can be very helpful.

A good place to start is with eye exercises that can help to bring energy and blood to the eyes, thereby helping to drain away toxins or congestion to the eyes.

There are surgical options out there, with more coming down the pike all the time, but why not improve your diet (leafy greens, whole grains, no transfats), quit smoking, cut back on alcohol, start an exercise (20 minutes per day of aerobic activity is a great start), and take up a relaxation practice (yoga, meditation, etc.)?

Presbyopia Affects Women the Most

Research focused on individuals in the developing world is showing that presbyopia affects men and women at different ages and in different ways.

A number of studies have revealed that women are more likely to suffer from presbyopia across the world – in Ghana, India, and Brazil. Due to economics, women are also less likely to be able to obtain glasses than men. For example, in a study of people with presbyopia in Tanzania, only 6% with the condition had glasses and nearly all of those were men.

While this condition is often associated with difficulties associated with reading and writing, in many parts of the world presbyopia interferes with other essential daily tasks like “lighting and adjusting lamps, winnowing grain, sorting rice, weeding, sewing, cooking food, and dressing children.”

Source: Community Eye Health Journal

Multifocal Contact Lenses for Presybyopia: A problem

Multifocal contacts lenses are often prescribed to people with presbyopia and have been linked to problems with driving at night.

An article published in Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science describes how people wearing the lenses have a harder time recognizing road hazards. Though the subjects could read the road signs, they had to be closer to see them clearly than when they were wearing glasses.

Researchers hope that their findings will help move manufacturers to improve the optical quality of their multifocal lenses.

Source: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com

Learn more about presbyopia.

The Effect of Sunlight on Children’s Eyes: The Dangers and Benefits

children wearing sunglasses — Image by Aka Kath

According to the Global Attitudes and Perceptions About Vision Care survey by The Vision Care Institute, 85% of the Americans surveyed understand that UV rays can damage the eyes. Still, only about 65% of those people say they usually wear sunglasses.

When it comes to their kids, 78% of these same American respondents say that they make sure to apply sunblock to their children’s skin, but less than 40% think to have their children wear sunglasses.

“These gaps in vision care attitudes and behavior are of great concern, particularly when it comes to children” Christine W. Sindt, OD, FAAO, Associate Professor of Clinical Ophthalmology, University of Iowa, tells Medical News Today. The article goes on to say “Compared to their parents, children have larger pupils (allowing more light into their eyes), clearer lenses, and are outside without eye protection much more frequently and for longer periods than most adults. It is estimated that 80 percent of lifetime exposure to UV occurs by age 18 and that children’s annual dose of UV radiation is three times that of adults.”

That said, it is important to remember that kids are not just little cataracts patients who need to hide behind dark glasses. They need some unprotected exposure to sunlight as well.

According to an Australian study, sunlight is essential to keeping children from developing myopia. Exposure to daylight appears to play a critical role in limiting the growth of the eyeball, which is responsible for myopia or short-sightedness.

Retinitis Pigmentosa Patients Helped By Beta Carotene

Sometimes those bits of wisdom that “everybody knows” just have to be true. In this case, yes, carrots really are good for your eyes.

A report at the recent American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) – Middle East-Africa Council of Ophthalmology (MEACO) Joint Meeting described how beta carotene can help people with retinitis pigmentosa.

Retinitis pigmentosa is a hereditary disease most often marked by the onset of night blindness during childhood that eventually leads to a loss of peripheral and eventually in many cases blindness. Previous research has shown beta carotene, 9-cis, can help treat night blindness. In this study, one third of the retinitis pigmentosa patients under observation showed improved visual function after taking a beta carotene supplement for 90 days. Source: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/204979.php

Fall Babies More Likely To Develop Food Allergies

Babies due in October or November are twice as likely to have allergies to common foods like milk and eggs.

It’s not necessarily related to their birth dates, however, but rather the time of year when they are at 11 weeks gestation. The high levels of tree pollen present when babies in utero are just developing their antibodies are thought to be responsible. Also, it is possible that mothers’ low post-winter vitamin D levels at that crucial point in development could be linked to the development in their children’s higher allergy rates.

Of the children studied, 11% of those whose 11th week of gestation occurred in the springtime developed allergies opposed to the 6% of babies who hit 11 weeks during the winter.

The research was carried out at Oulu University Hospital in Finland. According to this story’s source, Life Extension Daily News, “rising rates of asthma and allergies affecting children over the last 30 years have been attributed to a range of triggers including excessively-clean lifestyles, diet and early use of antibiotics.”

For more information on causes, prevention, and treatment if allergies and sensitivities, visit our website.

Vitamin B12 Helps Fight Alzheimer’s, Anemia, and Glaucoma

A study out of Sweden shows that people with diets rich in vitamin B12 are much less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease.

Published in the journal Neurology, researchers describe how the risk of Alzheimer’sdropped by 2% for every micromole per liter of vitamin B12 found in the blood.

However, they also found that decreased levels of the amino acid homocysteine, which is also associated with cardiovascular disease and stroke, can also increase the risk of Alzheimer’s. Vitamin B12 can actually lower those homocysteine levels.

According to the source of this story, Medical News Today, study authors conclude that “their study reveals the need for more research into vitamin B12’s role as a marker for identifying individuals at higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s Disease.”

Good food sources of B12 include eggs, sardines, clams, and mackerel. Learn more about food sources of nutrients.

It has long been known that B12 is essential for a healthy nervous system, with deficiencies leading to permanent damage of nerve cells. B12 comes from fish, meat, eggs, milk products and processed fortified foods. People who are on a vegan diet need to make sure they are getting enough B12, since the body stores B12 for a long time and deficiency symptoms may not appear until the problem is serious.

iPhone Good Enough for Eye Doctors to Examine Patients’ Results

Maybe they will start calling it the EyePhone…

At the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) – Middle East-Africa Council of Ophthalmology (MEACO) Joint Meeting in Chicago researchers described how images on the iPhone are of high enough quality that they can be used by eye doctors who want a portable way to carry around patients’ diagnostic images.

It is common for images of patients’ eyes to be viewed on a computer screen, but researchers at the University of Pittsburg School of Medicine decided to see if they could jump on the portable device wagon.

The study involved the office visits of over 100 patients with diabetic retinopathy. For some, the examining doctor relied on computer screens to evaluate images of the eyes and for others, the iPhone. According to Dr. Michael J. Pokabla. “There were no significant differences between evaluations and recommendations using the two different systems, and the doctors rated the iPhone images as excellent. We conclude that mobile devices like the iPhone can be used to evaluate ophthalmic images.”

Source: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/204895.php

Study of Astigmatism in Children

Genetics seems to be the reason that Hispanic kids are more likely to have astigmatism than African-American kids. Research shows that 17% of Hispanic children may exhibit astigmatism between the ages of 6 months and 6 years.

The good news is that children from all ethnic groups who show evidence of astigmatism in the first year of life tend to grow out of the condition. In the case of the Hispanic children in the study, only 5% had significant enough astigmatism to require corrective lenses.

As part of the Multi-Ethnic Pediatric Eye Disease Study, researchers have been tracking trends in vision conditions so that health practitioners have an idea of what to look for in their patients.

Source: Medscape