Does Reading in Very Little Light Affect Eyesight ?

As a child I recall mother saying, "Don't sit too close to the TV". "Do not read in bad lighting". "Do not lay on your stomach in bed and read". It will wreck your eye sight and cause you to need an eye glass prescription. Yet we know today mom meant well. While near point stress has been associated with myopia, science has not yet proven that reading in bad light is detrimental to eyesight and opinions do vary greatly.

What Studies on Humans Show

There is no scientific evidence that reading in poor light affects your eyes because there have been no studies on humans in this area to test the theory that poor lighting helps or harms the eyes.

In the late 1960s Eskimos who were introduced to modern civilization around World War II became more entrenched in modern culture, and myopia increased dramatically in groups of younger people. So much so that more than half of the children were myopic just 20 years after these Eskimos entered the civilized world.

Studies have been only done with monkeys and many of those show that eyestrain can lead to nearsightedness.

What the Evidence Shows

There is some support to the theory that reading in poor light may lead to myopia, or nearsightedness. The idea behind this is that in dim light you have to strain to see the words on the page, and this straining over time leads to myopia. Seeing part of the page or word, will cause your eyes to strain to see the rest. So when children who do a lot of reading and writing there is more eyestrain on their young eyes in this important developmental time of their life. There are articles that report evidence to support this risk in young children. So expect your eye doctor to express concern with prolonged visual use when using small digital devices and small computer games. In fact all excessive near visual tasks can raise the relative risk of making your child nearsighted.

To be complete this is a highly charged area of theory and opinion. Some claim there is a great deal of information that supports reading in poor light has no affect on the eye and there is no support that it causes permanent damage.

Doctors advice

If you buy the eyestrain argument you could feed the kids supplements and chuck the books, TV, and needlepoint lessons, but the tradeoff might not be worth it. Having to wear eyeglasses is hardly a major handicap these days whereas being uneducated is. Till such time as the myopia-inducing component of civilization (if any) is isolated, you're probably best off chalking up a little nearsightedness as a small price to pay for enlightenment. So what are you to do and what will most eye doctors recommend? Many eye doctors recommend visual breaks with any prolonged use of small computer games and reading. As a guide your eye doctor will most likely recommend keeping the room well illuminated and using a working distance of at least 20 inches away for a visual work period of 20 minutes and then taking a 20 minute break before repeating the cycle.

Most importantly have the eyes checked each year. A current prescription is as important as great visual working habits are in the reduction of visual stress coming from prolonged uninterrupted near point visual tasks.

What Are Those Floaters Anyways?

AllAboutVision.com has a great article about floaters, here is a portion of it. Eye floaters are those tiny spots, specks, flecks and "cobwebs" that drift aimlessly around in your field of vision. While annoying, ordinary eye floaters and spots are very common and usually aren't cause for alarm.

Floaters and spots typically appear when tiny pieces of the eye's gel-like vitreous break loose within the inner back portion of the eye.
When we are born and throughout our youth, the vitreous has a gel-like consistency. But as we age, the vitreous begins to dissolve and liquefy to create a watery center.
Some undissolved gel particles occasionally will float around in the more liquid center of the vitreous. These particles can take on many shapes and sizes to become what we refer to as "floaters."

You'll notice that these types of spots and floaters are particularly pronounced when you peer at a bright, clear sky or a white computer screen. But you can't actually see tiny bits of debris floating loose within your eye. Instead, shadows from these floaters are cast on the retina as light passes through the eye, and those shadows are what you see.

You'll also notice that these specks never seem to stay still when you try to focus on them. Floaters and spots move when your eye moves, creating the impression that they are "drifting."

When Are Eye Floaters and Flashes a Medical Emergency?
If you see a shower of floaters and spots, sometimes accompanied by light flashes, you should seek medical attention immediately.

Clumps occur when the vitreous gel begins to liquefy or shrink, usually with aging, and detaches from the retina.

For some people, floaters are clumpy; for others, they're stringy. They may be light or dark. What you see is actually the shadows cast by clumps of vitreous gel when light shines past them onto the retina. (If you can't see the image, you may need Flash Player.)The sudden appearance of these symptoms could mean that the vitreous is pulling away from your retina or that the retina itself is becoming dislodged from the inner back of the eye that contains blood, nutrients and oxygen vital to healthy function. When the retina is torn, vitreous can invade the opening and push out the retina — leading to a detachment.


Read more: http://www.allaboutvision.com/conditions/spotsfloats.htm#ixzz1EGFJKWzk

With her by my side I step out with confidence and conquer any challenge life has to give.

Yes this Valentines day we recognize our special love ones. For those with low vision the love of their life may just be their guide dog. Do you know the history of seeing eye dogs? Dogs have been used as a guide in various cultures for a very long time yet there was no formal guide dog program in existence until after the First World War.

The first guide dogs for the blind and visually impaired were trained in Germany to provided assistance for those blinded in the war were german shepards.

German Shepherds have a strong sense of loyalty to their owners, giving it a natural tendency to be protective. Having a very protective dog as a companion is an obvious asset for someone who may otherwise be easily attacked by less then scrupulous individuals.

After the end of World War I the nation of Germany was devastated by financial depression. Many private businesses failed and the Potsdam, Germany school that trained the guide dogs for the blind was one of them.

An American woman named Dorothy Eustis had heard about the program and decided it was a very worthwhile endeavor. Because she owned a company that was training German Shepherds as working dogs, she decided she might try to train guide dogs for the blind. She did not start this right away, however. In fact she was still considering the possibilities when she penned a story for The Saturday Evening Post about the potential for guide dogs for the blind.

A Nashville man named Morris Frank had heard the story and decided to write to Ms. Eustis and ask her to train a dog for him. She did and Mr. Frank became known as the first blind person to use a guide dog.

As part of an arrangement he’d made with Ms. Eustis, Mr. Frank started training guide dogs in the United States. The foundation that Mr. Frank started was dubbed “The Seeing Eye” and the so-called Seeing Eye dog was effectively born.

Today guide dogs are trained to assist people with many different disabilities.

For more information and way to donate to Guide Dogs reveiw this web page: http://www.guidedogs.com

Protect the ones you love with an eye exam today.

To your eye health,
Dr Facchiano

Eyelid Twitching

Eye twitching, eyelid tics and spasms are pretty common. Usually only the bottom lid of one eye is involved, but the top eyelid also can twitch. Most eye twitches come and go, although they can last for weeks or even months.

To find a solution for twitching eyes, we needed to determine the underlying cause of this annoying problem. Called myokymia in doctor lingo, these rippling muscle contractions in an eyelid can be triggered by:

•Stress
•Tiredness
•Eyestrain
•Caffeine
•Alcohol
•Dry eyes
•Nutritional imbalances
•Allergies


Eye Twitching Remedies:
In rare cases, some eye twitches just don't go away. Some of these types of twitches can be successfully treated with Botox injections that help stop muscle contractions. See your eye doctor for proper diagnosis and treatment if the twitching affects half your face or your entire eye, causing the lids to clamp shut.


To read the full article go to:
http://www.allaboutvision.com/conditions/eye-twitching.htm

Color blind - What does that really mean?

Color blindness means you have trouble seeing red, green, blue or a mix of these colors. It’s rare that a person sees no color at all or black and white. Most patients who are labeled as color blind are really only color deficient and that problem can change your life. It makes it harder to learn and read, and you may not be able to have certain careers. But children and adults with color vision problems can learn to make up for their problems seeing color.

What causes color blindness?

Most color vision problems are inherited (genetic) and are present at birth.
People usually have three types of cone cells in the eye. Each type senses either red, green, or blue light. You see color when your cone cells sense different amounts of these three basic colors. Most cone cells are found in the macula, which is the central part of the retina.

Inherited color blindness happens when you don't have one of these types of cone cells or they don't work right. You may not see one of these three basic colors, or you may see a different shade of that color or a different color. This type of color vision problem doesn't change over time.

A color vision problem is not always inherited. In some cases, a person can have an acquired color vision problem. This can be caused by:

Aging.
Eye problems, such as glaucoma, macular degeneration, cataracts, or diabetic retinopathy.
Injury to the eye.
Side effects of some medicines.


What are the symptoms?
The symptoms of color vision problems vary:
You may see many colors, so you may not know that you see color differently from others.
You may only be able to see a few shades of color, while most people can see thousands of colors.
In rare cases, you may see only black, white, and gray.


How is color blindness diagnosed?
Tests measure how well you recognize different colors. In one type of test, you look at sets of colored dots and try to find a pattern in them, such as a letter or number. The patterns you see help your doctor determine which colors you have trouble with.
In another type of test, you arrange colored chips in order according to how similar the colors are. People with color vision problems cannot arrange the colored chips correctly.

How is it treated?
Inherited color vision problems cannot be treated or corrected. In some cases a special ophthalmic lens or contact lens, called a red lens, can be worm to a help a color deficient patient detect colors better. The red lens looks very different when worn on the eye. While unacceptable cosmetically this is a special use lens treatment. The choice of such a treatment is often driven by a work related task.

Some acquired color vision problems can be treated, depending on the cause. For example, if a cataract is causing a problem with color vision, surgery to remove the cataract may restore normal color vision.

Blizzard in Rockford

[caption id="attachment_942" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Snoopy Snow Time "][/caption] Like much of the Midwest, Dr. Facchiano & Associates PC located within Lenscrafters at Cherryvale Mall Rockford, IL is currently experiencing severe blizzard conditions. The Illinois State Police have urged people to stay off of the roads until further notice. For the safety of our patients & associates, our office and Cherryvale Mall will be closed until Thursday, February 3, at 10:00 a.m. If conditions change, and our operating hours are affected further, we will advise you immediately.

As always, you may submit orders by e-mail or use our phone recorder 815-332-2223 (Please leave your full name , contact number, e-mail and short description) , for processing upon our return. You can also make appointments 24/7 online. So please find the application on this web page. If there is an emergency, please report to the emergency room. We apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate your understanding as we make the safety of our patients our first priority.

Sincerely,

Vincent Facchiano OD FAAO
www.4GreatVision.com